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Cleitus the Black
Sign in to saveAlso known as Kleitus the Black
4th-century BC Macedonian cavalry officer
Key facts
- Native name
- Κλεῖτος ὁ μέλας
- Born
- Cleitus , 375 BC
- Died
- 328 BC (aged 46–47 years old), Markanda , Bactria
- Allegiance
- Macedonia
- Commands
- Companion cavalry
- Conflicts
- Wars of Alexander the Great Battle of the Granicus
- Relations
- Lanike (sister)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Macedonia
- Place of birth
- Macedonia
- Place of death
- Samarkand
- Sibling
- Lanike
- Occupation
- military officer
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Conflict
- Battle of the Granicus
- Military branch
- companion cavalry
- Military rank
- general
- Image
- The killing of Cleitus by Andre Castaigne (1898-1899) reduced.jpg
Show 7 more facts
- date of death
- 0328-01-01
- killed by
- Alexander the Great
- Commons category
- Cleitus the Black
- manner of death
- homicide
- described by source
- Pauly–Wissowa
- date of birth
- 0375-00-00
- relative
- Critias
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Cleitus the Black (Ancient Greek: Κλεῖτος ὁ μέλας; c. 375 BC – 328 BC) was an officer of the Macedonian army led by Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC and was killed by him in a drunken quarrel six years later. Cleitus was the son of Dropidas (who was the son of Critias) and brother of Alexander's nurse, Lanike. He would be given the epithet 'the Black' to distinguish him from Cleitus the White.
Military service
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Cleitus the Black” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.