Eumenes Eumenes of Cardia ( , ca . 362 BC — 316 BC ) was a Greek general and scholar . He participated in the wars of the Diadochi as a supporter of the Macedonian Argead royal house . Career . He was a native of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese . At a very early age he was employed as private secretary by Philip II of Macedon , and , after the death of Philip II , by Alexander the Great , whom he accompanied into Asia . After Alexander ' s death ( 323 BC ) , Eumenes took command of a large body of Greek soldiers fighting in support of Alexander ' s son , Alexander IV . In the ensuing division of the empire , Cappadocia and Paphlagonia were assigned to Eumenes ; but as they were not yet subdued , Leonnatus and Antigonus were charged by Perdiccas with securing them for him . Antigonus , however , ignored the order , and Leonnatus vainly attempted to induce Eumenes to accompany him to Europe and share in his far - reaching designs . Eumenes joined Perdiccas , who installed him in Cappadocia . When Craterus and Antipater , having subdued Greece in the Lamian War , determined to pass into Asia and overthrow the power of Perdiccas , their first blow was aimed at Cappadocia . Craterus and Neoptolemus , satrap of Armenia , were completely defeated by Eumenes in a battle somewhere near the Hellespont in 321 BC . Neoptolemus was killed , and Craterus died of his wounds . After the murder of Perdiccas in Egypt by his own soldiers ( 320 BC ) , the Macedonian generals condemned Eumenes to death , assigning Antipater and Antigonus as his executioners . Eumenes , betrayed to them by one of his own officers , fled to Nora , a strong fortress on the border between Cappadocia and Lycaonia , where he held out for more than a year , until the death of Antipater threw his opponents into disarray . Antipater had left the regency to his friend Polyperchon instead of his son Cassander . Cassander therefore allied himself with Antigonus and Ptolemy , while Eumenes allied himself with Polyperchon . He was therefore able to escape from Nora , and his forces were soon threatening Syria and Phoenicia . In 318 BC Antigonus marched against him , and Eumenes withdrew east to join the satraps of the provinces beyond the Tigris River . After two indecisive victories at Paraitacene ( 317 BC ) and Gabiene ( 316 BC ) , Eumenes was betrayed to Antigonus by officers under his command . According to Plutarch and Diodorus , Eumenes had won the battle but lost control of his army ' s baggage camp thanks to his ally Peucestas ' duplicity or incompetence . This baggage also included all the loot of the most decorated Macedonian veterans ( called the " Argyraspides , " or Silver Shields ) — treasure accumulated over 30 years of successful warfare . It contained not only gold and gems but the Greeks ' women and children . Antigonus responded to a request for the return of the baggage train sent by Teutamus , one of their commanders , by demanding they give him Eumenes . The Silver Shields did just that . Antigonus , according to Plutarch , starved Eumenes for three days , but finally sent an executioner to dispatch him when the time came for him to move his camp . Eumenes ' body was given to his friends , to be burnt with honor , and his ashes were conveyed in a silver urn to his wife and children . Despite Eumenes ' undeniable skills as a general , he never commanded the full allegiance of the Macedonian officers in his army and died as a result . He was an able commander who did his utmost to maintain the unity of Alexander ' s empire in Asia ; but his efforts were frustrated by generals and satraps both nominally under his command and under that of his enemies . Eumenes was hated and despised by many fellow commanders — certainly for his successes and supposedly for his ethnicity and prior office as Royal Secretary . Eumenes has been seen as a tragic figure , a man who seemingly tried to do the right thing but was overcome by a more ruthless enemy and the treachery of his own soldiers .