We know nothing of Eumenes' early life before he became a friend of Philip II of Macedon (342 BC) and then his secretary, apart from the fact that he came from Cardia, in the Thracian Chersonnese. Alexander the Great was sufficiently impressed by Eumenes' services to his father to keep him on after Philip's assassination in 336, promoting him to chief secretary.
Eumenes was given a military command during Alexander's expedition to India (327-326). At one point when Alexander was in need of money to finance a sea expedition under the admiral Nearchus of Crete, he tried to borrow some from his commanders. He asked Eumenes for 300 talents, but Eumenes only contributed 100 talents, saying that even that much was a strain on his resources. Alexander didn't believe him and secretly gave orders that Eumenes' tent be set on fire to see how much treasure he would hurry to save. The plan backfired when all Eumenes' records went up in flames. But, 1000 talents in melted gold and silver was found. Alexander didn't take any of it, just wrote to his generals and governors asking them for new copies of the burnt documents.
Eumenes did not get on with Hephaistion, Alexander's closest friend and second in command, but this does not seem to have affected Eumenes' relationship with Alexander. Despite, or perhaps because of, this lack of cordiality between them, Eumenes was one of the most extravagant in his mourning for Hephaistion after his death (324), and this increased Alexander's regard for him.
After Alexander's death, Eumenes was appointed governor of Cappadocia, despite the fact that it didn't actually belong to the Macedonians. Perdiccas, who by one account had been appointed regent for Alexander's mentally defective brother and unborn son, ordered the generals Leonnatus and Antigonus to help Eumenes take possession of his territory (321). Antigonus refused to help, but Leonnatus came, more to inveigle Eumenes into helping him in his plan to seize power in Macedon than to help Eumenes himself.
Eumenes refused to help Leonnatus and quietly left the camp one night to join Perdiccas with the news of Leonnatus' plans. Perdiccas used his army to help Eumenes take possession of Cappadocia. Once Eumenes was firmly in command, Perdiccas left him with orders to take possession of Armenia from Neoptolemus. Finding the Macedonian foot soldiers Perdiccas had left under his command difficult to deal with, Eumenes proceeded to build up his cavalry forces until they numbered 6,300 men.
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