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Turncoat Generals – Commanders From History Who Switched Sides

Khalid Elhassan April 3, 2025 17 min

Turncoat - Benedict Arnold — Benedict Arnold. Smithsonian Magazine

2. A Disgruntled General’s Flight to the Enemy

Cambyses declared war and prepared to invade Egypt. As Amasis gathered forces and prepared his kingdom’s defenses, he managed to offend Phanes. The disgruntled Greek general turned coat, and set out to join Cambyses. Reaching him turned out to be more adventurous than Phanes had expected. The pharaoh sent assassins to kill or capture Phanes before he joined his enemies. After a harrowing flight that included an escape from captivity by getting his guards drunk, Phanes reached Cambyses, who was trying to figure out the best invasion route into Egypt. Phanes recommended a route through Arab tribal lands. He advised the Persian king to seek safe passage from their rulers, and to sweeten the request with generous gifts. Cambyses heeded Phanes’ advice, and the Arabs gladly granted him and his armies safe conduct through their territory.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.