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Empire Of Alexander The Great Great Empires of the Past, Notas de estudo de História

história de alexandre o grande

Tipologia: Notas de estudo

2013

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Baixe Empire Of Alexander The Great Great Empires of the Past e outras Notas de estudo em PDF para História, somente na Docsity! SP GREAT EMPIRES OF THE PAST fá Eh EMPIRE? ALEXANDER THE GREAT PAMELA DELL & DEBRA SKELTON G R E A T E M P I R E S O F T H E P A S T Empire of Alexander the Great DEBRA SKELTON AND PAMELA DELL E" SPO DESINSS LES ONES DESPESA NES DESDE ESPADA STA TAS EEE READERS, 5 IN 336 B.C.E., A PROUD, INTELLIGENT, AND SUPREMELY ambitious young man rose to the throne of Macedonia, a kingdom on the northern border of modern-day Greece. Only 20 years old, he was already bristling to rule the mighty Persian Empire to the east. The fact that he ac- complished this feat and much more, despite the wealth, power, and, often, the huge military strength of his foes—and in just under 12 years—illustrates his extraordinary gifts as a leader and military strategist. It has also kept his name in the forefront of legendary “action figures” even into the 21st cen- tury, more than 2,300 years later. He is still known throughout the world as Alexander the Great. Born to Greatness Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 B.C.E.) was the son of King Philip II of Macedon (382–336 B.C.E.) and Olympias of Epirus (c. 376–316 B.C.E.) (in what is now modern-day Albania), daughter of King Neoptolemus I. Alexander’s birth, which some historians say probably occurred in the month of July, was accompanied by various unusual events. One of these was the burning down of the Temple of Artemis, the goddess of the wilderness, wild animals, and the hunt. Soothsayers (those who foretold the future based on signs) consulted by King Philip prophesied that these events indicated his son’s great destiny. Whether or not the prophecies were legitimate, the fact remains that Alexander became the most suc- cessful warrior in the history of the world. From the age of 20 until his death at only 32, Alexander and his armies swept across a vast region that included Persia, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. He traveled thousands of miles with his troops and ultimately Introduction o p p o s i t e Heroic Figure Alexander the Great, as British artist James Sherwood Westmacott imagined him in 1863. Alexander’s legendary life has inspired artists and writers for thousands of years. ruled an empire that stretched approximately 2 million square miles over three continents. In his conquest of the known world, he overcame armies far more powerful than his by being smarter, more resourceful, and more determined than his enemies. One consequence of this conquest was that the culture of Greece, over which Alexander also ruled, was introduced into Egypt and Asia, al- tering the course of history. The spread of Greek culture, government, lan- guage, art, and ideas laid the groundwork for civilizations that continue to this day. After Alexander’s death, his huge empire quickly fell apart, but his legendary status increased as tales of his deeds were told, passed down, and retold. His life was instructional for many other great conquerors and rulers as well, including Julius Caesar, Queen Cleopatra VII, and Napoleon Bonaparte. The young prince had the best possible background for someone with great ambitions. King Philip II was an aggressive leader who set an ex- ample for his son by conquering neighboring lands when Alexander was just an infant. As he grew up, Alexander spent much of his childhood among the soldiers of his father’s army. Another important in- fluence on the young prince was his teacher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.), one of the greatest Greek philoso- phers ever to have lived. Aristotle, who wrote or ed- ited several hundred books, taught the young prince geography, botany, zoology, logic, and many other subjects. Greek Decline Alexander came of age just after the so-called Golden Age of Greek civilization, which was at its height be- tween 500 and 400 B.C.E. The Greeks were renowned as statesmen, philosophers, builders, poets, drama- tists, and sculptors. But by the time Alexander was born, Greek civilization had begun to decline. Even so, the Greeks were justifiably proud of their knowledge, language, and refinement, and their customs and ideas still had powerful influence in the world. They thought very highly of themselves—and not so highly 6 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Like Father, Like Son Philip II was an aggressive leader who set a bold example for his son. This sculpture was made around 350 to 390 B.C.E. I N T R O D U C T I O N Over the next three years, Alexander won three major battles against the Persians. During each of these battles he was greatly outnum- bered, but through quick thinking, brilliant tactics and strategy, and brav- ery, he was able to exploit his enemy’s weaknesses. In both of the last two of the battles, the tide started to turn against Darius III (380–330 B.C.E.), the Great King of Persia, and he fled the battlefield. After the third battle, some of his officers murdered Darius. For some it was part of the struggle to replace him, and for others an attempt to gain favor with Alexander. Best known as a great warrior, Alexander also had the makings of a strong leader, although he never had a chance to rule the lands he con- quered. Although many Greeks considered the Persians inferior barbarians, he believed them to be the equals of the Macedonians and honored their customs and religions. Everywhere Alexander and his army went, they established new gar- rison towns. He often appointed Persians friendly to him as local rulers, or allowed existing Persian rulers to remain in charge. He also explored ways to achieve harmony and equality between his soldiers and the newly conquered Persians. One way he attempted to bring this about was by or- ganizing a mass marriage ceremony, in which he and about 90 of his offi- cers married Persian women. The End of the Road Alexander is considered by many to be the greatest general who ever lived, not only because of his military genius, but also because of his ability to in- spire and motivate his men. This inspiration came from many sources. Alexander was one of the last great commanders in history to lead battles in person. Risking his safety in this way, he suffered many of the same wounds as his soldiers. He treated his soldiers exceptionally well and knew many of them personally. He was also an incredibly charismatic leader. Nevertheless, the long years away from home and the hardships the troops experienced took a toll. During the 12 years of Alexander’s reign, he and his army crisscrossed the Persian Empire, traveling 20,000 miles—a dis- tance about six times wider than the United States—across rugged moun- tain ranges, raging rivers, and scorching deserts, on foot and on horseback. They conquered everything in their path, never losing a major battle. Finally, Alexander led his troops into India, and they began con- quering this country from the northeastern border of the Persian Empire. But after months of steady rain and physical hardship, the soldiers had had enough. They realized their leader was never going to willingly stop 9 INTELLIGENCE GATHERING There is no way of know- ing what Alexander dreamed of when he was a boy, because no per- sonal records survive. But later writers often in- vented stories about him that claimed his desire to rule the world burned within him almost from birth. These stories even- tually became widespread and were widely believed. One such story said that even as a boy Alexander may have been planning for the war with Persia; when Persian dignitaries visited his father’s court, the young prince ques- tioned them at length about Persia’s army, roads, communications, and customs. fighting and refused to continue on with him—which was their right under Macedonian law. Alexander reluctantly headed back to Persia, and it is doubtful that he intended ever to return to Macedonia. He reached Babylon (in what is now Iraq) in April 323 B.C.E. , and died there about two months later, in mid-June 323 B.C.E. He was 32 years old. Rumors circulated in ancient times that he was poisoned, but modern scholars believe he died of an in- fectious disease, probably typhoid fever. About 13 years after Alexander’s death, his wife Roxane and son Alexander IV, who was born shortly after his death, were both murdered. In 12 years, Alexander had conquered more lands and extended his leadership farther than any European ruler. He and his troops brought Greek culture, language, and ideas to these distant lands. Long after his death, Greek culture continued to influence the development of many civ- ilizations west of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. The Man vs. the Legend Alexander the Great is a fascinating figure. Historians and scholars con- tinue to write books and make movies about him, and each writer puts his or her own interpretation on their renowned subject, making it difficult to know exactly who he really was. No documents from Alexander’s time have survived; all existing accounts of his deeds were written after his death. Many accounts contain conflicting information, making it even more difficult to know the truth about many of the events of his life. Scholars have cast the great conqueror in shades of both dark and light. Many consider Alexander an enlightened leader because he be- lieved in the peaceful co-existence of different peoples within his empire and tried to improve the quality of life in the lands he conquered. He is considered a visionary by some because of his belief that people should see themselves as part of a global kingdom that includes every human being, rather than as belonging just to their own nation. Others emphasize Alexander’s very real darker side. Some historians have perceived him to be a violent drunkard. They point to the facts that he destroyed some of the cities he conquered, had women and children sold into slavery, and once killed a close friend in a drunken rage. The Mace- donians reportedly used brutal force to subdue some of the people they conquered, even butchering the sick and elderly in some places. Some his- torians see Alexander as an egotistical tyrant, who began to consider himself a god and demanded that his troops and subjects worship him. He 10 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T I N T R O D U C T I O N even claimed the status of god for his warhorse, Bucephalas, naming a city in India after him. Nearly all historians agree that Alexander was bisexual, pointing to his close lifelong relationship with his comrade Hephaestion. Homosex- uality and bisexuality were accepted practices in ancient Greece and Macedonia, and did not have the stigma in that culture that they have in many places today. In the Middle Ages, Alexander was portrayed as a leg- endary hero who followed the knights’ code of chivalry, the ideal of brav- ery and honor. In modern Iran, his image is that of a villain—the personification of the devil. In trying to understand this complex person- ality, however, it is important to keep in mind the culture of his time, in which hard drinking and bisexuality were accepted practices, as was waging war, conquering territory, and enslaving enemies. Historians, scholars, and military experts do agree on some things. Alexander was an extremely charismatic leader with an incredibly powerful personality. They also agree that he was one of the most outstanding gen- erals of all time. By conquering nearly the entire known world of his era, he accomplished more at a younger age, and in fewer years, than most people do in a lifetime. Alexander’s Legacy: Hellenistic Civilization Alexander’s conquests changed the character of the world so much that historians divide history into two distinct periods: before and after his reign. The classical, or Hellenic, period of Greek history is considered by most historians to have ended with Alexander’s death in 323 B.C.E. The Greek city-states never regained their former greatness, but their culture contin- ued to spread far and wide. Thus, the post-Alexander era of civilization, dis- tinct from the earlier Hellenic age, is known as the Hellenistic period. During Alexander’s lifetime and before, the people usually referred to in English as “the Greeks” called themselves Hellenes. Though they were mostly found within the borders of today’s nation of Greece, the Hellenes did not identify themselves by the area they lived in so much as by their Hellenic language (ancient Greek). Anyone who spoke Hellenic was considered an Hellene. For nearly 300 years after Alexander’s death, Greek (or Hellenistic) language, art, and culture flourished throughout the Middle East. The last Hellenistic ruler was the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (b. 69 B.C.E.). She was the last of a long line of Macedonian rulers of Egypt, and her death in 30 B.C.E. marks the end of the Hellenistic period. 11 THE MAKING OF A MYTH Many books about Alexander were based on The Romance of Alexan- der the Great, an account that is thought to have been written in about 200 c.e. by an author who came to be known as Pseudo-Callisthenes. Pseudo-Callisthenes was an unknown poet, proba- bly of the third century, who falsely ascribed his work to Callisthenes (d. 327 B.C.E), the nephew of Aristotle and one of Alexander’s original biog- raphers. Psuedo-Callis- thenes’ book was based on oral and written leg- ends that were passed down after Alexander’s death. The following de- scription of Alexander’s birth (as quoted in Alexander and His Times by Frederic Theule) shows the exaggeration and em- bellishment that was typi- cal of many of these early writings: “. . . the newborn fell to the ground; there was a flash of lightning, thun- der resounded, the earth trembled, and the whole world shook.” 15 WHEN ALEXANDER BECAME KING OF MACEDONIA IN 336 B.C.E., he inherited one of the greatest armies in the world. His father, Philip, was an extremely powerful king who laid the groundwork for Alexander’s re- markable accomplishments. When Philip came to power in 359 B.C.E., Macedonia was a poor country with a feudal society. Once established as ruler, he began a systematic policy of unifying and expanding his kingdom. During the 23 years of his rule, he turned Macedonia into a world power. He developed Macedonia’s mining, trade, and agriculture. He trans- formed a poor and backward country into a united and powerful state, bringing Greece under Macedonian rule as well. Philip also established a very well-trained permanent army, making the military a full-time occupation and way of life for many Macedonian men. Before this time, soldiering had been a part-time job. Most men worked as farmers during most of the year and were able to pick up some extra money as soldiers when they were not needed on the farm. They would then return to their farms at the start of the harvest. Under Philip, the mili- tary paid well enough to enable men to be soldiers year-round. This meant Philip could drill his army regularly, and much time and effort was spent on maneuvers, which built discipline and unity among the troops. Philip’s military reforms and conquests helped establish this professional fighting force and created a sense of national pride among the Macedonians. For some time, Philip had been preparing for an attack on the Per- sian Empire. The Persians had invaded Greece 150 years earlier, destroy- ing many temples and other important buildings, and still ruled several eastern Greek cities they had conquered. This neighbor was a constant threat to the Greeks, and in 337 B.C.E., under Philip’s influence, the The Beginning of Alexander’s Empire CHAPTER 1 o p p o s i t e The Conqueror A scene from the relief carved on a sarcophagus (stone coffin) shows a battle between Alexander the Great and the Persians. It was made in the late 4th century B.C.E. in Sidon, Libya. Greeks agreed to declare war on their enemy to the east. The closest part of the Persian Empire to Greece was Asia Minor (which means “lesser Asia”). It is a broad peninsula that lies between the Black and Mediterranean Seas, and corresponds roughly to what is today the country of Turkey. From there, the empire stretched east to the deserts of present-day Iran in the east, to India in the southeast, and to Egypt in the southwest. As the supreme commander of the Pan- hellenic, or combined Greek and Macedonian forces, Philip sent about 10,000 soldiers to attack the coast of Asia Minor in the spring of 336 B.C.E. His plan was to join this expedi- tionary force and lead the charge into Persia. But with his assassination, this task fell to Alexander. Alexander was ready to take up the throne, and Philip had certainly set the stage for his son, but Alexander’s successes were en- tirely his own. Making use of the army his father had created, he extended the power, wealth, and influence of Macedonia and Greece farther than Philip probably ever dreamed possible. Victory Begins at Home Before Alexander could carry forward his father’s plans to attack Persia, he had to spend about two years getting control of matters at home. Some of the tribes from Thrace, along Macedonia’s northern frontier, rebelled after Philip’s death. While Alexander was away fighting them, two of the major Greek city-states, Athens and Thebes, decided it would be a good time to shake off Macedonian rule. Bribed by King Darius III of Persia, they too rebelled. The two city-states had underestimated the young king. Alexander quickly descended into Thebes with his army and demanded surrender. When the Thebans refused, Alexander’s soldiers burned down the city and sold its citizens into slavery as a warning to other Greeks who were con- sidering rebellion. The warning did not go unheeded by Athens, which 16 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Macedonian Armor King Philip II’s body armor is made of iron and decorated with gold. This piece dates from about 350 B.C.E. and was found in Philip’s tomb in Vergina, Greece. T H E B E G I N N I N G O F A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E After the battle at Granicus, Alexander saw the wisdom of capturing Persia’s coastal cities before driving deeper into the country. The Persians had a powerful fleet of warships, and he did not have the naval strength to defeat them at sea. As long as the Persian fleet sailed the Mediterranean, they would remain a threat. Alexander realized that by capturing key ports that supplied the Persian ships with food and water, the navy would eventually have to surrender. He also needed to control the ports in order to ship reinforcements and supplies to his army. The coastal city of Miletus resisted, and a Persian fleet of 400 ships with 80,000 men headed there to reinforce the city. Alexander’s brilliant so- lution was simply to blockade the harbor, so the Persian ships could not bring their troops ashore. Miletus fell quickly. But Alexander was so im- pressed by the courage of the Greek mercenaries who fought there that, un- like earlier battles, he accepted them into his army. Alexander used the same technique along the east coast of the Aegean Sea. This kept the Persian fleet from being able to get fresh water and supplies. Despite its huge size, Persia’s mighty navy was defeated, sim- ply because Alexander’s army managed to capture so many coastal cities. About a year and a half after Alexander’s first onslaught, the entire Persian fleet surrendered. The Battle of Issus By 333 B.C.E., Alexander reached the coast of Syria. In October of that year, in a fierce battle at Issus (a coastal plain between what is now Turkey and Syria), the Macedonians had their second major encounter with the Per- sian army. This time, Darius was there to lead his troops into battle. The Persians outnumbered the Macedonians, but once again they made a deadly mistake. They chose to fight on a narrow plain bordered by the sea, a river, and mountains. Alexander ordered his infantry to charge into a heavy shower of arrows. With his personal regiment, the Compan- ion cavalry, he charged directly into the Persian lines and broke them up— they had no room to maneuver around the Macedonian charge. The Macedonians quickly overwhelmed the Persians. The Persians lost an estimated 100,000 soldiers at Issus. Only about 450 Macedonians are believed to have been killed. Darius fled, followed by many of his men. He left behind his chariot and royal cloak and abandoned a fortune in gold. He also abandoned his mother, wife, and daughters in a royal tent that was set up behind the battlefield—a tent more luxurious than anything the Macedonians had ever seen. Alexander surprised the Persians by treating 19 IMMORTAL SOLDIERS Persia’s King Darius III had a personal bodyguard of 10,000 soldiers. These specially chosen soldiers were called The Immor- tals, because when a sol- dier was killed, a new recruit immediately re- placed him. his royal hostages as honored guests instead of killing them—as was the cus- tom of the time. Over time, he even developed an extremely close rela- tionship with Darius’s mother, Sisygambis. That relationship continued until the end of his life. The Siege of Tyre Alexander now marched south through Phoenicia (a territory that now roughly comprises the coastal area of Lebanon). The major port cities of Sidon and Byblos (now Jubayl in Lebanon) surrendered to him without a fight, but when Alexander arrived at the fortified island of Tyre in February 332 B.C.E., the city refused to let him enter. A walled fortress off the coast of what is now Lebanon, Tyre was a strategic coastal base, and Alexander knew he had to capture it. But gaining control of the island city would prove to be his most difficult military operation so far. Tyre lay about a half mile off the mainland. The water surrounding it was about 18 feet deep, and its walls were about 150 feet high. Its harbor was well fortified and there was no land beyond the city walls. Alexander 20 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Alexander’s smallest conquest has become one of his most famous. In 333 B.C.E., before the battle of Issus, he entered the city of Gordium in what is now Turkey. There he en- countered the already legendary Gordian knot. In the local temple of Zeus sat a wagon that legend said belonged to King Gordius, the father of Midas. Holding the wagon’s yoke to its shaft was this Gordian knot, a com- plex, tightly-woven mass whose undetectable ends were buried deep within the knot itself. An ancient prophecy said that the person who untied the Gordian knot would become the ruler of Asia. Many had attempted this task but no one had been able to so much as loosen the knot—not even Alexander the Great—because of its unfathomable intricacy. But Alexander, unlike the others, refused to accept failure. As usual, there is more than one account of what happened when the young conqueror confronted the knot. But according to the most dramatic tales, Alexander, in typically aggres- sive fashion, ultimately slashed through it with one powerful hack of his sword. And he did in- deed go on to fulfill the Gordian prophecy. Today, the term Gordian knot is still in our vocabulary; it means an especially complicated and difficult problem whose solution does not seem obvious. A Knotty Problem CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> T H E B E G I N N I N G O F A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E decided to lay siege to Tyre—a mili- tary move in which the army sur- rounds and blockades a city in an attempt to starve out its residents. He hired thousands of local work- ers to help the Macedonian soldiers build a mole—a massive land bridge—that reached from the main- land to the island. To build this causeway, they used debris from the old city of Tyre, by then an aban- doned ruin on the mainland. They drove wooden piles into the seabed to support the mole and piled rocks and logs on top. The work was ex- tremely difficult and dangerous, and the Tyrians did not make it any eas- ier. They used catapults to hurl stones and balls of burning debris at their enemies, and shot arrows at them. They captured some of the Macedonians and slaughtered them, then tossed them into the sea in view of their comrades. But Alexander’s men, using screens and shields to protect themselves, continued building the mole. When they finally finished, the mole was about half a mile long and 200 feet wide. Unfortunately for the Macedonians, the wall where the land bridge came ashore was too strong for them to batter down. But at the same time the mole was being built, Alexander also constructed several 150-foot portable wooden towers, or siege towers, which were covered with iron plates to make them fireproof. Battering rams, catapults, or siege engines— machines that throw a projectile—were then mounted on these towers. Alexander also commandeered about 120 ships from the nearby city of Sidon, and mounted siege engines on their decks. In August 332 B.C.E., these ships moved in to attack Tyre from both north and south. The Tyri- ans piled rocks in the water around their island to keep the ships from drawing near, used their catapults to fling enormous boulders in hopes of sinking the ships, and poured scalding liquids and red-hot sand on them. The Tyrians held out for seven months against Alexander’s siege, but eventually were defeated. Alexander and his men destroyed most of the city, massacred more than 8,000 Tyrians, and sold the remaining 30,000 residents into slavery. This slaughter was intended as punishment for the 21 Among the innovative weapons used by the Macedonian army were siege towers that could be taken apart and put back together in different shapes. According to Library of History by Diodorus Siculus, each floor of the 60-foot wood and metal towers “. . . had two stairways, one to bring up the material and the other one to go down, so that all the servicing was done without disorder. And 3,400 people, cho- sen for their strength, were in charge of moving the ma- chine, all of them pushing at the same time, some from the interiors, others from behind and the sides,” (as quoted in Alexander and His Times, by Frederic Theule). Siege Towers places, including Agranians (natives of modern Bulgaria), Thracians, Cretans, and Paeonians, and was broken up into units according to nationality. Each unit had its own distinctive armor. Infantry soldiers were called hoplites, and they generally fought in a formation called a phalanx, which was developed by the Greeks. But Philip transformed the Greek phalanx into a devastating formation, the Mace- donian phalanx. In the Greek phalanx (the word is Greek and means “fin- ger bone”) soldiers were arranged in rows. The men stood in solid ranks, forming a tight rectangle. Their shields covered their own left shoulders and overlapped each other, so that each hoplite’s shield also protected the man to his left. But because of their heavy shield, held in the left arm, the Greek hoplites could only use a relatively short spear in the right hand. Philip replaced the large shield with a smaller one slung over the left shoulder. This enabled the new phalanx to carry a long lance, called a 24 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Among the myths that persist about Alexan- der the Great is that he founded 57 ancient cities. Mostly, though, what he founded were military outposts, and according to modern scholars, only six cities can be directly attrib- uted to Alexander by either literary or archae- ological evidence. We do know, though, that the ancient world through which Alexander passed ended up with many cities named Alexandria. The first Alexandria, and one Alexander certainly founded himself, was in Egypt. Alexander located the city near the mouth of the Nile, on the Mediterranean Sea, intending it to develop into a center of commerce be- tween Egypt and the Mediterranean. He helped plan the city, designing the streets to run in a grid pattern of straight lines. A diverse population of Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, and Jews soon settled in Alexandria, which remained a center of com- merce, culture, and learning for the next thousand years. About 1,000 ships could use its docks at a time. Its library, built shortly after Alexander’s death, was famous throughout the ancient world. It contained the world’s largest collection of scrolls—about 500,000 volumes—and scholars came from all over the world to study them. Today, Alexandria is a thriving city of about 3 million people. It is the second largest city in Egypt, and is still Egypt’s chief port. Merchant ships have sailed to and from its harbors for the last 2,300 years. Historians consider the city of Alexandria to be among the most impor- tant results of Alexander’s conquests. Alexandria, Egypt CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TACTICS AND STRATEGY Warfare involves both tac- tics and strategy. Tactics are the techniques and procedures used by sol- diers in the heat of battle, and strategy is the overall battle plan, worked out in advance.Alexander came up with brilliant strategies that were later adopted by other generals, such as Napoleon. But a good strategy only works if the enemy does exactly what they are expected to do. Since this rarely happens, it is equally important for a great general to be good at tactics—the art of maneuvering forces in combat.Alexander is also considered one of the greatest tacticians in mili- tary history. These two gifts are rarely combined in one military leader. T H E B E G I N N I N G O F A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E sarissa, in both hands. The sarissa was made of wood and had an iron tip. It was so long—estimates are from about 16 feet to as much as 24 feet—that even those carried by men in the back rows protruded beyond the front row of men. From the front, a phalanx resembled a giant porcupine or hedgehog: It was 16 rows deep, and the sarissas of the first five rows pointed forward, producing an impregnable forest of armor-piercing iron. The other rows held their sarissas at an angle upward, forming an effective protection against objects hurled at them. A phalanx operated much like a modern-day tank It could move in a straight, angled, or curved line, or swing around as a solid mass to face the opposite direction. Held horizontally and thrust forward during a charge, the sarissas sliced through the enemy while keeping the members of the phalanx at such a distance that they could not be attacked themselves. This was a great advantage in itself. But additionally, when these awesome weapons were held upright together, they created a wall of spears, shielding from the enemy’s view any maneuvers going on behind the phalanx. This was a great aid to surprise moves. Seeing the deadly wall of a phalanx’s spikes coming toward them must have had a terrifying effect on Alexander’s enemies. The phalanxes were generally used to pin down the enemy’s army so the cavalry could attack. The Companion cavalry was an elite body of up- perclass Macedonians led in battle by Alexander himself. He adopted this innovation from his father. A highly disciplined cavalry could turn an enemy’s flank, cut off its retreat, or pursue fleeing soldiers, and Philip’s cav- alry was just such a body. The Macedonian cavalry changed the nature of warfare, in particular because the phalanx was such a sophisticated and ter- rifying method of attack, later adopted by other leaders. Alexander went on to develop his father’s methods further, employing them to great advantage across two continents. Alexander’s cavalry squadrons were divided into platoons. Their commanders were chosen for personal merit rather than race or birth. Armed with sarissas and outfitted with open-faced iron helmets and short body armor that protected their chests and backs, these troops were the most effective cavalry in the ancient world. The cavalry used formal, strict formations, such as wedges and dia- monds. The officer at the tip of the formation would find weak points in the enemy’s line and then order a charge. Even though they had no stirrups and only makeshift saddles (stirrups and saddles had not yet been invented), the cavalry charged at a gallop, brandishing their sarissas. They were trained to respond immediately to commands on the field of 25 battle. They could drive home a charge and then immediately reform, ready for another order. The phalanx and the cavalry trained together to coor- dinate their actions. Alexander’s use of huge siege machines at Tyre introduced a new age of warfare. Between 332 and 326 B.C.E., the invading king mounted 15 sieges. His mechanics and engineers developed special weapons for sieges, including battering rams, catapults, and mobile towers. Special catapults could hurl 175-pound stone blocks as far as 500 feet onto a battlefield or over a wall. They were also used to hurl large arrows and possibly even poisonous snakes and hornet nests. Ballistae were an- other kind of siege weapon. Similar to huge crossbows, these stable weapons shot arrows that were up to three feet long. Soldiers would often set fire to the giant arrows before launching them. Although the Macedonian army was a much stronger fighting force than its navy, Alexander used many different kinds of ships in his cam- 26 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Formidable Formation The Macedonian phalanx was an innovation of Philip II. Soldiers carried small shields and long lances. T H E B E G I N N I N G O F A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E 29 Catapult: The Greeks invented catapults in about 400 B.C.E. Philip was the first commander to use siege weapons on the battlefield, and Alexander adopted the same practice. His sol- diers used smaller, mobile catapults to fire large arrows aimed at individual soldiers and stones, or bags of stones, capable of killing or wounding a number of men with a single shot. Catapults were still in use in the 20th cen- tury. In World War I, soldiers in trenches made catapults by hand. They would use them to propel grenades and poison gas canisters at the enemy. Since World War II, catapults have been used to launch jets from aircraft carriers. During that war catapults were hydraulic, but later the British invented a steam-powered catapult. Commonly used today, the steam- powered catapult launches a jet fighter at full throttle, giving it the power to accelerate from zero to 165 miles in two seconds— enough to get it airborne from the relatively short distance of the aircraft carrier’s deck. In the 21st century experimentation is in progress with even more sophisticated and powerful catapults. Battering Ram: The battering rams used by ancient armies were most often made of the largest tree trunk possible, which had been hacked to a point at one end. The tree trunk would then be set on wheels, or sometimes carried by men, and rammed through the doors and walls of fortresses and castles. Sometimes a battering ram was slung in a sup- port frame so that it could be repeatedly swung against the barricade. Modern battering rams are usually used by police forces, most often by special paramili- tary units known as SWAT (special weapons and tactics) teams, which are specially trained for dangerous missions. Sometimes these bat- tering rams are attached to cars or other heavy vehicles and sometimes they are small- er, operated by just two or three officers to break down a door. Ballistae: Ballistae were giant crossbows pow- erful enough to shoot huge darts or arrows, singly or in bunches. Ballistae were generally designed on a horizontal plane with arms of wood. Human hair or animal sinew was wrapped around each arm and acted like a spring to send the darts or arrows hurtling for- ward. Ballistae were extremely accurate in hit- ting intended targets but had the disadvantage of not being able to travel very far. The Greek word ballista originates from another Greek word, ballei, meaning “to throw.” These words are also the ancient roots of our modern word ballistics, the sci- ence of the way projectiles move in flight, or more specifically, the study of what happens when firearms are fired. Most people today have heard of ballistic missiles. These are one of the more destructive modern equivalents of ancient projectile weaponry. Alexander’s Weapons CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 31 HIS VICTORY AT THE BATTLE OF GAUGAMELA ESTABLISHED Alexander the Great as the ruler of the Persian Empire. Only three years after he first invaded Asia Minor, he was hailed as the new Great King of Persia and Lord of Asia—the ruler of all Persian lands. But as long as Darius III was alive, he remained a threat to Alexan- der’s rule. As soon as Alexander was able to break away from the fighting at Gaugamela, he began his pursuit of Darius. Alexander pursued the older king through the night, but Darius escaped into the mountains. Alexander decided to wait, rather than to push through dangerous mountain passes where troops still loyal to Darius could ambush the Macedonians. Darius had abandoned some of his treasure near Gaugamela, and Alexander used the loot to reward his soldiers. He then traveled south along the Royal Road, built centuries before, to Babylon (located near what is now Baghdad). He expected opposition, but instead, because the Persian king was so unpopular, the Babylonians welcomed the soldiers with trumpets and showered them with flowers. The young king’s popularity grew when he promised to rebuild the temple to the chief Babylonian god, Bel Marduk, which the Persians had destroyed. The Macedonians and Greeks were amazed by the wealth and majesty of Babylon. This fabled city already had a history dating back to about 2000 B.C.E. Nearly five times larger than Athens, it was organized around a seven-story tower—which may have been the famous Tower of Babel. During the five weeks the Macedonian troops remained there, Alexander took up residence in one of Babylon’s two royal palaces. The palace had about 600 rooms and its terraces of trees, flowers, and shrubs, The Empire at Its Largest CHAPTER 2 o p p o s i t e Lost Wonder Little of the great palace at Persepolis (in modern Iran) remained after the Macedonians set it on fire. This stairway dates from the sixth to fifth century B.C.E. While in the city, Alexander also reorganized his army to prepare for warfare in the wilder, more mountainous country where they would hunt for Darius. He divided the troops into smaller units of 75 to 100 men and appointed many new officers. Up until that time, the Macedonian military units were or- ganized according to the provinces of their kingdom. For the first time, Alexander selected officers based on merit—an indication that he wanted to do away with regional divisions. The army also changed its method of sending signals from bugle calls to the Persian method of using a bon- fire to send smoke signals. Alexander appointed the Per- sian commander of Susa’s garrison as satrap of the region. In December 331 B.C.E., he and his troops once again took to the road. As usual, they left soldiers behind, led by a Mace- donian. With a refreshed army of an estimated 60,000, Alexander marched toward the city of Persepolis, the ceremonial center of the Persian Empire and the winter home of the Persian kings. On the way, the army met re- sistance in a narrow mountain pass known as the Persian Gates. The chal- lengers were probably the last holdouts of Darius’s army. Alexander divided his army into two branches to get through. Arriving successfully in Persepolis, the Macedonians found the largest treasure of all. A vast storehouse of gold and silver, it was said to be the largest single fortune in the world. The treasure was so enormous that it took more than 500 camels and more than 4,000 mules to transport it back to Macedonia. The treasure weighed around 7,300 tons, and was enough for Alexander to pay his army for 25 years. Night of Destruction On April 25, 330 B.C.E., the Macedonians, after a long night of drinking, burned down the great palace in Persepolis. This event has remained con- troversial, with different historians offering different interpretations. Many 34 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T The King is Conquered This painting shows Darius in his battle dress, at war with Alexander. It was done on the wall of the home of Cassander of Macedon, who lived in ancient Pompeii. T H E E M P I R E A T I T S L A R G E S T have criticized the act as barbaric, not to mention unwise, since the Macedonians now controlled the city. Other historians believe that de- stroying the palace was an act of vengeance. Built by King Darius I (d. c. 485 B.C.E.) in about 520 B.C.E., the magnificent structure had later been the home of King Xerxes I (519–465 B.C.E.), who had destroyed many Greek temples when he invaded Greece in 480 B.C.E. Still other historians claim that Persepolis was a symbol of the rule of Darius III. They suggest that de- stroying it was a dramatic way for Alexander to demonstrate the end of the Persian Empire. (Ironically, destroying the palace may have been the best thing that could have happened to it. It became the era’s best pre- served ruins because of its long disappearance under the desert sands.) It was probably not an easy decision. On one hand, as a Macedon- ian, Alexander identified deeply with Greek culture. He had come to Per- sia partly to avenge the wrongs Persia had committed against Greece. But he was also warming to his role as Persia’s exalted ruler. He admired and 35 In the language of the Persians, the name of their magnificent city was Takht-e-Jamshid. Meaning “the throne of Jamshid,” the name honored a mythical Persian king. In the West we know it by its Greek name, Persepolis. From about 500 B.C.E., the capital city of the Persian Empire was called Persa. Add Persa to the Greek word for city, polis, and it is easy to see how the Greeks derived their version of the name—Persepolis, or City of Persians. Technically speaking, Persepolis was not really a city at all. It was a series of palaces and treasuries that formed a ceremonial center, at- tended by a small town of guards and care- takers. Each year at the Persian New Year’s festival, envoys from all the nations subject to the Persians arrived at Persepolis to renew their loyalty to the king, bringing lavish gifts. The treasures were deposited at Persepolis, where they accumulated over many decades. Although Alexander destroyed the great palace complex of Persepolis, it has not been entirely lost to us. Since the early 20th century, archaeologists have excavated many of its huge structures. One of the most stunning of these is the palace’s apadana, or reception hall, where in ancient times the great Persian kings received tribute from subjects who came from far and wide. Today, the apadana is marked only by a wide field of pillars adorned with elaborately carved horse heads—a surre- alistic site in the midst of a bare red desert in southwest Iran. UNESCO declared the city of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. Persepolis CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> appreciated many things about this ancient civilization. He wanted to be accepted by the Persian ruling class. He began to adopt Per- sian ways and brought Persian attendants into his inner circles. Forced to share power with the Persians, some of the Macedonian sol- diers began to feel discontented. While in Persepolis, Alexander discov- ered that Darius had fled to his summer palace in Ecbatana (now the city of Hamadân in modern Iran). He was traveling with what was left of his army, whose numbers had been greatly reduced because so many soldiers had defected or been killed. The remaining troops numbered only about 9,000 men, including Greek mercenaries. In the spring of 329 B.C.E., Alexander and some of his troops pushed north through the mountains toward the Caspian Sea in pursuit of Darius. The Betrayal of Darius Hearing a report of Alexander’s approach, Darius and his men began riding east. Several of his own officers took the Persian king pris- oner and threw him into a wagon, believing he was too weak a leader to be left in control. Alexander set out after them with about 500 men, leaving his second-in-command, General Parmenion (400–330 B.C.E.), in charge at Ec- batana. They traveled across the desert, covering more than 440 miles in just 11 days. After the long, exhausting chase, they came upon Darius’s camp at dawn. But Alexander did not get the chance to take his revenge. Bessus (d. 329 B.C.E.), the leader of the revolt against Darius and the satrap of a region called Bactria, stabbed Darius to death just before Alexander’s arrival. Alexander covered Darius’s body with his cloak. He sent his former enemy’s body back to Persepolis, ordering that a royal funeral be held. One of Bessus’s accomplices, Nabarzanes (dates unknown), sur- rendered to Alexander and was pardoned. He also released those merce- naries who had joined the Persians before Greece and Macedonia declared 36 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T The Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush Mountains look as forbidding today as they did in Alexander’s time. This track leading to the mountains is in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. T H E E M P I R E A T I T S L A R G E S T 39 The Khawak Pass and the route Alexander took through the Hindu Kush are today nearly as difficult to navigate as they were in the fourth century B.C.E. The Chitral a region of the Hindu Kush in what is today Pakistan, is one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of the world, but the Macedonian army made its way through. In the deep mountain valleys above Chitral they encountered the Kalash tribes, the so- called black pagans (named as such by later conquering Arabs, who were unable to con- vert the Kalash to Islam and still have not today). The Kalash dressed in black robes, or- namented themselves with intricately woven cowrie shell headdresses, and, according to their religious custom, placed their dead in open coffins and left them out for wild ani- mals to consume. Today, much of this cultural tradition re- mains. The coarse black clothing, the cowrie shells, the carved wooden coffins, and ritual religious dancing have not been entirely lost. A regional legend still insists that the current Kalash people are descended from the unions between the area’s ancient native people and Macedonian soldiers who passed through with Alexander—many of whom, it is said, stayed or returned later to establish homes there themselves. To historians and archaeologists this idea is not all that far-fetched. There are still strong hints of some kind of Indo-European cultural mix, including the knowledge of wine-making and the fact that many of the Kalash still wor- ship the sky god, Di Zau, said to be the broth- er of Greece’s mightiest god, Zeus. Today’s remaining Kalash, estimated at about 3,000 people, are perhaps the last sur- viving ancestors of those who lived in the area when Alexander’s troops marched through. But their ancient culture is now threatened with extinction as unchecked tourism makes drastic inroads into their way of life. With en- couragement from the Pakistani government, tour providers heavily promote the Kalash mountain valleys to those who seek exotic, out-of-the-way adventures that feature “quaint” regional peoples and “never before seen” customs and culture. The local outcry against these efforts, which include the building of modern tourist hotels, some on sacred Kalash sites, and log- ging of the people’s lands to the point of de- forestation, is fierce. But the cry is hard to hear in a world where modern life is like a roaring beast quick to devour anything “old- fashioned.” This once hidden and nearly un- touchable corner of the globe may not remain a secret much longer. More can be learned about the Kalash from the Indigenous Peoples Survival Founda- tion (IPSF), a humanitarian organization, at www.indigenouspeople.org. A Dying Culture CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> is more than 25,000 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest mountains in the world. The army crossed over the 12,000-foot Khawak Pass. They were forced to travel single file along narrow paths, which stretched the troops out over miles. Many of the men got altitude sickness. The intense glare caused snow blindness. There was a shortage of provisions, and nothing grew in the area except herbs. Supplies could not be moved by wagon, and the pack animals that carried them frequently fell on the dangerous, snow-cov- ered roads. The men ate the dead mules raw because there was no cooking fuel. Men died of cold, hunger, and thirst. Alexander may have lost more than 2,000 men in the march across the Hindu Kush. He arrived in Bactria with fewer than 32,000 soldiers. He released the older and sick ones from service and set off with the remain- ing troops, chasing Bessus toward the Oxus River. Down out of the mountains, the soldiers faced another ordeal: heat. They had to march at night across 46.6 miles of waterless desert, because it was too hot to travel dur- ing the day. The shifting sands made travel especially difficult. The men used up all their water. A famous story about this march is that when one of the men found a small pool of water, he offered it first to Alexander. The king refused it, say- ing that he would drink only when all his soldiers had had water. It was this kind of behavior that in- spired such fierce loyalty. When the army finally reached the river, many soldiers, in- cluding Alexander, drank too much water and became ill. Many of them died. Meanwhile, Bessus fled through Bactria. His troops, from Bactria and Sogdiana, were on fa- miliar terrain. (The satrapies of Bac- 40 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Fierce Warrior A detail from a first century B.C.E. Roman mosaic shows Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus. A BELOVED HORSE As a boy,Alexander suc- ceeded in taming a wild horse owned by his father that no one else had been able to even get near. The young prince named the horse Bucephalas (which means “ox head” be- cause he had a natural mark on his coat that was shaped like the head of an ox) and rode him from then on.Years later, while Alexander was battling in the East, bandits snuck into the Macedonians’ camp one night and made off with some of their horses.Among them was Alexander’s beloved warhorse. He sent word out to the tribes that Bu- cephalas must be re- turned or he would devastate the entire coun- tryside. The thieves re- turned the now aging horse, for which Alexan- der rewarded them. T H E E M P I R E A T I T S L A R G E S T tria and Sogdiana were located in more or less the same areas as modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and western Tajikistan.) They burned the earth behind them as they fled, so that their pursuers would find no food. After they crossed the Oxus, they burned all the available ships to prevent Alexander’s men from crossing the river. The Macedonians, however, made rafts by stuffing animal skins and tents with hay. Five days later, the army reached the opposite bank. Crossing the Hindu Kush, the desert, and the Oxus River made Alexander’s army seem unstoppable. In June of 329 B.C.E., about a year after Alexander began chasing him, one of Bessus’s allies, the Sogdian leader Spitamenes, arrested him. Bessus was brought naked in bonds to the town of Bactra. Alexander turned him over to the Persian people, who tried him for killing their king. He was found guilty and executed. Guerrilla Warfare Since they had left the three Persian capitals, Alexander and his men had been fighting a different kind of war. The mountainous region to the east of the three royal cities was made up of independent, fierce tribes and bandits. These people were unknown to the Greeks, and the Persians had only barely managed to dominate them. Even the Persian kings had to pay trib- ute before the tribes would allow them to pass through their lands. The Sogdians and the other tribes who joined forces with them to fight Alexander were excellent mounted archers. Instead of pitched battles fought by armies facing one another on a battlefield, this new phase of the campaign involved guerrilla warfare. The Bactrians and the Sogdians, who lived in what is now Turkestan, did not fight in the traditional Greek/Macedonian style. Much of the landscape was dusty steppe country— semi-arid grass-covered plains—that was unsuited for phalanx maneuvers. In response, Alexander reorganized his cavalry, creating new forma- tions that were better suited for the new terrain. He also brought native horsemen into the army. Alexander’s ability to successfully adapt his strat- egy and tactics to many different kinds of warfare, including major battles, sieges, skirmishes, and guerrilla opposition, sets him apart from other great commanders who were skilled primarily in conventional, open warfare. The Macedonian army proceeded from its base in Maracanda, near modern-day Samarqand, to the Jaxartes River. They considered this the end of Asia. In July 329 B.C.E., Alexander founded a new city, called Alexandria Eschate, which means “the farthest Alexandria,” on the northeast border of the Persian Empire (the modern city of Khodzent in Tajikistan). 41 44 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Ro ut e to a n Em pi re Fr om h is h om e ba se in M ac ed on ia to th e w es t, Al ex an de r a nd h is a rm y st or m ed th ro ug h w ha t i s k no w T ur ke y, so ut h in to E gy pt , a nd e as t t o- w ar d In di a. T he a rr ow sh ow s t he p at h of h is tr av el s T H E E M P I R E A T I T S L A R G E S T small army. They had enough provisions to last for years. Their leader, Ox- yartes (b. 377 B.C.E.), taunted Alexander, defying him to send up men with wings to capture the fortress. Alexander marched his men to the base of the rock, but there was clearly no way to scale it. A single goat track led up to the Sogdian camp, which was defended by the expert Sogdian archers. The Macedonian army made camp out of the range of their arrows. If Alexander did not conquer the Sogdians, their continued presence would always be a threat to his rule. He assembled 300 men, his best mountaineers, and offered them lavish rewards if they successfully reached the top. In the first truly dangerous mission not led by Alexander himself, the men began their climb. They chose to ascend the steepest side of the rock so they would not be seen from the caves, but about 30 of the climbers—one in 10—fell to their deaths. When the remaining men reached the top, they waved the long strips of linen they had brought with them to signal their success. The mountaineers were unarmed because they had not been able to carry their heavy arms up on the dangerous climb. Oxyartes, however, was unaware of this. He saw only that some of Alexander’s men had succeeded in reaching the top of the rock, but had no idea how many nor what weapons they had. He surrendered. Ultimately, Alexander and Oxyartes became allies. Alexander married his daughter Roxane (343–310 B.C.E.) and their marriage helped bring about peace in Bactria and Sogdiana. Roxane gave birth to a son named Alexan- der (323–310 B.C.E.)—known later to historians as Alexander IV. Alexander the Great died before his son was born, and that son only lived to the age of 13. He was murdered in Macedonia along with his mother. In the summer of 327 B.C.E., Alexander returned to Bactria, where he reinforced his troops. He ordered that 30,000 young Persians be formed into an army unit, and also added native cavalry units, including the mounted archers of the Dahae tribe. The addition of so many native sol- diers to the army caused great tension among the Macedonian troops. About two-thirds of the army was ordered to stay to defend Bactria. The rest were sent north to build towns that would serve as garrisons and cen- ters of administration. Hoping to create peace in the region, Alexander en- couraged the tribal people to settle in the new towns. By the spring of 327 B.C.E., Alexander’s domain extended along and beyond the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, including modern Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and northward into Bactria and Sogdiana. It 45 FROM GREECE TO INDIA At its largest, by 327 B.C.E.,Alexander the Great’s empire was 2 million square miles. It stretched from Greece all the way to India. had taken him only three years, from the spring of 330 B.C.E. to the spring of 327 B.C.E., to take control of this vast area. Alexander’s em- pire was now at its largest. Despite his desire and efforts to push on to even greater conquests, there were to be none—aside from a small bit of territory he took over in India shortly thereafter. Another Murder In the autumn of 327 B.C.E., another murder plot against the new ruler of the Persian Empire was revealed. The would-be assassins were six of his squires, or personal attendants. A total of about 50 young men served as Alexander’s squires, and among their duties was guarding the king while he slept. According to some accounts, on the night of the planned assassination, Alexan- der stayed up all night drinking and talking with friends. When he found the squires waiting up for him the next morning, he praised what he assumed was their loyalty. Feeling guilty, one of the squires confessed to the murder plot. The Macedon- ian army found the squires guilty of treason and they were stoned to death. Some accounts say the squires claimed that Callisthenes, the great-nephew of Alexander’s teacher Aristotle, had encouraged their plot. As Alexander’s official historian, Callisthenes traveled with 46 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Callisthenes and other soldiers were especially critical of Alexander’s attempt to introduce the practice of proskyne- sis, the eastern custom of ritual bowing to the floor before the Great King. For the Persians, bowing to the king was an expression of respect for his royal office. But for the Greeks and Macedonians, bowing was strictly reserved for the gods. They looked upon their king as a fellow warrior, not a god, and had enjoyed an open and equal relationship with Alexander. They detested the idea of bowing down to him now. Historians have different ideas about why Alexander wanted the soldiers to practice proskynesis. Some see it as a sign of his increasing arrogance. He may even have begun to believe himself truly a god. Others believe that he did not want to alienate the Persians, who might have resented bowing to him when the Macedonians would not. The Per- sians, whose king was traditionally so exalted, may have perceived the friendly familiarity of the Macedonians as an indication that the king was not very powerful. All agree that it was difficult for Alexander to be a king to both the Persians and the Macedonians, whose traditions were so different. One night in the summer of 327 B.C..E., at a banquet in Bactria, Alexander’s closest friends convinced the other sol- diers to perform proskynesis. Only Callisthenes refused to bow. Like Aristotle, he believed strongly in the superiority of Greek culture and later accused Alexander of wanting to be worshiped as a god. Callisthenes’s death did not end his influence. Many important people in Athens were angered about his arrest and subsequent death (although it is not clear how he died), and after Alexander’s death they wrote hostile and inaccurate accounts about him and joined forces with his enemies in Macedonia. To Bow or Not to Bow 49 BY THE SUMMER OF 327 B.C.E., ALEXANDER HAD CONQUERED nearly all of the Persian Empire. But instead of focusing on governing his vast domain, he wanted to continue traveling east—to India. He thought that when he reached its eastern edge, he would arrive at the Encircling Ocean (see page 47). The historian Arrian (c. 86–160 B.C.E.) claimed that Alexander was motivated by pothos, a Greek word that means insatiable ambition, cu- riosity, or deep longing for something. Other historians think he may have been motivated by an ancient legend that said the rulers of India had de- feated every foe who ever entered their lands, except for Dionysus, the Greek god, and the mythical hero Heracles. Some historians think the king was simply driven by a lust for war and power. Whatever Alexander’s mo- tivation, most of his troops did not share it. They followed him because they were disciplined soldiers. Some may have also been lured by the hope of finding some of the rare treasures that were said to be in abundance in India—a land few people in the West had ever seen. In the spring of 326 B.C.E., Alexander and his army made the 400- mile trek from Bactria to India. The land then known as India was not the huge sub-continent it is today, but roughly its northern third, and the Mace- donians knew little about it. Had they been more familiar with its climate, they probably would not have chosen the beginning of the monsoon sea- son as the time to invade. Heavy rains poured relentlessly for several months, becoming a greater challenge than the humans Alexander had come to conquer. The first test of Alexander’s army came against King Porus (dates un- known), who ruled over land that is today a part of northern Punjab. One Final Years of the Empire CHAPTER 3 o p p o s i t e I Surrender King Porus surrenders to Alexander after the Battle of the Hydaspes in this some- what fanciful 18th century French drawing. INDIAN WEAPONRY Indian military experts used swords and spears handmade from the strongest and highest quality steel, an iron that had recently been discov- ered by Indian black- smiths. They were also equipped with large, pow- erful bows and six-foot- long arrows. In addition, they trained horses and elephants to fight in wars. Elephants in the Indian army had metal tips fitted to their tusks. of Alexander’s allies, a neighboring king, had requested help battling Porus, his longtime enemy in the struggle over land rights. Alexander agreed. He confronted Porus at the Hydaspes River (now known as the Jhelum River), which flows though India and Pakistan. The Battle of Hydaspes The battle of Hydaspes in May 326 B.C.E. is considered one of Alexander’s greatest military achievements. To come out the victor, the Macedonian leader had to draw on a number of skills: an understanding of psychology, cool nerve, quick reactions, resourcefulness, command of strategy, orga- nizational ability, and leadership. The discipline of his troops was also of critical importance. As the Hydaspes swelled from the rains, Porus and his army waited on the opposite bank. In addition to his soldiers and archers, he had more than 100 war elephants. Alexander’s army built rafts to cross the river, but because the horses were terrified of the elephants, this was a challenge. If the horses were even to catch sight of the huge beasts during the crossing, it was likely they would jump off the rafts and be swept away by the current. In pouring rain and thunderstorms, Alexander repeatedly tricked Porus into thinking he was about to attack. He orchestrated large troop movements at crossing points along the river. Night after night, he marched his army along the bank with trumpets blowing. Porus and the elephants would march to meet them on the opposite bank. Then Alexander would retire, leaving the Indians waiting in the rain. To keep Porus guessing, the Macedonians built up large stores of food and supplies, making it seem that they might be planning to sit out the floods. This in itself conveyed a lack of resolution. Soon, Porus stopped moving his troops every time Alexander moved his. Finally, during a vio- lent thunderstorm on a dark night, the Macedonian army crossed the river. Porus learned of their crossing too late. Catching the Punjabi king’s infantry by surprise, the Macedonians immediately killed about half of them. As he had done in other battles, Alexander avoided a confrontation in the center of the battlefield. He attacked Porus’s flank, forcing him to re- organize his forces. He then took advantage of the Indians’ confusion, at- tacking decisively. Alexander lost an estimated 1,000 men; the Indians lost more than twice that many. Alexander’s archers also shot the elephants’ mahouts, or drivers. The elephants then trampled the Indian soldiers around them. Many of the Indian soldiers retreated, but Porus fought on. From the back of the tallest elephant, the seven-foot-tall king kept hurling 50 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T F I N A L Y E A R S O F T H E E M P I R E javelins at the Macedonian soldiers, even though he was bleeding from a deep wound. Alexander sent a messenger to Porus, who surrendered after eight hours of fighting. According to Michael Wood’s account of the legendary story, in his book In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, when the defeated Porus was asked how he wanted to be treated, he replied, “Treat me like a king.” Im- pressed with the Indian king’s courage and dignity, Alexander not only restored Porus’s kingdom, he enlarged it. The two kings became close friends and Porus’s elephant even became an honored hero. On the site of the battle, Alexander founded two new cities. One was called Nicaea, which means victory. The other was named Bucephala, in honor of Alexander’s treasured warhorse, Bucephalas (see the box on page 41), who died at the ripe old age of 29, possibly during the battle. Both towns were near Haranpur, in the northern Punjab, northwest of what today is New Delhi, India’s capital. Turning Back During June and July, the army traveled through the Punjab (it means “land of five rivers”) region of India. The soldiers crossed four of the five rivers, and as they went, their difficulties worsened. Alexander did not often underesti- mate his human enemies, but in the summer of 326 B.C.E., he did underesti- mate nature. He had no idea how unbearable the experience of the Indian monsoons would be for his men. For more than two months, it was hellishly hot, and the unceasing rain was accompanied by thunder and lighting. Some of the rivers, swollen with the torrents, burst their banks and flooded the land around them. The tired soldiers marched through thick mud. Their clothing, never having a chance to dry out, began to rot and fall apart. To pre- vent rust, they were forced to scour all their iron equipment daily. 51 Elephants of War In India, Alexander’s army had to devise new strategies to deal with war elephants. This manuscript illustration of elephants in battle is from a 15th century French history book. would provide wells and protection for the fleet whenever it needed to come ashore for fresh water. Alexander’s decision to follow the coast rather than return up to Turbat and go west from there was not a fortunate one. It took the army through miles of some of the world’s worst deserts, including the Makran Desert that borders the north end of the Indian Ocean, as well as the region of Gedrosia, which lies northwest of the Makran. As with so many other events of Alexander’s career, historians dis- agree about many aspects of this march. They are not sure whether Alexander knew how difficult this crossing would be. Some believe he did know and wanted to prove that his army could do what others had failed to accomplish. Others be- lieve he had no idea and that local guides who were hostile to the Macedonians may have intentionally mis- informed them. Other his- torians believe the disaster was the result of an unfor- tunate series of events and that Alexander’s legendary luck finally failed him. The march was a dis- aster because the fleet failed to meet with the army, as planned. The army, which had set out before the fleet, marched to the coast and reached the rendezvous point. There, the troops on land waited for the fleet, which never showed up. No one knew why. They later discovered the ships had waited an extra week for the monsoons to die down and were further delayed by headwinds. The soldiers had been depending on the fleet to 54 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T If Alexander meant to meet up with his fleet and its commander, Nearchus, at either Pasni or Gwadar, further along the coast, that mission failed. The troops were left to make a death-defying trek west across the desolate Makran Desert and up into the Gedrosian Desert. From Pasni it took days by camel train to reach the scorched seaside enclave of Gwadar, where Alexander dug wells. Today the westward trip might take three days at least, in a landscape still reminiscent of a barren world on another planet. There is no fresh water to be found between the two towns. Along the way, stark, dry ridges jut into the sky. Deep, drifting dunes make walking nearly impossible and camels are the only practical means of transportation. The vegetation is sparse. The sun burns and rains rarely fall. At a place called Sur Bandar, crude straw huts hug the shore and the boats of fishermen dot the sea’s surface— the only hint of a more modern world. The modern world is apparent, however, in today’s Pasni and Gwadar, though both were pillaged and burned in 1581 c.e. by Por- tuguese explorers. Gwadar is striving to become a major seaport on the level of its neighbor to the east, Karachi, Pakistan, and Pasni today is well-known to the United States Army. Since the Septem- ber 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the military and allied forces have been using Pasni’s commercial airport as an air base, as they also did during World War II. Desert Dangers F I N A L Y E A R S O F T H E E M P I R E supply them with food, and soon used up the food supplies available in this barren region. They could not return the way they had come, because they had stripped the land through which they had just traveled. Without food, they could not remain at the meeting point to wait for the fleet, es- pecially since they feared it had been destroyed by a storm or an enemy at- tack. At Gwadar, instead of continuing to march along the coast, Alexander led his army inland. This fateful decision meant that, unbeknownst to them, they would march through the worst part of the desert. Alexander began his desert march with somewhere between 10,000 and 70,000 people. As always, women, children, craftsmen, and others trav- eled with the soldiers. Three-quarters of them perished along the way in a trek that took about two months. The whole entourage suffered severely from starvation, thirst, and disease. Flash floods and poisonous snakes wiped out many. Those who were too sick and exhausted to continue were left behind to die. Alexander shared these hardships, and often, to set an example, dismounted from his horse and walked. It is believed that more soldiers died from hunger and thirst during the crossing of the Gedrosian Desert than in all of Alexander’s battles in Asia. But finally, at the end of 325 B.C.E., the survivors reached Carmania in eastern Persia (today’s Kerman in south central Iran). There, they re- united with Nearchus’s fleet and Craterus’s troops and a great celebration ensued. Rebuilding an Empire Alexander returned to Susa early in 324 B.C.E., where he discovered that some parts of the Persian Empire had started to rebel during his Indian campaigns. Several satraps had recruited private armies and had been abus- ing their powers, as if they had expected Alexander would never return. Alexander took quick and decisive steps to regain control He exe- cuted the rebellious satraps, as well as a number of soldiers from the gar- rison of Media (now part of northwest Iran) who had plundered temples and tombs. Persian rebel leaders who had been captured by Craterus were also executed. At the same time, the newly returned king began a number of projects aimed at improving trade and expanding the empire’s routes of commerce. He had wells dug in dry areas and ordered the building of all- weather roads and bridges—although these plans were never realized before his death and were abandoned afterward as others took control of his lands. He gave large rewards to surviving soldiers who had remained loyal to him and also repaid the debts many of his soldiers had incurred. 55 ADOPTED MOTHER One of Alexander’s closest friendships was with Sisygambis, the mother of King Darius III of Persia. After being abandoned by her son as he fled the bat- tlefield at Issus (see page 19]), Sisygambis had fully expected death for her- self, along with the Dar- ius’s wife and children. When Alexander instead treated the royal family with kindness and honor, Sisygambis gained an un- expected respect for the conqueror and a friend- ship was born. Over the years,Alexan- der visited Sisygambis when he could and sent her many gifts. He ad- dressed her as “mother.” When Alexander died, the depth of their bond was truly revealed. Upon receiving the news of his death, Sisygambis turned her face to the wall. She remained there, fasting, until she died of starva- tion. In an attempt to unite his eastern and western subjects, Alexander organized a mass marriage. He had about 90 of his military officers marry daughters of Persian aristocrats. A sumptuous banquet was held for 9,000 people. Held in March 324 B.C.E., the event was intended to develop a greater spirit of cooperation between Macedonians and Persians. Alexander set an example by taking his second and third wives, first Parysatis (dates unknown) and then Stateira (c. 340–320 B.C.E.), Darius’s daughter. Marrying Stateira added legitimacy to his claim of kingship of the Persian Empire. Alexander’s closest companion, Hephaestion, married an- other of Darius’s daughters. Alexander also offered a monetary reward to soldiers who married Persian wives; about 10,000 of his men took ad- vantage of the offer. In another bold move, the king announced that he was releasing older and injured Macedonian veterans from military service and replac- ing them with 30,000 Persian young men who had been studying the Greek language and Macedonian methods of fighting. The army, who still con- sidered the Persians barbarians, protested, saying if anyone was dismissed, they would all leave. In response, their ruler again made a stirring speech, this time reminding the sol- diers of their glorious victories under him and accusing them of deserting their king. The speech, sometimes called the Oath of Alexan- der, turned things around yet again. The sol- diers withdrew their threat of mutiny. Alexander discharged about 10,000 men and gave them large bonuses. He provided them with extra money to return to Greece and promised to educate their Persian chil- dren. He also had 13 of his most outspoken critics executed without a trial. Alexander also integrated new troops that arrived from Macedonia with the Per- sian soldiers. The Macedonians were placed in the front with spears and the Persians, carry- ing swords and javelins, marched in rows be- hind them. The Romans later adopted this arrangement, which gave their soldiers greater mobility. 56 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Best Friend This colossal bronze head of Hephaestion, Alexander’s lifelong friend, was probably made by the sculptor Polyclitus in about 324 B.C.E. F I N A L Y E A R S O F T H E E M P I R E agree that Alexander died from disease. The most recent scholarship sug- gests it was an infectious disease, perhaps typhoid fever, made worse by stress, multiple wounds, endemic malaria, occasional heavy drinking, and exhaustion. Even though many soldiers had become disillusioned with Alexan- der, most still loved their leader. They sat outside his tent as his condition deteriorated. The day before he died, his soldiers marched past his deathbed, honoring their great leader. According to Michael Wood’s In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, as well as many other sources, the an- cient Greek historian Arrian claimed that despite his pain and weak con- dition, Alexander made eye contact with each of his men as they marched past. Alexander’s remarkable 13-year reign solidified his place in history. But the great conqueror failed to establish a stable empire. Although his first wife, Roxane, was pregnant with a son at the time of her husband’s death, Alexander the Great did not designate a successor. In the last mo- ments of the great king’s life, his generals asked him to whom he wanted to leave his empire. Many sources, including In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great by Michael Wood, provide Alexander’s deathbed answer. His reply was, “to kratisto”—to the strongest. Alexander shrewdly predicted that his generals would fight one other for control of his kingdom, and he was right. The intrigue and ferocious power struggles among the diadochi, or suc- cessors, would last for more than a generation. 59 Death of a King This scene from a 15th century French illustrated manuscript shows Alexander the Great’s funeral carriage and gold coffin. The Macedonians spent a year making it after their great leader’s death. After Alexander’s death, the Macedonians spent a year creating a magnificent funeral carriage. His body was embalmed and placed in a solid gold coffin, which was carried under a golden, jewel-encrusted model of a temple. A gold statue of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, stood on the roof of the carriage. At the funeral march, his soldiers fol- lowed the carriage, which was pulled by 64 mules wearing golden bells. Road builders went ahead of the spectacular funeral train. As the procession traveled west across 1,000 miles of Asia, its fame spread. Crowds gathered in every city along the way to watch the procession pass. The destination of Alexan- der’s body was Macedonia, but it never reached his home. Ptolemy (372–283 B.C.E.), Alexander’s friend and the new pharaoh of Egypt, seized the carriage and took it to Alexandria, where it was placed in a special tomb. The exact location of Alexander’s tomb, like so many of the facts of his life, is hotly contested. Many archaeologists have tried to find it, and some still search for it today. Three Kingdoms Alexander turned out to be the only individual whose personal authority could hold his huge empire together. Some of his followers, including the rank and file of the Macedonian army, wanted to preserve the empire, but with no successor named and no stable kingship to maintain what he had won, the empire immediately and rapidly began falling apart. The power conflict among Alexander’s generals, who all wanted to carve out vast realms for themselves, lasted about 40 years, from 323 to 280 B.C.E. Through struggles and warfare, three generals, Ptolemy in Egypt, 60 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Alexander’s coffin was first buried in the Egyptian capital of Memphis. Later, it was reburied at the center of an- cient Alexandria. At that spot, known as the Sema (a word that referred to the place where Alexander’s mau- soleum was), the city’s two grandest streets—colonnaded and each reportedly 200 feet wide—intersected. But as the city grew, its center shifted and knowledge of the tomb’s exact location was lost. The last record of its whereabouts is dated in the fourth century C.E. So far, the ongoing search for it has been fruitless. Recent underwater excavations in Alexandria’s old harbor have provided promising clues. Archaeologists now believe that the search should take place much fur- ther east in the city than originally thought. They say the old city center was probably in the region of what is now 19th century cemetery grounds. Intriguing evidence has actually been found in the area they suggest, including the vestibule of a royal tomb designed in the Macedonian style and sculpted from high quality alabaster. Intrigue in Alexandria CONNECTIONS > > > > > > > > > > > > F I N A L Y E A R S O F T H E E M P I R E Seleucus (c. 358–281 B.C.E.), and Antigonus (c. 382–301 B.C.E.), emerged as powerful contenders. Antigonus was initially the most powerful of the new kings, but he was defeated at the battle of Ipsos in 301 B.C.E. This battle among the kings put an end to all hopes of a reunification of Alexander’s domains. From each of these three generals, a major dynasty emerged: the Ptolemies in what had been the Egyptian Empire (Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, the Agean Islands, and parts of Asia Minor) , the Seleucids in what had been the Persian Empire, and the Antigonids in Macedonia and Greece. Even- tually, all three kingdoms were overtaken by the military might of the Roman Empire. The Romans ended political Hellenism, but Hellenic culture remained the basis of the civilization of the East even during the centuries of Roman domination. The Egyptian Empire of Ptolemy was the richest, most powerful, and most stable of the kingdoms—as well as the longest lasting of the three. 61 In 1977, archaeologists announced an exciting discovery: They had found what they believed to be the tomb of Alexander’s father, King Philip II of Macedonia. The tomb was located in what is now Vergina, Greece. The objects in the tomb, which included a gold larnax, or an- cient Greek casket, a magnificent set of armor, and a gold wreath, came from the fourth cen- tury B.C.E. The lid of the larnax was embossed with a starburst, which was the emblem of the Macedonian royal family. The body in the tomb had been cremated, but the bones had been carefully wrapped in a purple cloth. Scientists were able to use pieces of the skull to reconstruct the face, and they discovered that the right side of the face was distorted. This provided further confirma- tion that the body was that of King Philip II, since it was known that an injury had caused him to lose his right eye. More recent research has revealed that the tomb is most likely not that of Alexander’s fa- ther, however, but of his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus. Scientists were able to more close- ly date the artifacts in the tomb, and discov- ered they were from approximately 317 B.C.E., the year Philip III died. Using a technique called macrophotography, they were able to study the skeleton in greater detail than had been possible when the tomb was first discov- ered. They determined that the distortions be- lieved to have been caused by the loss of any eye were actually caused by the effects of cre- mation and reassembly of the bones. Who is Buried in King Philip’s Tomb? CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 65 THE PHILOSOPHER ARISTOTLE ADVISED ALEXANDER TO “play the part of a leader to the Greeks, and of a master to the barbarians, and to care for the former as friends and kinsmen, and treat the latter as beasts and plants” (as quoted by Dutch scholar and author Jona Lendering at his web site www.livius.org). This view of foreigners as barbarians infe- rior to the Greeks was shared by most of Aristotle’s countrymen. Aristotle’s most famous student did not agree with this outlook, however. Alexander came to have a great deal of respect for his eastern subjects, and even began to adopt many of their customs. Eventually, Alexander’s respect for the Persians became a source of contention between him, his army, and even his closest generals, but he never changed his mind. The influence flowed both ways: As a result of Alexander’s con- quests, Greek culture spread throughout the Middle East. His death marks the beginning of what has become known as the Hellenistic age, which lasted for about 300 years. The term Hellenism is typically used to describe the influence of Greece on the East, and most scholars have fo- cused on how Greek culture affected the rest of the world. However, there was a great deal of cross-fertilization between East and West, and Greek society was also influenced by Persia during the Hellenistic period. There were many similarities between the two societies. Both had strong divisions between their upper and lower classes. Both accepted slavery. Women and children had virtually no rights in either society. However, in many ways the two societies were very different. The Greeks worshiped many gods; most Persians believed in a single god. The Greeks spoke one lan- guage; the Persian Empire included many different nationalities with different languages. More than a dozen languages were spoken in Asia Minor alone. Society in Alexander’s Empire CHAPTER 4 o p p o s i t e Macedonian Mask This is a sixth century B.C.E. gold Macedonian funeral mask from a necropolis (burial city) in Trebeniste. The Macedonians had a sophisticated culture, but were regarded as barbarians by their Greek neighbors to the south. MORE THAN ENOUGH When Alexander was a boy, his tutor, Leonidas (dates unknown), rebuked him for using too much incense when performing a sacrifice to the gods. He threw an extravagant amount—two fistfuls—of incense on the altar fire and Leonidas criticized him for wasting this valu- able commodity.When Alexander captured Gaza, the main spice center for the Middle East, he sent Leonidas a gift of 18 tons of incense. He also sent a note to his former tutor urging him not to be stingy toward the gods. The governments of Greece and Persia were very different. Greece was not an empire with a single ruler, but rather was a collection of city- states that functioned much like separate nations, each with its own gov- ernment, laws, and customs. Some, including Athens, were democracies, some were oligarchies (where power was shared by a wealthy aristocracy) and some, such as Sparta, were monarchies. Although the Greek city-states sometimes united to fight a common enemy, they functioned au- tonomously. Persia was a unified monarchy, with a single, central ruler. Macedonia: Kingdom with Shared Power Macedonia, Alexander’s homeland, was just north of Greece. Macedonia was a monarchy, but unlike the Persian Empire, where the king had ab- solute power, the power of the Macedonian king was limited. His primary responsibilities were administrative and military, although he also was in charge of official religious functions. For example, he performed state sac- rifices daily, and Alexander did too, every day until his death. The king was also the final judge in any legal appeal. The king shared his power with the Macedonian assembly. Made up of Macedonian citizens, the assembly was a powerful group that, among other responsibilities, judged cases of treason. Although in theory the king and the assembly shared equally in the government of Macedonia, the power of the assembly was in reality not as great as that of the king. But because the aristocrats controlled large groups of followers, the king needed their support to continue ruling effectively. The most powerful aris- tocrats were considered the king’s social equals. The Macedonian aristocracy was not based entirely on birth. All men had an equal opportunity to rise in service to the king, who chose his Com- panions—the elite group of soldiers who served the king directly—based on personal quality and loyalty rather than on family lineage. In Macedonia, the king was expected to listen to his people. The Macedonian people were traditionally allowed to address the king with a great deal of freedom. A soldier addressing the king in the assembly would have to uncover his head, but whatever his rank, he could speak openly and frankly. One of the most important responsibilities of a new king was to en- sure the succession by creating heirs as soon as possible. For this reason, many Macedonian kings had more than one wife. They were also expected to train their heirs in the arts of hunting and warfare. Strife in the royal family had always been common in Macedonia. There had also traditionally been disputes among the leading aristocrats. 66 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T S O C I E T Y I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E inequalities among the citizens and the other two types of residents: for- eigners and slaves. Foreigners had no political rights. If a foreigner stayed in a city for longer than a specified period of time, he had to register as a resi- dent alien and pay a tax. Resident aliens might be artisans, merchants, or bankers. They could become wealthy and, with good luck, they could be- come citizens; but with bad luck, they could also end up as slaves. Even among citizens in Greece’s most prominent democracy, Athens, there was social and economic inequality. Athens was a patriarchal society, meaning that the father controlled the family. Women did not have the same political rights as men. Girl babies were not even fed as well as boys. Married women were practically prisoners in their homes. They could not leave the house except to visit relatives, attend marriages and funerals, and participate in certain religious festivals. A wife sometimes shopped at the market for small purchases. When women went out, they were required to have a male servant or slave chaperone them. Women did not have the right to attend political assemblies or to vote. With few exceptions, they were not allowed to participate in public events at all—not even dinner parties. Women could not own, in- herit, or manage property, or take part in any business deal in which something worth more than a bushel of grain was exchanged. Poor women worked, however, as dress- makers, weavers, and midwives. A woman had to have an official male guardian to protect her physically and legally. Citizen women had re- course to the courts in disputes over legal issues. But they had to have men speak for them. Women had authority only over children and slaves. A woman was responsible for cooking, housework, and spinning and weaving cloth for the family’s clothing. Persia was also a patriarchal society in which women lived very suppressed lives. They took care of the home and were encouraged to 69 Many of the political ideals we cherish today came from the Greeks. The word politics comes from the Greek word polis, usually translated as “city-state” to emphasize its difference from what we today normally think of as a city. The word democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia, which means “the authority of people.” When Greek civilization began, authority was based on brute force—as it was in most of the ancient world. But the Greeks were the first to ask what the role of a government should be. Some Greek philosophers deter- mined that the state should exist for the benefit of its citi- zens. Therefore, they reasoned, those citizens had the right to help make decisions. They believed that it was not just a right, but also a duty of every citizen to partici- pate in the government. Greek Politics CONNECTIONS > > > > > > > > > > > > have as many children as possible, so that the king’s army would always be supplied with soldiers. They were not allowed to see any men other than their husbands. Unlike Greek women, however, they were permitted to own property and could conduct business from their homes. Class Systems Throughout the Empire The Greeks, the Macedonians, and the Persians all had class systems. The upper classes of Macedonian society admired the Greeks. The Macedo- nians had their own language, which may have been similar to Greek, but the upper classes also spoke Greek. They considered themselves to be Greek by blood. At the same time, Macedonia was a rough land with a colder climate, and the Macedonians looked down on their southern Greek neighbors as softer and less hardy than themselves. The Greeks thought even less highly of the Macedonians, whom they scorned. They considered Macedonia a crude backwater whose people were little better than barbarians. There were some significant differences between the culture of Mace- donia and that of the rest of Greece. Even though Macedonia was a male- dominated society, the queens and royal mothers were greatly respected. This was largely because they came from powerful Macedonian families or from ruling families in neighboring lands. They were given respect because they gave birth to the heirs their husbands needed for their royal dynasties to continue. When the king was away, the royal women sometimes engaged in power struggles with the king’s male representatives, as Alexander’s mother did. The favorite pastimes of the Macedonian upper classes were fighting, hunting, and heavy drinking. The king could only get respect from the no- bility if he was an expert in all these activities, which was seen as an indi- cation that he would be capable of heading the state. Hunting on horseback was seen as a useful aspect of military training. Alexander loved riding and hunting, and before he became king he probably hunted almost every day. He stalked animals such as bears, lions, and stags that roamed the hills of Macedonia. Persian society was divided into two classes. We know more today about the lifestyle of Persia’s upper classes than about its lower classes. The upper class included the king, the nobility, and the priests. At the head of the upper class was the king. Just below him in power were his chief no- blemen. They served as officers and cavalry in the army. The lower class in- cluded the majority of Persians, who were laborers. Freemen got paid and 70 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T BABBLING BARBARIANS Aristotle, like all the Hel- lenes of his time, believed people who did not speak his language were un- couth barbaroi, not de- serving of any status much better than slave. The Greek word barbaroi, the root of the English word barbarian, is trans- lated as “babbler” or “jabberer.” So all non- Hellenes were considered nothing but babblers— barbarians in the true Hel- lenic sense. S O C I E T Y I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E could choose where they worked. Bondsmen were serfs and slaves, and had little or no choice as to where and for whom they worked. All of the land in Persia belonged to the king, but the kings gave land holdings to nobles and military leaders. These lands were named in military terms, according to their size. For example, there were “bow,” “horse,” and “chariot” lands, and the owners of these lands had to provide men and equipment for the army accordingly. One of the smallest parcels, a bow land, was about 52 acres and its lord was expected to supply one archer to the army. Some lords had parcels of many thousands of acres and had to provide much greater numbers of men and equipment. Serfs and Slaves Maintaining these estates required a lot of work. Serfs lived on a Persian noble’s estate and worked in exchange for some of the crops. These serfs were considered part of the property on which they worked. They were ex- pected to fight for the noble who owned the land, if necessary. If the land changed hands, the serfs and their families remained with it. Slaves, unlike serfs, could be sold. They were often more highly skilled than serfs. Many were prisoners of war who performed the same trades they had performed before they were captured. In most of Greece there were no serfs (Sparta was one exception), but there were slaves. Slaves were considered to be their owners’ property. They had few rights and could have no family or possessions. Slaves could, however, buy or inherit their freedom. People ended up as slaves for many reasons. Children who were abandoned by their parents often became slaves, as did enemy soldiers who had been captured. Captives were rarely killed because they were valuable to their captors. How captives were treated depended on whether their families were rich or poor. Rich captives were often sold back to their fam- ilies, while poor captives typically became slaves. Alexander sent many cap- tured soldiers back to Greece and Macedonia to become slaves. The lives of most slaves were probably not too different from those of farm workers or servants. An exception was slaves who had to dig in the silver mines in Athens and Macedonia. Their lives were extremely difficult. The Vast Persian Empire The Persian Empire had an ancient culture, as old and in some ways as ad- vanced as Greece’s. From about 550 B.C.E. until Alexander’s time, the Persian Empire was ruled by a dynasty called the Achaemenians. The first 71 Royal Road and Trade Routes Persian kings ruled their diverse peoples efficiently. Darius I built many roads that linked the satrapies. The main highway, known as the Royal Road, extended from the Greek city of Ephesus on the Mediterranean coast to the valley of the Indus River. Their network of roads enabled the Persians to run an efficient postal service. The Royal Road was divided into 111 post stations—each equipped with fresh horses. The king’s messengers changed horses at each station. The road system facilitated the operation of the Persian Empire and enabled the Persian kings to keep abreast of developments throughout their lands. The existence of these roads also made it easier for Alexander to conquer the empire. Later, the roads enabled the Greek influence to spread more quickly through the Persian Empire. Macedonian mail riders used the Royal Road, just as the Persians had, to transport mail. Riding horses and special camels bred and trained for speed, they carried mail back and forth between the soldiers in Persia and the Macedonian capital, Pella. The Persian Royal Road was also an im- portant trade route. For centuries, tradesmen had led their caravans across dangerous deserts, mountains, and steppes to sell their goods at 74 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T The Persian road system was extremely effi- cient. The Greeks were impressed with a prac- tice called angareion, which involved riders exchanging horses along the way in a sort of relay race. The Greek historian Herodotus, in his The Histories, wrote of this practice, “There is nothing mortal which accomplishes a journey with more speed than these mes- sengers, so skillfully has this been invented by the Persians.” (A full translation of The Histo- ries, in which this material can be found, is available at ancienthistory.about.com/ library/bl/bl_text_herodotus_8.htm). A more recent form of this relay was the Pony Express, which delivered mail from Mis- souri to California in the United States from early 1860 through October 1861. Herodotus’s next words are familiar to most people living in the United States: “Nei- ther snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift com- pletion of their appointed rounds.” These words are inscribed on the general post office building in New York City, and have become the unofficial motto of the United States Post Office. Neither Snow nor Rain . . . CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> S O C I E T Y I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E 75 According to Greek mythology, when Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, shed tears of joy they turned into pearls. To the ancient Egyptians, pearls were precious because they represented one of their most important goddesses, Isis, whose domain was magic, medicine, healing, and the rituals of everlasting life. Historians believe that the pearl was most highly valued first by the cultures of the ancient Middle East. From the time of the Achaemenid kings, the Persians had control of the Persian Gulf, one of the earliest and most abundant sources of these gems. which are made by oys- ters. So it is not hard to imagine that as the new king of Persia, Alexander must have had his choice of the finest pearls. From Persia, the love of pearls spread to the Mediterranean where, by the first century B.C.E., it became almost fanatical. Ancient pearl-encrusted objects have been unearthed at digs throughout the ancient Roman Em- pire, down into North Africa, and as far north as northern France. Pearls were more valuable and sought after than gold, and a single piece of pearl jewelry might be worth many thou- sands of today’s dollars. By the time the Arabs controlled the re- gion of the Persian Gulf, pearls were being transported not only along the Silk Road but by sea as well. In the first century B.C.E., Julius Caesar proclaimed pearls off-limits to anyone but the Roman rulers, and at the peak of the British Empire no common subject was al- lowed to wear pearls either. By the 1500s, Seville, Spain, and Lis- bon, Portugal, had be- come the centers of the pearl trade, and these cities overflowed with the finest specimens from the Persian Gulf, India, and other parts of the East. During the late 1600s, pearls began to lose their distinctive spe- cialness in Europe and elsewhere. The custom of lavish adornment with pearls gave way to much more modest displays as religious and political values became more conservative. Today, a string of pearls is a more common piece of jewelry and may cost only a few hun- dred dollars. Just looking at a such a simple piece of jewelry, not many would guess the pearl’s long and prestigious past. The Precious Pearl CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> market towns. These goods included perfumes, incense, gold, jewelry, pearls, crafts such as silver drinking cups, furs, many types of weapons, horses from Assyria, and cattle from Mesopotamia. During the Hellenic period, most trade was local, between villages and the nearest cities. But there was a tremendous increase in trade be- tween East and West. This was due, in part, to the universal currency and the new coins that had been put into circulation, as well as to the estab- lishment of many new towns and ports. Another important factor was the adoption of Greek throughout the lands Alexander controlled as the lan- 76 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T The long caravan that followed Alexander traveled 11,000 miles back and forth across the Persian Empire. This moving city used the same roads that were later traveled by the Ro- mans, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227 B.C.E.), Marco Polo (1254–1324 B.C.E.), and, later still, by British soldiers during World War II. Roads that branched out from the Royal Road linked all parts of the empire. One branch connected Babylon and Ecbatana, crossing the Royal Road near Opis and contin- uing to the Far East. This route between the Mediterranean Sea and China became part of what is known as the Silk Road during the first century B.C.E. The first users of this important trade route, which actually included four dif- ferent roads, probably lived between 1000 and 500 B.C.E. One of the Silk Road’s most famous travel- ers was Marco Polo, a merchant from Venice, Italy. He first traveled along this route when he was 17 years old. He described the exotic East in a book that remains one of the most famous travel books of all time, The Travels of Marco Polo. The book added a great deal to what was known of Asian geography and cul- ture and introduced many Westerners to Asian culture. New ideas also traveled the Silk Road. Be- lievers spread both Buddhism and Islam along its route. Technologies such as printing, paper making, ceramic glazing, glass blowing, and wine making were carried between East and West. New foods, such as noodles, which food historians believe originated in Persia, were also introduced to the world via the Silk Road. Merchants traveled the Silk Road in cara- vans of camels. Besides silk, which came from China, they used this route to transport many kinds of goods, including gold and silver, ru- bies and jade, textiles, ivory, spices, furs, ce- ramics, and bronze weapons. Salt, which for many years was worth as much as gold, was another important Silk Road product. The city of Salzberg in Austria originated as a salt min- ing center along the Silk Road. Traveling Across Time CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 79 A LOT MORE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED IN Greece than in the lands that had made up the Persian Empire during Alexander the Great’s time. Much of what we know about the people who lived in what had been the Persian Empire comes from the Greeks, whose histories were published many years later. The Greeks did not think highly of the Persians, so it is likely that many of their accounts are biased. Distortion of the facts is a common problem whenever history as written by the victors in war is the only version available. In both East and West, life was very different for the rich than it was for the poor, and city dwellers had different lifestyles than people who lived in the country. Greece was not a very fertile region. It was crisscrossed by mountain ranges and only small areas were suitable for farming. Staple crops were ce- reals. People typically raised goats rather than cows. People also kept sheep, for wool as well as for meat. A Greek city-state included the cen- trally located city and also the villages and small settlements scattered throughout its territory. Life was similar for people who lived in many of the Greek city-states (with the exception of Sparta, a warlike monarchy where many aspects of life were quite different). Macedonia was a harsh land with many mountains and lowland val- leys. It had greater natural resources than Greece, but life was more diffi- cult there. Most Macedonians were poor farmers, and much of the population lived in small villages and towns. Towns did not have protective walls, and were vulnerable to raids by Macedonia’s northern neighbors, the Thracians. In most regions of the Persian Empire, most people lived on farms and in small villages. They kept sheep and raised crops such as wheat Living in Alexander’s Empire CHAPTER 5 o p p o s i t e What They Looked Like Greeks and Macedonians wore simple, loosely draped clothing made from wool, cotton, linen, or muslin.This marble relief (c. 323 B.C.E.) shows Alexander’s friend Hephaestion and an unidentified woman. and barley to make bread, sesame seeds for oil, almonds, and figs. Farm goods were broadly available to the public. Some villages only had a few dozen households. For most villagers, the greatest fear was that an army would arrive and take their young men away, along with most of their food, animals, and supplies. Contact with the government was limited to the tax collector, who came once a year. Life probably did not change very much for most villagers after Alexander took over. Eastern Migration After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, many Greeks emigrated to its western regions, drawn by the chance to live more pros- perous lives than they could at home, where opportunities were limited. A primary reason that Greek culture spread throughout Mesopotamia and the areas to the west during the Hellenistic period was that so many Greeks moved there. Greeks, as well as people from other cultures, settled in cities such as Alexandria in Egypt and Babylon in Mesopotamia. These Hellenistic cities were centers of trade, science, and the arts, but life was not easy for many of the people who lived in them. There were large gaps between the lifestyles of the rich and the poor. The wealthy lived in splen- dor and luxury, but most city dwellers lived in miserable conditions. Riots were common, especially in Alexandria. Many of the people who lived in these cosmopolitan cities integrated Greek and Macedonian customs, art, literature, and lifestyles into their own native cultures. However, most people who lived in the countryside ignored much of this Hellenistic influence. Greeks also settled in the many towns that Alexander and his suc- cessors established throughout the former Persian Empire. Most of the new towns and ports were named after Alexander. They were designed to be centers of administration and trade, as well as strongholds that provided protection to the local inhabitants. They served as outposts to keep the peace and to provide warnings to headquarters in case of local uprisings. Towns were usually built at the junction of important roads and placed where they could overlook the surrounding area. They were established close enough to existing villages to enable the newcomers to associate with the natives, but far enough apart that the Macedonian and Greek settlers could keep to themselves. The first new colonists were typically older, wounded, or disabled war veterans and Greek mercenaries. Many of the veterans settled down with their war loot and a piece of land. Some had started families with 80 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T L I V I N G I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E women they met while on the march. Later, merchants, craftspeople, and others joined them. These new towns were typically built on the Greek model, having schools, offices, shops, a temple, a council chamber, and a gymnasium. Such a town might also have a theater, a fountain, and a monument. It would always have a public square, which was the focus of all Greek cities. Life in the City The typical Greek style city was centered around the open market, or agora. City dwellers generally rose at dawn. After washing and eating breakfast, most men would head for the agora (the men did a lot of the marketing). The agora was divided into sections where people sold fish, meat, produce, wine, flowers, and other goods. Fruit vendors would display their best olives and figs at the tops of their baskets and hide the rotten fruit on the bottom. Merchants put the coins they received as payment inside their cheeks so no one would steal them. Many merchants could keep as many as 12 coins in their mouths at a time. The agora was the main place where men socialized, as well. At the agora, men would gather under columned porches to exchange gossip and discuss the issues of the day. They also socialized at barbershops or at black- smiths’ workshops, which were warm even during cold weather. Small busi- nesses and shops of tradesmen, such as upholsterers, barbers, shoemakers, sculptors, doctors, and moneychangers, were located on the streets coming out of the agora. In one section, horse breeders sold or traded animals. In another, men could hire cooks or day laborers to help in the home or field or drive a chariot. There was also a slave market near the agora. Training the Children In many Greek city-states, poor children began helping on the farm or in workshops by the age of 10. If they lived in the city, both girls and boys would learn a trade by helping their parents in their daily work. The more fortunate might become apprentices to skilled craftspeople. In Persia, children under the age of five were taken care of by their mothers and other female relatives. Children did not see their fathers very often before the age of five because it was thought that it would be too hard on their fathers if the children died. (Infant mortality rates were high.) Starting at five, life was different for girls and boys in the former Per- sian Empire. Girls stayed home and learned homemaking skills, such as spinning thread and weaving cloth. They did not learn to read and write, 81 Greece, members of the cavalry had to provide and feed their own horses, making this a position for wealthy noblemen. The strongest military branch in the Persian Empire was the navy, which included about 400 warships built by men from Phoenicia. Military leadership was limited to Persian nobles, but all Persian boys entered the military when they turned 18. Males from ages 15 to 50 could be drafted into the army if they were needed. When they returned, they were expected to marry additional wives and have a lot of children. Alexander’s Entourage When ancient kings went to war, long caravans followed their armies to provide them with food, supplies, and other services. The greatest fear of most villagers was that an army and all its followers would arrive and take their young men away, along with food, animals, and supplies that most vil- lages could not spare. Hostile armies simply took whatever they wanted. “Friendly” armies, too, expected—or required—local people to provide food and other supplies. Sometimes, as Alexander’s army did, they would pay for these supplies. Alexander normally did not allow ravaging and looting, and rarely took all of a village’s resources. But even though he usually bought the sup- plies he needed, most farmers had practically no surplus to sell. Even if they received money, it was not of much use to them, since there was nothing to buy in the countryside. Alexander traveled with an enormous “moving city” that stretched for miles. The size of his army fluctuated during the 11 years he was in the East, but of the tens of thousands of people who traveled with Alexander, only about half were soldiers. The rest were employed exclusively to take care of the needs of the troops and civilian entourage. Organizing and transporting the food, water, and equipment necessary for so many people was an in- credible logistical challenge. Alexander’s massive entourage included: Animals: Donkeys and mules carried most of the supplies and bulky goods. Later, camels were also used. Cattle were brought along for food. Architects: Alexander founded dozens of fortified towns throughout the Persian Empire, and needed architects to help design and build them. Artists and writers: Alexander was a favorite subject for painters and sculptors. He even had his own personal sculptor. He also had an official historian, whose job was to immortalize him by writing about his exploits. 84 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T L I V I N G I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E Baggage train: Hundreds of wagons carried siege machinery and other large objects. Wounded soldiers were sometimes carried in these wagons as well. Still, Alexander made only limited use of wheeled transport, because wagons require roads or level tracks, which were limited in most of the regions in which he traveled. The harnesses available at that time for animals to pull wagons were also primitive and inefficient, and wagons were too slow for an army noted for its speed of movement. Clerks and grooms: Accountants, adminis- trators, clerks, grooms, and slaves were needed to manage the army’s funds and carry out day-to-day routines. Cooks and mess staff: Feeding the army was a full-time job for the large group of people who planned, prepared, and served the food. Engineers, technicians, mechanics, and tradespeople: About 4,000 engineers, me- chanics, boat and bridge builders, sinkers of wells, blacksmiths, carpenters, tanners, and painters created the equipment and artillery the army used. Experts in forestry and soil composition were needed to es- timate the position and course of rivers, bays, and gulfs, and to identify sites for possible harbors. Surveyors mapped the lands the army passed through. Entertainers and athletes: Whenever the troops stopped, there were games and festivals. Athletes competed and poets, dramatists, musicians, singers, storytellers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, and actors entertained. Construction workers and set painters built and decorated theaters. Merchants: The market that followed the army was as large as that of a capital city’s, with a surprising array of goods for sale. Whenever the caravan stopped, horse traders, jewelers, and other merchants set up little markets to supply the newly wealthy soldiers with things to buy. Scholars, intellectuals, and philosophers: Lively conversation and learn- ing were as important while traveling as they were at home. 85 From General to King Lysimachus (c. 355–281 B.C.E.) a Macedonian general, became King of Thrace. Alexander’s army offered many opportunities for advancement to men of talent and ability. Scientists: Conquering may have been Alexander’s number one priority, but collecting knowledge must have been a close second. Mineralogists, zo- ologists, botanists, and other scientists collected specimens of plants and animals to study. They made important discoveries about the geography, climate, and geology of the East. Scouts and spies: Making maps and acting as translators were among the duties of scouts and spies. Seers and diviners: Soothsaying, or reading signs and omens to predict the future, was an important job. Astronomers (more like our present-day as- trologers) were also on hand to make predictions and give advice. Women and children: Women whom soldiers had taken as mates along the way and their children often traveled with the army. Prostitutes were also part of the entourage. Fashion Statements Greek people wore simple clothing that they wove from wool or plant fibers, including cotton. They also made clothing from animal skins. The wealthy wore muslin or linen. Both men and women went bare- foot indoors and wore a draped gar- ment called a chiton, which fell about their body in folds. A woman’s chiton reached her ankles, a man’s reached his knees. The chi- tons were kept close to the body with two belts. Most chitons were short-sleeved or sleeveless, as long sleeves indicated the person was a slave or a workman. Until Alexander’s time most Greek men had long hair and beards. In ancient Greece, Rome, and the Middle East, intricately groomed long hair was considered a mark of beauty and caring for it was 86 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Today millions of dollars are spent on eye makeup and other cosmetics for the sole purpose of enhancing one’s looks. Cosmetics was a booming business in Alexander’s time too. Even back then eye makeup was an essential tool for looking good. But it had a practical aspect too, which came before its use as a beauty application. In the dry desert climates, eye makeup protected the delicate skin around the eyes, kept off flies whose bites could cause inflammations, and sheltered the eyes from the sun’s glare—just as modern football players paint black streaks under their eyes for the same reason. Greek women also spent hours on facials and often went to bed wearing a “beauty mask.” A popular recipe was one whose main ingredient was flour, which would then be rinsed off with milk the following morning. Just as today, these remedies were meant to give the skin a fresh, rejuvenated glow. Like modern women, the an- cient ones wanted a smooth canvas on which to apply the many colors of their face paint. Beauty Is in the Eye CONNECTIONS > > > > > > > > > > > > L I V I N G I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E The homes of the wealthy were large and filled with expensive ob- jects and elaborate furnishings. They often had landscaped courtyards and were surrounded by high walls of stone or brick. Zoroastrianism, the largest religion in the Persian Empire (see page 94), encouraged main- taining arbors, orchards, and gardens, and gardens with roses, shade trees, and citrus or pistachio trees were common. Many gardens also had ponds and fountains. Some of the kings of the Persian Empire planted and maintained trees in their own gardens. The houses of poor people were much more modest. A typical house was a rectangular, two-story structure. The house was often divided into separate living quarters, and members of one or more extended fam- ilies lived under the same roof. They used stairs or ladders, placed both in- side and outside the house, to get to the second floor. Most houses were built of unbaked mud bricks. Some were built on a foundation made of fired bricks or stone. The roof was made of timber beams, which were covered with three layers of material: reed matting, then a layer of lime, and finally a thick layer of mud. The ground floor was earth, covered by reed matting or swept smooth. The top floor might be covered with wool carpet, animal skins, or felt blankets. Simple Food Macedonians and Greeks ate simply. Bread was the main part of their diet, baked from barley imported into Greece from the Persian Empire or, for wealthier people, wheat. A family could buy its bread from small bakery stands or make it at home. Wives or household slaves ground the grain, shaped the dough, and baked the bread in a pottery oven that was heated by charcoal. Greeks also ate vegetables, olives, fruit, and goat cheese. Fish was a popular food in this coastal nation. Wealthier people ate baked turbot, steamed bass, fried shrimp, and smoked herring, as well as squid, eels, and sardines. Vegetables included beans, cabbage, lentils, lettuce, and peas. On special occasions, roasted sheep might be served. Dishes were flavored with garlic and onions. The Greeks also used salt, which they took from the sea. Only the wealthy could afford to eat meat regularly. Most people en- joyed it only occasionally. For some, meat was only available when the state provided it as part of animal sacrifices during religious festivals. It was grilled over coals on a pottery brazier, a dish shaped much like a modern picnic grill that contained burning charcoal. Meat was easier to come by in Macedonia, which had a lot of forests. Wild boar and deer were part of the 89 BEDBUG SPICE The spice known as coriander, native to Greece, is actually the seeds of the cilantro plant. Its name comes from the Greek word koris or bedbug, because the Greeks thought the leaves and the unripe seeds of the plant smelled like bedbugs when they were crushed! Macedonian diet. People in Sparta also ate more meat than those in the other Greek city-states. Everything was washed down with wine, mainly from local vine- yards, diluted with water. The Greeks drank both white and red wine. The average Greek household produced much of what it needed to survive, including cheese, bread, vegetables, olives, and wine. They could also purchase staples from local markets. Wine, oil, grain, fruits, and vegetables were kept in large clay jars. Olives, another staple of the Greek diet, were eaten fresh or pressed into olive oil. The Greeks poured olive oil over raw vegeta- bles and bread and used it as an in- gredient in sauces. With a climate that was excellent for growing olive trees and grape vines, the Greeks made superb olive oil and wine. A typical Greek breakfast was made up simply of bread and wine. Many Athenians had a light lunch in the mid-morning, often eating the leftovers from their dinner of the night before. The agora closed at noon, and men might purchase sausages and pancakes covered with honey from a local vendor for lunch. Dinner was the primary meal. The Greeks ate everything other than soup with their hands. Food was cut into bite-sized pieces before it was served. In between courses, peo- ple wiped their hands on a piece of dough or bread. They later gave this to the family dog to eat. For dessert, they ate figs, nuts, and sticky pastries, which the Greeks invented. 90 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T Although sugar was being used in India probably as early as 800 B.C.E., it took its sweet time traveling west into the Persian Empire and beyond. Initially the ancient Greeks and Romans used sugar primarily as a medicine. But Alexander was probably familiar with its taste in a more pleasant context. The royals and other of the most wealthy Greek and Macedonian families also coveted it as a food. It was only in the 10th century that the use of sugar began to spread more deeply into Europe. By then, Venetian traders were becoming fabulously rich import- ing sugar along with silks and spices such as nutmeg and cloves from the Far East. These same powerful merchants introduced sugar (as well as the spices they had imported) to the Crusaders, who took passage on Venetian ships bound for the Middle East in the 11th century. The Cru- saders in turn carried sugar back with them when they re- turned to Europe. But for the next 400 years it remained a rare treat that only the wealthiest could afford. Finally, the exotic sweet reached the New World when Christo- pher Columbus took sugar cane there on one of his sub- sequent expeditions. One of the best forms of sugar has its roots in the Ara- bic culture. The Arabs crystallized sugar as a sweet treat they called qandi—from which we have our English word “candy.” How Sweet It Is CONNECTIONS > > > > > > > > > > > > L I V I N G I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E In the Persian Empire, the typical diet of the lower classes included barley, dates, milk, and cheese. Sesame oil rather than olive oil was the main cooking oil. Because of their extensive trade with outlying parts of the empire, the people in the Persian Empire had an abundance of wheat, meat, wine, honey, citrus fruits, and dried fish. They imported spices from India and had a much spicier diet than did the Greeks. Most people in the Persian Empire believed that too much food would make them weak and overweight. They generally ate only one meal a day, but that one meal would often stretch out to take up much of the day. The ancient Persians also developed farming and animal husbandry techniques that have lasted through the centuries. They introduced new crops, including barley, alfalfa, and rice, throughout their empire. They also may have been the first to domesticate chickens. Greek Gods The Greeks and Macedonians worshiped hundreds of gods and god- desses and sacrificed to them. The most important were the 12 great Olympian gods, so called because they were believed to live on Mount Olympus in northern Greece, the region’s highest mountain. Different gods presided over different aspects of life. Alexander worshiped and sacrificed to many gods, including Zeus, the king of the gods, and Athena, who had been the patron deity of his mater- nal ancestor Achilles. In addition to the Olympians, people in different regions practiced local faiths, which involved wor- shipping various lesser gods and goddesses, including nymphs (minor nature goddesses, typically pictured as beautiful maidens), naiads (nymphs who lived in bodies of fresh water, such as brooks, springs, and fountains), river gods, and demons. The Greeks also worshiped demigods—beings who were half human and half god. One of the most famous of these was Alexan- der’s reputed ancestor, Heracles (his Roman name was Hercules). 91 The God of Wine The cult of Dyonisus (shown here in a fifth century B.C.E. painting) was popular among the Macedonians. 94 E M P I R E O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T signs, came through a priest or priestess at the shrine, who was also called an oracle. Often the answers these oracles provided were not very clear and could have more than one meaning. The Macedonians were very tolerant of other religions. For cen- turies, they had incorporated the beliefs and gods of other religions into their own, and Alexander offered sacrifices to the local gods in the areas he conquered. Religions in the Persian Empire Despite their autocratic rule, the kings of the Persian Empire allowed peo- ple in the nations they defeated to practice their own customs and follow their own religious beliefs. However, most people in the Persian Empire, along with the kings, followed Zoroastrianism. Its founder was a prophet named Zoroaster, whom historians believe to have lived some time be- tween 1000 and 600 B.C.E. in what is now Uzbekistan. Zoroaster was the first of the great monotheistic prophets. (Monotheism is the belief that there is only one god.) The Zoroastrians believe that there is one supreme god, Ahura- Mazda, and that he created everything that was good, including heaven, earth, people, truth, joy, light, and fire. But Ahura-Mazda had an evil twin brother, known simply as the Evil One, who created everything bad. In contrast to the Greeks, who believed that people’s lives were controlled by the gods, the Persians believed they could choose between good or evil. Zoroaster preached that the world was the arena for a constant battle between good and evil. Every time someone did or thought something good, he or she was strengthening the power of Ahura-Mazda. Whenever people be- haved badly, they were tipping the balance in favor of the Evil One. Zoroaster discouraged ani- mal sacrifice; he preached that ani- mals were too valuable to kill. Fire The leaders of Zoroastrianism were priests, or wise men, who were called magi. By the first century C.E. the word in its singular form—magus or magos—was often in use to mean a mysterious person who had access to secret knowledge that was not available to the common peo- ple. It also shows up in this kind of context in the Bible. From these roots came the word “magic.” The most famous magi were the three wise men who visited Jesus when he was born. A star is said to have led them to his location in a manger in Bethlehem. They brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh— goods that were commonly traded between East and West. Gifts of the Magi CONNECTIONS > > > > > > > > > > > > L I V I N G I N A L E X A N D E R ’ S E M P I R E 95 Zoroaster’s teachings spread to nearby lands during the Hellenistic period, and influenced the development of other religions. For exam- ple, the Persians believed that Ahura-Mazda appointed a guardian angel for every person on earth. The concept of angels was later ab- sorbed into the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity, along with other aspects of Zoroastrianism, such as a final judgment day. Zoroastrian teachings have been passed down orally for centuries and its followers still perform an- cient rituals, such as the lighting of lamps and tend- ing of sacred trees. Fire still plays a central role, and Zoroastrian sanctuaries are called fire temples. In Iran today, Islam has largely replaced Zoroastrianism, but a few thousand Zoroas- trians still practice their ancient religion there. The largest population of Iranian Zoroastrians can be found in the desert town of Yazd, which dates back to the Sassanian times (224–651 C.E.). Local Zoroastrians claim that the sacred fire housed inside Yazd’s ateshkadeh, or fire temple, has been burning since the fourth century C.E. Outside of Iran, the largest population of this religion can today be found in Bombay, India. Its mem- bers are descended from Persians who emigrated there more than a thou- sand years ago. Zoroastrianism Today CONNECTIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A modern Zoroastrian festival in Tehran. was an important part of Zoroastrian religious rituals, and many trees are considered to be sacred. Unlike the Greeks, the peoples of the Persian Empire did not depict their gods as human beings. Stone carvings portrayed Ahura-Mazda as a winged deity who often appeared to be blessing the kings. Although peo- ple believed the Persian kings were superior to other humans, they were not considered gods but rather the agents of Ahura-Mazda. Some people in the Persian Empire also worshiped other gods. For example, a popular religious festival in ancient Persia was held in honor of Mithra, the sun god.
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