HOROSCOPE of Alexander BOOK

HOROSCOPE of Alexander (the Great ) Collection of research by Dr Uday Dokras I  Alexander’s the Great’s Legacy Beyond the Hellenistic World- Dr Uday Dokras Statuette of Alexander the Great on Horseback, 1st century BCE, via the Metropolitan Museum  While Greek language and culture permeated the cities of the Hellenistic world, for many people living in the countryside, it remained an exotic, alien thought. As a result, rural populations retained their traditional ways of life and their native languages and culture. Nowhere was this more evident than in Ptolemaic Egypt, where the capital of Alexandria and the major Greek-inhabited cities of the Nile delta stood in stark contrast with the hinterland. After all, the first Ptolemaic ruler who deigned to learn the native language was the last member of her dynasty — Cleopatra VII Philopator. This animosity between the rulers and the natives led to a series of revolts, undermining the kingdom’s stability and offering an opportunity for an ambitious upstart. After taking control of the Western Mediterranean, Rome looked eastwards to the wealthy Hellenistic kingdoms. The first to fall was Macedonia, in 168 BCE; the final one was Ptolemaic Egypt, annexed by Rome in 30 BCE. Yet, while Rome extinguished all of the Hellenistic dynasties, it did not eliminate the Hellenistic world. Instead, the conqueror was absorbed by the very thing it had conquered. Under the auspices of the mighty Roman Empire, Hellenistic thought, ideas, and culture spread to the areas never reached before — to the Atlantic coast, the rivers Rhine and Danube, and even across the English Channel. By embedding itself into the Roman culture and society, the legacy of Alexander the Great outlived the Roman Empire, becoming an integral part of western civilization and, by extension, our world. The story of Alexandria begins, according to classical historians, with a golden casket. This war trophy found in the royal tent of the Persian king Darius III was where Alexander the Great locked his most prized possession, the works of Homer. Following the conquest of Egypt, Homer visited Alexander in a dream and told him about an island in the Mediterranean called Pharos. It was here, in the land of the Pharaohs, that Alexander would lay the foundations for his new capital, a place unrivaled in the ancient world. The ancient metropolis would proudly bear its founder’s name—Alexandria.   Like many similar stories, the tale of Homer’s apparition is probably just a myth intended to present Alexander as an exemplary warrior-hero. The story of the city’s foundation is, perhaps, also a legend, but it foreshadows its future greatness. To oversee the construction of his magnificent capital, Alexander appointed his favorite architect, Dinocrates. Running low on chalk, Dinocrates marked the new city’s future roads, houses, and water channels with barley flour.  Bottom of Form This abundance of free food attracted large flocks of seabirds who started to feast on the city’s blueprint. Many considered this open buffet a terrible omen, but Alexander’s seers saw the unusual feast as a good sign. Alexandria would, they explained to the ruler, one day provide food for the whole planet. Centuries later, the large grain fleets departing Alexandria would feed Rome.   Numismatic portrait of Ptolemy II and his sister-wife Arsinoe, ca. 285-346 BCE, The British Museum   Ancient Alexandria, by Jean Golvin, via Jeanclaudegolvin.com   Back in 331 BCE, Rome was not yet a major settlement. The area near a small fishing village of Rhakotis, however, was rapidly transforming into a city. Dinocrates allocated space for Alexander’s royal palace, temples to various Greek and Egyptian gods, a traditional agora (a marketplace and a center for communal gathering), and residential areas. Dinocrates envisaged the mighty walls to protect the new city, while the canals diverted from the Nile would provide a water supply for Alexandria’s growing population.  The majestic land bridge, the Heptastadion, linked a narrow strip of land to the island of Pharos, creating two immense harbors on either side of the broad causeway. The harbors housed both the commercial fleet and the powerful navy that protected Alexandria from the sea. The large Lake Mareotis flanked by the vast Lybian desert to the west and the Nile Delta to the east, controlled access from inland.   The Intellectual Powerhouse: The Library of Alexandria Alexander never lived to see the city he had envisioned. Soon after Dinocrates began sketching the lines with barley flour, the general embarked on a Persian campaign, which would lead him all the way to India. Within a decade, Alexander the Great was dead, while his vast empire fragmented in the wars between his generals. One of these Diadochi, Ptolemy, orchestrated an audacious theft of Alexander’s body, bringing the founder back to his beloved city. Fulfilling Alexander’s plan, Ptolemy I Soter chose Alexandria as the capital of the newly founded Ptolemaic kingdom. Alexander’s body, enclosed within a lavish sarcophagus, became a pilgrimage site.  During the following decades, the reputation and wealth of Alexandria continued to rise. Ptolemy was determined to make his capital not only a trade center but an intellectual powerhouse without an equal in the entire ancient world. Ptolemy laid the foundation for the Mouseion (“temple of the muses”), which soon became the center of learning, bringing together leading scholars and scientists. A covered marble colonnade connected the Mouseion with an adjacent stately building: the famous Library of Alexandria. In the following centuries, its chief librarians would include academic stars like Zenodotus of Ephesus, a famous grammarian, and Eratosthenes, a polymath, best known for calculating the circumference of the Earth.   The Canopic Way, the main street of ancient Alexandria, running through the Greek district, by Jean Golvin, via JeanClaudeGolvin.com   Begun under Ptolemy I and completed under his son Ptolemy II, the Great Library of Alexandria became the largest repository of  knowledge in the ancient world. From Euclid and Archimedes, to Hero, famous scholars and scientists combed through the books, written in Greek, or transcribed from other languages. The Ptolemaic rulers were personally involved in supporting the Library and enlarging its impressive collection. Royal agents scoured the Mediterranean for books while port authorities checked every arriving ship, appropriating any book found onboard.   The collection seems to have grown so rapidly that part of it had to be housed in the temple of Serapis or Serapeum. The scholars are still debating the size of the Library. The estimates range from 400 000 to 700 000 scrolls deposited in its halls at its height in the 2nd century BCE.   The Crossroads Of The World The Lighthouse at night, by Jean Golvin, via JeanClaudeGolvin.com   Due to its favorable location, it did not take long for Alexandria to become a melting pot of different cultures and religions. While the Mouseion and the Great Library attracted renowned scholars, the city’s large ports and vibrant markets turned into meeting places for merchants and traders. With a huge influx of immigrants, the city’s population exploded. By the 2nd century BCE, Alexandria ad Aegyptum grew into a cosmopolitan metropolis. According to the sources, more than 300 000 people called Alexander’s city their home.   One of the first sights an immigrant or a visitor would see when arriving in Alexandria from the sea was a majestic lighthouse towering over the harbor. Built by Sostratus, a renowned Greek architect, the Pharos was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was a symbol of Alexandria’s greatness, a grand beacon that highlighted the city’s importance and wealth.   Ptolemy II talking with Jewish Scholars in the Library of Alexandria, Jean-Baptiste de Champagne, 1627, Palace of Versailles, via Google Arts & Culture   Disembarking in one of two harbors, a future citizen would be stunned by the grandeur of the Royal Quarter with its palaces and lavish residences. The Mouseion and the famed Library of Alexandria were located there. This area was a part of the Greek quarter, also known as the Brucheion. Alexandria was a multicultural city, but its Hellenistic population held a dominant position. After all, the ruling Ptolemaic dynasty was Greek and preserved the purity of their bloodline through intermarriage within the family.   The considerable native population lived in the Egyptian district – Rhakotis. Egyptians, however, were not considered to be “citizens” and did not have the same rights as Greeks. If they learned Greek, however, and became Hellenized, they could advance to the upper echelons of society. The last significant community was the Jewish diaspora, the largest in the world. It was Hebrew scholars from Alexandria who completed the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint, in 132 BCE.  The Breadbasket Of The Empire The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1885, private collection, via Sotherby’s   Although the Ptolemies tried to maintain order, the diverse population of Alexandria was not easy to control, with sporadic outbreaks of violence being common. However, the main challenge to the Ptolemaic rule did not come from within but from the outside. The murder of Pompey the Great in the Alexandrian harbor in 48 BCE, brought both the city and the Ptolemaic kingdom into the Roman orbit. The arrival of Julius Caesar, who supported the young queen Cleopatra, kick-started a civil war. Trapped in the city, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor to be set on fire. Unfortunately, the fire spread and burned part of the city, including the Library. We are not sure of the extent of the damage, but according to the sources, it was considerable.   The city, however, soon recovered. From 30 BCE, Alexandria ad Aegyptum became the major center of Roman Egypt, which was under the emperor’s direct supervision. It was also the second most important city in the Empire after Rome, numbering half a million inhabitants. It was from here that the grain fleets supplied the imperial capital with vital sustenance. Goods from Asia were transported along the Nile to Alexandria, making it the world’s principal market. The Romans settled in the Greek district, but the Hellenistic population retained its role in the city’s government. After all, the emperors had to appease the city that commanded the largest granaries of Rome.   The Lighthouse, by Jean Golvin, via JeanClaudeGolvin.com  Besides its economic role, the city remained a prominent center of learning, with Roman emperors replacing the Ptolemaic rulers as benefactors. The Library of Alexandria was highly regarded by the Romans. Emperor Domitian, for example, sent scribes to the Egyptian city with a mission to copy books that had been lost for Rome’s library. Hadrian, too, showed a great interest in the city and its famed Library.   By the mid-third century, however, the weakening of imperial authority caused the deterioration of the city’s political stability. The native Egyptian population had become a turbulent force, and Alexandria lost its dominance in Egypt. Queen Zenobia’s revolt and Emperor Aurelian’s counterattack of 272 CE ravaged Alexandria, damaging the Greek district, and destroying most of the Mouseion and with it, the Library of Alexandria. Whatever was left of the complex was later destroyed during Emperor Diocletian’s siege of 297.  A Gradual Decline Religiously, Alexandria was always a curious mix, where Eastern and Western faiths met, crashed, or blended. The cult of Serapis is one such example. This amalgam of several Egyptian and Hellenistic deities was introduced to the world by the Ptolemies, soon becoming a predominant cult in Egypt. In Roman times the temples to Serapis were constructed throughout the empire. The most important temple, however, could be found in Alexandria. The majestic Serapeum not only attracted pilgrims from all sides of the Mediterranean. It also served as a book repository for the main Library. Following the destruction of 272 and 297, all the surviving scrolls were moved to the Serapeum.   Thus, the story of Serapeum is intertwined with the fate of the Library of Alexandria. The cosmopolitan nature of Alexandria was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it assured the city’s success. On the other, it offered great potential for unrest, which on occasions could turn into violent affairs. This is exactly what happened in 391 CE. By that time, Alexandria’s preeminent position in the Eastern Mediterranean was taken by Constantinople. Alexandria’s grain ships now fed not Rome, but its direct competitor. Within the city itself, Hellenistic learning was challenged by the booming Christian theology.   Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, Golenischev Papyrus, 6th century CE, via the BSB; with the ruins of the Serapeum, by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, via Flickr   The infamous conflict of 391 CE, however, should not be viewed only through a religious lens.  The ban of Emperor Theodosius I on pagan rituals instigated public violence, as did the closing of the temples. Yet, the clash of different communities was primarily a political struggle, a battle for control over the city. During this conflict, the Serapeum was destroyed, dealing a death blow to the last vestiges of the once famed Library of Alexandria. Another victim of the power vacuum was the philosopher Hypatia, murdered by a Christian mob in 415. Her death symbolically marked the Christian dominance over the city of Alexander.  Alexandria: The Resilient Metropolis While the political vacuum and the cycle of violence between Alexandria’s pagan, Christian, and Jewish communities played a role in the city’s decline, there was an element that could not be controlled. Throughout its history, Alexandria suffered from several earthquakes. But the tsunami of 365 CE and the accompanying quake caused heavy damage, from which Alexandria would never recover. The tsunami, recorded by the contemporary historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, permanently flooded most of the royal district, along with Alexandria’s harbor. To make matters worse, the inundation of saltwater made the surrounding farmland useless for the years to come.  The troubling situation within the city was exacerbated by the alienation of Alexandria’s hinterland. During the fifth and sixth centuries, Alexandria lost much of its commerce to the cities in the Nile valley. The Roman Empire weakened too, losing control over the Mediterranean. Following the collapse of the eastern frontier in the early seventh century, Alexandria briefly came under Persian rule. The Romans were able to reassert their control under Emperor Heraclius, only to lose the city to the Islamic armies in 641. The imperial fleet recaptured the city in 645, but a year later, the Arabs returned, ending almost a millennium of Greco-Roman Alexandria. If not earlier, this was when the last remnants of the Library of Alexandria were destroyed.   The center of learning and science for the 21st century, the reading room of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened in 2002, via the Bibliotheca Alexandrina   In the following centuries, Alexandria continued to wane. The emergence of Fustat (present-day Cairo) sidelined the once glorious city. The brief Crusader occupation in the 14th century restored some of Alexandria’s fortunes, but the decline continued with an earthquake which destroyed the famous Lighthouse. Only after the Napoleonic expedition of 1798-1801, did the city of Alexander start to regain its importance.The 19th century was a period of its revival, with Alexandria becoming one of the major centers in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nowadays, the resilient city keeps that role, as the second most important city in Egypt. Although the ancient city largely disappeared beneath the burgeoning metropolis, the 1995 rediscovery of the underwater ruins of the famous royal district suggests that the city of Alexander has yet to reveal its secrets. Diadochi: The Successors of Alexander the Great & Their Wars Alexander the Great's diadochi (successors) fought over a vast empire spanning from Greece to India in a series of bloody conflicts.   The age of the diadochi of Alexander the Great was one of the bloodiest pages of Greek history. A series of ambitious generals attempted to secure parts of Alexander’s empire leading to the creation of the kingdoms that shaped the Hellenistic World. This was a period of intrigue, treachery, and blood. Alexander the Great died on June 11, 323 BCE, in Babylon, possibly from typhoid fever. Before taking his last breath, Alexander was asked by his generals to whom would go his empire after his death. With his final strength, he said, “to the strongest.” Alexander left behind him the greatest empire the ancient world had ever seen. This vast empire contained lands from the Adriatic Sea all the way to the Indus river, and from Libya to modern-day Tadzhikistan. Of course, Alexander had just recently conquered these lands and a great part of this empire was not firmly secured.   The main problem with Alexander’s death was that it was sudden and early. The Macedonian general had not spent enough time consolidating his rule. As a result, there was no man ready to succeed him yet. His sudden passing away also meant that the empire would soon fall in shock.   From 323 to 281, a series of wars took place between Macedonian generals. These bloody wars are also called the Diadochi wars from the Greek word ‘diadochos’ which means successor.  The War Of The Diadochi: The World In Turmoil Stater of Alexander IV (obverse) and Philip III (reverse), 4th century BCE, Yale University Art Gallery Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox When Alexander passed away, the most important of his generals and guards gathered to discuss the future of the empire. There, it was agreed that the successor would either be Alexander and Roxana’s yet unborn child (if it was a boy), or Alexander’s brother-in-law Philipp III.   The balance of power was fragile. Everyone understood that Alexander’s son, who eventually was born and named Alexander IV, was nothing more than a puppet. At this point, the strongest man in the empire was Perdiccas, who became sort of the empire’s regent until Alexander IV could grow old enough to rule.   Except for his position, Perdiccas also enjoyed the advantage of legitimacy. Alexander the Great had given his ring to Perdiccas just before passing away designating him responsible for the empire. Even though no one doubted Perdiccas openly, everyone was suspicious of Perdiccas and Perdiccas was suspicious of everyone. A lot of other men undertook various administrative responsibilities but the ones who proved the most resilient were Ptolemy, Antigonus, Antipater, Seleucus, and Lysimachus.   The balance of power changed soon as Perdiccas was murdered in 321 BCE. Already before that year, Ptolemy had managed to take Egypt for himself and secretly transport Alexander’s body to Alexandria which was under his control. This way Ptolemy secured one of the empire’s richest and most prestigious parts.  From Triparadisus Until Ipsos Paintings of ancient Macedonian soldiers, last quarter of the fourth century BCE, Macedonian Tomb of Agios Athanasios tomb   After Perdiccas’ death, the diadochi gathered in Triparadisus at 321 BCE to partition the empire. The partition showed that the diadochi were having their own ambitions but the empire was still united under the names of Alexander IV and Philip III. After Triparadisus, Antipater replaced Perdiccas as the empire’s regent. However, he died in 319 BCE from old age (81 years old).The next decades were a long and bloody conflict amongst the Diadochi. The dominant figure of the years between 320-301 BCE was, without a doubt, Antigonus. While the rest of the Diadochi had given up on the dream of a grand Macedonian empire, Antigonus was still believing that Alexander’s conquests could remain united under his name. Antigonus was having a lot of success and kept growing his domain to become the most formidable power between 320-301 BCE.  As ambitious successors were being eliminated one by one, Cassander assassinated Alexander IV in 311 BCE. delivering the final blow to Alexander’s bloodline. Before the assassination, the greatest Diadochi of the time had signed a peace treaty recognizing the status quo of four separate kingdoms; Ptolemy in Egypt, Antigonus in the whole of Asia, Cassander in Europe (Macedonia and Thessaly), and Lysimachus in Thrace. Seleucus was left out of the treaty but maintained Babylon of which he was the satrap.   In 301, the allied forces of Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus fought against Antigonus and his son Demetrius I Gonatas in Ipsos of Phrygia. The battle of Ipsos was decisive for the future of the Hellenistic world. Antigonus died and his son Demetrius fled. Lysimachus expanded his realm to include Asia Minor and Ptolemy added to his realm the lands of Southern Syria.  After Ipsos Kingdoms of the successors of Alexander: after the Battle of Ipsos, Library of Congress   The aftermath of Ipsos, the greatest battle of the Diadochi wars, was immense. Antigonus, the last successor believing in the empire’s unity was dead. Furthermore, Ipsos signified the final division between Europe and Asia which would follow separate fates.   As Cassander died of dropsy in 297 BCE, Demetrius attempted to take the lands of Cassander, mainly Macedonia, for himself. However, he lost battle after battle and was captured by Seleucus in 285 BCE.Lysimachus kept growing. At some point, he was firmly in charge of Thrace, Macedonia, and a good part of Asia Minor but was also defeated and killed by Seleucus in the battle of Kouropedion in 281 BCE. After this battle, Seleucus took the Asiatic lands of Lysimachus and prepared to invade Europe and return to his homeland, Macedonia. Then, unexpectedly, he was assassinated by his ally, Ptolemy Keraunos, a son of Ptolemy who had allied himself with Seleucus. Antigonus II Gonatas, the grandson of Antigonus and the son of Demetrius took advantage of the anarchy that followed the deaths of Seleucus and Lysimachus and managed to become king of Thessaly and Macedonia in 276 BCE. This way, Antigonus secured the last unassigned area left in the Empire.   This was the end of the wars of the Diadochi. The Hellenistic World was set for the next few hundred years until the coming Rome. The Antigonids would rule Macedonia, the Ptolemies Egypt, and the Seleucids Syria, Mesopotamia, and Iran. The Diadochi Who Founded the Three Great Hellenistic Dynasties As we saw, the great dynasties that emerged after Alexander’s death were the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and the Antigonids. The first two were established by the original Diadochi who had served in Alexander’s army. Only the Antigonids were established by Antigonus II Gonatas, the grandson of the original Diadochos, Antigonus I Monophthalmos.   1. Ptolemy I Soter Gold coin with Ptolemy I, issued under Ptolemy II, 277-6 BCE, British Museum   Ptolemy I Soter had served under Alexander the Great as one of his bodyguards and most trusted advisors. He had also accompanied the Macedonian king in his visit to the oracle in the Oasis of Siwa.After Alexander’s death, Ptolemy became the satrap of Egypt during the rule of Alexander IV and Philip III.In 321, Perdikkas was moving Alexander’s body to Macedon, where the great general would be buried. However, Ptolemy managed to trick everyone and stole Alexander’s body bringing it first to Memphis and then to Alexandria. There, Ptolemy constructed a luxurious tomb where Alexander was worshiped as a god. This way Ptolemy secured legitimacy for his rule over Egypt, as Alexander was the previous ruler holding the title of the Pharaoh.Ptolemy fought in the wars of the Diadochi, expanding his realm with Cyprus, Cyrenaica, and Judea. He had lots of children and became a great patron of the arts and letters. He built the library and museum of Alexandria and made the city the center of Hellenism. Ptolemy died at the of 85 in 282 BCE. He was leaving behind a stable kingdom with a line that would rule until 30 BCE when his last successor, Cleopatra, died and the kingdom was absorbed by Rome.   2. Seleucus I Nicator Roman Bust of Seleukos I Nikator, 100 BCE- 100CE, National Archaeological Museum, Naples, via Wikimedia Commons   Seleucus had fought next to Alexander as he conquered Asia and rose to become the commander of the Hypaspistai, an elite military unit. After Alexander’s death, Seleucus did not initially obtain a position of great power. However, he did become a chiliarch and was positioned close to the strongest man of the empire, Perdiccas. Seleucus took part in the assassination of Perdiccas and, for this service, was awarded the satrapy of Babylon.As a satrap, he faced a lot of problems with the natives but he managed to maintain some order in the city until 316 BCE. On this date, Seleucus punished one of the soldiers of Antigonus who had visited Babylon. Since Seleucus had not asked for permission to carry out this act, Antigonus asked for some monetary retribution. Seleucus refused and fled to Egypt.In Egypt, Seleucus helped coordinate the other diadochi against Antigonus who was now the strongest diadochos, and fought under Ptolemy as an admiral in the ensuing war for domination in the Aegean Sea. Once he saw an opening, he got a company of a few men and reclaimed Babylon, thus establishing his dynasty, the Seleucids.From that point on and until 302, Seleucus kept expanding his territory. He took advantage of Antigonus’ wars against Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander and brought the eastern part of the empire until India under his control. Between 311 and 309, Seleucus fought against Antigonus in the so-called Babylonian war solidifying his border in Syria. He then focused his attention eastwards fighting against the Mauryan empire. The end of this conflict saw him earning 500 war elephants and solidifying his eastern border.   The 500 elephants proved detrimental in the battle of Ipsos in 301 BCE. After Antigonus’ death, Seleucus had secured his place in Asia. In the years after Ipsos, Seleucus cemented his rule and established a long-lasting dynasty. He founded a series of cities the most important of which was Seleucia Pieria, Laodicea in Syria, Antioch, and Apameia on the Orontes River. In total, he founded nine cities called Seleucia, sixteen called Antioch, and six Laodicia.  Seleucus’ Death Silver Tetradrachm of Seleucus I, ca. 304-294 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art  Seleucus had just defeated Lysimachus and was about to invade Macedonia, where he hoped to spend his last days, when he was assassinated by his ally, Ptolemy Keraunos, in 281 BC. He was succeeded by his son Antiochus I. The kingdom of the Seleucids would last until 63 BCE when it was conquered by the Roman empire.  3. Antigonus I Monopthalmus Battle of Ipsos, by James D McCabe, 1877, via Wikimedia Commons  Antigonus had served under Philipp II, and took part in Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander respected his experience and placed him as a commander of a large part of his army.   After the great battle of Issus in 333 BCE, Antigonus fought remnants of the Persian army and was left behind by Alexander to secure Phrygia. When Alexander died, Antigonus maintained his influence over Phrygia and kept expanding his domain until he became the strategos (general) of Asia after Perdiccas’ death and under Antipater’s regency.During the next decades, Antigonus proved the most ambitious and powerful of the Diadochi. He took Babylon from Seleucus and kept fighting for influence over Asia, the Aegean, and Greece. At the same time his son, Demetrius was evolving into a great general. Antigonus was the only one actively seeking to reunite Alexander’s empire.Seeing his power growing, the other Macedonian generals formed a coalition against him. In 314 BCE, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus moved against Antigonus. The ensuing war was chaotic. Its aftermath saw Antigonus reaching the peak of his power while at the same time recognizing that Seleucus would from now on take the Eastern part of Asia from Babylon all the way to the Indus river.  In 311 Antigonus controlled Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, and a great part of Mesopotamia. After this period, Antigonus kept fighting against the remaining dynasts and quite often against all of them at the same time. The war between the Diadochi continued until the battle of Ipsos in 301 BCE. There Antigonus lost his life and Demetrius, who was now called the Poliorcetes for the novel siege methods he used during the siege Rhodes in 302 BCE, fled.   The Legacy Of Antigonus   Silver coin with horned head of Pan, issued under Antigonus II Gonatas, ca. 274/1-260/55 BCE, via Heritage Auctions  In the ensuing years, Demetrius conquered the kingdom of Macedonia only to be captured by Seleucus a few years later. Finally, Demetrius’ son, Antigonus II Gonatas, took back Macedonia from the son of Cassander and established the permanency of the Antigonid bloodline in the area. The Antigonids would remain in power until the coming of the Romans in 168 BCE.  The Diadochi That Failed To Establish A Dynasty A rendering of a Macedonian phalanx in formation post-military reform, via helenic-art.com   Starting with Perdiccas, the empire’s first regent, and Antipater, its second one, there is a long series of Diadochi who did not manage to establish their own dynasty and secure the lastingness of their bloodline.As we saw, Perdiccas was assassinated in 321 BCE. Antipater however, died of old age in 319 BCE. Paradoxically he did not appoint his son, Cassander, as his successor but Polyperchon, an officer who took Macedon under his control and kept fighting for the dominance of the area until the early 3rd century.Alexander the Great’s son Alexander IV died in 309 BC at the age of 14 assassinated by Cassander. However, until his death, Alexander IV was considered the legitimate successor of Alexander, although he never exerted any real power.  Philip III Arrhidaeus was the brother of Alexander the Great. However, he suffered from severe mental health issues that never allowed him to rule. Philip was initially destined to be a co-ruler of Alexander IV. He married Eurydice, a daughter of Cynane who was a daughter of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father. Eurydice was extremely ambitious and sought to expand Philip’s power. However, in 317 BCE Philip and Eurydice found themselves in a war against the mother of Alexander the Great, Olympias. Olympias captured them, murdered Philip, and forced Eurydice to commit suicide.  Cassander Hercules (obverse) and lion (reverse), coin issued under Cassander, 317-306 BCE, British Museum   Cassander, Antipater’s son, was notorious for murdering Alexander’s wife, Roxana, and only successor, Alexander IV, as well as his illegitimate son Heracles. He also ordered the death of Olympias, Alexander’s mother.Cassander married Alexander’s sister Thessalonica to strengthen his royal claim as he fought mainly for Greece and the kingdom of Macedonia. Eventually, he became the king of Macedonia from 305 until 297 BCE when he died of dropsy. His children Philip, Alexander, and Antipater proved incapable heirs and did not manage to maintain the kingdom of their father which soon passed to the hands of the Antigonids.Cassander founded important cities like Thessalonica and Cassandreia. He also rebuilt Thebes, which had been razed to the ground by Alexander.  Lysimachus  Lysimachus was a very good friend of Philip II, Alexander’s father. He later became a bodyguard of Alexander during his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire. He founded the city of Lysimachia.After Alexander’s death, Lysimachus ruled Thrace. In the aftermath of the battle of Ipsos, he expanded his territory which now included Thrace, the north part of Asia Minor, Lydia, Ionia, and Phrygia.Towards the end of his life, his third wife, Arsinoe II who wanted to secure the succession of her own son on the throne forced Lysimachus to kill his first-born son, Agathocles. This murder caused Lysimachus’ subjects to revolt. Seleucus took advantage of the situation invaded and killed Lysimachus at the battle of Kouropedium in 281 BC.By Antonis Chaliakopoulos II Military tactics of Alexander the Great Dr UdayDokras The military tactics of Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC) show that he was one of the greatest generals in history. During the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), won against the Athenian and Theban armies, and the battles of Granicius (334 BC) and of Issus (333 BC), won against the Achaemenid Persian army of Darius III, Alexander employed the so-called "hammer and anvil" tactic. However, in the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), the Persians possessed an army vastly superior in numbers to the Macedonian army. This tactic of encirclement by rapid shock units was not very feasible. Alexander had to compose and decide on an innovative combat formation for the time; he arranged his units in levels; he pretended to want to encircle the enemy in order to better divide it and thus opened a breach in its defensive lines. The origin of a line infantry with a hoplitic formation has to be traced back to the reign of Archelaus. ...when Archelaus was king ... he organized his forces for war with a greater number of horses, weapons and resources than the other eight kings who had preceded him combined.[1] Before him, the only heavy infantry available to the Kingdom of Macedonia was supplied by the allied Greek cities. Macedonian phalanx. The Corinthian helmet was not as widespread as shown in the image. However its true creator was Philip II, considered the inventor of the Macedonian phalanx: a particularly effective heavy infantry, freed of a part of its defensive armament—the shield was reduced by a third, the cuirass abandoned—in favor of a longer pike (5.5 m or 18 ft), the sarissa, and of an increased loading speed. The length of the sarissa allowed to increase the number of file of hoplites that could fight. The sarissa consisted of a point at each extremity and was heavy (5.6 kg or 12 lb). At its base, a short iron point allowed it to be planted in the ground to stop the charge of enemy soldiers. This strategy was particularly effective in breaking the cavalry charges or the opposing phalanxs. But the Macedonian phalanx was also fearsome in offensive use. The principle was to accumulate the maximum kinetic energy so that the impact of the pike would be as devastating as possible. To this end, the hoplites charged in compact group of 16 files so tightly packed that their masses were built up. The lightening of the equipment increased the speed of the phalanx. The Macedonian phalanxes were from then on much more powerful than their classical counterparts and the impact was likely to bring down many ranks of enemy infantrymen. To increase this effect the sarissas were raised to the vertical during the charge—they formed a very tight net that stopped the projectiles—and set horizontal at the last moment, the pole impelled forward the shoulder of the infantryman creating a shock wave that propagated to the front rank and released a destructive impact on the enemy infantry, accumulating the energy of the driven mass of the hoplites with that of the lowering of the sarissas. Outside the tight formation of the phalanx, the sarissa caused discomfort during marches and therefore, it was divided into two parts that were united before the battle. Another advantage of this armament was that it was less expensive, thus allowing to equip a large number of soldiers. This military reform also had considerable political consequences, since it made it possible to integrate a considerably larger number of Macedonians in the defense of the kingdom and in its political life. At the end of Philip's reign, the number of Macedonians mobilizable in heavy infantry recruited on a territorial basis was estimated at 30,000. Battle of Issus depicted on a mosaic from House of the Faun in Pompeii, currently on display at MANN. Philip's army consisted of a core of professional infantrymen, the pezhetairoi (fellow footmen)—who constituted the royal guard—and a territorial levy. Alexander's army consisted of 24,000 infantrymen divided into 12 taxeis of phalangites of about 1,500 men and three quiliarchies of 1000 hypaspists. It is necessary to add an undetermined number of archers and other light phalangites. Alexander extended the denomination of pezhetairoi to the group of phalangites, which explains the loyalty that the latter showed to him, and after his death, to his direct descendants. The second masterpiece of the Macedonian army was the heavy cavalry recruited among the Macedonian nobility, called the Companion Cavalry (hetairoi). It consisted of 3,000 heavy, shock-capable cavalry, at the beginning of Alexander's campaigns, of which 1,800 accompanied him in Asia. It was divided into 12 squadrons, the first being the Royal Squadron (basilikè ilè), also called the άγεμα, agêma, 'that which leads'. This squadron was 300 strong, while the other squadrons consisted of 250 lancers. The basic cavalry unit was an ilē, a squadron of 250 Companions commanded by an ilarch, and was divided into two lochoi, in turn divided into two tetrarchies of 60 cavalrymen, commanded by a tetrarch. Between 330 BC and 328 BC, the Companions were reformed into regiments (hipparchies) of 2-3 squadrons. In conjunction with this, each squadron was divided into two lochoi. The tactical formation of the Companions was the wedge, adopted by Philip II from the Scythians. The squadron commander was at the point of this triangular formation. The formation was very manoeuvrable, with the squadron following its leader at the apex, "like a flight of cranes". Each Companion had a servant in charge of looking after his horse and equipment. The cavalrymen owned their mount, and when they enlisted they received the money needed to buy a quality one. The Companion cavalry wore helmets, at first of the Phrygian type, painted with the colors of the squadron, until Alexander imposed the simpler Boeotian model. The helmets of officers were decorated with painted or metallic laurel wreaths, which indicated their rank. They wore a cuirass and boots, but no shield. They were armed with a long spear (xyston) made of cornelian wood, provided with a point at either end, so that it could be used if it broke. As a secondary weapon, the Companion carried on the left side a sword (kopis, makhaira or xyston). The tactical use of this cavalry was based on the Achilles heel of the phalanxes. Their vulnerability in the flanks and rearguard—it was practically impossible to pivot to stop a flank and rearguard attack due to the hindrance of the sarissas.[6] The destructive effect of the phalanx was due to the cohesion of the hoplites during the impact, a cavalry attack from the flanks or from the rearguard was likely to disorganize the formation and make it vulnerable during the impact against another phalanx. It was the combination of phalanx and cavalry in the tactics of the hammer and the anvil that provided the decisive tactical advantage to the armies of Alexander the Great and that was the basis of the conquest of his immense empire. Alexander, in his journey to the Indus, integrated into his army that of the defeated countries and was inspired by them to modify the equipment of his own forces. Hammer and anvil tactics[edit] Principle[edit] This tactic could not be carried out unless the two armies had more or less the same number of troops, since it consisted of enclosing the opponent on the sides. The "anvil" corresponded to the phalanx and the hypaspists (the elite infantry) that pressed the adversary and contained it in an enclosed space. The "hammer" corresponded to the heavy cavalry of the hetairoi that intervened right after. Phase 1: "The hammer"[edit] In order to drive the enemy forces away from their center, the Macedonian cavalry surrounded the flanks of the opposing army, systematically on the right flank which was commanded by Alexander himself, and then tried to make a gap and position themselves in the enemy lines, thus forcing their enemies to regroup. Phase 2: "The anvil"[edit] Attacking from the flanks, the Macedonian cavalry surprised the enemy troops by the speed and force of its impact; in the center, the phalanx and the hypaspists advanced to open the second front. Once the enemy's way was closed, it was left in a trap. Generally, this caused great confusion because it could not be distinguished whether the units were dispersed or just poorly coordinated. Battle of Gaugamela tactics[edit] Main article: Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela was the decisive confrontation between Alexander's army and that of Darius III (October 1, 331 BC). It is also known as the Battle of Arbela, due to its relative proximity (100 km or 60 mi) to the city of Arbela, today's Erbil, in northern Iraq. Number of troops[edit] Alexander the Great had an army of 47,000 men, which was small compared to those of Darius—who according to modern historians assembled between 50,000 and 120,000 soldiers, maximum figure due to supply problems. The "hammer" and "anvil" tactics, which were the key to Alexander's victories until then, could no longer lead to victory, for it was indeed impossible to surround the entire Persian army. Battle development[edit] Levels disposition[edit] In order not to be surrounded by the innumerable Persian cavalry, Alexander decided to arrange his troops in levels, something completely innovative at the time. Alexander took command of the right wing of the companion cavalry (hetairoi), while Darius III remained in the center, in the middle of his troops. To cover as much ground as possible, Alexander decided to lengthen his right flank. He advanced at a trot to be closely followed by his battalions of elite sharpshooters (foot soldiers equipped with slings or short-range spears), which Alexander had as support troops. This tactic served to make the Persian army unaware of his presence. The phalangists and the cavalry of Thessaly and Thrace, placed on the left wing under the command of Parmenion, had to hold their position for as long as possible. Maximum ground coverage[edit] Alexander's plan worked: troops A, B, and C (letters arbitrarily assigned to allow for quick definition) blocked their way, thus creating a gap in the Persian army. Making a quick about-face, Alexander turned around to head for the gap. The slingers and lancers, hitherto covered by the right wing of the cavalry, were uncovered and carried out their mission. On the other fronts, the cavalry of the left wing and Alexander's infantry nevertheless resisted the onslaught of the Persian chariots on the Macedonian center. Darius retreat[edit] The slingers and lancers attacked troops A, B and C to prevent them from performing their maneuvers. As these troops were destabilized, they lost formation. Alexander stepped into the breach and decided to go after Darius III, riding in his chariot and protected by the Royal Guard. When Darius saw what Alexander intended to do, he realized that he had no choice but to flee. His flight demoralized the troops. On the other fronts, the left wing and the phalanx began to show signs of weakness, since the troops attacking them did not hear the signal to retreat because they were in the midst of the heat of battle and far from the Persian king. Darius persecution and death[edit] As happened during the Battle of Issus, Alexander almost captured Darius, but the cavalry of the left wing was very weakened. Alexander then decided to let Darius go in order to save his army. Taking advantage of the situation in which the Macedonians found themselves, the Persian troops fled the battlefield with their leaders. Alexander was assured of victory, even though at the beginning of the battle his position was not favorable, but he was disappointed that he had not been able to capture or kill the Great King. Darius fled with his guard of Immortals and the Bactriana cavalry. Alexander and his companions pursued them for 120 km (75 mi). Seeing that Alexander was determined to capture Darius, a group of nobles, including the Bessi, Barsaentes and Nabarzanes satraps, took the Persian King hostage, so that they could make a pact with Alexander. However, they decided to assassinate and abandon him shortly before his arrival for fear that Alexander would not accept such a negotiation. Following this victory, Alexander was crowned as King of Asia in a lavish ceremony held in Arbela and upon his arrival in Babylon. Horse archers In 329 BC, Alexander, while in Sogdiana, created a 1,000 strong unit of horse archers that was recruited from various Iranian peoples. They were very effective at scouting and in screening the rest of the army from the enemy. Firing their bows whilst mounted, they offered highly mobile missile fire on the battlefield. At the Battle of Hydaspes, the massed fire of the horse archers was effective at disordering the Indian cavalry and helped to neutralise the Indian chariots. Heavy infantry-The Foot Companion A drawing of a Macedonian phalanx. The shields depicted are smaller and lighter than those employed in a traditional hoplite phalanx, the sarissa is twice as long as the hoplite spear and fully enclosed helmets weren't as widespread as this drawing suggests.Painted depiction of a soldier wearing the linothorax, from the Tomb of Judgement at Mieza in Imathia, Greece, 4th/3rd century BC Suitable men from the Macedonian peasantry were recruited into an infantry formation, called the phalanx. It was developed by Philip II, and later used by his son Alexander the Great in his conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. These infantrymen were called Pezhetairoi, which translates as 'Foot Companions'. Philip II spent much of his youth as a hostage at Thebes, where he studied under the renowned general Epaminondas, whose reforms formed the basis of Philip's later tactics. The equipment of the Macedonian phalangite is believed to have been influenced by the 'peltast' developed by the Athenian general Iphicrates. The Iphicratean peltast was not a skirmisher but a form of light hoplite, characterised by using a longer spear and smaller shield. However, the introduction of the sarissa pike in conjunction with a smaller shield seem to have been innovations devised by Philip himself, or at the very least he produced the definitive synthesis of earlier developments.[38] Diodorus claimed that Philip was inspired to make changes in the organisation of his Macedonian infantry from reading a passage in the writings of Homer describing a close-packed formation. Imitating the Greek example of martial exercises and issuing of standard equipment for citizen soldiery, Philip II transformed the Macedonian army from a levied force of farmers into a well-trained fighting force. Foot Companions were levied from the peasantry of Macedon. Once levied they became professional soldiers. Discharge could only be granted by the King. Under Philip, the Foot Companions received no regular pay. This seems to have changed by Alexander's time as during the mutiny at Opis in 324 BC, the men were chastised by Alexander for having run up debts despite earning "good pay". Through extensive drilling and training, the Foot Companions were able to execute complex manoeuvres in absolute silence, an ability that was fascinating and unnerving to enemies These foot-soldiers fought in close-ranked rectangular or square formations, of which the smallest tactical unit was the 256 men strong syntagma or speira. This formation typically fought eight or sixteen men deep and in a frontage of thirty-two or sixteen men accordingly. Each file of 16 men, a lochos, was commanded by a lochagos who was in the front rank. Junior officers, one at the rear and one in the centre, were in place to steady the ranks and maintain the cohesion of the formation, similar to modern-day NCOs. The commander of the syntagma theoretically fought at the head of the extreme far-right file. According to Aelian, a syntagma was accompanied by five additional individuals to the rear: a herald (to act as a messenger), a trumpeter (to sound out commands), an ensign (to hold the unit's standard), an additional officer (called ouragos), and a servant. This array of both audial and visual communication methods helped to make sure that even in the dust and din of battle orders could still be received and given. Six syntagmata formed a taxis of 1,500 men commanded by a strategos, a variable number of taxeis formed a phalanx under a phalangiarch. On his Asian campaign, Alexander, had a phalanx of 6 veteran taxeis, numbering 9,000 men. Between Susa and India a seventh taxis was created. Antipater, as regent in Macedonia, was left with 8 taxeis of younger, less-experienced recruits. Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa, which was a type of pike. The length of these pikes was such that they had to be wielded with two hands in battle. The traditional Greek hoplite used his spear single-handed, as the large Argive or Argolic shield needed to be gripped by the left hand, therefore the Macedonian phalangite gained in both weapon reach and in the added force of a two handed thrust. At close range, such large weapons were of little use, but an intact phalanx could easily keep its enemies at a distance; the weapons of the first five rows of men all projected beyond the front of the formation, so that there were more spearpoints than available targets at any given time. The men of the rear ranks raised their sarissas so as to provide protection from aerial missiles. A phalangite also carried a sword as a secondary weapon for close quarter fighting should the phalanx disintegrate. The phalanx, however, was extremely vulnerable in the flanks and rear. The phalangite was equipped with a shield, often called the 'Telamon shield', which was smaller and less deeply convex than the Agive shield employed by Greek hoplites (and probably the hypaspists). The extent to which phalangites were armoured is unclear, and may have changed over time. They were equipped with helmets and greaves, but do not appear to have worn the thorax at the time of Philip II, as this armour is not mentioned as forming part of the necessary equipment for sarissa-armed infantry. The thorax is, however, shown being worn by an infantryman on the Alexander Sarcophagus, however, this figure is equipped with an 'Argive' shield and may depict a hypaspist, rather than a phalangite. It is indicated in the Military Decree of Amphipolis that the phalangites wore the kotthybos, a form of defence of uncertain nature. Alexander did not use the phalanx as the decisive arm in his battles, but instead used it to pin and demoralize the enemy while his heavy cavalry would charge selected opponents or exposed enemy unit flanks, usually after driving the enemy horse from the field. Polybius (18.31.5), emphasises that the phalanx required flat open places for its effective deployment, as broken country would hinder and break up its formation. The phalanx carried with it a fairly minimal baggage train, with only one servant for every ten men. This gave it a marching speed that contemporary armies could not hope to match — on occasion forces surrendered to Alexander simply because they were not expecting him to show up for several more days. This was made possible thanks to the training Philip instilled in his army, which included regular forced marches. Ancient depiction of a Macedonian infantryman (right). He is equipped with an Argive shield, so probably is a Hypaspist. He also wears a linothorax cuirass and a Thracian helmet. Alexander Sarcophagus. Hypaspists The Hypaspists (Hypaspistai) were the elite arm of the Macedonian infantry. The word 'hypaspists' translates into English as 'shield-bearers'. During a pitched battle, such as Gaugamela, they acted as guard for the right flank of the phalanx and as a flexible link between the phalanx and the Companion cavalry. They were used for a variety of irregular missions by Alexander, often in conjunction with the Agrianians (elite skirmishers), the Companions and select units of phalangites. They were prominent in accounts of Alexander's siege assaults in close proximity to Alexander himself. The Hypaspists were of privileged Macedonian blood and their senior chiliarchy (χιλιαρχία) formed the Agema[50] foot bodyguard of Alexander III. The organisation of the hypaspist regiment seems to have been into units of 500 (pentakosiarchies) before 331 and later, by 327, it was divided into three battalions (chiliarchies) of 1,000 men, which were then further sub-divided in a manner similar to the Foot Companions. Each battalion would be commanded by a chiliarch, with the regiment as a whole under the command of an archihypaspist. In terms of weaponry, they were probably equipped in the style of a traditional Greek hoplite with a thrusting spear or doru (shorter and less unwieldy than the sarissa) and a large round shield. As well as this, they would have carried a sword, either a xiphos or a kopis. This would have made them far better suited to engagements where formations and cohesion had broken down, making them well suited to siege assaults and special missions. Their armour appears to have varied depending on the type of mission they were conducting. When taking part in rapid forced marches or combat in broken terrain, so common in the eastern Persian Empire, it appears that they wore little more than a helmet and a cloak (exomis) so as to enhance their stamina and mobility. However, when engaging in heavy hand-to-hand fighting, for instance during a siege or pitched battle, they would have worn body armour of either linen or bronze. This variety of armaments made them an extremely versatile force. Their numbers were kept at full strength, despite casualties, by continual replenishment through the transfer of veteran soldiers chosen from the phalanx. A new term for hypaspistai emerged after the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC: the argyraspides ('silver shields'). The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin. However, in regards to both the argyraspides and chalkaspides ('bronze shields'), Malcolm Errington asserts that "these titles were probably not functional, perhaps not even official." Sekunda states that Alexander's pike-wielding infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elite hypaspistai and 9,000 of which were pezhetairoi. However, in discussing the discrepancies among ancient historians about the size of Alexander the Great's army, N.G.L. Hammond and F.W. Walbank choose Diodorus Siculus' figure of 32,000 infantry as the most reliable, while disagreeing with his figure for cavalry at 4,500, asserting it was closer to 5,100 horsemen. Greek hoplites An ancient fresco of Macedonian soldiers from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, Greece, 4th century BC The army led by Alexander the Great into the Persian Empire included Greek heavy infantry in the form of allied contingents provided by the League of Corinth and hired mercenaries. These infantrymen would have been equipped as hoplites with the traditional hoplite panoply consisting of a thrusting spear (doru), bronze-faced Argive shield and body armour. In appearance, they would have been almost identical to the hypaspists.[61] In battle, the Greek hoplites had a less active role than the Macedonian phalangites and hypaspists. At Gaugamela, the Greek infantry formed the defensive rear of the box formation Alexander arranged his army into, while the Macedonians formed its front face.[62] Nevertheless, they performed a valuable function in facing down attempts by the Persian cavalry to surround the Macedonian army and helped deal with the breakthrough of some Persian horsemen who went on to attack the baggage. Light infantry-Peltasts Agrianian peltast - modern reconstruction by Johnny Shumate The peltasts raised from the Agrianes, a Paeonian tribe, were the elite light infantry of the Macedonian army. They were often used to cover the right flank of the army in battle, being posted to the right of the Companion cavalry, a position of considerable honour. They were almost invariably part of any force on detached duty, especially missions requiring speed of movement. Other nationalities also provided peltasts for the Macedonian army. Especially numerous were the Thracians; the Thracian peltasts performed the same function in battle as the Agrianians, but for the left wing of the army. It is unclear if the Thracians, Paeonians, and Illyrians fighting as javelin throwers, slingers, and archers serving in Macedonian armies from the reign of Philip II onward were conscripted as allies via a treaty or were simply hired mercenaries. Peltasts were armed with a number of javelins and a sword, carried a light shield but wore no armour, though they sometimes had helmets; they were adept at skirmishing and were often used to guard the flanks of more heavily equipped infantry. They usually adopted an open order when facing enemy heavy infantry. They could throw their javelins at will at the enemy and, unencumbered by armour or heavy shields, easily evade any counter-charges made by heavily equipped hoplites. They were, however, quite vulnerable to shock-capable cavalry and often operated to particular advantage on broken ground where cavalry was useless and heavy infantry found it difficult to maintain formation. Archers Cretan archer Philip II was also able to field archers, including mercenary Cretan archers and perhaps some native Macedonians. In most Greek states, archery was not greatly esteemed, nor practised by native soldiery, and foreign archers were often employed, such as the Scythians prominent in Athenian employ. However, Crete was notable for its very effective archers, whose services as mercenaries were in great demand throughout the Greek world. Cretan archers were famed for their powerful bows, firing arrows with large, heavy heads of cast bronze. They carried their arrows in a quiver with a protective flap over its opening. Cretan archers were unusual in carrying a shield, which was relatively small and faced in bronze. The carrying of shields indicates that the Cretans also had some ability in hand-to-hand fighting, an additional factor in their popularity as mercenaries. Archers were also raised from Macedonia and various Balkan peoples. Alexander inherited the use of Cretan archers from his father's reign, yet around this time a clear reference to the use of native Macedonian archers was made. After the Battle of Gaugamela, archers of West Asian backgrounds became commonplace and were organized into chiliarchies. According to Arrian, Alexander used Arachosian, Bactrian, Parapamisadaean, Sogdian, Indian, and Scythian troops. They were present at the grand army review Alexander assembled in 324 BC. Alexander was said to have been impressed by the drill of the 30,000 Persians who had been trained in the methods of the Macedonian phalanx. The army supposedly reached 120,000 front-line troops at one point. This did not include camp followers. There has been considerable debate as to when Alexander first used Orientals on active service with the army. During his campaign in Asia against the Persian Empire he formed a hipparchia (i.e. unit of a few hundred horsemen) of companion cavalry composed entirely of ethnic Persians. The introduction of Asiatic troops into the army was actively resented by many of the native Macedonians, especially when the cadre of young Persians from aristocratic families was trained in Macedonian fighting techniques and enrolled in the companion cavalry.] Alexander's reaction was to make plans to rule Asia with a locally recruited army, but his death intervened before he could carry out this plan. His successors reversed his aim of diversifying the army and recruited Greeks and Macedonians almost exclusively. Arms and Armour The hunter on the right is wielding a kopis cutting sword, the hunter on the left holds a scabbarded xiphos straight sword. Both types of sword were used by Macedonian cavalry and infantry. Lion Hunt mosaic from the Macedonian capital Pella, late 4th century BC. Philip II's phalangite infantry were equipped with a 'proto-Telamon shield' that already diverged from the Argive style shield featured in sculpted artwork of a Katerini tomb, dated perhaps to the reign of Amyntas III of Macedon.His early infantry were also equipped with protective helmets and greaves, as well as sarissa pikes, yet according to Sekunda they were eventually equipped with heavier armour such as cuirasses, since the Third Philippic of Demosthenes in 341 BC described them as hoplites instead of lighter peltasts.[76] As evidenced by the Alexander Sarcophagus, troops serving Alexander the Great were also armoured in the hoplite fashion However, Errington argues that breastplates were not worn by the phalanx pikemen of either Philip II or Philip V's reign periods (during which sufficient evidence exists). Instead, he claims that breastplates were only worn by military officers, while pikemen wore the kotthybos along with their helmets and greaves, wielding a dagger as a secondary weapon along with their shields. There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that the different classes of Macedonian soldier trained to use a variety of arms and equipment. Certainly, cavalry, including Alexander himself, fought on foot during sieges and assaults on fortified settlements, phalangites are described using javelins and some infantrymen were trained to ride horses. The deployment of differing types of armour and weapons was dependent solely on the requirements of a particular tactical situation. Weapons Fresco of an ancient Macedonian soldier with a grounded spear. He wears 3 items of clothing, which, in combination, are considered typical of Macedonians: The kausia cap, the Macedonian type of chlamys (cloak) and krepides (boots), from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, Greece. Most troops would have carried a type of sword as a secondary weapon. The straight-bladed shortsword known as the xiphos  is depicted in works of art, and two types of single-edged cutting swords, the kopis and machaira, are shown in images and are mentioned in texts. An archaeological find of a well-preserved Macedonian xiphos revealed a sword with a blade length of 55 cm and a weight of 300g. The cutting swords are particularly associated with cavalry use, especially by Xenophon, but pictorial representations would suggest that all three sword types were used by cavalry and infantry without obvious distinction. Each Companion cavalryman was equipped with a 3-metre double-ended spear/lance with a cornel wood shaft called the xyston. The double spear points meant that, should the xyston break during a battle, the rider need only turn his weapon around to re-arm himself. The Thessalian and Greek cavalry would have been armed similarly to the Companions. The xyston was used to thrust either overarm or underarm with the elbow flexed. This is usefully illustrated in the Alexander Mosaic, King Alexander is shown thrusting with his xyston underarm, whilst immediately behind him a cavalryman is employing the overarm thrust. There is no evidence that the Macedonian cavalry ever used a two-handed grip on their lances, as did later Sarmatian and Roman lancersThe shaft of the xyston was tapered allowing the point of balance, and therefore the hand grip, to be approximately two thirds of the length of the spear away from the point. The armament of the phalangites is described in the Military Decree of Amphipolis. It lists the fines imposed upon the soldiers who fail to maintain their armament or produce it upon demand. Offensive weapons were a pike (sarissa), and a short sword (machaira). The sarissa was over 6 m (18 ft) in length, with a counterweight and spiked end at the rear called a sauroter; it seems to have had an iron sleeve in the middle which may mean that it was in two pieces for the march with the sleeve joining the two sections before use. Like the xyston, the sarissa was greatly tapered towards the point. This, along with the sauroter, helped to make the point of balance as far towards the butt of the weapon as possible. It should be stressed that the archaeological discoveries show that the phalangites also used the two-edged sword (xiphos) as well as the traditional Greek hoplite spear (doru/δόρυ), which was much shorter than the sarissa. The sources also indicate that the phalangites were on occasion armed with javelins. The sarissa would have been useless in siege warfare and other combat situations requiring a less cumbersome weapon. Hypaspists and allied and mercenary Greek heavy infantry were equipped as classic hoplites and would have employed the hoplite spear and a sword. Light troops were provided by a number of subject and allied peoples. Various Balkan peoples, such as Agrianes, Paeonians and Thracians, provided either light infantry or cavalry or indeed both. Typical light infantry peltasts would be armed with a number of javelins. The individual javelin would have a throwing thong attached to the shaft behind its point of balance. The thong was wound around the shaft and hooked over one or two fingers. The thong made the javelin spin in flight, which improved accuracy, and the extra leverage increased the power of the throw and the range achievable. Foot archers, notably mercenary Cretans, were also employed; Cretans were noted for the heavy, large-headed arrows they used. Light cavalry could use lighter types of lance, javelins and, in the case of Iranian horse archers, compact composite bows. Helmets A simple conical helmet (pilos) of a type worn by some \\A Thracian helmet. It lacks its cheek pieces.Boeotian bronze helmet, the front of the helmet is to the right\\ Macedonian infantrymen. Virtually all helmets in use in the Greek world of the period were constructed of bronze. One helmet prominent in contemporary images was in the form of a Phrygian cap, that is it had a high and forward-projecting apex, this type of helmet, also known as a "Thracian helmet", had a projecting peak above the eyes and usually had large cheek pieces which were often decorated with stylised beards in embossing. Late versions of the Chalcidian helmet were still in use; this helmet was a lightened form developed from the Corinthian helmet, it had a nasal protection and modest-sized cheek pieces. Other, more simple, helmets of the conical 'konos' or 'Pilos type', without cheek pieces, were also employed. These helmets were worn by the heavy infantry. The Thracian helmet was worn by Macedonian cavalry in King Philip's day, but his son Alexander is said to have preferred the open-faced Boeotian helmet for his cavalry, as recommended by Xenophon. The royal burial in the Vergina Tomb contained a helmet which was a variation on the Thracian/Phrygian type, exceptionally made of iron, this would support its use by cavalry. Additionally, a fresco depicting a Macedonian mounted lancer spearing an infantryman, from the Kinch Tomb, near Naousa, shows the cavalryman wearing a Thracian type helmet. The Boeotian helmet, though it did not have cheek pieces, had a flaring rim which was folded into a complex shape offering considerable protection to the face. The Alexander Mosaic suggests that officers of the heavy cavalry had rank badges in the form of laurel wreaths (perhaps painted or constructed from metal foil) on their helmets The Alexander Sarcophagus shows Alexander the Great wearing an elaborate helmet in the form of the lion scalp of Herakles. Alexander's cousin Pyrrhus of Epirus is described as wearing a helmet with cheek pieces in the shape of ram's heads. Many examples of helmets from the period have crest or plume-holders attached, so that a high degree of martial finery could be achieved by the wearing of imposing headpieces. Body armour Hellenistic muscle cuirass and a helmet derived from the Thracian/Phrygian type, combined with elements of the Boeotian typeVergina royal Macedonian tomb, left gold-decorated plate iron gorget, right bronze greavesAlexander the Great in battle. The king wears a composite cuirass, which is a reinforced linothorax. The shoulder elements and upper chest are of plate iron, whilst the waist is composed of scale armour for ease of movement. There are pteruges of leather or stiffened linen at the shoulders and hips. The king wears a xiphos sword. Detail of the Alexander Mosaic (A Roman copy of a Hellenistic painting). Body armour in the Macedonian army was derived from a repertoire found throughout the Greek-speaking world. The most common form of armour was the spolas or linothorax, which was a cuirass of stiff linen built up of glued or stitched layers of textile; though it is possible that linen was used as a facing material over leatherIt was composed of the 'girdle' a tubular section, often of four vertical panels, that enclosed the torso. A shoulder-piece was attached to the upper rear section of the girdle, this element was split into two wings which were pulled forward over the top of each shoulder and laced to the chest-section of the girdle. Ancient representations show the shoulder pieces standing vertical when not laced down to the chest of the corselet. This suggests that the linothorax as a whole was very stiff and inflexible. Pteruges, strips of linen or leather, protected the upper arms and hips of the wearer. The linothorax could be reinforced with plate bronze or bronze scale elements. Defences of a similar appearance composed of quilted textile are also described. Less common, due to its expense, was the muscle cuirass. This was a defence made entirely of plate bronze consisting of a breast and backplate, usually with shoulder pieces, modelled in relief on the form a muscular male torso. This was often given pteruges to extend the area of the body covered. A complete cuirass of plate iron, decorated with gold and modelled on the form of the linothorax, was discovered in the Macedonian royal burial at Vergina, together with a plate iron gorget. This, alongside the evidence of the depiction of Alexander the Great in the Alexander Mosaic, shows that the technology to make plate armour in iron existed at this time. It is to be doubted that this type of armour was worn by persons other than of royal or very exalted rank.] At the Battle of Granicus, Alexander the Great's cuirass was pierced at a joint, by a javelin. Such joints are found connecting the plates of the iron Vergina cuirass, suggesting that Alexander was wearing an armour of similar construction. All of the above forms of armour could be described as thorakes (plural of thorax). Other forms of armour are mentioned in original sources, such as the kotthybos and a type of "half-armour" the hemithorakion (ἡμιθωράκιον); the precise nature of these defences is not known but it would be reasonable to conclude that they were lighter and perhaps afforded less protection than the thorax. However, it has been suggested that when the terms kotthybos, hemithorakion and thorax occur together, as in the Amphipolis regulation, then thorax may refer specifically to the bronze muscle cuirass. Within the phalanx the thorax and hemithorakion were reserved for hegemones, the officers. It has also been proposed that the kotthybos might refer to a form of linothorax. It is recorded that Alexander ordered the burning of old armours, which suggests that the armour in question was non-metallic. Archaeological remains exist for only one type of limb armour: bronze greaves, which protected the lower leg. Greaves could be worn by both heavy infantry and heavy cavalry, but they are not in great evidence in contemporary depictions. However, greaves are mentioned in the Military Decree of Amphipolis and a pair of greaves, one shorter than the other, were found in the Vergina Tomb. Xenophon mentions a type of armour called "the hand" to protect the left, bridle, arm of heavy cavalrymen, though there is no supporting evidence for its widespread use. It may have resembled the later manica armour used by Roman gladiators and cataphract cavalry Shields An image depicting an ancient Macedonian shield displaying the 'Vergina Sun', a royal symbol. Excavated at Bonče, North Macedonia. The Macedonian phalangite shield, also termed the 'Telamon shield', was circular and displayed a slight convexity; its outer surface was faced by a thin bronze sheet. The inner face of the shield was of wood or a multilayered leather construction, with a band for the forearm fixed to the centre of the shield. Plutarch noted that the phalangites (phalanx soldiers) carried a small shield on their shoulder. This probably meant that, as both hands were needed to hold the sarissa, the shield was worn suspended by a shoulder strap and steadied by the left forearm passing through the armband. The left hand would project beyond the rim of the shield to grip the sarissa. Recent reconstructions of the sarissa and phalangite shield showed that the shoulder strap supporting the shield effectively helps to transfer some of the weight of the sarissa from the left arm to the shoulders when the sarissa is held horizontally in its fighting position. The Macedonian phalangite shield is described by Asclepiodotus (Tactica, 5) as being eight palms wide (equivalent to 62 cm or 24 inches) and "not too hollow". The lefthand figure shows the armband and grip on the inside of an Argive shield; painted Corinthian krater c. 560BC. From pictorial sources, it is probable that the Hypaspists, elite members of the infantry, including the Agema of the King's personal foot guard, employed a shield of larger dimensions, the traditional Greek hoplite shield often called the aspis (ἀσπίς), though this was a general term for any shield, it is more properly referred to as the 'Argive shield'. This shield, also circular, was larger than the phalangite shield, it had sheet-bronze facing over a wooden base; it was held with the left forearm passing through a central armband with a hand-grip set just inside the rim. This shield was much more convex than the phalangite shield and had a projecting rim, both features precluding its use with a double handed pike. The style of shield used by cavalry, if any, is less clear; the heavy cavalry of Alexander's time did not employ shields. Light infantry javelineers would have used a version of the pelte (Ancient Greek: πέλτη) shield, from whence their name, peltast, derived. This was a light shield made of leather-faced wicker. The shield was of Thracian origin and was originally crescent-shaped, however, by the time of Macedonian greatness many depictions of peltai show them as being oval or round. Siege The Macedonians had developed their siege tactics under Philip. They had for the first time conducted successful sieges against strongly held and fortified positions. This was a dramatic shift from earlier warfare, where Greek armies had lacked the ability to conduct an effective assault. For instance, during the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans were never able to take Athens despite easily conquering her surrounding territory. For the task of breaching the walled fortifications of cities, Philip II hired engineers such as Polyidus of Thessaly and Diades of Pella, who were capable of building state of the art siege engines and artillery firing large bolts. Artillery A modern reconstruction of the gastraphetes The dramatic change in the abilities of Greeks to operate against fortifications owed much to the development of effective artillery. This had begun around 400 BC in Syracuse under Dionysius I. By Alexander’s time, torsion-powered artillery was in use. Torsion machines used skeins of sinew or hair rope, which were wound around a frame and twisted so as to power two bow arms; these could develop much greater force than earlier forms (such as the gastraphetes) reliant on the elastic properties of a bow-stave. Two forms of such ballista were used by the Macedonians: a smaller bolt-shooting type called the oxybeles and a larger stone-throwing machine called the lithobolos. The largest lithoboloi could fire stones up to 80 kg in weight. Such machines could shower the defenders of a city with missiles and create a breach in the walls themselves. Alexander the Great appears to have been one of the first generals to employ artillery on the open field of battle, rather than in a siege. He used massed artillery to fire across a river at a Scythian army, causing it to vacate the opposite river bank, thus allowing the Macedonian troops to cross and form a bridgehead. Other siege engines In conjunction with various forms of artillery, the Macedonians possessed the ability to build an effective array of siege engines. Prominent in a number of sieges, including the epic Siege of Tyre (332 BC), were siege towers; these allowed men to approach and assault the enemy walls without being exposed to potentially withering missile fire. Equally, they meant that more men could be put on the walls in a shorter period of time, as simple ladders constrained the men attacking to moving up in single file, thus making the task of defending the walls far easier. These structures, which were wheeled and several stories high, were covered with wet hide or metal sheathing to protect from missile fire, especially incendiaries, and the largest might be equipped with artillery. The Macedonian army could also deploy various forms of suspended, metal-tipped, rams. Such rams were usually provided with a wheeled, roofed covering to protect their users from missile fire; they were employed to batter down gates or to dislodge masonry from walls and so cause a breach (this latter form was sometimes called a 'drill' rather than a ram). Macedonian battle formation. The Macedonian army was one of the first military forces to use 'combined arms tactics', using a variety of specialised troops to fulfill specific battlefield roles in order to form a greater whole. Although it did not succeed in every battle, the army of Philip II was able to successfully adopt the military tactics of its enemies, such as the embolon (i.e. 'flying wedge') formation of the Scythians This offered cavalry far greater manoeuvrability and an edge in battle that previously did not exist in the Classical Greek world. The tactics used by the Macedonian army throughout the various campaigns it fought were, of course, varied; usually in response to the nature of the enemy forces and their dispositions, and to the physical nature of the battlefield. However, there were a number of features of the tactics employed by the Macedonians in pitched battles which can be identified as being typical. These features were evident in the first major battle the army, newly trained up by Philip, fought in 358 BC and could still be discerned at Gaugamela in 331 BC. The battle fought in 358 BC near Lake Ohrid was intended to free Macedon of the threat from Illyria and recover some western areas of Macedon from Illyrian control. The Illyrians, led by King Bardylis, were at a similar strength to the Macedonians at about 10-11 thousands. Philip had 600 cavalry, the Illyrians were concerned about being outflanked by the Macedonian cavalry and formed up in a hollow square. Philip massed his cavalry on his right flank and arranged his army in echelon, with the left refused. As had been anticipated, the Illyrians stretched their formation in order to bring the Macedonian left wing into action. Philip waited until the inevitable gap appeared in the left of the Illyrian square, then threw his cavalry at the gap. The cavalry forced their way into the Illyrian ranks and were followed by elements of the phalanx. The Illyrians broke after a fierce struggle, and three-quarters of Bardylis' army were slaughtered. The oblique advance with the left refused, the careful manoeuvring to create disruption in the enemy formation and the knock out charge of the strong right wing, spearheaded by the Companion cavalry, became standard Macedonian practice Antigonid Macedonian army Following the fragmentation of the empire of Alexander, Macedon became an independent kingdom once again. The military forces of this successor state, the Antigonid Macedonian army, retained many features of the armies of Philip and Alexander. The Hellenistic armies of the other Macedonian successor-states of the Diadochi period, which followed the death of Alexander, also displayed a continuation of earlier Macedonian equipment, organisation and tactics. Towards the end of the period, however, there was a general decline in the use of the combined arms approach, and the phalanx once more became the arm of decision. The phalangites were armed with longer pikes and as a result the phalanx itself became less mobile and adaptable than it had been in Alexander's era. Because all the competing Hellenistic armies were employing the same tactics, these weaknesses were not immediately apparent. However, the Hellenistic armies were eventually faced by forces from outside the successor kingdoms, such as the Roman and Parthian armies, composed of differing troop types using novel tactics. Against such foes the Hellenistic-era phalanx proved vulnerable. The phalanx finally met its end in the Ancient world when the more flexible Roman manipular tactics contributed to the defeat and partition of Macedon in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. Wars of Alexander the Great The wars of Alexander the Great were a series of conquests that were carried out by Alexander III of Macedon from 336 BC to 323 BC. They began with battles against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, then under the rule of Darius III of Persia. After Alexander's chain of victories against Achaemenid Persia, he began a campaign against local chieftains and warlords that stretched as far from Greece as the region of Punjab in South Asia. By the time of his death, he ruled over most regions of Greece and the conquered Achaemenid Empire (including much of Persian Egypt); he did not, however, manage to conquer the Indian subcontinent in its entirety as was his initial plan. Despite his military accomplishments, Alexander did not provide any stable alternative to the rule of the Achaemenid Empire and his untimely death threw the vast territories he conquered into a series of civil wars, commonly known as the Wars of the Diadochi. Alexander assumed kingship over ancient Macedonia following the assassination of his father, Philip II of Macedon (r. 359–336 BC). During his two decades on the throne, Philip II had unified the poleis (Greek city-states) of mainland Greece (with Macedonian hegemony) under the League of Corinth. Alexander proceeded to solidify Macedonian rule by quashing a rebellion that took place in the southern Greek city-states, and also staged a short but bloody excursion against the city-states to the north. He then proceeded east in order to carry out his plans to conquer the Achaemenid Empire. His campaign of conquests from Greece spanned across Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, and India. He extended the boundaries of his Macedonian Empire as far east as the city of Taxila in modern-day Pakistan. Prior to his death, Alexander had also made plans for a Hellenic military and mercantile expansion into the Arabian Peninsula, after which he planned to turn his armies to Carthage, Rome, and the Iberian Peninsula in the west. However, the Diadochi (his political rivals) abandoned these plans after he died; instead, within a few years of Alexander's death, the Diadochi began a series of military campaigns against each other and divided the territories of the Macedonian Empire among themselves, triggering 40 years of warfare during the Hellenistic period. The Kingdom of Macedon in 332 BC In 336, Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias. Philip's son, and previously designated heir, Alexander, was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army.[6] He also succeeded his father as head of the League of Corinth, a confederation of Greek states that were under the hegemony of Macedonia in order to combat the Achaemenid Empire. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, as well as the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolt reached Alexander, he took quick action. Although his advisers recommended the use of diplomacy, Alexander ignored the advice and instead proceeded to muster together his Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men. Together, the army rode south towards Thessaly (Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south). When he found the Thessalian army blocking the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had his men ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke, they found Alexander at their rear. The Thessalians quickly surrendered, and their cavalry was added to Alexander's force. He then proceeded south, towards the Peloponnese. Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Sacred League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander received the envoy and pardoned anyone involved with the uprising. At Corinth, he was given the title 'Hegemon' of the Greek forces against the Persians. Whilst at Corinth, he heard the news of a Thracian uprising in the north. Alexander's Balkan campaign Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders and, in the spring of 335 BC, he advanced into Thrace to deal with the revolt, which was led by the Illyrians and Triballi. At Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated a Thracian garrison manning the heights. The Macedonians were then attacked in the rear by the Triballi, who were crushed in turn. Alexander then advanced on to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. The Getae army retreated after the first cavalry skirmish, leaving their town to the Macedonian army. News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against Macedonian authority. Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing Cleitus and Glaukias to flee with their armies, leaving Alexander's northern frontier secure. While he was triumphantly campaigning north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once more. Alexander reacted immediately, but, while the other cities once again hesitated, Thebes decided to resist with the utmost vigor. This resistance was useless, however, as the city was razed to the ground amid great bloodshed and its territory divided between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens into submission, leaving all of Greece at least outwardly at peace with Alexander. Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia Asia Minor In 334 BC, Alexander crossed the Hellespont into Asia. It took over one hundred triremes (triple-banked galleys) to transport the entire Macedonian army, but the Persians decided to ignore the movement. In these early months, Darius still refused to take Alexander seriously or mount a serious challenge to Alexander's movements. Memnon of Rhodes, the Greek mercenary who aligned himself with the Persians, advocated for a scorched earth strategy. He wanted the Persians to destroy the land in front of Alexander, which he hoped would force Alexander's army to starve, and then to turn back. The satraps in Anatolia rejected this advice, considering it their duty to defend their land. Eventually, with Alexander advancing deeper into Persian territory, Darius ordered all five satraps of the Anatolian provinces to pool their military resources together and confront Alexander. This army was guided by Memnon, while absolute command was split among the five satraps. Battle of the Granicus River The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was fought in Northwestern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), near the site of Troy. After crossing the Hellespont, Alexander advanced up the road to the capital of the Satrapy of Phrygia. The various satraps of the Persian Empire gathered their forces at the town of Zelea and offered battle on the banks of the Granicus River. Alexander ultimately fought many of his battles on a river bank. By doing so, he was able to minimize the advantage the Persians had in numbers. In addition, the deadly Persian chariots were useless on a cramped, muddy river bank. Map of what would become Alexander's empire Arrian, Diodorus, and Plutarch all mention the battle, with Arrian providing the most detail. The Persians placed their cavalry in front of their infantry, and drew up on the right (east) bank of the river. The Macedonian line was arrayed with the heavy Phalanxes in the middle, Macedonian cavalry led by Alexander on the right, and allied Thessalian cavalry led by Parmenion on the left. The Persians expected the main assault to come from Alexander's position and moved units from their center to that flank Hellenistic marble bust of Alexander dating from 2nd-1st century BC, possibly from Alexandria, Egypt, now at the British Museum Alexander's second-in-command, Parmenion, suggested crossing the river upstream and attacking at dawn the next day, but Alexander attacked immediately. He ordered a small group of cavalry and light infantry to attack from the Macedonian right to draw the Persians off the bank and into the river. Seeing that he had broken the Persian line, Alexander led his horse companions in oblique order further to the right in order to outflank the Persians and buy time for his infantry to cross the river. Several high-ranking Persian nobles were killed by Alexander himself or his bodyguards, although Alexander was stunned by an axe-blow from a Persian nobleman named Spithridates. Before the noble could deal a death-blow, however, he was killed by Cleitus the Black. The Macedonian cavalry opened a hole in the Persian line as the Macedonian infantry advanced, forcing the enemy back and eventually breaking their center. The Persian cavalry turned and fled the battlefield, and the Greek mercenary infantry they held in reserve were encircled by the Macedonians and slaughtered; only around two-thousand of which survived, and were sent back to Macedonia for labor. Alexander consolidates support in Asia Minor After the battle, Alexander buried the dead Greeks and Persians and sent the captured Greek mercenaries back to Greece to work in the mines as an abject lesson for any Greek who decided to fight for the Persians. He sent some of the spoils back to Greece, including three hundred panoplies (complete Persian suits of armor) back to Athens to be dedicated in the Parthenon with the inscription "Alexander, son of Philip and the Greeks, Lacedaemonians (Spartans) excepted, these spoils from the barbarians who dwell in Asia". Antipater, whom Alexander had left in charge of Macedon in his absence, had been given a free hand to install dictators and tyrants wherever he saw fit in order to minimize the risk of a rebellion. As he moved deeper into Persia, however, the threat of trouble seemed to grow. Many of these towns had been ruled for generations by heavy handed tyrants, so in these Persian towns, he did the opposite of what he did in Greece. Wanting to appear to be a liberator, he freed the population and allowed self-government. As he continued marching into Persia, he saw that his victory at Granicus had been lost on no one. Town after town seemed to surrender to him. The satrap at Sardis, as well as his garrison, was among the first of many satraps to capitulate. As these satraps gave up, Alexander appointed new ones to replace them, and claimed to distrust the accumulation of absolute power into anyone's hands. There appeared to be little change from the old system. Alexander, however, appointed independent boards to collect tribute and taxes from the satrapies, which appeared to do nothing more than improve the efficiency of government. The true effect, however, was to separate the civil from the financial function of these satrapies, thus ensuring that these governments, while technically independent of him, never truly were. Otherwise, he allowed the inhabitants of these towns to continue as they always had, and made no attempt to impose Greek customs on them. Meanwhile, ambassadors from other Greek cities in Asia Minor came to Alexander, offering submission if he allowed their 'democracies' to continue. Alexander granted their wish, and allowed them to stop paying taxes to Persia, but only if they joined the League of Corinth. By doing so, they promised to provide monetary support to Alexander. Siege of Halicarnassus The Siege of Halicarnassus was undertaken in 334 BC. Alexander, who had a weak navy, was constantly being threatened by the Persian navy. It continuously attempted to provoke an engagement with Alexander, who would have none of it. Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by her usurping brother. When he died, Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. On the approach of Alexander in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him. Alexander and Ada appear to have formed an emotional connection. He called her "mother", finding her more amicable than his megalomaniacal snake-worshiping mother Olympias. In return for his support, Ada gave Alexander gifts, and even sent him some of the best cooks in Asia Minor, realizing that Alexander had a sweet tooth. In the past, Alexander had referred to his biological father, Philip, as his "so-called" father, and preferred to think of the deity Amon Zeus as his actual father. Thus, he had finally managed to divorce himself from both of his biological parents. Map of Halicarnassus at the time of the siege Orontobates and Memnon of Rhodes entrenched themselves in Halicarnassus. Alexander had sent spies to meet with dissidents inside the city, who had promised to open the gates and allow Alexander to enter. When his spies arrived, however, the dissidents were nowhere to be found. A small battle resulted, and Alexander's army managed to break through the city walls. Memnon, however, now deployed his catapults, and Alexander's army fell back. Memnon then deployed his infantry, and shortly before Alexander would have received his first (and only) defeat, his infantry managed to break through the city walls, surprising the Persian forces and killing Orontobates. Memnon, realizing the city was lost, set fire to it and withdrew with his army. A strong wind caused the fire to destroy much of the city. Alexander then committed the government of Caria to Ada; and she, in turn, formally adopted Alexander as her son, ensuring that the rule of Caria passed unconditionally to him upon her eventual death. Syria Shortly after the battle, Memnon died. His replacement was a Persian who had spent time in Macedonia called Pharnabazus. He disrupted Alexander's supply routes by taking Aegean islands near the Hellespont and by fomenting rebellion in southern Greece. Meanwhile, Darius took the Persian army to intercept Alexander. Alexander marched his army east through Cappadocia, where, for a stretch of nearly 150 km (93 mi), there was no water. As his army approached Mount Taurus, they found only one route through which to pass, which was a narrow defile called "The Gates". The defile was very narrow, and could have been easily defended. However, the Persian satrap of Cappadocia had an inflated view of his own abilities. He had been at the Battle of the Granicus River, and had believed that Memnon's scorched Earth strategy would work here. He did not realize that the different circumstances of the terrain made that strategy useless. Had he mounted a credible defence of the defile, Alexander would have been easily repulsed. He left only a small contingent to guard the defile, and took his entire army to destroy the plain that lay ahead of Alexander's army. The Persian contingent that was supposed to guard the defile soon abandoned it, and Alexander passed through without any problems. Alexander supposedly said after this incident that he had never been so lucky in his entire career After reaching Mount Taurus, Alexander's army found a stream that flowed from the mountain with water that was ice cold. Not thinking, Alexander jumped into the stream, suffered a cramp and then a convulsion, and was pulled out nearly dead. He quickly developed pneumonia, but none of his physicians would treat him, because they feared that, if he died, they would be held responsible. One physician named Philip, who had treated Alexander since he was a child, agreed to treat him. Although he soon fell into a coma, he eventually recovered. Battle of Issus Alexander's decisive attack The Battle of Issus took place in southern Anatolia on November 333 BC. After Alexander's forces defeated the Persians at the Battle of the Granicus, Darius took personal charge of his army, gathered a large army from the depths of the empire, and maneuvered to cut the Greek line of supply, requiring Alexander to countermarch his forces, setting the stage for the battle near the mouth of the Pinarus River and south of the village of Issus. Darius was apparently unaware that, by deciding to stage the battle on a river bank, he was minimizing the numerical advantage his army had over Alexander's. Initially, Alexander chose what was apparently unfavorable ground. This surprised Darius who mistakenly elected to hold the wrong position while Alexander instructed his infantry to take up a defensive posture. Alexander personally led the more elite Greek Companion cavalry against the Persian left up against the hills, and cut up the enemy on the less encumbering terrain, thereby generating a quick rout. After achieving a breakthrough, Alexander demonstrated he could do the difficult thing and held the cavalry in check after it broke the Persian right. Alexander then mounted his beloved horse Bucephalus, took his place at the head of his Companion cavalry, and led a direct assault against Darius. The horses that were pulling Darius' chariot were injured, and began tossing at the yoke. Darius, about to fall off his chariot, instead jumped off. He threw his royal diadem away, mounted a horse, and fled the scene. The Persian troops, realizing they had lost, either surrendered or fled with their hapless king. The Macedonian cavalry pursued the fleeing Persians for as long as there was light. As with most ancient battles, significant carnage occurred after the battle as pursuing Macedonians slaughtered their crowded, disorganized foe. The invading troops led by Alexander were outnumbered more than 2:1, yet they defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia. The battle was a decisive Macedonian victory and it marked the beginning of the end of Persian power. It was the first time the Persian army had been defeated with the King present on the field. Darius left his wife and an enormous amount of treasure behind as his army fled. The greed of the Macedonians helped to persuade them to keep going, as did the large number of Persian concubines and prostitutes they picked up in the battle. Darius, now fearing for both his throne and his life, sent a letter to Alexander in which he promised to pay a substantial ransom in exchange for the prisoners of war, and agreeing to a treaty of alliance with and the forfeiture of half of his empire to Alexander. Darius received a response which began "King Alexander to Darius". In the letter, Alexander blamed Darius for his father's death and claimed Darius was but a vulgar usurper, who planned to take Macedonia. He agreed to return the prisoners without ransom, but told Darius that he and Alexander were not equals, and that Darius was to henceforth address Alexander as "King of all Asia". Darius was also curtly informed that, if he wanted to dispute Alexander's claim to the Achaemenid throne, that he would have to stand and fight, and that if he instead fled, Alexander would pursue and kill him. By this, Alexander revealed for the first time that his plan was to conquer the entire Persian Empire. Siege of Tyre A naval action during the siege, Drawing by André Castaigne The Siege of Tyre occurred in 332 BC when Alexander set out to conquer Tyre, a strategic coastal base. Tyre was the site of the only remaining Persian port that did not capitulate to Alexander. Even by this point in the war, the Persian navy still posed a major threat to Alexander. Tyre, the largest and most important city-state of Phoenicia, was located both on the Mediterranean coast as well as a nearby Island with two natural harbors on the landward side. At the time of the siege, the city held approximately 40,000 people, though the women and children were evacuated to Carthage, an ancient Phoenician colony. Alexander sent an envoy to Tyre, proposing a peace treaty, and asked to visit their city and offer sacrifices to their God Melqart. The Tyrians politely told Alexander that their town was neutral in the war, and that allowing him to offer sacrifices to Melqart would be tantamount to recognizing him as their king. Alexander considered building a causeway that would allow his army to take the town by force. His engineers did not believe it would be possible to build such a massive structure, and so Alexander sent peace envoys once more to propose an alliance. The Tyrians believed this to be a sign of weakness, and so they killed the envoys and threw their bodies over the city wall. The dissent against Alexander's plans to take the city by force disappeared, and his engineers began to design the structure. Alexander began with an engineering feat that shows the true extent of his brilliance; as he could not attack the city from sea, he built a kilometer-long causeway stretching out to the island on a natural land bridge no more than two meters deep.[20] Alexander then constructed two towers 150 feet high and moved them to the end of the causeway. The Tyrians, however, quickly devised a counterattack. They used an old horse transport ship, filling it with dried branches, pitch, sulfur, and various other combustibles. They then lit it on fire, creating what we might call a primitive form of napalm, and ran it up onto the causeway. The fire spread quickly, engulfing both towers and other siege equipment that had been brought up. This convinced Alexander that he would be unable to take Tyre without a navy. Fate would soon provide him with one. Presently, the Persian navy returned to find their home cities under Alexander's control. Since their allegiance was to their city, they were therefore Alexander's. He now had eighty ships. This coincided with the arrival of another hundred and twenty from Cyprus, which had heard of his victories and wished to join him. Alexander then sailed on Tyre and quickly blockaded both ports with his superior numbers. He had several of the slower galleys, and a few barges, refit with battering rams, the only known case of battering rams being used on ships. Alexander started testing the wall at various points with his rams, until he made a small breach in the south end of the island. He then coordinated an attack across the breach with a bombardment from all sides by his navy. Once his troops forced their way into the city, they easily overtook the garrison, and quickly captured the city. Those citizens that took shelter in the temple of Heracles were pardoned by Alexander. It is said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. Alexander granted pardon to the king and his family, whilst 30,000 residents and foreigners taken were sold into slavery. There was a family, though, that Alexander gave a very high position in his government, but the only contact he ever had with them was when he spent the night with the wife of the household. Egypt-Siege of Gaza The stronghold at Gaza was built on a hill and was heavily fortified.[21] The inhabitants of Gaza and their Nabataean allies did not want to lose the lucrative trade which was controlled by Gaza.[21] Alexander Mosaic, showing Battle of Issus, from the House of the Faun, Pompeii Batis, the commander of the fortress of Gaza, refused to surrender to Alexander. Though a eunuch, Batis was physically imposing and ruthless. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold was finally taken by force, but not before Alexander received a serious shoulder wound. When Gaza was taken, the male population was put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery. According to the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, Batis was killed by Alexander in imitation of Achilles' treatment of the fallen Hector. A rope was forced through Batis's ankles, probably between the ankle bone and the Achilles tendon, and Batis was dragged alive by chariot beneath the walls of the city. Alexander, who admired courage in his enemies and might have been inclined to show mercy to the brave Persian general, was infuriated at Batis's refusal to kneel and by the enemy commander's haughty silence and contemptuous manner. With Gaza taken, Alexander marched into Egypt. His entry was described as "closer to a triumphant procession than an invasion." They welcomed Alexander as their king, placed him on the throne of the Pharaohs, giving him the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and named him the incarnation of Ra and Osiris. He set in motion plans to build Alexandria, and, though future tax revenues would be channeled to him, he left Egypt under the management of Egyptians, which helped to win him their support Mesopotamia-Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC in what is now Iraqi Kurdistan, possibly near Dohuk, and resulted in a decisive victory for the Macedonians. After the Siege of Gaza, Alexander advanced from Syria towards the heart of the Persian Empire, crossing both the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers without any opposition. Darius was building up a massive army, drawing men from the far reaches of his empire, and planned to use sheer numbers to crush Alexander. Though Alexander had conquered part of the Persian empire, it was still vast in area and in manpower reserves, and Darius could recruit more men than Alexander could dream of. Also present in the Persian army, a sign that the Persians were still very powerful, were the feared war elephants. While Darius had a significant advantage in number of soldiers, most of his troops were not as organized as Alexander's. Alexander's decisive attack The battle began with the Persians already present at the battlefield. Darius had recruited the finest cavalry from his eastern satrapies. Darius placed himself in the center with his best infantry as was the tradition among Persian kings. The Macedonians were divided into two, with the right side of the army falling under the direct command of Alexander, and the left to Parmenion. Alexander began by ordering his infantry to march in phalanx formation towards the center of the enemy line. Darius now launched his chariots, which were intercepted by the Agrianians, and quickly rendered useless. Alexander, while leading the charge, formed his units into a giant wedge, which quickly smashed right into the weakened Persian center. Darius' charioteer was killed by a spear, and chaos rang out as everyone (incorrectly) thought it was Darius who had been killed. The Persian line then collapsed, and Darius fled. Darius escaped with a small core of his forces remaining intact, although the Bactrian cavalry and Bessus soon caught up with him. The remaining Persian resistance was quickly put down. In all, the Battle of Gaugamela was a disastrous defeat for the Persians, and possibly one of Alexander's finest victories. Bactria Alexander's first victory over the Persian king Darius, depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander’s Battles After the battle, Parmenion rounded up the Persian baggage train while Alexander and his own bodyguard chased after Darius in hopes of catching up. Substantial amounts of loot were gained following the battle, with 4,000 talents captured, as well as the King's personal chariot and bow. Darius planned to head further east, and raise another army to face Alexander while he and the Macedonians headed to one of the Persian capitals, Babylon, and then to another, Susa. There, Alexander found wealth that even he had never imagined possible. He paid his troops, and sent a sum of money six times the annual income of Athens to Greece, in order to put down a Spartan rebellion. Darius, meanwhile, dispatched letters to his eastern satrapies asking them to remain loyal. The satrapies, however, had other intentions, and quickly capitulated to Alexander. Bessus fatally stabbed Darius, before fleeing eastwards. Darius was found by one of Alexander's scouts, moaning in pain. Darius, dying and chained to a baggage train being pulled by an ox, was lying next to a lone dog and his royal robes were covered in blood. He asked for water, and then, clutching the Macedonian soldier's hand, said that he was thankful that he would not die utterly alone and abandoned. Alexander, who may have felt genuinely saddened at Darius' death, buried Darius next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a full military funeral. Alexander claimed that, while dying, Darius had named Alexander as his successor to the Achaemenid throne and had asked Alexander to avenge his death, a striking irony since it was Alexander who had pursued him to his death. The Achaemenid Persian Empire is considered to have fallen with the death of Darius. Alexander, viewing himself as the legitimate Achaemenid successor to Darius, viewed Bessus as a usurper to the Achaemenid throne, and eventually found and executed this 'usurper'. The majority of the existing satraps were to give their loyalty to Alexander, and be allowed to keep their positions. Alexander's troops now thought the war was over. Alexander was unsure how to deal with this, so he decided to scare them into submission. He gave a speech, arguing that their conquests were not secure, that the Persians did not want the Greeks to remain in their country, and that only the strength of Macedon could secure the country. The speech worked, and Alexander's troops agreed to remain with him. Alexander, now the Persian "King of Kings", adopted Persian dress and mannerisms, which, in time, the Greeks began to view as decadent and autocratic. They began to fear that Alexander, the king they had hero-worshiped, was turning into an eastern despot, although a young eunuch was eventually introduced to Alexander, and helped to keep his decadence in check. Battle of the Persian Gate Map of the Persian Gate In the winter of 330 BC, at the Battle of the Persian Gate northeast of today's Yasuj in Iran, the Persian satrap Ariobarzanes led a last stand of the Persian forces. After the Battle of Gaugamela in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan, Alexander had advanced to Babylon and Susa. A Royal Road connected Susa with the more eastern capitals of Persepolis and Pasargadae in Persis (the Persian Empire had several "capitals"), and was the natural venue for Alexander's continued campaign. After the conquest of Susa, Alexander split the Macedonian army into two parts. Alexander's general, Parmenion, took one half along the Royal Road, and Alexander himself took the route towards Persis. Passing into Persis required traversing the Persian Gates, a narrow mountain pass that lent itself easily to ambush. Believing that, after his victory over the Uxians, he would not encounter any more enemy forces during his march, Alexander neglected to send scouts ahead of his vanguard, and thus walked into Ariobarzanes' ambush. Once the Macedonian army had advanced sufficiently into the narrow pass, the Persians rained down boulders on them from the northern slopes. From the southern slope, Persian archers and catapults launched their projectiles. Alexander's army initially suffered heavy casualties, losing entire platoons at a time. Ariobarzanes had hoped that defeating Alexander at the Persian Gates would allow the Persians more time to field another army, and possibly stop the Macedonian invasion altogether. Ariobarzanes held the pass for a month,[29] but Alexander succeeded in encircling the Persian army and broke through the Persian defenses. The defeat of Ariobarzanes's forces at the Persian Gate removed the last military obstacle between Alexander and Persepolis. Upon his arrival at the city of Persepolis, Alexander appointed a general named Phrasaortes as successor of Ariobarzanes. Four months later, Alexander allowed the troops to loot Persepolis. A fire broke out and spread to the rest of the city. It is not clear if it had been a drunken accident, or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Greco-Persian War. In 329 BC, Alexander launched the Siege of Cyropolis and fought against the Scythians in Battle of Jaxartes. After Alexander defeated the last of the Achaemenid Empire's forces in battle of Gabai against Spitamenes, and Coenus (Koinos), one Alexander the Great's generals in 328 BC, he began a new campaign to Ariana in 327 BC. He wanted to conquer the entire known world, which in Alexander's day, ended on the eastern end of India. Greeks of Alexander's day knew nothing of China, or any other lands east of Bactria. The Siege of the Sogdian Rock, a fortress located north of Bactria in Sogdiana, occurred in 327 BC. Oxyartes of Bactria had sent his wife and daughters, one of whom was Roxana, to take refuge in the fortress, as it was thought to be impregnable, and was provisioned for a long siege. When Alexander asked the defenders to surrender, they refused, telling him that he would need "men with wings" to capture it. Alexander asked for volunteers, whom he would reward if they could climb the cliffs under the fortress. There were some 300 men who from previous sieges had gained experience in rock-climbing. Using tent-pegs and strong flaxen lines, they climbed the cliff face at night, losing about 30 of their number during the ascent. In accordance with Alexander's orders, they signaled their success to the troops below by waving bits of linen, and Alexander sent a herald to shout the news to the enemy's advanced posts that they might now surrender without further delay. The defenders were so surprised and demoralized by this that they surrendered. Alexander fell in love with Roxana, whom ancient historians call the "most beautiful woman in the world" (not an uncommon claim for an ancient queen), on sight and eventually married her. The story of the siege is told by the Roman historian Arrian of Nicomedia, in Anabasis (section 4.18.4–19.6) Before Alexander: Persians Conquest of Western India and Pakistan According to PBS: “Darius I of Persia annexed the states of Sind and Punjab in northern India in 518 B.C. From then the people of the Indus valley ("Hindush" in Persian) paid tribute to the Persian king in textiles and precious local resources. After Alexander the Great overthrew the Persians and conquered the region in 326 B.C., Greek culture would be a major influence for over three hundred years, with Indo-Greek kingdoms founded in the North West Frontier, Afghanistan and the Punjab. But because of the close relation between Old Persian and Sanskrit, the influence of Persian language and culture in the northwest of the subcontinent never really waned until the collapse of the Persian-speaking Mughal Empire in the 19th century. [Source: PBS, The Story of India, pbs.org/thestoryofindia] In the latter half of the 6th century B.C. the north-western part of India was divided into a number of petty principalities, and there was no great power to curb their mutual strifes and jealousies. Naturally it provided a strong tempting ground to the Imperialism of the Achaemenian monarchy, which „ had arisen in Persia about this time under the leadership of Kurush or Cyrus (e. 558-30 B.C.) He extended the bounds of his empire as far west as the Mediterranean, and in the east he conquered Bactria and Gadara (Gandhara), but it is unlikely he advanced beyond the frontiers of India. His immediate successors, Kambujiya I (Cambyses I), Kurush II (Cyrus II), Kambujiya II (Cambyses II) — 530-22 B.C., — were too busy with affairs in the west to think of the east, but Darius I Darayavaush or Darius I (522-486 B.C.) appears to have annexed a portion of the Indus region, as evidenced by the inscriptions at Persepolis and on his tomb at Naksh-iRustam, mentioning the Hidus or the people of Sindhu (Indus) among Persian subjects. This conquest was made probably some time after 518 B.C., the assumed date of the Behistun record, which omits the Hidus (Indians) from the list of subject peoples, and long before 486 B.C., when Darius I died. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942] Herodotus tells us how Darius I essayed to achieve his object. He first sent an expedition some time after 517 B.C. under Skylax of Karyanda to explore the possibility of a passage by sea from the mouths of the Indus to Persia. He sailed down the Indus, and in the course of his voyage collected a good deal of information, afterwards utilised with advantage by Darius I. Herodotus also testifies that the conquered Indian territories, which perhaps did not include much of the Punjab, were constituted into the twentieth Satrapy of the Persian Empire; and it yielded the enormous tribute of 360 Euboic talents of gold dust, equal to about one million sterling. Obviously, these tracts were then very fertile, populated, and prosperous. In the reign of Khshayarsha or Xerxes (486-65 B.C.), the successor of Darius I, Indian mercenaries, “clad in cotton” and bearing “cane bows and arrows tipped with iron,” formed a part of his expeditionary force against Hellas, and so it is certain that he maintained Persian authority intact in the north-western part of India. Presumably it continued for some time more, but we do not know with certitude when the connection between Persia and India finally snapped. There is, at any rate, some evidence to show that Indian auxiliaries figured in the army of Darius III Kodomannos in his fight with Alexander. Persians in the Indian Subcontinent By the end of the sixth century B.C., India's northwest was integrated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire and became one of its satrapies. This integration marked the beginning of administrative contacts between Central Asia and India. Much of what is now present-day Afghanistan and most of Pakistan was ruled by the Persian Achaemenid Empire from 520 B.C. during the reign of Darius I. The region of present-day Punjab, the Indus River from the borders of Gandhara down to the Arabian Sea, and some other parts of the Indus plain, became part of the empire later. [Source: Library of Congress, Glorious India ] Gandhara and Taxila in Punjab region became part of the Achaemenid empire in 518 B.C. During this time, Pushkarasakti was the king of Gandhara. The upper Indus region, comprising regions of Gandhara and Kamboja became the seventh satrapy and the lower and middle Indus comprising Sindh and Sauvira became the 20th satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. This area was the most fertile and populous satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. The political contact between the two countries was beneficial to both in several respects. Trade received a fillip, and perhaps the spectacle of a unified empire stirred Indian ambition to strive after a similar end. Persian scribes introduced into India the Armaic form of writing, which in Indian environments later developed into Kharosthi, written from right to left like Arabic. Scholars have even traced Persian influences in Candragupta Maurya’s court ceremonial, and in certain words and the preamble of the edicts and in the monuments, particularly the bell-shaped capitals, of Ashoka’s time. During the Achaemenid rule, a system of centralized administration with a bureaucratic system was introduced in the region. Famous scholars such as Pan.ini and Kautilya lived during this period. Indus Valley people were recruited to the Persian army and during the rule of Achaemenid emperor Xerxes, they took part in wars against the Greeks. Achaemenid rule lasted about 186 years. By about 380 B.C., the Persian hold on the region was weakening, but the region continued to be a part of the Achaemenid Empire until it was conquered by Alexander. The Achaemenids used the Aramaic script for the Persian language. After the end of Achaemenid rule, the use of Aramaic in the Indus plain diminished, although we know from inscriptions from the time of Emperor Asoka that it was still in use two centuries later. Other scripts, such as Kharosthi (a script derived from Aramaic) and Greek became more common after the arrival of Alexander. Alexander the Great in Pakistan Taxila After Central Asia, Alexander then headed into present-day Pakistan because he wanted to add India to his empire. His army of 75,000 men (plus a retinue of perhaps 40,000 more people), now included Persian horseman and many subjects of other conquered kingdoms but only 15,000 Macedonians. With the Persians gone, Pakistan fell under the under the control of local rulers, none of whom dared to challenge Alexander. His army was able to advance easily and he was given a warm welcome in Taxila. The local ruler there gave him a generous tribute and provided him with fresh soldiers. The Kafir-Kalash, a tribe that lives today in valleys off the Chistral Valley in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, claim to be descendants of five of Alexander the Great's warriors. The tribe is famous for its their pagan beliefs, lewd songs, provocative dances, partying ways and strange costumes. The women wear black robes, red bead necklaces and cowrie-shell head-dresses. The Kalash have Caucasian features — sometimes with blonde hair and blue eyes — which gives some credence to their claim they descended from five warriors in Alexander the Great's army. There are only about 4,000 of them and they have remained pagans despite the fact that everyone around them is Muslim. The Kalash relate a story of Alexander's bacchanal with mountain dwellers claiming descent from Dionysus. They worship a pantheon of gods, make wine, and practice animal sacrifice. Although Alexander's armies passed through the Chitral region there is little evidence that they reached the remote valleys where the Kalash live today. Other tribes in Pakistan and Central Asia also claim to be descendants of Alexander's army. Alexander Receives the Homage of Taxiles Between May 327 and March 326 B.C., Alexander carried out Cophen Campaign in what is now the Swat valley and the Punjab region in Pakistan. Alexander's goal was to secure his line of communications so that he could conduct a campaign in India proper. To achieve this, he needed to capture a number of fortresses controlled by the local tribes. Cophen was the name of a river. Alexander the Great was welcomed at Taxila by Omphis or Ambhi, son of the deceased Taxiles, with rich and attractive presents consisting of silver and sheep and oxen of a good breed. Gratified at these gifts, Alexander returned them, adding his own, and thus won not only the loyalty of the ruler of Taxila but also a contingent of 5,000 soldiers from him. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942] North-western India was parcelled out into a number of states, monarchies as well as clan oligarchies, engaged in petty internecine feuds and jealousies, in which some of them found their opportunity for seeking alliance with an alien aggressor. Indeed, the gates of India were, so to say, unbarred by the Raja of Taxila, who lost no time in proffering allegiance to Alexander , and who also rendered every assistance to the advance body of the Macedonians under Perdiccas in bridging the Indus and in securing the submission of the tribes and chieftains, like Astes (Hasti or Astakaraja ?), whose territories lay on their route. Arrian wrote: “After performing this exploit, Alexander himself went to Bactra; but sent Craterus with of the cavalry Companions and his own brigade of infantry as well those of Polysperchon, Attalus, and Alcetas, against Catanes and Austanes, who were the only rebels still remaining in the land of the Paraetacenians. A sharp battle was fought with them, in which Craterus was victorious; Catanes being killed there while fighting, and Austanes being captured and brought to Alexander. Of the barbarians with them horsemen and about , foot soldiers were killed. When Craterus had done this, he also went to Bactra, where the tragedy in reference to Callisthenes and the pages befell Alexander. [Source: Arrian the Nicomedian (A.D. 92-175), “Anabasis of Alexander”, translated, by E. J. Chinnock, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1884, gutenberg.org] “As the spring was now over, he took the army and advanced from Bactra towards India, leaving Amyntas in the land of the Bactrians with , horse, and , foot. He crossed the Caucasus in ten days and arrived at the city of Alexandria, which had been founded in the land of the Parapamisadae when he made his first expedition to Bactra. He dismissed from office the governor whom he had then placed over the city, because be thought he was not ruling well. He also settled in Alexandria others from the neighbouring tribes and the soldiers who were now unfit for service in addition to the first settlers, and commanded Nicanor, one of the Companions, to regulate the affairs of the city itself. Moreover he appointed Tyriaspes viceroy of the land of the Parapamisadae and of the rest of the country as far as the river Cophen. Arriving at the city of Nicaea, he offered sacrifice to Athena and then advanced towards the Cophen, sending a herald forward to Taxiles and the other chiefs on this side the river Indus, to bid them come and meet him as each might find it convenient. “Taxiles and the other chiefs accordingly did come to meet him, bringing the gifts which are reckoned of most value among the Indians. They said that they would also present to him the elephants which they had with them, twenty-five in number. There he divided his army, and sent Hephaestion and Perdiccas away into the land of Peucelaotis, towards the river Indus, with the brigades of Gorgias, Clitus, and Meleager, half of the Companion cavalry, and all the cavalry of the Grecian mercenaries. He gave them instructions either to capture the places on their route by force, or to bring them over on terms of capitulation; and when they reached the river Indus, to make the necessary preparations for the passage of the army. With them Taxiles and the other chiefs also marched. When they reached the river Indus they carried out all Alexander’s orders. But Astes, the ruler of the land of Peucelaotis, effected a revolt, which both ruined himself and brought ruin also upon the city into which he had fled for refuge. For Hephaestion captured it after a siege of thirty days, and Astes himself was killed. Sangaeus, who had some time before fled from Astes and deserted to Taxiles, was appointed to take charge of the city. This desertion was a pledge to Alexander of his fidelity.” Alexander the Great and the King Taxiles Plutarch wrote: “The extent of king Taxiles’s dominions in India was thought to be as large as Egypt, abounding in good pastures, and producing beautiful fruits. The king himself had the reputation of a wise man, and at his first interview with Alexander, he spoke to him in these terms: “To what purpose,” said he, “should we make war upon [235] one another, if the design of your coming into these parts be not to rob us of our water or our necessary food, which are the only things that wise men are indispensably obliged to fight for? As for other riches and possessions, as they are accounted in the eye of the world, if I am better provided of them than you, I am ready to let you share with me; but if fortune has been more liberal to you than me, I have no objection to be obliged to you.” This discourse pleased Alexander so much, that embracing him, “Do you think,” said he to him, “your kind words and courteous behavior will bring you off in this interview without a contest? No, you shall not escape so. I shall contend and do battle with you so far, that how obliging soever you are, you shall not have the better of me.” [Source: Plutarch (A.D. 45-127), “Life of Alexander”, A.D. 75 translated by John Dryden, 1906, MIT, Online Library of Liberty, oll.libertyfund.org ] “Then receiving some presents from him, he returned him others of greater value, and to complete his bounty, gave him in money ready coined one thousand talents; at which his old friends were much displeased, but it gained him the hearts of many of the barbarians. But the best soldiers of the Indians now entering into the pay of several of the cities, undertook to defend them, and did it so bravely, that they put Alexander to a great deal of trouble, till at last, after a capitulation, upon the surrender of the place, he fell upon them as they were marching away, and put them all to the sword. This one breach of his word remains as a blemish upon his achievements in war, which he otherwise had performed throughout with that justice and honor that became a king. Nor was he less incommoded by the Indian philosophers, who inveighed against those princes who joined his party, and solicited the free nations to oppose him. He took several of these also, and caused them to be hanged.” Battles with the Aspasians The Aspasians of the Alisang-Kunar valley were the first to be subdued by Alexander, who captured 40,000 men and 230,000 oxen transporting the choicest among the latter to Macedonia for being employed in agriculture. Arrian (IV, 25), however, deposes that with these people “the conflict was sharp, not only from the difficult nature of the ground, but also because the Indians were.... by far the stoutest warriors in that neighbourhood.” [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942] Arrian wrote: “Alexander now took command of the shield-bearing guards, the Companion cavalry with the exception of those who had been joined with Hephaestion’s division, the regiments of what were called foot-Companions, the archers, the Agrianians and the horse-lancers, and advanced with them into the land of the Aspasians, Guraeans and Assacenians. Marching by a mountainous and rough road along the river called Choes, which he crossed with difficulty, he ordered the main body of his infantry to follow at leisure; while he himself took all the cavalry, and of the Macedonian infantry whom he mounted upon horses with their infantry shields, and made a forced march, because he had received information that the barbarians who inhabited that district had fled for safety into the mountains which extend through the land and into as many of their cities as were strong enough to resist attack. [Source: Arrian the Nicomedian (A.D. 92-175), “Anabasis of Alexander”, translated, by E. J. Chinnock, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1884, gutenberg.org] “Assaulting the first of these cities which was situated on his route, he routed, at the first attack without any delay, the men whom he found drawn up in front of the city, and shut them up in it. He was himself wounded by a dart which penetrated through the breastplate into his shoulder; but the wound was only a slight one, for the breastplate prevented the dart from penetrating right through his shoulder. Leonnatus and Ptolemy, son of Lagus, were also wounded. Then he encamped near the city at the place where the wall seemed most easy to assault. At dawn on the following day the Macedonians easily forced their way through the first wall, as it had not been strongly built. The city had been surrounded with a double wall. At the second wall the barbarians stood their ground for a short time; but when the scaling ladders were now being fixed, and the defenders were being wounded with darts from all sides, they no longer stayed; but rushed through the gates out of the city towards the mountains. Some of them were killed in the flight, and the Macedonians, being enraged because they had wounded Alexander, slew all whom they took prisoners. Most of them, however, escaped into the mountains, because they were not far from the city. Having levelled this city with the ground, he marched to another, named Audaca, which he got possession of by capitulation. He left Craterus there with the other commanders of the infantry to capture all the remaining cities which would not yield of their own accord, and to set the affairs of the whole country in such order as he should find most convenient under the circumstances.” Greco-Bactrian kingdom established by Alexander “Alexander now took command of the shield-bearing guards, the archers, the Agrianians, the brigade of Coenus and Attalus, the royal body-guard of cavalry, about four regiments of the other Companion cavalry, and half of the horse-archers, and advanced towards the river Euaspla, where the chieftain of the Aspasians was. After a long journey he arrived at the city on the second day. When the barbarians ascertained that he was approaching they set fire to the city and fled to the mountains. But Alexander followed close upon the fugitives as far as the mountains, and slaughtered many of them before they could manage to get away into the places which were difficult of access. “Ptolemy, son of Lagus, observing that the leader himself of the Indians of that district was on a certain hill, and that he had some of his shield-bearing guards round him, though he had with himself far fewer men, yet he still continued to pursue him on horseback. But as the hill was difficult for his horse to run up, he left it there, handing it over to one of the shield-bearing guards to lead. He then followed the Indian on foot, without any delay. When the latter observed Ptolemy approaching, he turned round, and so did the shield-bearing guards with him. The Indian at close quarters struck Ptolemy on the chest through the breastplate with a long spear, but the breastplate checked the violence of the blow. Then Ptolemy, smiting right through the Indian’s thigh, overthrew him, and stripped him of his arms. When his men saw their leader lying dead, they stood their ground no longer; but the men on the mountains, seeing their chieftain’s corpse being carried off by the enemy, were seized with indignation, and running down engaged in a desperate conflict over him on the hill. For Alexander himself was now on the hill with the infantry who had dismounted from the horses. These, falling upon the Indians, drove them away to the mountains after a hard struggle, and remained in possession of the corpse. “Then crossing the mountains he descended to a city called Arigaeum, and found that this had been set on fire by the inhabitants, who had afterwards fled. There Craterus with his army reached him, after accomplishing all the king’s orders; and because this city seemed to be built in a convenient place, he directed that general to fortify it well, and settle in it as many of the neighbouring people as were willing to live there, together with any of the soldiers who were unfit for service. He then advanced to the place where he heard that most of the barbarians of the district had fled for refuge; and coming to a certain mountain, he encamped at the foot of it. Meantime Ptolemy, son of Lagus, being sent out by Alexander on a foraging expedition, and advancing a considerable distance with a few men to reconnoitre, brought back word to the king that he had observed many more fires in the camp of the barbarians than there were in Alexander’s. But the latter did not believe in the multitude of the enemy’s fires. Discovering, however, that the barbarians of the district had joined their forces into one body, he left a part of his army there near the mountain, encamped as they were, and taking as many men as seemed sufficient, according to the reports he had received, as soon as they could descry the fires near at hand, he divided his army into three parts. Over one part he placed Leonnatus, the confidential body-guard, joining the brigades of Attalus and Balacrus with his own; the second division he put under the lead of Ptolemy, son of Lagus, including the third part of the royal shield-bearing guards, the brigades of Philip and Philotas, two regiments of horse-archers, the Agrianians, and half of the cavalry. The third division he himself led towards the place where most of the barbarians were visible.” Alexander Defeats the Aspasians and Attacks the Assacenians and Guraeans Arrian wrote: “When the enemy who were occupying the commanding heights perceived the Macedonians approaching, they descended into the plain, being emboldened by their superiority in number and despising the Macedonians, because they were seen to be few. A sharp contest ensued; but Alexander won the victory with ease. Ptolemy’s men did not range themselves on the level ground, for the barbarians were occupying a hill. Wherefore Ptolemy, forming his battalions into column, led them to the point where the hill seemed most easily assailable, not surrounding it entirely, but leaving room for the barbarians to flee if they were inclined to do so. [Source: Arrian the Nicomedian (A.D. 92-175), “Anabasis of Alexander”, translated, by E. J. Chinnock, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1884, gutenberg.org] Cophen Campaign “A sharp contest also ensued with these men, both from the difficult nature of the ground, and because the Indians are not like the other barbarians of this district, but are far stronger than their neighbours. These men also were driven away from the mountain by the Macedonians. In the same way did Leonnatus with the third division of the army; for his men also defeated those opposed to them. Ptolemy indeed says that all the men were captured, to a number exceeding ,, and that , oxen were also taken, of which Alexander picked out the finest, because they seemed to him to excel both in beauty and size, wishing to send them into Macedonia to till the soil. Thence he marched towards the land of the Assacenians; for he received news that these people had made preparations to fight him, having , cavalry, more than , infantry, and elephants. When Craterus had thoroughly fortified the city, for the founding of which he had been left behind, he brought the heavier armed men of his army for Alexander as well as the military engines, in case it might be necessary to lay siege to any place. Alexander then marched against the Assacenians at the head of the Companion cavalry, the horse-archers, the brigades of Coenus and Polysperchon, the Agrianians, the light-armed troops, and the archers. Passing through the land of the Guraeans, he crossed the river Guraeus, which gives its name to the land, with difficulty, both on account of its depth, and because its current is swift, and the stones in the river being round caused those who stepped upon them to stumble. When the barbarians perceived Alexander approaching, they durst not take their stand for a battle in close array, but dispersed one by one to their various cities with the determination of preserving these by resolute fighting.” Siege of Massaga Continuing his advance, Alexander defeated the Assacenians, who opposed him with an army of 20,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry, besides 30 elephants. Their main stronghold Massaga was considered almost impregnable, being protected on the east by “an impetuous mountain stream with steep banks,” while to the south and the west nature had “piled up gigantic rocks, at the base of which lay sloughs and yawning chasms”. These natural fortifications were reinforced by a deep ditch and a thick wall. The citadel appeared to baffle the military ingenuity of Alexander, but it could not hold out long after its Chief, Assakenos, had been killed by a chance shot. Thinking further resistance useless, his wife, Kleophis, surrendered herself to Alexander, and it is said that as a result of their romance she subsequently gave birth to a son bearing the name of the great conqueror. It is interesting to note here the part played by nearly 7,000 Indian mercenary soldiers in the defence of Massaga. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942] We learn that Alexander guarranteed them safe passage if they evacuated the city, but when they had actually retired to a distance he suddenly fell upon them and made “a great slaughter of their ranks”. Diodoros says that the Indian mercenaries at first “loudly protested that they were attacked in violation of sworn obligations, and invoked the gods whom he had desecrated by taking false oaths in their name.” Thereupon, Alexander retorted that “his covenant merely bound him to let them depart from the city, and was by no means a league of perpetual amity between them and the Macedonians”. Undaunted by this unexpected danger, the Indian mercenaries fought with great tenacity and “by their audacity and feats of valour made the conflict, in which they closed, hot work for the enemy.” When many of them had been killed, or were in the agony of deadly wounds, the women took up the arms of the fallen and heroically defended the citadel along with the men. After fighting desperately they were at last overpowered by superior numbers, and in the words of Diodoros “met a glorious death which they would have disdained to exchange for a life with dishonour ”. Arrian wrote: “In the first place Alexander led his forces against Massaga, the largest of the cities in that district; and when he was approaching the walls, the barbarians being emboldened by the mercenaries whom they had obtained from the more distant Indians to the number of ,, when they saw the Macedonians pitching their camp, advanced against them with a run. Alexander, seeing that the battle was about to be fought near the city, was anxious to draw them further away from their walls, so that if they were put to rout, as he knew they would be, they might not be able easily to preserve themselves by fleeing for refuge into the city close at hand. [Source: Arrian the Nicomedian (A.D. 92-175), “Anabasis of Alexander”, translated, by E. J. Chinnock, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1884, gutenberg.org] “When therefore he saw the barbarians running out, he ordered the Macedonians to turn round and retreat to a certain hill distant something about seven stades from the place where he had resolved to encamp. The enemy being emboldened, as if the Macedonians had already given way, rushed upon them with a run and with no kind of order. But when the arrows began to reach them, Alexander at once wheeled round at the appointed signal, and led his phalanx against them with a run. His horse-lancers, Agrianians, and archers first ran forward and engaged with the barbarians, while he himself led the phalanx in regular order. The Indians were alarmed at this unexpected manœuvre, and as soon as the battle became a hand-to-hand conflict, they gave way and fled into the city. About of them were killed, and the rest were shut up within the walls. Alexander then led his phalanx up to the wall, from which he was soon after slightly wounded in the ankle with an arrow. On the next day he brought up his military engines and easily battered down a piece of the wall; but the Indians so gallantly kept back the Macedonians who were trying to force an entrance where the breach had been made, that he recalled the army for this day. Cophen Campaign But on the morrow the Macedonians themselves made a more vigorous assault, and a wooden tower was drawn up to the walls, from which the archers shot at the Indians, and missiles were hurled from the military engines which repulsed them to a great distance. But not even thus were they able to force their way within the wall. On the third day he led the phalanx near again, and throwing a bridge from a military engine over to the part of the wall where the breach had been made, by this he led up the shield-bearing guards, who had captured Tyre for him in a similar way. But as many were urged on by their ardour, the bridge received too great a weight, and was snapped asunder, so that the Macedonians fell with it. The barbarians, seeing what was taking place, raised a great shout, and shot at them from the wall with stones, arrows, and whatever else any one happened to have at hand, or whatever any one could lay hold of at the time. Others issued forth by the small gates which they had between the towers in the wall, and at close quarters struck the men who had been thrown into confusion by the fall.” Arrian wrote: “Alexander now sent Alcetas with his own brigade to recover the men who had been severely wounded, and to recall to the camp those who were assailing the enemy. On the fourth day he brought up another bridge against the wall in like manner upon another military engine. The Indians, as long as the ruler of the place survived, defended themselves gallantly; but when he was struck and killed with a missile hurled from an engine, and as some of their number had fallen in the siege, which had gone on without any cessation, while most of them were wounded and unfit for service, they sent a herald to Alexander. He was glad to preserve the lives of brave men; so he came to terms with the Indian mercenaries on this condition, that they should be admitted into the ranks with the rest of his army and serve as his soldiers. “They therefore came out of the city with their arms, and encamped by themselves upon a hill which was facing the camp of the Macedonians; but they resolved to arise by night and run away to their own abodes, because they were unwilling to take up arms against the other Indians. When Alexander received intelligence of this, he placed the whole of his army round the hill in the night, and intercepting them in the midst of their flight, cut them to pieces. He then took the city by storm, denuded as it was of defenders; and captured the mother and daughter of Assacenus. In the whole siege five-and-twenty of Alexander’s men were killed. Thence he despatched Coenus to Bazira, entertaining an opinion that the inhabitants would surrender, when they heard of the capture of Massaga. He also despatched Attalus, Alcetas, and Demetrius the cavalry officer to another city, named Ora, with instructions to blockade it until be himself arrived. The men of this city made a sortie against the forces of Alcetas; but the Macedonians easily routed them, and drove them into the city within the wall. But affairs at Bazira were not favourable to Coenus, for the inhabitants showed no sign of capitulating, trusting to the strength of the place, because not only was it situated on a lofty eminence, but it was also thoroughly fortified all round. Battle of Arigaem When Alexander learnt this, he started off to Bazira; but ascertaining that some of the neighbouring barbarians were about to get into the city of Ora by stealth, being despatched thither by Abisares for that very purpose, he first marched to Ora. He ordered Coenus to fortify a certain strong position to serve as a basis of operations against the city of Bazira, and then to come to him with the rest of his army, after leaving in that place a sufficient garrison to restrain the men in the city from enjoying the free use of their land. But when the men of Bazira saw Coenus departing with the larger part of his army, they despised the Macedonians, as not being able to contend with them, and sallied forth into the plain. A sharply contested battle ensued, in which of the barbarians fell, and over seventy were taken prisoners. But the rest, fleeing for refuge into the city, were now more securely shut off from the country by the men in the fort. After the fall of Massaga, Alexander advanced further, and in the course of a few months’ hard fighting captured the important and strategic fortresses of Ora, Bazira, Aornos, Peukelaotis (Skt. Puskaravatl, modern Charsadda in the Yusufzai territory), Embolima and Dyrta. Arrian wrote "The siege of Ora proved an easy matter to Alexander, for he no sooner attacked the walls than at the first assault he got possession of the city, and captured the elephants which had been left there.” Thus, having subjugated the frontier regions and posted adequate Greek garrisons to maintain his authority there, Alexander felt himself free to press onward. The odds were undoubtedly in his favour. The Punjab and Sind, which were to bear the brunt of his arms, presented the sorry spectacle of a disunited house Capture of Bazira and Advance to the Rock of Aornus Arrian wrote: “When the men in Bazira heard this news, despairing of their own affairs, they abandoned the city about the middle of the night, and fled to the rock as the other barbarians were doing. For all the inhabitants deserted the cities and began to flee to the rock which is in their land, and is called Aornus. For stupendous is this rock in this land, about which the current report is, that it was found impregnable even by Heracles, the son of Zeus. I cannot affirm with confidence either way, whether the Theban, Tyrian, or Egyptian Heracles penetrated into India or not; but I am rather inclined to think that he did not penetrate so far; for men are wont to magnify the difficulty of difficult enterprises to such a degree as to assert that they would have been impracticable even to Heracles. “Therefore, I am inclined to think, that in regard to this rock the name of Heracles was mentioned simply to add to the marvellousness of the tale. The circuit of the rock is said to be about stades (i.e. about twenty-three miles), and its height where it is lowest, eleven stades (i.e., about a mile and a quarter). There was only one ascent, which was artificial and difficult; on the summit of the rock there was abundance of pure water, a spring issuing from the ground, from which the water flowed; and there was also timber, and sufficient good arable land for , men to till. When Alexander heard this, he was seized with a vehement desire to capture this mountain also, especially on account of the legend which was current about Heracles. He then made Ora and Massaga fortresses to keep the land in subjection, and fortified the city of Bazira. Hephaestion and Perdiccas also fortified for him another city, named Orobatis, and leaving a garrison in it marched towards the river Indus. When they reached that river they at once began to carry out Alexander’s instructions in regard to bridging it. Alexander then appointed Nicanor, one of the Companions, viceroy of the land on this side the river Indus; and in the first place leading his army towards that river, he brought over on terms of capitulation the city of Peucelaotis, which was situated not far from it. In this city he placed a garrison of Macedonians, under the command of Philip, and then reduced to subjection some other small towns situated near the same river, being accompanied by Cophaeus and Assagetes, the chieftains of the land. Battle of Massaga “Arriving at the city of Embolima, which was situated near the rock Aornus, be left Craterus there with a part of the army, to gather as much corn as possible into the city, as well as all the other things requisite for a long stay, so that making this their base of operations, the Macedonians might be able by a long siege to wear out the men who were holding the rock, supposing it were not captured at the first assault. He then took the bowmen, the Agrianians, and the brigade of Coenus, and selecting the lightest as well as the best-armed men from the rest of the phalanx, with of the Companion cavalry and horse-bowmen, he advanced to the rock. This day he encamped where it appeared to him convenient; but on the morrow he approached a little nearer to the rock, and encamped again.” Siege of Aornus “But as the Macedonians did not relax their efforts, advancing one after another, and those who were in advance rested till their comrades came up, after great exertions they gained possession of the pass early in the afternoon, and formed a junction with Ptolemy’s forces. As the whole army was now united, Alexander led it thence against the rock itself. But the approach to it was still impracticable. Such then was the result of this day’s labours. At the approach of the dawn he issued an order that each soldier individually should cut stakes; and when this had been done he heaped up a great mound against the rock, beginning from the top of the hill where they had encamped. From this mound he thought the arrows as well as the missiles launched from the military engines would be able to reach the defenders of the rock. Every one in the army assisted him in this work of raising the mound; while he himself superintended it, as an observer, not only commending the man who completed his task with zeal and alacrity, but also chastising him who was dilatory in the pressing emergency.” Arrian wrote: “At this juncture some of the natives came to him, and surrendering themselves, offered to lead him to the part of the rock where it could be most easily assailed, and from which it would be easy for him to capture the place. With these he sent Ptolemy, son of Lagus, the confidential body-guard, in command of the Agrianians and the other light-armed troops, together with picked men from the shield-bearing guards. He gave this officer instructions, as soon as he had got possession of the place, to occupy it with a strong guard, and signal to him that it was held. Ptolemy proceeded along a road which was rough and difficult to pass, and occupied the position without the knowledge of the barbarians. “After strengthening his position with a stockade and a ditch all round, he raised a beacon from the mountain, whence it was likely to be seen by Alexander. The flame was at once seen, and on the following day the king led his army forward; but as the barbarians disputed his advance, he could do nothing further on account of the difficult nature of the ground. When the barbarians perceived that Alexander could not make an assault, they turned round and attacked Ptolemy, and a sharp battle ensued between them and the Macedonians, the Indians making great efforts to demolish the stockade, and Ptolemy to preserve his position. But the barbarians, getting the worst of it in the skirmish, withdrew as the night came on. Alexander now selected from the Indian deserters a man who was not only devoted to him but acquainted with the locality, and sent him by night to Ptolemy, carrying a letter, in which it was written that as soon as the king attacked the rock, Ptolemy was to come down the mountain upon the barbarians, and not be contented with holding his position in guard; so that the Indians, being assailed from both sides at once, might be in perplexity what course to pursue. Accordingly, starting from his camp at daybreak, he led his army up the path by which Ptolemy had ascended by stealth, entertaining the opinion that if he could force his way in this direction and join his forces with those of Ptolemy, the work would no longer be difficult for him; and so it turned out. For until midday a smart battle was kept up between the Indians and the Macedonians, the latter striving to force a way of approach, and the former hurling missiles at them as they ascended. Alexander the Great Arrives at the Indus Arrian wrote: “On the first day his army constructed the mound the length of a stade; and on the following day the slingers shooting at the Indians from the part already finished, assisted by the missiles which were hurled from the military engines, repulsed the sallies which they made against the men who were constructing the mound. He went on with the work for three days without intermission, and on the fourth day a few of the Macedonians forcing their way occupied a small eminence which was on a level with the rock. Without taking any rest, Alexander went on with the mound, being desirous of connecting his artificial rampart with the eminence which the few men were now occupying for him “But then the Indians, being alarmed at the indescribable audacity of the Macedonians, who had forced their way to the eminence, and seeing that the mound was already united with it, desisted from attempting any longer to resist. They sent their herald to Alexander, saying that they were willing to surrender the rock, if he would grant them a truce. But they had formed the design of wasting the day by continually delaying the ratification of the truce, and of scattering themselves in the night with the view of escaping one by one to their own abodes. When Alexander discovered this plan of theirs, he allowed them time to commence their retreat, and to remove the guard which was placed all round the place. He remained quiet until they began their retreat; then taking of the body-guards and shield-bearing infantry, he was the first to scale the rock at the part of it abandoned by the enemy; and the Macedonians ascended after him, one in one place another in another, drawing each other up. These men at the concerted signal turned themselves upon the retreating barbarians, and killed many of them in their flight. Others retreating with panic terror perished by leaping down the precipices; and thus the rock which had been inexpugnable to Heracles was occupied by Alexander. He offered sacrifice upon it, and arranged a fort, committing the superintendence of the garrison to Sisicottus, who long before had deserted from the Indians to Bessus in Bactra, and after Alexander had acquired possession of the country of Bactra, entered his army and appeared to be eminently trustworthy. Greek-style art from Taxila “He now set out from the rock and invaded the land of the Assacenians; for he was informed that the brother of Assacenus, with his elephants and many of the neighbouring barbarians had fled into the mountains in this district. When he arrived at the city of Dyrta, he found none of the inhabitants either in it or in the land adjacent. On the following day he sent out Nearchus and Antiochus, the colonels of the shield-bearing guards, giving the former the command of the Agrianians and the light-armed troops, and the latter the command of his own regiments and two others besides. They were despatched both to reconnoitre the locality and to try if they could capture some of the barbarians anywhere in order to get information about the general affairs of the country; and he was especially anxious to learn news of the elephants. He now directed his march towards the river Indus, the army going in advance to make a road for him, as otherwise this district would have been impassable. Here he captured a few of the barbarians, from whom he learnt that the Indians of that land had fled for safety to Abisares, but that they had left their elephants there to pasture near the river Indus. He ordered these men to show him the way to the elephants. Many of the Indians are elephant-hunters, and these Alexander kept in attendance upon him in high honour, going out to hunt the elephants in company with them. Two of these animals perished in the chase, by leaping down a precipice, but the rest were caught and being ridden by drivers were marshalled with the army. He also as he was marching along the river lighted upon a wood the timber of which was suitable for building ships; this was cut down by the army, and ships were built for him, which were brought down the river Indus to the bridge, which had long since been constructed by Hephaestion and Perdiccas at his command.” Alexander at Nysa Alexander next advanced on the hill-state of Nysa (Nycaea), which probably occupied a site on the lower spurs and valleys of the Koh-i-Mor. It was governed by a body of aristocracy consisting of 300 members, Akouphis being their chief. The Nyseans readily submitted to Alexander, and placed at his disposal a contingent of 300 cavalry. They claimed descent from Dionysos, and in proof of it pointed out that the ivy grew in their country and that the mountain near the city was the same as Meros. This gratified the vanity of Alexander, and he, therefore, allowed his weary troops to take rest and indulge in Bacchanalian revels for a few days with their alleged distant kinsmen. Plutarch wrote: “Seeing his men march slowly and unwillingly to the siege of the place called Nysa, because of a deep river between them and the town," Alexander "advanced before them, and standing upon the bank, “What a miserable man,” said he, “am I, that I have not learned to swim!” and then was hardly dissuaded from endeavoring to pass it upon his shield. Here, after the assault was over, the ambassadors who from several towns which he had blocked up, came to submit to him and make their peace, were surprised to find him still in his armor, without any one in waiting or attendance upon him, and when at last some one brought him a cushion, he made the eldest of them, named Acuphis, take it and sit down upon it. The old man, marvelling at his magnanimity and courtesy, asked him what his countrymen should do to merit his friendship. “I would have them,” said Alexander, “choose you to govern them, and send one hundred of the most-worthy men among them to remain with me as hostages.” Acuphis laughed and answered, “I shall govern them with more ease, Sir, if I send you so many of the worst, rather than the best of my subjects.” Arrian wrote: “In this country, lying between the rivers Cophen and Indus, which was traversed by Alexander, the city of Nysa is said to be situated. The report is, that its foundation was the work of Dionysus, who built it after he had subjugated the Indians. But it is impossible to determine who this Dionysus was, and at what time, or from what quarter he led an army against the Indians. For I am unable to decide whether the Theban Dionysus, starting from Thebes or from the Lydian Tmolus came into India at the head of an army, and after traversing the territories of so many warlike nations, unknown to the Greeks of that time, forcibly subjugated none of them except that of the Indians. But I do not think we ought to make a minute examination of the legends which were promulgated in ancient times about the divinity; for things which are not credible to the man who examines them according to the rule of probability, do not appear to be wholly incredible, if one adds the divine agency to the story. “When Alexander came to Nysa the citizens sent out to him their president, whose name was Acuphis, accompanied by thirty of their most distinguished men as envoys, to entreat Alexander to leave their city free for the sake of the god. The envoys entered Alexander’s tent and found him seated in his armour still covered with dust from the journey, with his helmet on his head, and holding his spear in his hand. When they beheld the sight they were struck with astonishment, and falling to the earth remained silent a long time. But when Alexander caused them to rise, and bade them be of good courage, then at length Acuphis began thus to speak: “The Nysaeans beseech thee, O king, out of respect for Dionysus, to allow them to remain free and independent; for when Dionysus had subjugated the nation of the Indians, and was returning to the Grecian sea, he founded this city from the soldiers who had become unfit for military service, and were under his inspiration as Bacchanals, so that it might be a monument both of his wandering and of his victory, to men of after times; just as thou also hast founded Alexandria near mount Caucasus, and another Alexandria in the country of the Egyptians. Many other cities thou hast already founded, and others thou wilt found hereafter, in the course of time, inasmuch as thou hast achieved more exploits than Dionysus. The god indeed called the city Nysa, and the land Nysaea after his nurse Nysa. The mountain also which is near the city he named Meros (i.e. thigh), because, according to the legend, he grew in the thigh of Zeus. From that time we inhabit Nysa, a free city, and we ourselves are independent, conducting our government with constitutional order. And let this be to thee a proof that our city owes its foundation to Dionysus; for ivy, which does not grow in the rest of the country of India, grows among us.” Arrian wrote: “All this was very pleasant to Alexander to hear; for he wished that the legend about the wandering of Dionysus should be believed, as well as that Nysa owed its foundation to that deity, since he had himself reached the place where Dionysus came, and had even advanced beyond the limits of the latter’s march. He also thought that the Macedonians would not decline still to share his labours if he advanced further, from a desire to surpass the achievements of Dionysus. He therefore granted the inhabitants of Nysa the privilege of remaining free and independent; and when he inquired about their laws, he commended them because the government was in the hands of the aristocracy “He required them to send of their horsemen to accompany him, and to select and send of the aristocrats who presided over the government of the State, who also were in number. He ordered Acuphis to make the selection, and appointed him governor of the land of Nysaea. When Acuphis heard this, he is said to have smiled at the speech; whereupon Alexander asked him why he laughed. Acuphis replied:—“How, O king, could a single city deprived of of its good men be still well governed? But if thou carest for the welfare of the Nysaeans, lead with thee the horsemen, and still more than that number if thou wishest: but instead of the hundred of the best men whom thou orderest me to select lead with thee double the number of the others who are bad, so that when thou comest here again the city may appear in the same good order in which it now is.” Buddha and Hercules “By these remarks he persuaded Alexander; for he thought he was speaking with prudence. So he ordered them to send the horsemen to accompany him, but no longer demanded the hundred select men, nor indeed others in their stead. But he commanded Acuphis to send his own son and his daughter’s son to accompany him. He was now seized with a strong desire of seeing the place where the Nysaeans boasted to have certain memorials of Dionysus. So he went to Mount Merus with the Companion cavalry and the foot guard, and saw the mountain, which was quite covered with ivy and laurel and groves thickly shaded with all sorts of timber, and on it were chases of all kinds of wild animals. The Macedonians were delighted at seeing the ivy, as they had not seen any for a long time; for in the land of the Indians there was no ivy, even where they had vines. They eagerly made garlands of it, and crowned themselves with them, as they were, singing hymns in honour of Dionysus, and invoking the deity by his various names. Alexander there offered sacrifice to Dionysus, and feasted in company with his companions. Some authors have also stated, but I do not know if any one will believe it, that many of the distinguished Macedonians in attendance upon him, having crowned themselves with ivy, while they were engaged in the invocation of the deity, were seized with the inspiration of Dionysus, uttered cries of Evoi in honour of the god, and acted as Bacchanals.” “Any one who receives these stories may believe or disbelieve them as he pleases. But I do not altogether agree with Eratosthenes the Cyrenaean, who says that everything which was attributed to the divine agency by the Macedonians was really said to gratify Alexander by their excessive eulogy. For he says that the Macedonians, seeing a cavern in the land of the Parapamisadians, and hearing a certain legend which was current among the natives, or themselves forming a conjecture, spread the report that this forsooth was the cave where Prometheus had been bound, that an eagle frequented it to feast on his inward parts, that when Heracles arrived there he killed the eagle and set Prometheus free from his bonds. “He also says that by their account the Macedonians transferred Mount Caucasus from the Euxine Sea to the eastern parts of the earth, and the land of the Parapamisadians to that of the Indians; calling what was really Mount Parapamisus by the name of Caucasus, in order to enhance Alexander’s glory, seeing that he forsooth had gone over the Caucasus. He adds, that when they saw in India itself some oxen marked with the brand of a club, they concluded from this that Heracles had penetrated into India. Eratosthenes also disbelieves the similar tale of the wandering of Dionysus. Let me leave the stories about these matters undecided as far as I am concerned. About the beginning of the spring of 326 B.C. after offering the customary sacrifices and allowing his tired troops a short respite, Similarly, Abhisares, the astute king of Abhisara (Poonch and Nowshera districts), and other neighbouring princes, like Doxares, surrendered to Alexander of their own accord, thinking that resistance would be of no avail. Alexander Crosses the Indus and Marches to the Hydaspes Alexander crossed the Indus safely somewhere near Ohind (modern Und, a few miles above Attock), Arrian wrote: "When Alexander arrived at the river Indus, he found a bridge made over it by Hephaestion, and two thirty-oared galleys, besides many smaller craft. He moreover found that talents of silver, oxen, above , sheep for sacrificial victims, and thirty elephants had arrived as gifts from Taxiles the Indian; Indian horsemen also arrived from Taxiles as a reinforcement, and that prince sent word that he would surrender to him the city of Taxila, the largest town between the rivers Indus and Hydaspes. Alexander there offered sacrifice to the gods to whom he was in the habit of sacrificing, and celebrated a gymnastic and horse contest near the river. The sacrifices were favourable to his crossing.” “This has been the method of constructing bridges, practised by the Romans from olden times; but how Alexander laid a bridge over the river Indus I cannot say, because those who served in his army have said nothing about it. But I should think that the bridge was made as near as possible as I have described, or if it were effected by some other contrivance so let it be. When Alexander had crossed to the other side of the river Indus, he again offered sacrifice there, according to his custom. Then starting from the Indus, he arrived at Taxila, a large and prosperous city, in fact the largest of those situated between the rivers Indus and Hydaspes. He was received in a friendly manner by Taxiles, the governor of the city, and by the Indians of that place; and he added to their territory as much of the adjacent country as they asked for. “Thither also came to him envoys from Abisares, king of the mountaineer Indians, the embassy including the brother of Abisares as well as the other most notable men. Other envoys also came from Doxareus, the chief of the province, bringing gifts with them. Here again at Taxila Alexander offered the sacrifices which were customary for him to offer, and celebrated a gymnastic and equestrian contest. Having appointed Philip, son of Machatas, viceroy of the Indians of that district, he left a garrison in Taxila, as well as the soldiers who were invalided by sickness, and then marched towards the river Hydaspes. For he was informed that Porus, with the whole of his army was on the other side of that river, having determined either to prevent him from making the passage, or to attack him while crossing. When Alexander ascertained this, he sent Coenus, son of Polemocrates, back to the river Indus, with instructions to cut in pieces all the vessels which he had prepared for the passage of that river, and to bring them to the river Hydaspes. Coenus cut the vessels in pieces and conveyed them thither, the smaller ones being cut into two parts, and the thirty-oared galleys into three. The sections were conveyed upon waggons, as far as the bank of the Hydaspes; and there the vessels were fixed together again, and seen as a fleet upon that river. Alexander took the forces which he had when he arrived at Taxila, and the Indians under the command of Taxiles and the chiefs of that district, and marched towards the same river.” Ancient Macedonian army The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Greek world, and Macedonia had been regarded as a second-rate power. The latest innovations in weapons and tactics were adopted and refined by Philip II, and he created a uniquely flexible and effective army. By introducing military service as a full-time occupation, Philip was able to drill his men regularly, ensuring unity and cohesion in his ranks. In a remarkably short time, this led to the creation of one of the finest military machines of the ancient world. Tactical improvements included the latest developments in the deployment of the traditional Greek phalanx made by men such as Epaminondas of Thebes and Iphicrates of Athens. Philip II improved on these military innovators by using both Epaminondas' deeper phalanx and Iphicrates' combination of a longer spear and smaller and lighter shield. However, the Macedonian king also innovated; he introduced the use of a much longer spear, the two-handed pike. The Macedonian pike, the sarissa, gave its wielder many advantages both offensively and defensively. For the first time in Greek warfare, cavalry became a decisive arm in battle. The Macedonian army perfected the co-ordination of different troop types, an early example of combined arms tactics — the heavy infantry phalanx, skirmish infantry, archers, light cavalry and heavy cavalry, and siege engines were all deployed in battle; each troop type being used to its own particular advantage and creating a synergy of mutual support. The new Macedonian army was an amalgamation of different forces. Macedonians and other Greeks (especially Thessalian cavalry) and a wide range of mercenaries from across the Aegean and Balkans were employed by Phillip. By 338 BC, more than a half of the army for his planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia came from outside the borders of Macedon — from all over the Greek world and the nearby barbarian tribes, such as the Illyrians, Paeonians, and Thracians. After Philip's death, his successor, Alexander the Great, used the army to conquer the Achaemenid Empire. As a result of uneven manuscript survival, most of the primary historical sources for this period have been lost. As a consequence, scholarship is largely reliant on the works of Diodorus Siculus and Arrian, plus the incomplete writings of Curtius, all of whom lived centuries later than the events they describe. Philip II of Macedon - Roman medallion depicting the Macedonian king. If Philip II of Macedon had not been the father of Alexander the Great, he would be more widely known as a first-rate military innovator, tactician and strategist, and as a consummate politician. The conquests of Alexander would have been impossible without the army his father created. Considered semi-barbarous by some metropolitan Greeks, the Macedonians were a martial people; they drank deeply of unwatered wine (the very mark of a barbarian) and no youth was considered to be fit to sit with the men at table until he had killed, on foot with a spear, a wild boar. When Philip took over control of Macedon, it was a backward state on the fringes of the Greek world and was beset by its traditional enemies: Illyrians, Paeonians and Thracians. The basic structure of the army inherited by Philip II was the division of the companion cavalry (hetairoi) from the foot companions (pezhetairoi), augmented by various allied troops, foreign levied soldiers, and mercenaries.[3] The foot companions existed perhaps since the reign of Alexander I of Macedon, while Macedonian troops are accounted for in the history of Herodotus as subjects of the Persian Empire fighting the Greeks at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.  Macedonian cavalry, wearing muscled cuirasses, became renowned in Greece during and after their involvement in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), at times siding with either Athens or Sparta and supplemented by local Greek infantry instead of relying on Macedonian infantry.  Macedonian infantry in this period consisted of poorly trained shepherds and farmers, while the cavalry was composed of noblemen eager to win glory.  An early 4th-century BC stone-carved relief from Pella shows a Macedonian hoplite infantryman wearing a pilos helmet and wielding a short sword showing a pronounced Spartan influence on the Macedonian army before Philip II. At the beginning of Philip II's reign in 359 BC, the army consisted of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry, in the latter 5th century BC.  However, Malcolm Errington cautions that any figures for Macedonian troop sizes provided by ancient authors should be treated with a degree of skepticism, since there are very few means by which modern historians are capable of confirming their veracity (and could have been possibly lower or even higher than the numbers stated). The Alexander Mosaic showing the Battle of Issus; a Roman copy of a Hellenistic painting, c. 100 BC Philip's first achievement was to unify Macedon through his army. He raised troops and made his army the single fount of wealth, honour and power in the land; the unruly chieftains of Macedonia became the officers and elite cavalrymen of the army, the highland peasants became the footsoldiers. Philip took pains to keep them always under arms and either fighting or drilling. Manoeuvres and drills were made into competitive events, and the truculent Macedonians vied with each other to excel. As a political counterbalance to the native-born Macedonian nobility, Philip invited military families from throughout Greece to settle on lands he had conquered or confiscated from his enemies, these 'personal clients' then also served as army officers or in the Companion cavalry. After taking control of the gold-rich mines of Mount Pangaeus, and the city of Amphipolis that dominated the region, he obtained the wealth to support a large army. It was a professional army imbued with a national spirit, an unusual combination for the Greek world of the time. The armies of contemporary Greek states were largely reliant on a combination of citizens and mercenaries. The former were not full-time soldiers, and the latter, though professional, had little or no inherent loyalty to their employers. By the time of his death, Philip's army had pushed the Macedonian frontier into southern Illyria, conquered the Paeonians and Thracians, asserted a hegemony over Thessaly, destroyed the power of Phocis and defeated and humbled Athens and Thebes. All the states of Greece, with the exception of Sparta, Epirus and Crete, had become subservient allies of Macedon (League of Corinth) and Philip was laying the foundations of an invasion of the Persian Empire, an invasion that his son would successfully undertake. One important military innovation of Philip II is often overlooked, he banned the use of wheeled transport and limited the number of camp servants to one to every ten infantrymen and one each for the cavalry. This reform made the baggage train of the army very small for its size and improved its speed of its march. Coin of Perdikkas II showing a Macedonian//Heavy cavalry--The Companion cavalry Companion cavalryman armed with two long javelinsAlexander the Great as a cavalryman. He wears a helmet in the form of the lion-scalp of Herakles. Detail of the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus, excavated at Sidon. Macedonian cavalryman (wearing a Thracian helmet and wielding a xyston lance) riding down a Persian footsoldier, fresco in the Kinch Tomb, 310–290 BC, Lefkadia The Companion cavalry, or Hetairoi (Ἑταῖροι), were the elite arm of the Macedonian army, and were the offensive force that made the decisive attack in most of the battles of Alexander the Great. They were unmatched in the pre-stirrup Ancient world in their ability to retain their seat and the control of their weapons through the impact of a charge. Along with Thessalian cavalry contingents, the Companions — raised from landed nobility — made up the bulk of the Macedonian heavy cavalry. Central Macedonia was good horse-rearing country and cavalry was prominent in Macedonian armies from early times. However, it was the reforms in organisation, drill and tactics introduced by Philip II that transformed the Companion cavalry into a battle-winning force, especially the introduction of, or increased emphasis on, the use of a lance and shock tactics. Coinage indicates that from an early period the primary weapons used by Macedonian cavalry were a pair of javelins. This remained true through to the reign of Archelaus I (413–399). Subsequently, despite the adoption of the lance, it is highly probable that the Companion cavalry continued to employ javelins when on scouting or skirmishing missions. The hetairoi were divided into squadrons called ilai (singular: ilē), each 200 men strong, except for the Royal Squadron, which numbered 300. The Royal Squadron was also known as the Agema - "that which leads". Each squadron was commanded by an ilarchēs (ilarch) and appears to have been raised from a particular area of Macedon. Arrian, for instance, described squadrons from Bottiaea, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Anthemus.[15] It is probable that Alexander took eight squadrons with him on his invasion of Asia totalling 1,800 men, leaving seven ilai behind in Macedon (the 1,500 cavalrymen mentioned by Diodorus).[16] Between 330 BC and 328 BC, the Companions were reformed into regiments (hipparchies) of 2-3 squadrons. In conjunction with this, each squadron was divided into two lochoi. This was probably undertaken to allow for the increase in size of each squadron, as reinforcements and amalgamations meant that the Companion cavalry grew in size. At this time, Alexander abandoned the regional organisation of the ilai, choosing their officers regardless of their origins. The individual Companion cavalry squadrons were usually deployed in a wedge formation, which facilitated both manoeuvrability and the shock of the charge. The advantage of the wedge was that it offered a narrow point for piercing enemy formations and concentrated the leaders at the front. It was easier to turn than a square formation because everyone followed the leader at the apex, "like a flight of cranes". Philip II introduced the formation, probably in emulation of Thracian and Scythian cavalry, though the example of the rhomboid formation adopted by Macedon's southern neighbours, the Thessalians, must also have had some effect. The primary weapon of the Macedonian cavalry was the xyston, a double ended cornel-wood lance, with a sword as a secondary weapon. From descriptions of combat, it would appear that once in melee the Companion cavalryman used his lance to thrust at the chests and faces of the enemy. It is possible that the lance was aimed at the upper body of an opposing cavalryman in the expectation that a blow which did not wound or kill might have sufficient leverage to unseat. If the lance broke, the Companion could reverse it and use the other end, or draw his sword. Cleitus, an officer of the Companions, saved Alexander the Great's life at the Granicus by cutting off an enemy horseman's arm with his sword. Companion cavalrymen would normally have worn armour and a helmet in battle. Although the Companion cavalry is largely regarded as the first real shock cavalry of Antiquity, it seems that Alexander was very wary of using it against well-formed infantry, as attested by Arrian in his account of the battle against the Malli, an Indian tribe he faced after Hydaspes. There, Alexander did not dare assault the dense infantry formation with his cavalry, but rather waited for his infantry to arrive, while he and his cavalry harassed their flanks. It is a common mistake to portray the Companion cavalry as a force able to burst through compact infantry lines. Alexander usually launched the Companions at the enemy after a gap had opened up between their units or disorder had already disrupted their ranks. However, the ancient historian Arrian implies that the Companion cavalry were successful in an assault, along with heavy infantry, on the Greek mercenary hoplites serving Persia in the closing stages of the Battle of Granicus. Their success may have been largely due to the poor morale of the hoplites, who had just witnessed the rest of their army broken and put to flight. The original 1,800 Companions who accompanied Alexander to Asia were augmented by 300 reinforcements arriving from Macedon after the first year of campaigning. They were usually arrayed on the right flank (this being the position of honour in Hellenic armies, where the best troops would be positioned), and typically carried out the decisive manoeuvre/assault of the battle under Alexander's direct leadership. Thessalian cavalry A heavy cavalryman of Alexander the Great's army, possibly a Thessalian. He wears a cuirass (probably a linothorax) and a Boeotian helmet, and is equipped with a scabbarded xiphos straight-bladed sword. Alexander Sarcophagus. Following the defeat of Lycophron of Pherae and Onomarchos of Phocis, Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of the Thessalian League; his death induced the Thessalians to attempt to throw off Macedonian hegemony, but a short bloodless campaign by Alexander restored them to allegiance. The Thessalians were considered the finest cavalry of Greece. The Thessalian heavy cavalry accompanied Alexander during the first half of his Asian campaign and continued to be employed by the Macedonians as allies until Macedon's final demise at the hands of the Romans. Its organization and weaponry were similar to the Companion Cavalry, though the earlier Thessalian way of fighting emphasised the use of javelins. The Thessalian cavalry was famed for its use of rhomboid formations, said to have been developed by the Thessalian Tagos (head of the Thessalian League) Jason of Pherae. This formation was very efficient for manoeuvring, as it allowed the squadron to change direction at speed while still retaining cohesion. The numbers given for Alexander's invasion of the Persian Empire included 1,800 such men. This number would have risen no higher than 2,000. They were typically entrusted with the defensive role of guarding the left flank from enemy cavalry, allowing the decisive attack to be launched on the right. They often faced tremendous opposition when in this role. At Issus and Gaugamela, the Thessalians withstood the attack of Persian cavalry forces, though greatly outnumbered. At Ecbatana, the Thessalians with Alexander's army were disbanded and sent home. Some remained with the army as mercenaries, yet these too were sent home a year later when the army reached the Oxus River. Other Greek cavalry The Hellenic states allied to, or more accurately under the hegemony of, Macedon provided contingents of heavy cavalry and the Macedonian kings hired mercenaries of the same origins. Alexander had 600 Greek cavalrymen at the start of his campaign against Persia, probably organised into 5 ilai. These cavalrymen would have been equipped very similarly to the Thessalians and Companions, but they deployed in a square formation eight deep and sixteen abreast. Greek cavalry was not considered as effective or versatile as the Thessalian and Macedonian cavalry Light cavalry Light cavalry, such as the prodromoi (literal trans. "those who run ahead"), secured the wings of the army during battle and went on reconnaissance missions. There is some ambiguity concerning the use of the term prodromoi by the sources; it may have been used to describe any cavalry undertaking a scouting, skirmishing or screening mission, or it may have denoted a single unit, or indeed both.[29] Apart from the prodromoi (in the sense of a single unit), other horsemen from subject or allied nations, filling various tactical roles and wielding a variety weapons, rounded out the cavalry. By the time Alexander campaigned in India, and subsequently, the cavalry had been drastically reformed and included thousands of horse-archers from Iranian peoples such as the Dahae (prominent at the Battle of Hydaspes). Prodromoi/Sarissophoroi (cavalry unit) Scholarship is divided as to the ethnic composition of the prodromoi of the Macedonian army. Most authorities regard the prodromoi as being raised from Macedonians, which would parallel the Athenian prodromoi, who were raised from the Thetes, the lowest census class of Athenian citizens Sekunda, however, gives them an origin from Thrace. Arrian usually differentiates the prodromoi from the Paeonian light cavalry, which suggests a fixed ethnic composition This uncertainty is probably due to the lack of a definite understanding of the use of the term prodromoi by the primary sources, referred to above. The prodromoi, are sometimes referred to as sarissophoroi, "pikemen" or "lancers", which leads to the conclusion that they sometimes were armed with an uncommonly long xyston (believed to be 14 ft long), though certainly not an infantry pike. In the primary sources, Arrian mentions that Aretes commanded the prodromoi; in the same context Curtius says that Aretes commanded the sarissophoroi. It would appear that the same unit of cavalry was known by both names. The prodromoi/sarissophoroi acted as scouts, reconnoitering in front of the army when it was on the march. In battle, they were used in a shock role to protect the right flank of the Companion cavalry. Persian light cavalry took over scouting duties when they became available to the Macedonian army following Gaugamela. The prodromoi then assumed a purely battlefield role as shock cavalry. It is possible that the prodromoi, due to their skill in wielding long lances and their extensive battle experience, were considered more valuable in the role of shock cavalry, especially after the departure of the Thessalian cavalry. Four ilai, each 150 strong, of prodromoi operated with Alexander's army in Asia.[33] At Gaugamela, the prodromoi under Aretes were responsible for finally routing the Persian left wing cavalry, winning the battle in this sector. Paeonian cavalr These light cavalry were recruited from Paeonia, a tribal region to the north of Macedonia. The Paeones had been conquered and reduced to tributary status by Philip II. Led by their own chieftains, the Paeonian cavalry was usually brigaded with the Prodromoi and often operated alongside them in battle. They appear to have been armed with javelins and swords and are, unusually, described as carrying shields. Initially only one squadron strong, they received 500 reinforcements in Egypt and a further 600 at Susa. Thracian Cavalry Javelin-armed Thracian horseman - hunting wild boar. Largely recruited from the Odrysian tribe, the Thracian cavalry also acted as scouts on the march. In battle, they performed much the same function as the Prodromoi and Paeonians, except they guarded the flank of the Thessalian cavalry on the left wing of the army. The Thracians deployed in their ancestral wedge formations and were armed with javelins and swords. At Gaugamela, the Thracians fielded four ilai and were about 500 strong. III Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia The Kingdom of Macedon in 332 BC In 336, Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias.  Philip's son, and previously designated heir, Alexander, was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army. He also succeeded his father as head of the League of Corinth, a confederation of Greek states that were under the hegemony of Macedonia in order to combat the Achaemenid Empire. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, as well as the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolt reached Alexander, he took quick action. Although his advisers recommended the use of diplomacy, Alexander ignored the advice and instead proceeded to muster together his Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men. Together, the army rode south towards Thessaly (Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south). When he found the Thessalian army blocking the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had his men ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke, they found Alexander at their rear. The Thessalians quickly surrendered, and their cavalry was added to Alexander's force. He then proceeded south, towards the Peloponnese. Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Sacred League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander received the envoy and pardoned anyone involved with the uprising. At Corinth, he was given the title 'Hegemon' of the Greek forces against the Persians. Whilst at Corinth, he heard the news of a Thracian uprising in the north. Alexander's Balkan campaign Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders and, in the spring of 335 BC, he advanced into Thrace to deal with the revolt, which was led by the Illyrians and Triballi. At Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated a Thracian garrison manning the heights. The Macedonians were then attacked in the rear by the Triballi, who were crushed in turn. Alexander then advanced on to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. The Getae army retreated after the first cavalry skirmish, leaving their town to the Macedonian army. News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against Macedonian authority. Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing Cleitus and Glaukias to flee with their armies, leaving Alexander's northern frontier secure. While he was triumphantly campaigning north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once more. Alexander reacted immediately, but, while the other cities once again hesitated, Thebes decided to resist with the utmost vigor. This resistance was useless, however, as the city was razed to the ground amid great bloodshed and its territory divided between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens into submission, leaving all of Greece at least outwardly at peace with Alexander.  Alexander the Great crosses the Hellespont and begins his campaign in the East. Alexander the Great entered history for eternity on this day, April 1, in 334 BC when he crossed the Hellespont and began his campaign in the East against the Persian Empire, and later an invasion of India. Socio-political conditions in India Alexander's incursion into India was limited to the Indus River basin area, which was divided among several small states. These states appear to have been based on dominance of particular tribes, as the Greek writers mention tribes such as the Malloi as well as kings whose names seem to be tribal designations. The Achaemenid Empire of Persia had held suzerainty over the Indus valley in the previous decades, but there was no trace of Achaemenid rule beyond the Indus river when Alexander's army arrived in the region. Strabo, sourcing his information from the earlier writer Eratosthenes, states that the Achaemenid king controlled the area to the west of the Indus. This area (including the Kapisa-Gandhara region) was probably the territory of the Indians, who according to the Greek accounts, fought alongside their overlord Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela. Greek writings as well as archaeological excavations indicate the existence of an urban economy dependent on agriculture and trade in the Indus basin. The Greeks mention the existence of cities and fortified towns such as Taxila. Arrian mentions that after defeating Porus, Alexander marched eastwards towards the Chenab River, and captured 37 towns: the smallest of these towns had 5,000 or more inhabitants. In the Swat valley, Alexander is said to have seized 230,000 oxen (possibly Zebu), intending to send them to Macedonia for ploughing land. Aristobulus saw rice being grown in paddy fields, Onesicritus reported the existence of a crop called bosmoran (possibly the pearl millet), and Nearchus wrote of "honey-yielding reeds" (presumably the sugarcane). Nearchus also mentions that Indians wore clothes made of cotton. Rock salt was extracted from the Salt Range, and supplied to other parts of India. Some primitive communities existed in the forest, desert, and coastal regions of the subcontinent. For example, Nearchus mentions that people around the Tomeros river (Hingol) subsisted on fishing, and used stone tools instead of iron ones. The Greek writers mention the priestly class of Brahmanas (as "Brachmanes"), who are described as teachers of Indian philosophy. They do not refer to the existence of any religious temples or idols in India, although such references commonly occur in their descriptions of Alexander's campaigns in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Iran. Greek accounts mention naked ascetics called gymnosophists. A philosopher named Calanus (probably a Greek transcription of the Indian name "Kalyana") accompanied Alexander to Persepolis, where he committed suicide on a public funeral pyre: he was probably a Jain or an Ajivika monk. There is no reference to Buddhism in the Greek accounts. Other than their mention of the Brahmanas, the Greek narratives about Alexander's invasion do not directly mention the caste system. Some Brahmanas acted as advisors to local princes: Alexander had groups of Brahmanas hanged in present-day Sindh for instigating the rulers Musicanus and Sambus to revolt against him. The Greek writings attest the existence of slavery in at least two places: Onesicritus describes slavery in the territory ruled by Musicanus, and Aristobulus mentions poor people selling their daughters publicly in Taxila. Aristobulus also observed Sati, the practice of widows immolating themselves on their husbands' pyre, at Taxila. The practice of exposing dead bodies to vultures, similar to the Magian practice of Tower of Silence, was also prevalent in Taxila. Nearchus mentions that Indians wrote letters on closely woven cloth; it is possible that this is a reference to a precursor of the Kharoshthi script, which may have developed from the Aramaic alphabet during the Achaemenid rule. While describing a tribe on the coast of present-day Balochistan, Nearchus mentions that they were different from Indians in "their language and customs", which implies that he associated a particular language with the Indians.[16] This does not mean that the Indians spoke a single language: the language that Nearchus associated with India might have been a lingua franca used for official and commercial purposes. This lingua franca was most probably the Gandhari Prakrit, as the Greek names (e.g. "Taxila" and "Sandrokottus") for Indian people and places seem to be derived from this language (e.g. "Takhasila" and "Chandagutta") rather than Sanskrit (e.g. "Takshashila" and "Chandragupta"). Nearchus attests the existence of medical science in India: he mentions that when the Greek physicians failed to provide remedies for snake-bites to Alexander, the king gathered Indian healers who were also able to cure other diseases and painful conditions. The Greek accounts do not mention any other sciences of contemporary India The Indian campaign of Alexander the Great began in 327 BC and lasted until 325 BC. After conquering the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Macedonian army undertook an expedition into the Indian subcontinent. Within two years, Alexander expanded the Macedonian Empire to include present-day Punjab and Sindh in what is Modern-day Pakistan, surpassing the earlier frontiers that had been established by the Persian conquest of the Indus Valley. Following Macedon's absorption of Gandhara (a former Persian satrapy), including the city of Taxila, Alexander and his troops advanced into Punjab, where they were confronted by Porus, the regional Indian king. In 326 BC, Alexander defeated Porus and the Pauravas during the Battle of the Hydaspes, but that engagement was possibly their Macedonians' most costly battle. Alexander's continued eastward march was leading his army into a confrontation with the Nanda Empire, based in Magadha. According to Greek sources, the Nanda army was five times the size of the Macedonian army;[4] Alexander's troops—increasingly exhausted, homesick, and anxious by the prospects of having to further face large Indian armies throughout the Indo-Gangetic Plain—mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to advance his push to the east. After a meeting with his army general Coenus, during which he was informed of his soldiers' laments, Alexander relented under the conviction that it was better to return. He subsequently turned southward, advancing through southern Punjab as well as Sindh, where he conquered more tribes along the lower areas of the Indus River, before finally turning westward to reach Macedon. Sources There are no ancient sources at all giving an Indian account of the campaign, or even mentioning it at all. There is no mention of Porus in the extremely sparse Indian accounts of the period. There are however Indian literary accounts and Indian folktales, possibly written many years later. Of those who accompanied Alexander to India, Aristobulus, Onesicritus, and Nearchus wrote about the Indian campaign. The only surviving contemporary account of Alexander's Indian campaign is a report of the voyage of the naval commander Nearchus, who was tasked with exploring the coast between the Indus River and the Persian Gulf. This report is preserved in Arrian's Anabasis (c. 150 AD). Arrian provides a detailed account of Alexander's campaigns, based on the writings of Alexander's companions and courtiers. Arrian's account is supplemented by the writings of other authors, whose works are also based on the accounts of Alexander's companions: these authors include Diodorus (c. 21 BC), Strabo (c. 23 AD), and Plutarch (c. 119 AD). Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia Expedition Date Event April 334 B.C. Departure of the expedition from Amphipolis (Greece) May 334 Troy (Turkey)―Troades, capital city May 334 Battle of the Granicus River (Biga Çay, near Dimetoka, Turkey)―Hellespontine Phrygia (capital city Dascylium (Ergili), captured by Parmenion) Jun 334 Sardes (near Salihli, Turkey)―Lydia, capital city Jun 334 Ephesus (Turkey)―Ionia Jul 334 Siege of Miletus (Turkey)―Ionia, capital city Sep 334 Siege of Halicarnassus (Bodrum, Turkey)―Caria, capital city ? Lycia (Turkey)―Lycia (capital city Xanthos) Dec 334 Phaselis (near Kemer, Turkey)―Pamphylia ? Termessos (Turkey)―Pamphylia Jan 333 Perge (modern Murtina, near Aksu, Turkey)―Pamphylia, capital city ? Aspendos (near Serik, Turkey)―Pamphylia ? Side (near Manavgat, Turkey)―Pamphylia ? Kelainai (near Dinar, Turkey)―Pisidia (capital city Sagalassos) Apr 333 Gordion (Yassihöyük, near Polatli, Turkey)―Great Phrygia, capital city ? Ankyra (Ankara, Turkey)―Cappadocia (capital city Comana (Kayseri)) ? Cilician Gates (Turkey)―Cilicia Sep 333 Cydnos River (Tarsus Çayi River, Turkey )―Cilicia Sep 333 Tarsus (Turkey)―Cilicia, capital city Oct 333 Soli (Mezetlu, west of Mersin, Turkey)―Cilicia Nov 333 Battle of Issus, Pinarus River (Payas River, near Dörtyol, Turkey)―Cilicia Nov 333 Alexandretta or Alexandria near Issus (Iskenderun, Turkey)―Cilicia Dec 333 Aradus Island (Arwad, 3 km off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus, Syria)―Phoenicia(Syria) Jan 332 Byblos (40 km north of Beirut, Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) Jan 332 Sidon (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) Jan-July 332 Siege of Tyre (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) ? Damascus (Syria)―Syria, capital city ??? Jerusalem (Israel)―Syria Sep 332 Siege of Gaza (Palestine)―Syria Dec 332 Pelusium (Port Said, Egypt)―Egypt Jan 331 Memphis (Egypt)―Egypt, capital city Jan 331 Alexandria (Egypt)―Egypt Feb 331 Siwa, oracle (Egypt)―Egypt May 331 Tyre (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) ? Damascus (Syria)―Syria ? Alep (Syria)―Syria Jul 331 Thapsacus (Tipsah) (Dibsi Faray, Euphrates River, Syria)―Mesopotamia Jul 331 Harran (Turkey)―Mesopotamia Jul 331 Edessa or Urhai (Urfa, Turkey)―Mesopotamia Jul 331 Tigris River (Iraq)―Mesopotamia Oct 331 Battle of Gaugamela (Tel Gomel, Iraq)―Mesopotamia Oct 331 Arbela (Arbil/Irbil, Iraq)―Mesopotamia (ancient Assyria), capital city Oct 331 Babylon (on the Euphrates, Iraq)―Babylonia, capital city Dec 331 Susa (Iran)―Susiana (Elam), capital city ? Battle of the Persian Gate (Darvazeh-ye Fars, northeast of Yasuj, Iran)―Persia Jan 330 Persepolis (Iran)―Persia, capital city ? Pasargadae (plain of Morghab, Iran)―Persia Jun 330 Deh Bid Pass (Zagros Range) to modern Yazd and Esfahan, Iran―Persia/Media Jun 330 Ecbatana (Hamadan, Iran)―Media, capital city Jun 330 Rhagae (Rey, Iran)―Media Jun 330 Caspian Gates (between modern Eyvanakey and Aradan or Tehran and Semnan, Iran, Media/Parthia border)―Media/Parthia Jul 330 Alexander's detour from modern Semnan to the Dasht-e-Kavir desert (Iran)―Parthia[1] Jul 330 Thara (near Ahuan, between Semnan and Qusheh, Iran) where the Persian king Darius III was killed―Parthia Jul 330 Hecatompylos (Shahrud, Iran)―Parthia, capital city Jul 330 Zadracarta―Hyrcania, largest city Aug 330 Hyrcanian campaign (Caspian Sea/Elburz Range, Iran)―Hyrcania Sep 330 Susia (Tus, near Mashhad, Iran)―Parthia ? Nisa-Alexandroupolis (Bagir Village, 18 km southwest of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan)???―Parthia Sep 330 Artacoana, Alexandria in Aria (Herat, Afghanistan)―Aria, capital city Oct 330 Phrada, Alexandria Prophthasia (Farah, Afghanistan)―Drangiana, capital city Dec 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan)―Arachosia, capital city Winter 329 Alexandria (Ghazni, Afghanistan)―Arachosia Apr 329 Ortospana, Kabura (Kabul, Afghanistan)―Gandara Apr 329 Cophen River (Kabul River, Afghanistan)―Gandara Apr 329 Kapisa, Alexandria in the Caucasus (Bagram near Charikar, Afghanistan)―Gandara, capital city May 329 Paropamisus (Hindu Kush, Afghanistan) (Paropamisus is the western part of Gandara)―Gandara May 329 Khawak Pass (leading from Badakhshan to Panjshir valley, 100 km northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan)―Gandara May 329 Drapsaca (Konduz/Kondoz or Qonduz/Qondoz, Afghanistan)―Bactria May 329 Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria, capital city May 329 Oxus River (Gozan, (Amudar'ja River, Afghanistan/Uzbekistan border) May 329 Alexandria Tarmita (Termez/Termiz, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia (or Transoxiana) Jun 329 Nautaca (Uzunkir, near Shakhrisabz, between Samarkand and Karshi, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia Jun 329 Maracanda (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia, capital city Jul 329 Jaxartes River (Syrdar'ya River) and Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan/Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan)―Sogdia Jul 329 Fergana Valley with 7 Achaemenid cities-fortresses, among which Cyropolis or Cyreschata/Kurushkatha (Uroteppa, Tajikistan)―Sogdia Jul 329 Alexandria Eschate (Leninabad, Khodzent, Khudzhand or Hudzand, Tajikistan)―Sogdia Oct 329 Sogdians and Scythians Massagetes (Spitamenes' revolt) (north of Jaxartes River) Nov 329 Maracanda (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia Nov 329 Tribactra (Bukhara, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia Nov 329 Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria Spring 328 Alexandria Oxiane/on the Oxus (perhaps Ai-Khanoum/Ay Khanom???) (confluence of the Amudar'ja and Kowkcheh rivers, near Deshitiqala (Badakhshan region), northern frontier of Afghanistan )―Bactria ? Alexandria in Margiana (Mary/Merv, Turkmenistan) (founded by Craterus and refounded by Antiochus I and called Antiochia)―Margiana, capital city Summer/Autumn 328 Sogdian campaigns and attack of the Sogdian settlements in the Gissarskiy (or Hissar) Range (Pamiro-Alai region, Tajikistan)―Sogdia Dec 328 Nautaca (Uzunkir, near Shakhrisabz, between Samarkand and Karshi, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia Mar 327 Sogdian Rock o Rock of Sisimithres (where Oxyartes and Roxana were) (Gissarskiy (or Hissar) Range, Pamiro-Alai region, Tajikistan)―Sogdia Spring 327 Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria Spring 327 Kapisa, Alexandria in the Caucasus (Bagram near Charikar, Afghanistan)―Gandara, capital city ? Cophen River (Kabul River, Afghanistan/Pakistan)―Gandara Sep 327 Passo Khyber/Khyber Pass (Afghanistan/Pakistan)―Gandara Autumn 327 Peucelaotis (Charsadda, north of Peshawar, at the Kabul River, Pakistan), occupied by Perdiccas and Hephaestion―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Arigaeum (Arigaion), capital city of the Aspasians (Nawagai, Pakistan), Alexander campaign against Aspasians and Guraei―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Massaca/Massaga, capital city of the Assacenes (Alexander campaign) (Wuch near Chakdara, lower Swat (Soastus) valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Bazira (Bir-Kot/Barikot, lower Swat valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Ora (Ude-Gram/Odigram, lower Swat valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Shang-La Pass, Pakistan (4300m)―Gandara, Pakistan Autumn 327 Aornus Rock (Pir-Sar or Pir Sarai, 1600m, at the Indus River, Pakistan)―Pakistan Winter 326 Modern Hund, Pakistan (the two Macedonian armies reunited)-Pakistan Mar 326 Alexander's detour to Nysa (legend: founded by Dionysius) (near Jalalabad, at the river Chitral or Kunar (Euas) in eastern Afghanistan)―Gandara, Pakistan Spring 326 Taxila (Takshaçila, 20 km west from Islamabad, Pakistan)―Pakistan, capital city Jul 326 Battle of Hydaspes River against Porus (modern Jhelum, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab (kingdom of Porus, Pauravas) Jul 326 Alexandria Nicaea (west bank of Jhelum, Haranpur???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Jul 326 Alexandria Bucephala (east bank of Jhelum, Haranpur???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Aug 326 Acesines River (Chenab, Pakistan) (crossing between Gujrat and Sialkot, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Aug 326 Hydraotes River (Ravi, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Aug 326 Sangala (near Amritsar, India) (siege against the Mallians)―Eastern Punjab 31 Aug 326 Hyphasis River (Bias/Beas, India) (the easternmost border of Alexander's expedition, mutiny of the army)―Eastern Punjab Sep 326 Alexandria on the Hyphasis (west bank, eastern border of Alexander's empire, near Amritsar, India)―Eastern Punjab Sep 326 Return to Hydaspes River (modern Jhelum, Pakistan), Nicaea and Bucephala (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Nov 326 Departure of the fleet at the Hydaspes River (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Nov-Dec 326 Mallians and Oxydracae campaign (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Nov-Dec 326 Town of the Brahmans (Harmatelia???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab Nov-Dec 326 Siege of Multan (capital city of the Mallians (Malava)), Pakistan (where Alexander was seriously wounded by an arrow)―Eastern Punjab Nov-Dec 326 Alexandria on the Indus (at the confluence of Indus and Chenab) (Uch, Pakistan) (Alexandria of Opiane???)―Eastern Punjab Dec 326 Campaigns against the kingdoms of Musicanus (modern Alor, Pakistan) and Sambus (modern Sehwan, Pakistan)―Sind (capital city Thatta) Dec 326 Patala (modern Hyderabad???, Pakistan)―Sindh Jul-Dec 325 Expedition of Craterus from Patala to Hormuz: Patala, Bolan Pass, between Sibi and Quetta (Pakistan), Kandahar (Afghanistan), Hamun Lake, Hormuz (Bandare Abbas) (Iran) Aug-Dec 325 The return of Alexander: Patala-Hormuz (with Hephaestion) Aug 325 Arabius River (Hab River, crossing near modern Karachi, Pakistan)―Sind ? Arabitians and Oreitans campaigns, Pakistan―Gedrosia Autumn 325 Alexandria Rhambacia (Bela, Pakistan)―Gedrosia ? Alexandria in Makarene (120 km west of Karachi, area of Hab River, Pakistan) Autumn 325 Gedrosian Desert (Baluchistan (Makran), Pakistan/Iran)―Gedrosia Nov 325 Pura (Bampur, Iran)―Gedrosia, capital city Dec 325 Alexandria in Carmania (Golashkerd, Iran)―Carmania (capital city Harmozia/Hormuz) Sep-Dec 325 Expedition of Nearchus from Patala to Hormuz: Patala, Karachi, Hab River, Sonmiani Bay, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jask, Strait of Hormuz, Hormuz (Bandar Abbas) (Iran) Dec 325 The reuniting at Hormuz―Carmania Jan-Feb 324 The return of Alexander from Hormuz to Susa: Jan 324 Pasargad (plain of Morghab, Iran) (visit to the tomb of Cyrus the Great)―Persia Feb 324 Persepolis (Iran)―Persia Feb 324 Susa (Iran)―Susiana (Elam), capital city Jan-Feb 324 The return of Hephaestion and Craterus along the coastline of Carmania and Persia (from Hormuz to Susa) Jan-Feb 324 The return of Nearchus from Hormuz to Susa: Hormuz, Qeshm Island, Mond River, Karun River, Susa Mar 324 The marriages of Susa (Iran) ? Persian Gulf, Mouth of the Tigris (Iraq/Iran)―Susiana Spring 324 Alexandria in Susiana or Alexandria of Characene, later Alexandria Antiocheia), Karka (Charax, near Al Qurnah, Iraq)―Susiana Spring 324 Mutiny of the army at Opis (east bank of the Tigris, not far from the confluence of Tigris and Diyala rivers, south of Baghdad, Iraq)―Babylonia Summer 324 Ecbatana (Hamadan, Iran)―Media, capital city Oct 324 Death of Hephaestion in Ecbatana (Hamadan, Iran)―Media Winter 323 Cossaeans campaign (Loristan/Luristan, Zagros Range, Iran)―Media/Babylonia Spring 323 Babylon (on the Euphrates, Iraq)―Babylonia, capital city 10 or 11 June 323 B.C. Death of Alexander in Babylon (Iraq)―Babylonia IV Cities founded by Alexander the Great Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC), a king of ancient Macedon, created one of the largest empires in history by waging an extensive military campaign throughout Asia. Alexander was groomed for rulership from an early age and acceded to the throne after the assassination of his father, Philip II. After subduing rebellious vassals, he invaded the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 334 BC. Alexander swiftly conquered large areas of Western Asia and Egypt before defeating the Persian king Darius III in battle at Issus and Gaugamela. Achieving complete domination over the former lands of the Achaemenids by 327 BC, Alexander attempted to conquer India but turned back after his weary troops mutinied. Following his death aged thirty-two in Babylon in 323 BC, his empire disintegrated in a series of civil wars fought between his followers. Alexander founded numerous settlements during his campaigns, naming them after himself or close followers. These have been the subject of intense debate, as the accounts of ancient and medieval scholars differ wildly and are often contradictory. Plutarch provides the maximum estimate of seventy cities in his Life of Alexander, but most texts attest to between ten and twenty foundations. The Greek Alexander Romance lists between nine and thirteen cities, depending on the recension; the Syriac, Armenian, Hebrew, and Ethiopic versions of the Romance also record twelve or thirteen foundations. Persian sources such as al-Tabari, al-Dinawari, Hamza al-Isfahani, and Qudama ascribe between nine and twelve settlements to Alexander. Stephanus of Byzantium recorded around twenty settlements. Some authors additionally document the number of cities established in a specific area: for example, Strabo records that Alexander founded eight cities in Bactria. The accounts of Alexander's campaigns, primarily those of Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, and Justin, provide supplementary evidence. Finally, the geographers Eratosthenes, Ptolemy, and Pliny draw upon the otherwise-lost evidence of Alexander's bematist distance-measurers. When attempting to decipher the above sources, modern scholars face numerous problems. Classical writers tended to name every settlement a polis ('city'), from large population centres to small military garrisons; this leads to much confusion, especially considering the possibility that a settlement started out as a military colony and only later grew into a true polis.[3] Although it is often said that Alexander named all his foundations after himself, this is incorrect; nonetheless, the abundance of these settlements led to many taking on epithets such as Eschate or Oxeiana. As some settlements may have taken on multiple such sobriquets, it is likely that "different authors, undoubtedly reflecting different local traditions, might have been referring to the same Alexandreia by different epithets", in the words of the historian Getzel Cohen. In addition, the precise locations of many foundations are unknown. The classicist William Woodthorpe Tarn noted on the matter that "the difficulties of the subject are considerable, the margin of uncertainty often substantial, the sources of confusion numerous". This list contains settlements established or re-established on the order of Alexander the Great himself, often in his presence and always before his death in 323 BC. It does not include any posthumous foundations or refoundations; nor does it include settlements which only claimed a relationship to the Macedonian king. A discussion of these settlements is found below. Settlements whose very existence has been questioned are marked as Uncertain; those which are known to exist but for which scholars disagree on foundation theories are marked as Disputed; and the settlements which are both known to exist and which are acknowledged by scholars as foundations of Alexander are marked as Accepted. Plan of Alexandria in Egypt during the Ptolemaic dynasty   Ruins of the 19th-century citadel of Kandahar. A settlement on the same site may have been captured or founded by Alexander/ The ruins of Alexandria Troas, which W. W. Tarn theorized was founded by Alexander/Plan of the archaeological site of Naysan, the probable location of Charax Spasinu While Philip II was besieging Perinthus, Alexander, as regent, subdued the Maedi, a Thracian tribe, in what is now southwestern Bulgaria. According to Plutarch, he founded a small settlement in the region and named it Alexandropolis; the name mirrored his father's foundation of Philippopolis and was probably given on Philip's order. The settlement's site is unknown, and some scholars have found its historicity questionable. Asia Minor The Temple of Athena at Priene The agora of ancient Smyrna Many ancient settlements claimed a significant relationship to Alexander. In Asia Minor, such cities included Ilion, Priene, and Smyrna. In 334 BC, Alexander visited Ilion, site of the ruined Troy. He ordered that the town be made exempt from taxes and its buildings be rebuilt; he later promised to make Ilion a great city. However, none of these plans came to fruition in Alexander's lifetime. A local tribe called the Alexandris were probably named after the legendary Paris, sometimes called Alexander, not the Macedonian king. Although Alexander certainly took a great interest in Priene (including dedicating the city's temple to Athena and granting exemptions to the populace), and even though it is probable that the town was refounded in the late fourth century, there is no direct evidence to claim Alexander carried it out. Excavations of the site could not find pre-Hellenistic remains. While the later authors Pausanias, Pliny, and Aelius Aristides recorded traditions which held that Alexander refounded Smyrna, Strabo, writing in the first century BC, instead noted that the settlement was revived by Antigonus I Monophthalmus after Alexander's death. Other settlements in the region, with much less viable claims, include Aegae, Alexandria by the Latmos, Amorium, Apollonia, Chrysopolis, Eukarpia, Kretopolis, Nicaea, and Otrus. Egypt, Phoenicia, and Syria In Syria, the city of Antioch, later to become one of the major cities of the ancient world, claimed a relationship with Alexander. According to Libanius, a 4th-century AD native of the city, Alexander planned to found a city on the future site of Antioch but did not have enough time to do so; he instead set up a shrine to Zeus and a small fortress. It is likely that this tradition was merely a local legend. The nearby settlement of Alexandria by Issus, located in the general area of modern İskenderun, is only recorded as a foundation of Alexander by Pseudo-Scymnus, and some recensions of the Alexander Romance; a seal found nearby bears the king's portrait. Considering the emphasis on Alexandria in Egypt as his first foundation, it is considered very unlikely that Alexander founded the settlement, although it almost certainly existed. In Phoenicia and Egypt, the cities of Gaza and Tyre are sometimes recorded as refoundations of Alexander. Tyre was besieged and destroyed in 332 BC, and Gaza experienced a similar fate later in the same year. Although Alexander rebuilt and resettled both cities, they are not usually considered foundations, but rather large-scale rehabilitations. Other less well-supported claims include that of Alexandroschene, Capitolias, Dion, Larisa Sizara, Nikopolis, Paraitonion, Pella, and Seleucia Abila. The eastern provinces In Mesopotamia, Nikephorion (present-day Raqqa) was occasionally attributed to Alexander, but it was more probably founded by Seleucus I. The 19th-century Orientalist H. C. Rawlinson proposed that the Macedonian king founded a settlement shortly after and near the Battle of Gaugamela in Assyria. There are numerous attestations that Alexander founded a city in Lower Mesopotamia: many city-names such as Seleucia-on-the-Hedyphon, Alexandria near Babylon, Alexandria near the Pallakopas, and Alexandria on the Tigris have been proposed; but it is likely that some of these names refer to the same city.[48] Alexandria Carmania may have been founded in Carmania, but its existence is only weakly supported; if it existed, it was likely a later foundation. Similarly, the Altars of Alexander and the Portus Macedonum, reputedly located near Carmania, may have been elephant-hunting stations established by Nearchus. A settlement named Alexandropolis was supposedly founded near Nysa, but there is no evidence to support a foundation so soon after the army's passage of the Caspian Gates. Further east, Alexandria in Sakastane was likely founded after Alexander's death and only then attributed to him. Many Alexandrias are attested to regions of Bactria, Sogdiana, and the Indian subcontinent; however, most are considered to be different names for the same settlement. Thus, Alexandria Opiane and Alexandria Kapisa are considered to be names for Alexandria in the Caucasus; Alexandria near Baktra and Alexandria Oxiana may both refer to the same problematic settlement; while in India, the settlements of Taxila and Patala probably existed, but Alexander likely founded neither Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote that Alexander founded several cities in the Indus Delta, but these were probably only garrisons Alexander the Great conquered all the way to India and along the way founded new cities, from the East Mediterranean all the way to the Punjab.More importantly, however, he laid the cultural foundations for the establishment of the ancient Hellenistic world, all the way from Alexandria in Egypt to the borders of India.By his own admission, Alexander endeavored to conquer lands all the way to the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea.” He and his legions invaded India in the year 326 BC, winning an important victory over the Pauravas at the Battle of the Hydaspes.However, after years of never-ending war across the Near East, the mighty general was finally making his way back home at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander the Great died in Babylon, the city which he planned to establish as his capital, in 323 BC before he could execute a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia.Before his untimely death, the son of Philip of Macedon founded some twenty cities which bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt.Alexander’s policy of settling Greek colonists in conquered lands and cities, and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the East, resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization.Here are some of the most important cities he founded across the known world of the time. Alexandria, Egypt The second-largest city in Egypt was founded around a small, ancient Egyptian town around the year 332 BC.Alexandria was intended to not only become a Hellenistic center in Egypt but to serve as a vital link between Greece and the rich Nile valley.Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural center of the ancient world for some time. The city and its museum and library attracted many of the greatest scholars of the day, including Greeks, Jews, and Syrians.The Alexandrians were not actually interested in anything having to do with Egypt at all, viewing their city more as a kind of divine foundation of the Greek people. Plutarch tells us that when Alexander left Egypt, he left behind a “large and populous Greek city.” Alexandria Arachosia, Afghanistan A city that was first dubbed “Alexandria in Arachosia” in ancient times is now the modern city of Kandahar in Afghanistan.Alexander appears to have founded this town on the site of a sixth-century BC Persian garrison. Proximity to a mountain pass, a river, and the junction of three long-distance trade routes meant the location was of vital strategic importance.No ancient Greek buildings have been found in the area, but numerous coins have been discovered in various areas of the city, and there are Greek inscriptions and graves there. Alexandria Ariana, Afghanistan The first of many Alexandrias in the far east of the Macedonian Empire, “Alexandria in Ariana,” in what is now Afghanistan, was one of the more than twenty cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great.Now known as Herat, it is the third-largest city in Afghanistan.Alexander’s Greek armies moved the capital of the satrapy of Aria from Artacoana to the new site in 330 BC. At the same time, the great general expanded an existing Persian fortress. Alexandria Bucephalous, Pakistan A city founded by Alexander the Great in memory of his beloved horse, Bucephalus was located just west of the great Indus River.The garrison was settled with Greek and Persian veterans and people from the surrounding Pauravas area. The ancient city of Alexandria Bucephalous, now in dusty ruins, once had large dockyards, suggesting it was intended to be a center of commerce. Ai-Khanoum (or Alexandria on the Oxus), Afghanistan Discovered by accident in the 1960s, this amazing archaeological site was soon determined to be the historical city of “Alexandria on the Oxus.” Also possibly later named Eucratidia, this was one of the primary cities of Alexander’s Greco-Bactrian kingdom.Strategically located on the Oxus River, Ai-Khanoum has a vast array of artifacts and structures from the Hellenistic era. The ancient city had a Greek theater, a gymnasium and several Greek houses with graceful colonnaded courtyards.Aï-Khanoum became an extremely important Greek city in the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. It is believed that the city was destroyed, never to be rebuilt, at about the time of the death of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides in approximately 145 BC. Qalatga Darband, Iraq One of the most recent archaeological discoveries in the Kurdish part of Iraq indicates that there are Greco-Roman ruins in the region that likely date back to Alexander the Great’s campaign in Asia.The ancient town of Qalatga Darband has been dated to the Late Hellenistic period or to the transition between the Hellenistic and Parthian periods.The site was registered in the records of the antiquities general directorate in Baghdad in 1973. It was one of the sites to be surveyed in the region after the Iraq War by a French mission in 2013. Alexandretta, Turkey Historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, Iskenderun is the largest district in Hatay Province. Sited on the beautiful Mediterranean coast of Turkey, it is a stunningly lovely city to this day.The city was founded in 333 BC as another of the many “Alexandrias.” It is located near the site of the Battle of Issus, which was fought and won by Alexander the Great.The importance of Iskenderun comes from its proximity to the Syrian Gates, the easiest approach to the flat terrain of Hatay Province and Aleppo, which were crucial in Alexander’s campaign against the Persian Empire. Alexandria on the Caucasus, Afghanistan “Alexandria on the Caucasus” (modern Bagram, Afghanistan) was another of the many colonies of Alexander the Great. He founded the city at an important communications crossroads in the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush mountain range.The Greek king populated the city with 7,000 Macedonians, 3,000 mercenaries, 7,000 natives, and 3,000 non-military camp followers beginning in March of 329 BC.He also built military forts in what is now Bagram at the foot of the Hindu Kush, replacing forts erected centuries earlier by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in approximately 500 BC.The citizens of Bagram appear to have worshipped Zeus, as suggested by coins of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides which have been discovered in the area.“Alexandria of the Caucasus” served as one of the capitals of the Indo-Greek kings who ruled the area for many years, from 180 BC all the way to 10 AD. This list contains settlements established or re-established on the order of Alexander the Great himself, often in his presence and always before his death in 323 BC. It does not include any posthumous foundations or refoundations; nor does it include settlements which only claimed a relationship to the Macedonian king. A discussion of these settlements is found below. Settlements whose very existence has been questioned are marked as Uncertain; those which are known to exist but for which scholars disagree on foundation theories are marked as Disputed; and the settlements which are both known to exist and which are acknowledged by scholars as foundations of Alexander are marked as Accepted. Settlement name Alternative name(s) Year founded Alexandria Troas 334 BC Samareia 332–331 BC Alexandria near Egypt 331 BC Gerasa Antioch on the Chrysorhoas 331 BC Alexandria Ariana 330 BC Alexandria Arachosia 330 BC Alexandria Eschate 329 BC Alexandria in the Caucasus Alexandria in Parapamisdai 329 BC Alexandria in Margiana 328 BC Boukephala and Nikaia 326 BC Alexandria in Orietai Alexandria Rhambakia 325 BC Charax Spasinu Alexandria in Susiana 324 BC Alexandria near Babylon Unknown Alexandria Metropolis in Egypt Overview: Alexandria (Eskendereyya;) is the second-largest city in Egypt İskenderun-City in Mediterranean, Turkey Overview: İskenderun (Arabic: الإسكندرونة‎, Greek: Αλεξανδρέττα "Little Alexandria"), historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city and the largest district in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean Alexandria Prophthasia Alexandria Prophthasia (Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια η Προφθασία) also known as Alexandria in Drangiana was one of the seventy-plus cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great. The town was founded by Alexander. Dalyan Resort town in Muğla Province, Turkey Dalyan is a town in Muğla Province located between the well-known districts of Marmaris and Fethiye on the south-west coast of Turkey. The town is an independent municipality, within the administrative domain of Ortaca District. Farah, Afghanistan-City in Farah Province, Afghanistan  Farah (Pashto / Dari Persian: فراه) is the capital of Farah Province in western Afghanistan. It is located on the Farah River, close to the border with Iran. It is one of the largest cities of western Afghanisthan. Thatta-City in Sindh, Pakistan Thatta (Sindhi: ٺٽو‎; Urdu: ٹھٹہ‎) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Termez-Place in Surxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan Termez (Uzbek: Termiz/Термиз; Russian: Термез; Tajik: Тирмиз; Persian: ترمذ‎ Termez, Tirmiz; Arabic: ترمذ‎ Tirmidh) is a city in the southernmost part of Uzbekistan near the Hairatan border  Iskandariya-Place in Babil, Iraq Al-Iskandariya or Alexandria also given as Iskandariyah, Iskanderiyah, Iskanderiya, Iskanderiyeh or Sikandariyeh or Al Askandariyah) is an ancient city in central Iraq. Mashhad City in Razavi Khorasan, Iran Mashhad (Persian: مشهد‎, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad or Meshad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran and the capital of Khorasan-e Razavi Province. Ghazni historically known as Ghaznin or Ghazna city in central Afghanistan with a population of around 270,000 people. Merv-Ancient city Merv (Turkmen: Merw, Мерв, مرو; Persian: مرو‎, Marv; later Alexandria and subsequently Antiochia in Margiana; Greek was a major Iranian city in Central  Iran. Gaza City-Municipality type A in Gaza, State of Palestine Gaza (Arabic: غزة‎ Ġazzah, Hebrew: עַזָּה,  'Aza,  'Azā Ġāzā), also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of 515,556, making it the largest ... Herat=City in Afghanistan Overview: Herāt (Persian/Pashto: هرات) is the third-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 436,300, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated in the fertile valley of the Hari River. Alexandria Troas  Alexandria Troas ("Alexandria of the Troad"; Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Τρωάς; Turkish: Eski Stambul) is the site of an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western Coast. City in Pakistan Alexandria in Orietai was one of the seventy-plus cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great. Old Kandahar Old Kandahar (locally known as Zorr Shaar; Pashto: زوړ ښار‎, meaning "Old City") is a historical section of the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. It is thought its foundation was laid out  Alexandria Carmania---City in Iran Alexandria Carmania ( Alexandreia hē en Karmania) was one of the seventy-plus cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great. Nicaea, Punjab Nicaea or Nikaia (Ancient Greek: Νίκαια) was a city in what is now the Punjab, one of the two cities founded by Alexander the Great on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river. Alexandria Bucephalous-City in Pakistan Alexandria Bucephalous (also variously known as Alexandria Bucephalus, Alexandria Bucephala, Bucephala, or Bucephalia), was a city founded by Alexander the Great in memory of his beloved horse Bucephalus . Alexandria Arachosia Alexandria in Arachosia (Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Αραχωσίας) was a city in ancient times that is now called Kandahar in Afghanistan. It was one of more than seventy cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Greatr…00o0oo0o00o0o0oo00oo00o0oo00o0o0o0oo0 www.udaydokras.com= copy paste=https://66c9c3426d138.site123.me/ © Dr. Uday Dokras- DEAN INDO NORDIC AUTHORS’ COLLECTIVE International Institute of Historiography B.Sc., B.A. (managerial economics) LL.B. Nagpur University, INDIA Graduate Studies, Queen’s University,Kingston, CANADA Graduate Diploma in Law & PhD, Stockholm University, SWEDEN Vedic Architecture, Vaastu and Astrology Consultant Holder of the 8 WORLD RECORDS Highest number of research Papers and Books written Hindu Temples Fastest Writer Buddhism Vaastu #1x 8 3- Worldwide Book of Records 2 - Unique World Record 1-INDIA Book of RECORDS 1-Kalam Book of Records 1 Institute of International Historiography 1000- BOOKS & 2500 RESEARCH PAPERS- in academia.edu & Researchgate.in - 3 million Readers as on 1 December, 2024. Dr. Uday Dokras, a leading historiographer, is Ranked as #1 in the world in Eight 8 categories for having written the highest number of books and research papers on-Vedic Architecture, Dhamma, (including Borobudur Buddhism), Angkor Wat (Vrah Vishnuloka), Shivagriha at Prambanan, Design elements of he ancient Kingdoms of Dvaravatim,Vandan in Indo China and Hindu temples. He also has the #1bb Rank in the world for fastest writing- having written 1500 articles and Books in 17 months He is consultant to numerous Projects involving Vaastu Shastra and Beneficial and applied Vedic Astrology Earlier in his career he was a senior management professional in HR domain during his career, Group Vice -President of MZI Group in New Delhi , anchored Human Relations in Go Air ( Go Airlines India Pvt Ltd-Mumbai) , Hotel Holiday Inn; and a Large Hospital and 5 Medical Colleges- amongst other corporate entities. Resident of Sweden for 12 years, where he studied and worked, he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB. He has studied in Nagpur for B. Sc. B.A. (Economics) and LLB. He has done his Graduate Studies from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston He has a PhD, Stockholm University, Sweden. Apart from that he has done a Management Training Program in Singapore. A scholar of the Swedish Institute for 5 years, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and Wineroth Fund Awardee. In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labor Law Project of the University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there. In 1985 he was invited by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the labor laws of Seychelles. Author of thousands of research papers and almost 640 + books, his brief life sketch is part of the English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English- SPOTLIGHT 7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - SPOTLIGHT 8- and Lausnir. His books adorn many International Libraries and the US Library of Congress has awarded him a copyright. A prolific writer and decipherer of ancient mysteries. Is currently Consultant in Vedic Architecture and Dean of the Indo Nordic Authors’ Collective, Stockholm, SWEDEN and President of the International Institute of Historiography, Tampare , FINLAND. Dr Dokras has his family in Gurugram, India-Australia and New Jersey, USA. 2700 Research Papers and 1000 BOOKS written by DR UDAY DOKRAS Referred by more than 1000+ researchers in papers, books and theses . Contributor to various magazines and literary Fora. World Record Holders 2023 Maximum Number of Research Papers Completed by an Individual Person Dr Uday Dokras World#1 8 times Honorifics by following Agencies & other titles Largest Number of Religious Research papers written by an individual-world-record https://www.worldwideworldrecords.com/post/largest-number-of-religious-research-papers-written-by-an-individual-world-record-by-uday-dokras MOST ARTICLES ON DHAMMA https://www.uniqueworldrecords.com/records/posts/most-articles-on-dhamma Maximum number of books written on Hindu Temples by an Individual https://www.worldwideworldrecords.com/post/maximum-number-of-books-written-on-hindu-temples-by-an-individual-world-record-by-dr-uday-dokras#:~:text=The%20World%20Record%20For%20Maximum,The%20Worldwide%20Book%20Of%20Records. Highest number of articles and books written on Hindu Buddhist Temples of Indonesia( Including Borobudur and Prambanan) Highest number of Research Papers/ Books (Literary endeavours) published by an Individual- UNIQUE Book of world records Maximum sociocultural research papers uploaded by an individual on a single website INDIA BOOK of RECORDS recordsmanagement@indiabookofrecords.in Award and honor Bahujan Hitai Sangh award for writing highest number of books and Research on BOROBUDUR https://www.academia.edu/110112500/Bahujan_Hitai_Sangh_Fetes_dr_Uday_for_highest_number_of_Books_and_Research_papers_written_on_BOROBUDUR The Jain Foundation presented the Jaina Achiever Trophy to Dr Uday Dokras for his prolific writings on historiography of Jainism and Jain religious structures and contributing erudite articles to numerous Jain Journals such as Nagabharana: Recent Trends in Jainism Studies and SWASTIKA: Epigraphy, Numismatics, Religion and Philosophy https://www.academia.edu/110112203/Jaina_award_to_Dr_Uday_Dokras Economic Times (20 July 2022) mentions and acknowledges contribution of Dr. Uday to design elements of New Parliament House of India vis-a-vis Dwarpals or door guardians. https://www.academia.edu/109139672/Design_components_of_the_new_Parliament_complex_of_INDIA_inspired_by_the_author_Dr_Uday_Dokras_work Fastest Writing in Religion- 1500 Papers & Books on Religion from 26 -5- 2023 to 1-10-2024- 17 Months https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rr86sEWr4SVN4pdIMHkS-lqmKF6jl5nR/view?usp=sharing Ms Mansse Bhandari, my co-author presenting our book to Shri Sanjay Sir. Revenue Collector of Nagpur  From the Newspaper Times of India March 24, 2018 Iceland & Sweden- both countries use the English Text book SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in which is about Dr Uday Dokras https://mms.is/sites/mms.is/files/atoms/files/7057_spotlight_8_nem.pdf (page 44) Prof. S.Deshpande,Past President of the Indian Institute of Architects, New Delhi INDIA releasing the book of Dr Dokras HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA times ( May 2020) Also a good thinking = A good house plan = Optimal use of your investment to build your house Also a good thinking = A good house plan = Optimal use of your investment to build your house Top of Form AMONGST the Great Au thors of Borobudur Search Borobudur and come across a Plethora of my writings Bottom of Form Some of the 1000 + references and quotes of the author Dr Uday Dokras used by Scholars From Review of the article on The Al Zayed Mosque by author https://www.academia.edu/44360083/The_Grand_Al_Zayad_Mosque Dr. Uday Dokras Consultant - Vaastu /Astrology / Vedic Architecture B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India Certificat en Droit, Queen’s University. Ontario, Canada,5Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden, Consultant, India/Bangkok/ Australia Astrological Consultation & Advice udaydokras@gmail.com- +91 7767990011 ( India) 8 Times #1 in the world 1000 BOOKS & 2500 RESEARCH PAPERS- in Academia.edu./Researchgate 3 million Readers as on 1 December, 2024. KUDOS Shri Ganeshbhai Jain one of the Pillars managing the Swetambar Jain Sangh Sambhawnath Jain Mandir, Wardhaman Nagar, Nagpur, India and Shri Nikhil Kusumgar, Managing Director of Arihant MultiSpeciality Hospital, Nagpur= two leading figures of the Jain Community appreciating the 254 Book and Research Paper contribution of the author Dr Uday Dokras to subjects associated with Jain religious structures and Philosophy. General Manager Radisson Blu at Nagpur, INDIA complimenting Dr Uday Dokras on his achievement of writing on Human Resources in the Hospitality Industry. Bottom of Form 81