THE CONQUEST OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

The Conquest of the Territories Occupied Today by Iraq and Iran

In the spring of the year 331 BC, the 25-year old Alexander was toiling on, planning to conquer the Ancient World, and pursuing Darius. The latter would try to bribe the young Macedonian king, by offering at first to recognize an empire bordering on the center of Anatolia and stretching up to the river Halys. Then, he extended his offer, this time pushing the border of the

empire no more no less than on the river Euphrates; moreover, he presented Alexander with 30,000 talants (gold coins) and one of his daughters. Poor General Parmenia said that if it had been for him, "he would have gladly accepted this offer." However, our young Thraco-Macedonian, for whom the spirit of adventure and fight came first,had no intention to settle down and lead a peaceful family life. The answer he gave to Darius was: "Call me "Great King" and I will let you live by my side as vice-king, or turn back and fight against me."

I find it hard to understand Darius' incompetence; although he lead a huge army, he was afraid of a few Macedonian soldiers. Alexander vanquished him again in the Arbela (Gaugamela) battle, where he mobilized 40,000 foot soldiers and 7,000 horsemen. Darius met him with an army numbering over 200,000 foot soldiers (according to others, 1,000,000), and more than 34,000 horsemen. Thus, in 331 BC, as the summer was over (to be more accurate on the 1st of October) when the weather was torrid, the dust high, and a hot wind was blowing, the two leaders, Darius and Alexander finally came across each other, after climbing the hills of Kurdistan.

Bessul, in charge of the cavalry, settled in the north of Afghanistan and attacked the right wing of the Macedonians. To his misfortune, instead of stopping in front of the Greeks, he continued the attack and came up against the Macedonian phalanxes specialized in engagements of this kind, and which, taking full advantage of the high dust clouds, cut the Persian cavalry into mince meat. Alexander dashed after Darius who again managed to run away. The Arbela (Gaugamela) battle was maybe one of the most decisive ones: the casualties in Darius' army amounted to 56,000 but nobody will ever know to what figure it ran into. History is written by the victors, isn't it?

Young Alexander proceeded the way fate had designed for him, and entered Babylon, where he rested for a while and then invaded the territory representing now Iran, setting "the ugliest city of the world" on fire, and destroying Persepolis in front of a Persian army paralyzed with fear. Alexander found the treasure of the Persian kings, made up of over 120,000 golden talants. He offered his tired but triumphant army the city to be plundered. Beautiful reward, isn't it? How

the Persians felt about this is easy to imagine: to this day Alexander is considered a butcher, a diabolical creature who demolished their temples, killed their priests, and destroyed their most precious religious book - Avesta - written with golden letters on 12,000 hides.

What happened next? Alexander pursued Darius who had hidden at Ecbatana, 600 km north of Persepolis; the Persian king was accompanied by his faithful Greek mercenaries and the satrap (a governor of a province in ancient Persia) of a Bessus, who had been in charge of the cavalry at Arbela.

In July, 330 BC, in scorching heat, Alexander found out that Darius had left Ecbatana, and was making for the territory occupied today by Afghanistan. After 11 days of forced march, the Macedonians reached Ray (the old Teheran) exhausted, thirsty, hardly trudging across the sea of sand. But fear is a strange feeling. Darius, although leading an army 10 times more numerous and more vigorous, ran for his life from the Macedonians who wished nothing else than to see him out of the picture. In the meantime, certain changes were taking place in Darius' army; there were voices suggesting a temporary replacement of Darius with Bessus, Bactria's strap. Darius, who turned down this proposal, was to be killed by his very "faithful" fellows who, after stabbing him to death, deserted his body in a wagon. From this point on the historians of the victors offered their triumphant version of the events. They spoke about one of Alexander's soldiers who after finding Darius still alive brought him water in a helmet; they also mentioned that right before dying, the great Persian king met Alexander and thanked him for the way the latter had treated his family. Moreover, on his deathbed, the Persian king is said to have designated Alexander as his successor.

Historians, historians, historians... They were writing then as they are today,a history of the victors, unscrupulous and dishonorable before posterity's eyes. Actually, Darius was already dead as Alexander arrived; his dead body was sent back to Persepolis, not out of respect but to show his family and the Persian world the lifeless body of the great Darius. What followed next bears some resemblance to what happened a few years ago in the kingdom of Macedonia, after the death of Philip II. This time, Darius' children were all either "eliminated" or married to Macedonians. Thus there was no worthy heir to the throne of Darius, the king of kings.

After conquering Persia, were the Macedonians planning to go back home?

No, they weren't. Alexander spoke to them about the days to come when they were to vanquish Bessus, who in the meantime had declared himself king. Alexander was to lead them towards "the end" of the world and make them tread along the roads of history, where Gingis Han (Genghis Khan), or Marco Polo were to pass. From the age of 27 until he was 29, Alexander would reach the territories occupied now by Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, and as far as Samarkand. He would marry Roxana, the most beautiful girl in Asia, not before killing Cleitus, his old friend and brother-in-arms, in a personality crisis.

Nobody knows what made young Alexander give up the spells of the eunuch Bagoas, or young Euxenippos, or his old "friend" Hephaistion and fall in love with the young and beautiful Roxana.

Fact is that after a splendid banquet, where a considerable quantity of alcohol had been drunk, Roxana, in the company of several other girls, was brought in to dance and steal away Alexander's heart. Once again, the despotic young "god" burst out when a group of pages, all under 20, tired of running errands, plotted to kill him. Their scheme was revealed and the young men were tortured to death mercilessly. Eventually, Alexander accused Aristotle's nephew, Calisthenes, of having set up the plot.

Calisthenes was the historian, the man who had created Alexander's myth,and who, through flattery and fawning, gave rise to the "monster" Alexander. Moreover, this Greek had had the insolence to compare Alexander to Patroclus (from Iliad), Achilles' friend and lover. But no! Alexander would not be compared to somebody less than Achilles! Therefore, Alexander had Calisthenes tortured and crucified.