Alexander's Life from 332 - 321 Flashcards
332/331
Alexander plans for the establishment and construction of Alexandria, due to him believing that he had found the location where the legendary hero Odysseus was said to claim the land to be good for the site of a city. (Plutarch 26)
331
Alexander Visits the Oracle at Siwa(Arrian Book 3 Begins&Plutarch 29-30). Last pitch battle between Alexander and Darius in the Battle of Gaugamela(Plutarch 32-34). After the victory at Gaugamela, Alexander advances further into the Persian heartland and captures Babylon and Susa easily as Mazaeus gave up Babylon easily due to rumors of Alexander’s generocity. This allowed him to stay in power as satrap and gained even more land under his control.
330
Alexander strategically defeated the Uxians, a nomad tribal clan, by first arranging a meeting somewhere far away from their village in the morning, and destroying their village in the night before, so that they wouldn’t have any backup, and taking the highground on top of the mountain so when Alexander attacked them, he allowed some to run away, only to have them killed by the troops lead by Craterous awaiting the Uxians at the top of the mountains. After Alexander arrived in Persepolis, he was convinced to burn the royal palace there as a final conclusion act for the Campaign of Vengence, as the Persians burnt and sacked Athenes 100 years before. However, he regretted after burning it and tried to stop the fire. (Plutach 38). Alexander then chased Darius through Media Plutarch (39-41), where Darius was actually killed by his own supposed subordinates(Nabarzanes and Barsaentes) in the end as they wanted to gain some clout like Alexander. According to Arrian(3.22-23), Alexander gave Darius a funeral and burial fitting for a king, and Arrian’s epitaph for Persian King was simply that: He was incompetetant, unlucky to have Alexander as his enemy so early in his kingshood, had the greatest Persian army destroyed in his hands, ruthlessly betrayed by his own nation, treated as a fugitive, happier he was dead.
329
Alexander killed Philotas, one of his own inner circle companions, due to the latter not telling the king of a potential treason plot that Philotas regarded just as a lover’s spat, and nothing of importance. Alexander did this as he had became paranoid of anyone with the potential of going against him, and he needed absolute trust for those in his inner circle. This served as a warning to the rest of his army that no one is safe from his wrath. Parmenio, who did nothing wrong, was killed almost immediately after the execution of Philotas as he had became greatly liked by the people he was in charge of in Ecbatana and he has the potential to pose a threat to Alexander if he decided to rebel. Now especially after Alexander quite honestly wrongfully killed his son, he is a lose-end in the true sense of the word(Plutarch 48). Alexander advanced into Aria, modern day Afghanistan, where the winter was extremely cold for Macedonians who came from a Mediterranian Climate, and wasn’t expecting the type of extreme cold of winter and the extreme heat in the summer, which resulted in eating the transporting animals many struggles(Arrian Book 4 Begins).
328
After Alexander caught up to Bessus across the Oxus river, Ptolemy was the one to capture him, and Alexander ordered him to “stripped of his clothes and led in a dog-collar and made to stand on the right of the road.” -Arrian 3-. Bessus was publicly humiliated, being forced to recite his treachery at every lash he received, and was lashed to death. Due to the guerilla tactics used by Spitamenes, the last Persian rebels, who utilized the Scythian Horseman, Alexander then splits his army into 5 mobile units, lead by his trusted generals including Hephaestion, Coenus, and even Artebazus(satrap of Bactria) and other young sycophants. Hephaestion was also in charge of planting settlements in the various towns Alexander founded(Arrian 4). Alexander also kills Cleitus the Black in a drinking party with one of the guard’s spears, and even though he regrets it aftwards, Cleitus did made light on things that Alexander was doing that the Macedonians as a whole didn’t like, which Alexander feel a sense of insubordination which he hates.
327
Arrian comments on Alexnder’s orientalism. Orientalism is as Arrian puts it “emulate Eastern extravagance”, and Proskynesis is part of it. Alexander began to flamboyantly express his wealth in dress, tent meals, and engage in excessive drinking, and entertaining Persian nobility. He began to live a life of excessive hedonism(indulgence in pleasures) and another big complaint from the Macedonians is that he claims the throne from Darius as a sucessor instead as an enemy. And he switched his traditional Macedonian white plumed helmut for the Persian pointed bonnet. A crucial turning point was when Alexander inplemented Proskynesis for every one of his subordinates. Of course the “liberty loving” Macedonians were not happy about this and Callisthenes the historian publically rebuked the practice and thus humiliated Alexander. This was why Alexander implicated Callisthenes as a culprit in the Page Boy conspiracy, and was chained and dragged around with the army until he died. The main organizer of the conspiracy, Hermolaus, the page boy for Alexander who shot a boar that the king himself wanted to kill, and was publically punished for it and lost his horse rights, was actually the student of Callisthenes. Hermolaus gave a grievence list of all the actions of Alexander that the Macedonians in the whole, disliked.(Arrian 4.14). Alexander then advanced towards the Sogdian rock, where he tricked Oxyartes, the satrap there, that he had more numbers than he actually did with the sun glare effect. Alexander then married Oxydartes’ daughter Roxanne to make sure that he don’t rebel.
326
After the Sogdian Rock, which was just a mountain-top fortress, Alexander set his eyes on the Rock of Aornus, that was 40km in circumference and around 2400 meters high. The location has a vantage view overlooking the Indus river. It is also fully self-sustaining, with abundant supply of pure water at the summit, woodland, and arable land for 1,000 farms. Legend states that not even Heracles was able to capture it, which made Alexander even more determined to conquer it, to outdo his heroic anscestors. Alexander heard from some deserted locals that there’s weakness spot in the Rock and ordered Ptolemy to secure it. After the spot was secured, Alexander moved there with this unit under the cover of darkness, and experienced some resistance. Then in four days, his men built earthwork up to the level of a neighboring crest, which shocked the Indians. After he captured the Aornus, he went to Nysa as it was the furthest Dionysus had travelled to and the chief there, Acuphis, told that Alexander was competing with Dionysus and had surpassed the god in achievements, (sycophantic undertone, to stroke Alexander’s ego, which successfully allowed them to remain automonous). After crossing into India, Alexander fought Porus at the Hydaspes River, and emerged victorious with this psychological conditioning warfare tactics(preparing to cross the river every day for 4months, and loud noises every night), and adaptive pitch battle form, and utilized the enemy’s elephants to destroy themselves, with the encirclement. However, after porus’ defeat, Alexander allowed him to stay in power and expanded his land, but Porus immediately gathered the other Indian kingdoms after Alexander left. At the Beas River, the first mutiny of Alexander took place where his troops really had enough of the aimless and seemingly endless journey of conquest. Alexander tried to appease them with another manipulating speech, but it was futile as the men just had enough. After throwing a tantrum, Alexander used an omen as an excuse to turn back, being his only lost.
