(RE)BUILDING AN EMPIRE
Alexander the Great returned to Susa early in 324 B.C.E., where he discovered that some parts of the Persian Empire had started to rebel during his Indian campaigns. Several satraps had recruited private armies and had been abusing their powers, as if they had expected Alexander would never return.
Alexander took quick and decisive steps to regain control He executed the rebellious satraps, as well as a number of soldiers from the garrison of Media (now part of northwest Iran) who had plundered temples and tombs. Persian rebel leaders who had been captured by Craterus were also executed. At the same time, the newly returned king began a number of projects aimed at improving trade and expanding the empire’s routes of commerce. He had wells dug in dry areas and ordered the building of all-weather roads and bridges—although these plans were never realized before his death and were abandoned afterward as others took control of his lands. He gave large rewards to surviving soldiers who had remained loyal to him and also repaid the debts many of his soldiers had incurred.
In an attempt to unite his eastern and western subjects, Alexander organized a mass marriage. He had about 90 of his military officers marry daughters of Persian aristocrats. A sumptuous banquet was held for 9,000 people. Held in March 324 B.C.E., the event was intended to develop a greater spirit of cooperation between Macedonians and Persians.
Alexander set an example by taking his second and third wives, first Parysatis (dates unknown) and then Stateira (c. 340–320 B.C.E.), Darius’s daughter. Marrying Stateira added legitimacy to his claim of kingship of the Persian Empire. Alexander’s closest companion, Hephaestion, married another of Darius’s daughters. Alexander also offered a monetary reward to soldiers who married Persian wives; about 10,000 of his men took advantage of the offer.
One of Alexander’s closest friendships was with Sisygambis, the mother of King Darius III of Persia. After being abandoned by her son as he fled the battlefield at Issus, Sisygambis had fully expected death for herself, along with the Darius’s wife and children. When Alexander instead treated the royal family with kindness and honor, Sisygambis gained an unexpected respect for the conqueror and a friendship was born.
Over the years, Alexander visited Sisygambis when he could and sent her many gifts. He addressed her as “mother.” When Alexander died, the depth of their bond was truly revealed. Upon receiving the news of his death, Sisygambis turned her face to the wall. She remained there, fasting, until she died of starvation.
In another bold move, the king announced that he was releasing older and injured Macedonian veterans from military service and replacing them with 30,000 Persian young men who had been studying the Greek language and Macedonian methods of fighting. The army, who still considered the Persians barbarians, protested, saying if anyone was dismissed, they would all leave. In response, their ruler again made a stirring speech, this time reminding the soldiers of their glorious victories under him and accusing them of deserting their king. The speech, sometimes called the Oath of Alexander, turned things around yet again. The soldiers withdrew their threat of mutiny.
Alexander discharged about 10,000 men and gave them large bonuses. He provided them with extra money to return to Greece and promised to educate their Persian children. He also had 13 of his most outspoken critics executed without a trial.
Alexander also integrated new troops that arrived from Macedonia with the Persian soldiers. The Macedonians were placed in the front with spears and the Persians, carrying swords and javelins, marched in rows behind them. The Romans later adopted this arrangement, which gave their soldiers greater mobility.
The main purpose of the integration of Macedonians and Persians in the army (and also of the mass marriages) was to replace Macedonians with Asians for military and administrative purposes. In addition, the children born of such unions would be of mixed blood, with loyalty to no one but their commander-in-chief.
The prodromoi had been drafted into the Companions and replaced by Asiatic light horse, and the hypaspists were now certainly pike-armed. Most hypaspists were sent home in 324 BC and the remainder supplemented by a Persian guard dressed in a “flame-colour” (yellow?), scarlet and royal blue uniform. A 5th unit of Companions was formed entirely of Persians. Before his death Alexander was experimenting with a mixed phalanx comprising three ranks of Macedonians with pikes, then 12 ranks of Persians with bows or javelins, then a final rank of Macedonians with pikes. Alexander’s death before his expedition to Arabia meant that it was never used in action, and his generals separated out the Asiatics and equipped them as pantodapoi pikemen with Macedonian and Greek officers and file leaders. Triemiolae and triakonters (warships)were used on the Indus. Alexander ordered the construction of a fleet of hexeres in Phoenicia in his absence, which were ready by his return west. These were larger than any other warships of the time and may have been intended for use against Carthage. He was also considering a fleet of even larger hepteres to be built at Babylon, together with a navigable canal to get them to the Persian Gulf.
In April 323 B.C.E., Alexander returned to Babylon, which he planned to establish as the capital of his empire. There, he devoted himself, for the first time, to the administration of his vast domain, which stretched from Greece to India.
He had high hopes for his empire. He wanted to create the kind of government that Aristotle championed—rule by a benevolent “philosopher king” [1]. He attempted to instill among his subjects the feeling that they were citizens of a united world, rather than just members of their own nation or culture. He wanted to establish during his reign an era of cooperation, hoping to unite and strengthen his empire by developing a common culture—Greek culture, although with some Persian influences. He gave his Persian cadets instruction in Greek literature and encouraged his eastern subjects to become more like the Greeks and Macedonians.
Alexander also had many ambitious plans. Believing that commerce would help unite his empire, he intended to make Babylon its commercial center. He laid plans to build docks along the Euphrates River at Babylon and to clear and dredge the river to the Persian Gulf. He also planned to colonize the eastern shore of the Persian Gulf and to circumnavigate and explore Arabia. He may have been preparing to invade Arabia and, from there, to conquer the entire North African coast.
[1] In his book, The Republic, Aristotle’s teacher, Plato (427–347 B.C.E.), wrote about the views of his own teacher, Socrates (469–399 B.C.E.). Socrates and Plato believed that an ideal society can only exist when philosophers are kings or kings are philosophers. They defined a philosopher as a person who seeks to understand the essence of things instead of being interested only in their appearances. A philosopher king would be a wise leader motivated by a desire for wisdom, justice, temperance, and goodness in leading his people.
Eastern Migration
After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, many Greeks emigrated to its western regions, drawn by the chance to live more prosperous lives than they could at home, where opportunities were limited. A primary reason that Greek culture spread throughout Mesopotamia and the areas to the west during the Hellenistic period was that so many Greeks moved there. Greeks, as well as people from other cultures, settled in cities such as Alexandria in Egypt and Babylon in Mesopotamia. These Hellenistic cities were centers of trade, science, and the arts, but life was not easy for many of the people who lived in them. There were large gaps between the lifestyles of the rich and the poor. The wealthy lived in splendor and luxury, but most city dwellers lived in miserable conditions. Riots were common, especially in Alexandria.
Many of the people who lived in these cosmopolitan cities integrated Greek and Macedonian customs, art, literature, and lifestyles into their own native cultures. However, most people who lived in the countryside ignored much of this Hellenistic influence.
Greeks also settled in the many towns that Alexander and his successors established throughout the former Persian Empire. Most of the new towns and ports were named after Alexander. They were designed to be centers of administration and trade, as well as strongholds that provided protection to the local inhabitants. They served as outposts to keep the peace and to provide warnings to headquarters in case of local uprisings. Towns were usually built at the junction of important roads and placed where they could overlook the surrounding area. They were established close enough to existing villages to enable the newcomers to associate with the natives, but far enough apart that the Macedonian and Greek settlers could keep to themselves.
The first new colonists were typically older, wounded, or disabled war veterans and Greek mercenaries. Many of the veterans settled down with their war loot and a piece of land. Some had started families with women they met while on the march. Later, merchants, craftspeople, and others joined them. These new towns were typically built on the Greek model, having schools, offices, shops, a temple, a council chamber, and a gymnasium. Such a town might also have a theater, a fountain, and a monument. It would always have a public square, which was the focus of all Greek cities.
One of the most profound aspects of this impact was in bringing the Greek language and customs into the areas under his dominion. By this single act he set the stage for the rapid exchange of knowledge and ideas over thousands of miles and throughout many formerly disparate cultural groups. Ultimately, the unity created by having one language so widely spoken dramatically altered the evolution of world culture. People who before could never have communicated with one another could now join in the flow of current thought and commerce.
