Bessos, Alexander, and deep Persia

This moderated forum is for discussion of Alexander the Great. Inappropriate posts will be deleted without warning. Examples of inappropriate posts are:
* The Greek/Macedonian debate
* Blatant requests for pre-written assignments by lazy students - we don't mind the subtle ones ;-)
* Foul or inappropriate language

Moderator: pothos moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
Susa the Great
Pezhetairos (foot soldier)
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:36 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro

Bessos, Alexander, and deep Persia

Post by Susa the Great »

If Alexander didn't need to go after Bessos deep into Persia, would he have gone anyway? I mean, going through Bactria and all those places was a must-do, a true strategy? Or it just "happened"?
Come live forever with me, or transpire / a flame alone on a funeral pire / We'll build an empire if we so desire, travel the world, and set it on fire.
sean_m
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2014 4:00 pm

Re: Bessos, Alexander, and deep Persia

Post by sean_m »

Hi Susa,

as best as I can recall, Persian officials above the governors of individual cities never showed an inclination to go over to Alexander until his army was about to arrive. If he wanted to rule the world, he had to march around it, performing ceremonies to the local gods at all the boundaries and making the governors kiss his feet and beg him to restore them to office. (And I think that after Mazaeus and the Babylonians [s]disgracefully betrayed Darius the King[/s] realized that the gods wanted Alexander to be King of the World, Alexander did want to rule everything and not just settle for the western lands).

If you look at lands one by one, the lands which Alexander never visited with an army- Paphlagonia/Cappadocia/Armenia, Nubia, western Arabia- are the ones which his successors never controlled very well.
My blog (Warning: may contain up to 95% non-Alexandrian content, rated shamelessly philobarbarian by 1 out of 1 Plutarchs)
sean_m
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2014 4:00 pm

Re: Bessos, Alexander, and deep Persia

Post by sean_m »

If you are thinking of Alexander capturing Darius, what would have happened next is hard to say. I suspect that some of the more distant governors would have rejected both of them unless it was clear that Alexander was about to arrive at their gate with an army. After all, Darius' claim to the throne was pretty weak, and the gods had showed twice that they were not on his side (and Alexander found it very difficult to find people who he could put in charge of a district who would not start robbing the locals naked/taking bribes by the ox-cart full as soon as he was out of sight).

Aside from the areas which never submitted to Alexander, you could look at Spitamenes' revolt in Sogdia, and all the troubles in the provinces when Alexander returned from India.

Remember that this is a world without radio, let alone airmail, let alone skype. Meeting people face-to-face was even more important than it is today.
My blog (Warning: may contain up to 95% non-Alexandrian content, rated shamelessly philobarbarian by 1 out of 1 Plutarchs)
Alexias
Strategos (general)
Posts: 1099
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:16 am

Re: Bessos, Alexander, and deep Persia

Post by Alexias »

Alexander would have gone to Bactria and Sogdiana anyway at some point because Cyrus the Great had. The area was part of the Persian empire and he is unlikely to have left it unconquered, partly because it produced lapis lazuli - a source of great wealth. Alexander also developed a strategy of defining his boundaries by rivers - the Danube, the Nile valley, the Oxus and Jaxartes, and the Indus valley.
Post Reply