Persia Ready to be taken by anyone with the will.

[kenny]

Comrades.It has often been argued that at the time of Alexander the Persian empire was week and ready for the taking.I would argue that all through its history Persia was easy meat for a commander or army with the will to take them on. Cyrus included. Persia ruled a domain of tribes and levies and was well able to rule and play gods in that area.However they never ever got past the Greek mainland even Cyrus and Darius the 1st were stopped and defeated there. Xenophon basically marched all the way out trouncing anything that got in his way.Alexanders war machine was much more developed and efficient to the Xenophon and even the sacred bands and Elite Spartans who caused many a bloody noses for the Persians. Greece showed when unified they were strong enough to hold the Persians were they to keep together they could at any time taken Persia.Alexander and Philip did what was quite evident from the earliest time Greece held up against Persia. And by the time of Darius the 3rd. The guy had at least had the money power and influence to be more able and equiped than Cyrus to try stop Alexander.But we still cant at all take anything away from Alexander as he wasnt as strong as thought. He was basically skint and his Greek allies were as reliable as a chocolate kettle.reagrdsKenny

[chris]

Hi KennyIt would have been interesting to know how well ATG would have done keeping the Empire together had he lived. No easy task given the distances involved and the "opposing" populations. A rapid integration perhaps, with a lot of palms greased? I suppose it could be argued it was easier to conquer than it would have been to hold onto.Chris

[boris]

I dont think Persia was ripe for the taking at Alexanders time. It is all credit to Alexanders tactics and skill on the battlefield, and also slightly to luck. He was lucky not to have been struck down and killed by bravely fighting at the front lines of the battle. But that is one of the things that makes Alexander a legend.Persia however was strong when Alexander invaded. They had hardy greek hoplites under their command, and had supressed rebellions. And abandoned some of their eastern provinces for the sake of peace, yet that did not weaken them but allowed them to marshall their forces more around more core areas of the Persian Empire. The main trouble spots they had was Egypt and Asia Minors Greek coast.

[heinrich]

I think that Alexander had some luck that there was a crisis in the imperial succession in the Persian empire, but he would not have benefitted if he had not been a brilliant and daring commander. The evidence that the Persian empire was strong, is that it survived: after all, the Seleucid empire is essentially a continuating of the Persian empire under leadership of a different ethnic group. The book to read is "From Samarkand to Sardis" by Sherwin-White.HM