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Hmm, good question. I would think so, because in the Persian era the conquerors didn't spread their wealth around with quite the same abandon as Alexander. :wink: Yes, there were gifts and bribes back in the day, but the biggest difference in Hellenistic times, as far as I can figure, is that even ...

It depends whose chronology you follow, but it does just make me wonder a bit if Alexander himself didn’t think that was the end of it – until Bessus proclaimed himself king. Once provoked, he had to react, and so the next things are set in chain – the release of the Greek contingent, the pursuit o...

If I'm understanding this correctly it seems that while the new wealth was good for Macedonia (plus other conquered areas where Macedonians settled) it had the opposite effect on Greece itself. Unfortunately there's no reference given for the statement about inflation and I'd be interested in learn...

Indeed I did. Blew an absolute cyclonic NW gale on the Sunday into Monday: I was preparing an introductory speech for my landing in Semiramis' front yard! Still, 18-22 deg C was far better than Sydney's 42! Given the current single-digit temperature range in my front yard, even a windy 18-22 C soun...

Hi semiramis, that's very interesting that you say 'propaganda that Bosworth praises Alexander for', because I'd never thought of anyone using propaganda in a good or praiseworthy way. I guess I am thinking of it purely in terms of something like the Berlin Olympics in 193-something - a thing you d...

This was a commander so short of cash that he couldn’t really afford a fleet. Yet the donations for temples, the keeping of tributes at the same level, and the remitting of tributes on some occasions, pass by without any mention of the real generosity they entailed. In a book whose focus is the get...

Hello, I think Stateira certainly would have outranked Roxane once she produced a Persian heir. However, I am of the opinion that the reason Alexander didn’t marry Stateira after Issus was that she and Drypetis were still children. I believe they were left behind after the weddings at Susa, which m...

Press Release- Alleged Finds in Western Desert I need to inform the public that recent reports published in newspapers, news agencies and TV news announcing that “twin brothers Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni have unearthed remains of the Persian army of Cambyses,” are unfounded and misleading. The ...

Yes, I agree with you guys. There's a lot that happened in that part of the world, so to prove it's an Achaemenid army will need a bit more than Herodotus' story. The rationale doesn't appear too shaky, at this initial stage. "An analysis of the earring, based on photographs, indicate that it c...

Hi Andrew, Yes, I think we have been talking at cross purposes. I am concerned about a mood of permissibility prevailing when it comes to valuables being taken out of Afghanistan by exploiting the country's current defenseless state. I hope Afghanistan soon gets to a stage where it will be able to p...

True, but it couldn't have been just anyone - the would-be regent would have had to be a person of some consequence, with a power base of his or her own, and with Attalus dead and Parmenion and Antipater 'on side', who else was there? I doubt there was ever a lack of ambitious nobles in Pella. :) W...

Hi Semiramis, Just a couple of questions for you: 1) Since the vast majority of Greek coins found in Afghanistan were minted in Iraq and Syria, should we instigate an immediate re-patriation programme for them? 2) Why do you think that these coins have heritage value in Afghanistan, since the vast ...

could we keep political and personal views about the war, ( even as side references ) out of this post please :) If your not here then in my opinion you dont know what your talkin about. But semi, i do see your point. My only counter point, is if i can get a coin to send to a museum or some such, a...

You're quite right, no challenge, but he does phrase it rather well, not completely exonerating Alexander, while not contradicting Plutarch (or Pausanias). He says: "While Alexander was temporarily away from the capital, she barbarously did to death both infant and mother. Alexander expressed ...

Macedonian “royal women’ were, indeed, players. One can hardly imagine “civilised” city state women demoting and appointing regents or bunging on the show that was Triparadeisos. Paralus, Didn't Olympias herself served as regent in Molossus? The outrage! :D I realise that it seems to fit the “venge...