Zoastrian Scribes

[iskander_32]

I just watched the Michael Woods programe for the umpteenth time, It interested me to learn that none opf our sources refer to Alexander burning the scribes.I just weonder if the story may even be eastern propoganda to emphasise Alexander the two horned devil along with some of the other legends invented by the losers I guess,,, Woods stated that niether Arian nor Curtius refered to this.Where as they mention all the other deed incliding the Magi massacres, Thebes, Tyre , Persepolis yet no mention of burning the scribes.Arian and Curtius I feel would have seen nothing wrong with burning barbaric paganistic religios beliefs.Besides irrespective people thinking Alexanders religion and his beliefs were either pretext or politiacal,,, I believe in his beliefs and believe that burning those scribes were out of character.regardsKenny

[jona]

I hope I don't spoil your fun, but I wouldn't believe everything Michael Wood says. He is capable of translating the words 'The army abandoned the king and returned to the cities' as 'The king abandoned the army and returned to the cities' (1997 edition, page 90).But about the scribes, I think he is right. I have summed up and quoted all available evidence at http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/a ... r_t47.html and we have a very strange anecdote in Justin that Parmenio ordered the destruction of the "Iasonia" in Media.Iasonia are temples dedicated to Jason, a Greek hero who was certainly not known in Media. The reasonable explanation is to read this line as "ayazana", the Zoroastrian fire temples.My personal opinion is that the Iranian clergy was divided - some wanted to cooperate with the conqueror and were respected by Alexander (who accepted Magians and Chaldaeans as his compagnions), while others did not cooperate and were persecuted.Jona