alexander the great and his relationship with his troops #2

[classicsishardcore]

just wondering if anyone has any information on the topic we are researching? any interesting anecdotes, or ideas on the deterioration of alex and his troops' relationship during his campaigns?

thanks,

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[dean]

Hello,

In the film, Alexander" you get the impression just before the battle of Gaugamela that Alexander knows every name and life history of all of his soldiers.

Obviously this is a nice tale but with such a massive army it is impossible that he knew all his soldiers.

He maintained strict disciplince- as can be seen in Opis when he rushes some of the ringleaders of the mutiny off to immediate execution and yet the story goes that he was only ever defeated by his own troops at the Beas river- when they refused to go on.

At the beginning of the campaign a very young Alexander would have been the idol of every soldier but towards the end, as he took an Asian bride and adopted Persian customs the attitude of men turned a lot and there were many who couldn't accept it.

Alexander banged Cassander's head against the wall when he started to laugh at his Persian dress.

So I guess that it started off with him being extremely liked but later things turned just a bit sour.

Bst rgds.
Dean

[jan]

Dean, to realize that only the Macedonians side is told in regard to the Persian dress, because that tells which sources are known now. That is one of the reasons that the Persian side is so interesting to read, as it makes sense through their eyes to see why it is that Alexander chose to adapt to the Persian style. (When in Rome, do as the Romans syndrome)! Many within his closest group did not object to his becoming fashionable in the Persian dress, only the very conservative one would say. It simply proves that you must consider the source. Not everybody objected!

[dean]

Hi Jan,

You are very right- we do only have a very one dimensional picture of Alexander- namely the Greek one. What a book it would be, if Darius had written up his "memoirs" as Ptolemy had done. What a tale he would have told about Alexander!

I don't know, but I suppose that it wasn't only his dressing as a Persian that was a bit strange but I guess what scared the troops most was his threat to build up a new army solely from Iranians- the successors.

Well,
Best regards,
Dean

[amyntoros]

Dean, to realize that only the Macedonians side is told in regard to the Persian dress, because that tells which sources are known now. That is one of the reasons that the Persian side is so interesting to read, as it makes sense through their eyes to see why it is that Alexander chose to adapt to the Persian style. (When in Rome, do as the Romans syndrome)! Many within his closest group did not object to his becoming fashionable in the Persian dress, only the very conservative one would say. It simply proves that you must consider the source. Not everybody objected!

Yes, it makes sense for Alexander to adopt Persian dress in order to demonstrate to the Persians that he was indeed their king, and the sources we have do explain this. However, amongst the Macedonians it is reasonable to say that it was the few who supported Alexander's Persianization rather than the many, as evidenced by the majority rejection by the elite of their Persian wives once Alexander was dead. (Along with the fact, rarely noted because it is unnecessary to point out the obvious, that none of the rank and file raised any objections to leaving their half-Persian children behind when they returned to Macedonia. There was no relationship between the soldiers and the conquered women other than one based on sexual needs.)

Persian sources would indeed be interesting but they will not shed any light on the relationship between Alexander and his troops. For that we must rely on the Greek sources. As Plutarch (Alexander 45) reports, the Macedonian soldiers were greatly displeased at Alexander's adoption of Persian costume but they admired his other virtues so much that they considered they ought to make concessions to him in some matters which either gave him pleasure or increased his prestige. However (as Dean has pointed out) after Alexander started demonstrating what appeared to the Macedonians to be favoritism towards his Persian troops, all Macedonian concessions to Alexander's behavior disappeared. They were not happy about it . . .

Best regards,

[jan]

so happy to see you back