Review: 'Alexander the Great and His Empire,' by Pierre Briant

Pierre Briant's Alexander the Great and His Empire is for all who have an interest in Alexander the Great, and especially those already somewhat familiar with the career of the Macedonian king. Briant is a professor of history with a focus on the Achaemenids which means this account of Alexander's career focuses more on people and places in the Persian Empire than you're likely to find elsewhere.

Pierre Briant's Alexander the Great is a compact re-examination of the evidence we have for statements we make about the life of King Alexander of Macedonia. Briant looks at the events we know about in the life of the king and compares the data with ancient and modern evaluations. It is not so much an introduction to Alexander and his empire, as a refresher and analysis.

Chapter I
The Major Stages of the Conquest (334-323)

Alexander faced and beat the Persians in two set battles, but neither was decisive. He conquered the Phoenician coast and then, with a fleet commanded by Hephaestion, Alexander went to Egypt, where Satrap Mazakes surrendered. Meanwhile, Alexander's fleet reconquered the islands and cities the Persians had occupied. In Egypt, he consulted the oracle of Amun and founded the city of Alexandria, one of many cities named for himself. He reorganized the administration of Egypt, went to Tyre, and then on to the Euphrates.

Meanwhile, the Spartans, under Agis III, were stirring up trouble. Alexander tried to defeat and capture Darius, but only succeeded in defeating him at Guagamela on October 1, 331. Babylonian community leaders welcomed Alexander and a text of the period refers to him as "King of the World." Alexander appointed an Iranian to serve as the satrap and took over the treasuries of Babylon and Susa.

In 330, Alexander started his pursuit of Darius who had headed towards the Iranian plateau in the east. Alexander disbanded the Greek contingents from the League of Corinth. Meanwhile, Bessos murdered the Great King, so Alexander took on the role of Darius' avenger, heading towards Bactria, where Bessos had made himself king (Artaxerxes). Soon Alexander began to adopt features of Achaemenid kingship, to the great annoyance of the Macedonians. He founded cities and military colonies. He initiated a policy of collaboration with the Iranian nobles, and in 327, married Roxane, daughter of a Bactrian aristocrat. From 327-25, Alexander first headed to India and then returned via the Persian Gulf.

Alexander died back in Babylon the night between June 10th and 11th, 323.

Chapter II
The Origins and Objectives of the Conquest

Ancient sources don't provide the objectives of Alexander's conquests, but there has been much speculation. Perhaps it was a psychological trait passed from his mother Olympias, a devotee of a Dionysian cult. Perhaps it was Alexander's desire to identify with Homeric heroes. Perhaps it was a psychological desire to excel (or pothos). Briant agrees that Alexander admired the heroes, wished to identify with divine conquerors like Herakles and Dionysus, and to see distant lands, but there was a world outside Alexander's psyche that such preoccupations miss. After Chaeronea and the League of Corinth, Alexander's father, Philip II, considered the Greeks taken care of and was planning to head to Asia to fight the Persians. In 336, he had established an advance force of 10,000 men in Asia under Parmenion and Attalus. Philip had two aims -- to avenge the Greeks and to punish Persian attacks on Perinthus and Thrace. Briant says Alexander added a motive of revenge for his father's murder. Some propaganda indicated the assassination had been fostered by the Achaemenids.

Following Alexander's victory at the Granicus, he set up satraps and administrators following Persian tradition. The tribute that had been owed to Darius would now be payable to Alexander. He liberated Greek cities in Asia Minor. Some of these regarded it as a deliverance, but there were also cities that revolted. Some cities probably had grown used to their Asian administrators.

Alexander's motives for going beyond Persia into India and the Persian Gulf are hypothesized as attraction for the unknown, a desire to identify with Herakles and Dionysus, his pothos, and commercial ambition. Briant says we should avoid looking at Alexander as an early Christopher Columbus. Darius had already conquered and integrated the area Alexander conquered. Briant think it was Alexander's aim to gain control of the assets and territory controlled by the Great Kings. He thinks Alexander never planned to go beyond the Achaemenid Empire's borders to the "outer ocean".

Chapter III
Resistance to the Conquest

The Persians had almost limitless resources, and naval superiority, but the Macedonian army was superior in technique and maneuverability, trained to fight set battles. Alexander could not afford to lose the Battle of the Granicus. When Alexander won at Issus, he could proceed to the Phoenicians cities along the coast, putting Tyre under siege, which he did, in preference to chasing after Darius to Babylonia where the Great King assembled a new army. Alexander entrusted the troops in Asia Minor to Antigonus the One-Eyed, satrap of Greater Phrygia, who defeated the Persians in Spring of 332. Meanwhile, Alexander received naval reinforcements, resulting in a change in the balance of Persian and Macedonian forces. In summer of 332, Tyre fell to Alexander. Alexander met rebel-band resistance in Bactria and Sogdiana. He had to fight on many fronts and leave land in the hands of only questionably loyal satraps. Harassment and unpredictability taught the Macedonians to adopt guerilla tactics to break the enemy's morale with ruthless slaughter, plunder, and the taking of hostages. After the set battle with Poros in India, there were massive uprisings, which Alexander put down with either slaughter or hostage-taking. He followed a rule of war that if the enemy refuses to surrender voluntarily, the conqueror is justified in inflicting sever punishments. He also enrolled opponents in his army, and massacred the defeated.

Beginning in the spring of 330, Alexander also had to face Macedonian discontent. After the sack of Persepolis, the Macedonians thought Alexander planned to head home, but he didn't.

Chapter IV
The Administration, Defense, and Exploitation of the Conquered Lands

We can neither prove nor disprove the charge that Alexander had no interest in administration. Alexander considered the land of the Achaemenids to be his, and especially his to profit from with the help of satraps. Areas were ruled either by satraps or indirect government. In 325 Alexander's empire was composed of about 20 satrapies, whose borders mostly had remained unchanged. Some areas that were theoretically part of satrapies continued to be governed by traditional leaders; others, in good relations with Alexander, that had never formed part of the Achaemenid empire, retained their kings. There is controversy about what happened in the cities of the League of Corinth. In the east, where most of the new cities named Alexandria were located, urban areas were established to provide military defense, the settlement of nomadic groups and the stimulation of the economy. Alexander added coins he minted to local monetary systems.

Chapter V
Alexander among Macedonians, Greeks, and Iranians

One of Alexander's general techniques, from 334 on, was to court the support of local elite. Local leaders were concerned with preserving their economic status and prestige. Alexander offered the elites the opportunity to maintain their status with him. In Egypt and Babylonia, Alexander's position was eased by the fact that the population considered the Persians oppressors. The burning of the palaces at Persepolis may have been a sign to the Persians that their glory days had ended and that they had better side with Alexander now. When Bessos murdered Darius III in July 330, Alexander sought vengeance on behalf of Darius. Alexander pardoned every Persian administrator who submitted to him. Melding pragmatism and prudence, Alexander let Persian satraps retain power, but not military power. He recruited 30,000 Iranians before heading to India. These had to learn Macedonian customs and the Greek language, and may be thought of as hostages. Marriage to the Sogdians helped secure Alexander's position. Marriages at Susa reinforced Alexander's policy of governing alongside former enemies.

In India, generals who helped themselves to the property of the priestly caste were executed.

From 330-327 there were three tragedies -- the trial and execution of Philitas, the murder of Kleitos, and the arrest of Callisthenes after Alexander ordered him to kneel to show his respect and to show the Macedonians' unity with the Persians, for whom the gesture was normal. The Greeks thought Alexander was trying to make himself into a god.

Alexander incurred Greek anger when he merged Iranian and Macedonians in one phalanx, but he used psychology to get his way with the Macedonians. Briant doesn't buy the idea that Alexander sought universal brotherhood, just brotherhood between Macedonians and Persians.

Conclusion
The King is Dead! Long Live the King?

Current fashion condemns Alexander for political and moral reasons, which include blaming him for the acts of his successors. Charges that he didn't plan for the succession are wrong, since he had an heir and a son.

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