The Conquests of Alexander the Great

241 Pages·2010·2.11 MB·English

by  Waldemar Heckel

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Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity
Thisseriesiscomposedofintroductory-leveltextsthatprovideanessen-
tialfoundationforthestudyofimportantwarsandconflictsofclassical
antiquity. Each volume provides a synopsis of the main events and
key characters, the consequences of the conflict, and its reception over
time. An important feature is a critical overview of the textual and
archaeologicalsourcesfortheconflict,whichisdesignedtoteachboth
historiographyandthemethodsthathistoriansusetoreconstructevents
ofthepast.Eachvolumeincludesanassortmentofpedagogicaldevices
that students and general readers can use to further their knowledge
andinquiryofthetopics.
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THE CONQUESTS OF
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
i i i
Waldemar Heckel
university of calgary
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521842471
© Cambridge University Press 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-36742-7 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-84247-1 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-60323-2 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
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For Julia and Darren
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CONTENTS
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preface \ ix chronological table \ xv
1. Introduction 7 1
2. How Do We Know? Sources for Alexander
the Great 7 5
3. The Macedonian Background 7 13
4. The Persian Enemy 7 31
5. Conquest of the Achaemenids 7 41
6. Resistance on Two Fronts 7 87
7. Conquest of the Punjab 7 112
8. The Ocean and the West 7 126
9. The Long Road from Susa to Babylon 7 142
\[
appendix 1: alexander’s officers \ 153
appendix 2: numbers of troops \ 158appendix 3: the
administration of the empire \ 164
glossary \ 167 abbreviations \ 171 notes \ 173
bibliography \ 191 index \ 205
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PREFACE
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the aim of this book is to provide an intelligent introduc-
tiontotheconquestsofAlexandertheGreat(334–323BC).Thisisnot
a biography, and I have said little or nothing about Alexander’s youth,
his sexual orientation, the breaking of Bucephalas, and the like. Nor
do I go into detail concerning the nature of Alexander’s death. Some
aspects of Alexander’s personality are discussed, since they pertain to
ourunderstandingofhis“divinity”andhis“orientalism”;butevenhere
the emphasis will be on the political impact of Alexander’s attitudes
and personal actions. In short, this book was never intended to be an
exhaustivetreatment.Althoughtheemphasisisonmilitaryandpoliti-
cal (including administrative) aspects, the battle descriptions focus on
keydevelopmentsratherthanprovidingblow-by-blowaccounts.More
attention is given to aims and impact, to political consequences of
militaryaction,andespeciallytotheuseofpropagandaforbothmoti-
vation and justification. Conspiracies and mutinies are viewed within
thecontextofthecampaign,asreactionstoAlexander’spoliciesandthe
apparent changes in his personality, as symptoms of battle fatigue or
disenchantmentwithcareerprogress.But,again,littlespaceisdevoted
totheintricaciesoftheplotsortocloak-and-daggerscenes.
WhileitisimportanttoconsiderAlexanderandhismilitaryachieve-
mentinthecontextofhistimes,onemustalsorememberthatthebasic
goals of conquest and keys to military superiority (once allowances
have been made for technology) have not changed dramatically over
the millennia. Indeed, Field Marshal Montgomery thought that even
in the twentieth century the fundamental principles of war had not
changed since ancient times.1 Those who persist in seeing Alexander
as a reincarnation of Achilles, as an irrational youth on a heroic quest
forfameandimmortality,havebeentakeninbythemyth-makerswho
shaped the Alexander legend, and they run the risk, in my opinion,
of reducing one of the world’s greatest military strategists to a childish
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