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  event in this statelet and of course Alexander was granted special

  privileges to consult the oracle. He was allowed inside the temple, while

  his companions had to wait outside and like ordinary pilgrims ask their

  own questions to the oracle, if they had any, from there. The way it usually

  worked was that the boat of Ammon would be carried in a procession and

  the priests would observe and interpret its motions as questions to the

  oracle were asked. The answers were normally just ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but

  Alexander was most probably instead or also given much more complex

  verbal answers. The oldest known sources do not record what questions

  Alexander asked, which has naturally given modern historians an

  unlimited scope for speculation. There were no Greek or Macedonian

  witnesses present to hear what Ammon told Alexander and Alexander

  himself never revealed what he had been told, so we will never know what

  really happened inside the temple at Siwah. Nonetheless, the visit to Siwah

  changed the Macedonian king. Being far away from Siwah and Egypt, he

  continued to worship Ammon and ask his oracle questions. For the rest of

  his life he considered himself to be the son of Ammon. When soldiers at

  Opis found the idea amusing, he burst into a rage. From Ephippus we learn

  that in 324 at Ecbatana Gorgus of Iasus publicly crowned Alexander with

  a gold wreath as the son of Ammon. The king would also appear as the

  incarnation of Ammon with a purple robe and the horns of a ram. An

  innumerable number of coins struck after Alexander’s death present him

  with Ammon’s horns, which gave rise to the Arab myth of Alexander the

  two-horned ( Dū’l-Karnain) later immortalised in the Quran. We know that

  the moment Alexander entered the Siwah temple he would have been

  greeted by the priest, like in the case of every pharaoh, as the son of

  Ammon. But such a standard greeting, which Alexander would have

  experienced on numerous occasions in Egypt, could not have made such

  an impression so as to affect him for the rest of his life. Therefore in that

  temple he must have heard something more, something that confirmed

  what he already strongly believed in or a very specific prediction that soon

  turned out to be true and therefore convinced Alexander of the oracle’s

  total credibility. The speculations of ancient Greek authors on this subject

  are diverse: Alexander may have asked if he would be victorious in all his

  wars and eventually rule the world or he may have asked if all his father’s

  150 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14a (= Str., 17.1.43); Arr., An. , 3.3.3-6; Diod., 17.49.3-6; Curt., 4.7.6-15; Plu., Alex. , 26.11-27.4; It. Alex. , 50-51. Engels 1978, pp. 61-63; Bosworth 1980, pp. 272-273; Hamilton 1999, pp. 68-71.

  From Abydus to Alexandria

  211

  murderers had been punished. The alleged response to the latter question

  stated that his father was Ammon-Zeus and that those responsible for

  Philip’s death had suffered the consequences of their crime. Of course

  these are merely assumptions saying more about the authors themselves

  than about Alexander.151

  Having had his divine affiliation confirmed, Alexander left Siwah and,

  via the site where Alexandria was to be founded, returned to Memphis. It

  was during his second stay at the Egyptian capital, most probably in April

  331, that reinforcements sent by Antipater arrived: 400 Greek mercenaries

  and 500 Thracian riders. Moreover, at this time Alexander received envoys

  from Greek states. It was also probably then that he gave instructions

  concerning the emission of coins by the Memphis mint, which struck

  bronze coins bearing the king’s portrait. The start of this particular

  emission did not have to coincide with Alexander’s stay in Egypt, it could

  equally well have been started later by Cleomenes of Naucratis. The

  decision to use the ruler’s image instead that of a god, though shocking to

  contemporary Greeks need not have been a consequence of Alexander’s

  superhuman aspirations. It could equally well have resulted from the

  traditions of the satrapy mint in Memphis. For modern historians these

  small coins as well as contemporary coins from Naucratis are significant

  in that they provide some of the earliest images of Alexander.152

  Among the Greek envoys there were delegates from Erythrai bearing

  positive news for the king from the Athena’s oracle and delegates from

  Miletus reporting miraculous events at Didyma, which belonged to

  Miletus. When it was ruled by the clan of Branchidae Didyma used to

  have a great temple and oracle to Apollo. Their pro-Persian stance during

  the Ionian Uprising and Persian wars forced the Branchidae to leave

  Didyma and find refuge in Central Asia. The Temple of Apollo was

  damaged at the start of the 5th century while the oracle fell silent and the

  sacred source ran dry. Then at the start of 331 the water began to flow

  again – a consequence of stones being removed as some historians

  presume. The oracle was thus reactivated, this time not run by the now

  151 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14a (= Str., 17.1.43); Arr., An. , 3.4.5; Curt., 4.7.16-32; Diod., 17.51; Plu., Alex. , 27; Fragmentum Sabbaiticum, FGrH, 151 F1.10; Just., 11.11; Ps.-Callisth., 1.30; It. Alex. , 53; Ephippus, FGrH, 126 F5 (= Ath., 12.53); Syll.3 313. Wilcken 1967, pp. 124-127; Parke 1967, pp. 224-227; Bosworth 1977;

  Bosworth 1988, pp. 281-284; Goukowsky 1978, pp. 23-25; Heisserer 1980, pp.

  182-191; Kuhlmann 1988, pp. 141-142; Hammond 1996, pp. 127-129; Badian

  1996, pp. 17-19; Hamilton 1999, pp. 68-70. Quran: 18.83-98.

  152 Arr., An. , 3.5.1. Borza 1967; Engels 1978, pp. 62-63; Price 1981; Touratsoglou

  2000, pp. 62-63; Le Rider 2003, pp. 224-237.

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  absent and probably forgotten Branchidae but by a city nominated official

  called the prophetes. With a wonderful understanding of politics the first

  prophesy to come from the oracle in over one and a half centuries was

  addressed to Alexander, and it was with this message that the envoys from

  Miletus came to Memphis. According to Callisthenes, Alexander’s court

  historian, Apollo was to state that Alexander was the son of Zeus as well

  as foretell his victory at Gaugamela, Darius III’s death and the revolt of

  Agis III. The historically verifiable parts of this tale include the

  reactivation of the Didyma oracle. The Milesians must have learned of

  Alexander’s aspirations to the divine origins even before he had left for

  Siwah. It is quite possible that in bringing Alexander such good news the

  envoys from Miletus were hoping the monarch would graciously offer to

  finance the rebuilding of the Didymaion. But for this they would have to

  wait another thirty years when the decision to fund this project was made

  by the newly proclaimed descendent of Apollo, Seleucus I Nicator.153

  153 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14 (= Str., 17.1.43). Bosworth 1977, pp. 57-59, 74-75;

  Bosworth 1988, p. 282; Parke 1985, p. 62; Fontenrose 1988, pp. 15-16.

  CHAPTER V:

  KING OF ASIA

  1. From Memphis to Mesopotamia

  In the late spring of 331 Alexander set off from Memphis to Asia for the

  decisive battle against Darius III. Shortly before the Mace
donian army left

  Egypt an unfortunate accident occurred in Alexander’s closest circle: an

  overloaded boat sank and one of the passengers was, Hector, Parmenion’s

  son. The young man managed to swim to the shore but died soon

  afterwards. Alexander honoured Hector with a grand funeral in Egypt. The

  month the Macedonian army set out was more probably May and not April,

  as some have suggested. In April work was started on the building of

  Alexandria and it would have taken some time to cover the almost 250 km

  distance to Memphis, then Alexander received the envoys and performed

  other duties required of a monarch before he left his domain. Late spring

  was a particularly good time for large armies to march in Egypt and

  Palestine for that was the harvest season when it was easy to supply

  soldiers with their basic diet, grain. Moreover, after the winter rains the

  streams and wells had enough water for their needs. The march was

  carefully arranged. Even the entertainment and contests during the

  stopover at Tyre had to be prepared in advance in order to bring over to

  Phoenicia the best Greek performers. We know that engineers had

  constructed bridges over the Nile and canals some time before the army set

  off. Once the march started, the Macedonian fleet sailed to keep up with

  the soldiers on the land. The Macedonian naval and land forces both

  reached Tyre around mid June 331, after the army had interrupted its

  march with a short campaign in Samaria (Chapter IV.5).1

  The stay at Tyre did not last longer than a few weeks. Alexander once

  again visited the Temple of Melqart-Heracles with a procession, sacrifices

  and expensive votive offerings. For the army he arranged sports

  competitions and artistic performances. A stage was specially prepared for

  1 Arr., An. , 3.6.1; Curt., 4.8.7-8. Engels 1978, pp. 63-64; Seibert 1985, p. 90;

  Dąbrowa 1988, pp. 64-65.

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  Chapter V

  dithyrambic and theatrical contests. The contestants included the finest

  Athenian actors, Thettalus and Athenodorus, who in order to perform in

  front of Alexander’s soldiers cancelled a drama competition in Athens

  during the festival of Dionysus. The cost of a fine that the Athenians had

  as a consequence imposed on Athenodorus was covered by Alexander. In

  the contest at Tyre the Macedonian king applauded Thettalus but his

  highest ranking officers, who were appointed the official judges,

  announced Athenodorus the victor. However, the Macedonian king’s

  treasury was not burdened with the overall costs of these expensive artistic

  events with the very best performers. Alexander allowed or instructed the

  kings of Cyprus to play the role of choregoi (rich Greek citizens who paid

  for such theatrical performances). The most distinguished patrons were

  Pasicrates of Soli and Nicocreon of Salamis. It also may have been on this

  occasion that another famous actor, Lycon of Scarphe, included in a

  comedy recital a verse requesting ten talents, which an amused Alexander

  duly paid him.2

  Among the king’s more important obligations at Tyre was the

  receiving of envoys from allied Greek states. Ambassadors from Athens

  brought Alexander a gold crown and yet again congratulated him on his

  victory at Issus. It was then that after successive pleas the Macedonian

  king finally relented and released the captured Athenians who had fought

  on the Persian side at Granicus when their state was officially a member of

  the League of Corinth. Envoys from Rhodes and Chios also received

  favourable responses to their complaints about the Macedonian garrisons

  stationed on their islands, whereas Alexander’s allies from Mytilene and

  Cyprus were rewarded for opting for the right side in the maritime war.

  Other matters Alexander dealt with at Tyre concerning Greece will be

  discussed later on in this chapter. Alexander no doubt made many

  administrative decisions before he left the city, the most important of

  which would have been the re-employment in the king’s service of

  Harpalus, who had returned from Megara after his infamous flight from

  Tarsus. No doubt out of appreciation for his financial and administrative

  skills, Alexander persuaded Harpalus to come back and again appointed

  him his treasurer. The collection of taxes in Phoenicia Alexander entrusted

  to the Macedonian Koiranos and in Asia Minor to Philoxenus, whereas

  Menander, who up until then had commanded the mercenaries, replaced

  Asander as satrap of Lydia. The most important change occurred in Syria,

  where the Iranian aristocrat Arimmas, whom Alexander had appointed at

  the start of 332, was now replaced by the Macedonian Asclepiodorus. The

  2 Arr., An. , 3.6.1; Plu., Alex. , 29.1-6; Plu., mor. , 334d-e; Curt., 4.8.16. Hamilton 1999, pp. 75-76; Nawotka 2003, pp. 112-113.

  King of Asia

  215

  reason for this change was Arimmas’s failure to solve the logistical

  problems concerning the march of the Macedonian army. Not for the last

  time in the history of Alexander’s state administration it turned out that

  Iranian satraps appointed – in accordance with Achaemenid tradition – by

  right of birth proved themselves incapable of performing set tasks up to

  the standards required by their new ruler. It may have been the case that

  Arimmas’s incompetence forced the Macedonian army to remain in Tyre

  for longer than originally planned in order to allow the new satrap to

  complete the necessary logistic preparations. Having settled all the most

  pressing administrative and political matters, at the start of July 331

  Alexander and his soldiers set off from Tyre to the town of Thapsacus on

  the Euphrates.3

  The Macedonian army reached Thapsacus in the Athenian month of

  Hekatombaion (July/August). Darius III had crossed the Euphrates at that

  same place in December 333 during his escape after the Battle of Issus. It

  was well known that the great river could be crossed at this point for the

  town’s Semitic name, Tiphsah, means ‘passage’ or ‘ford’. The Euphrates

  at Thapsacus became navigable for ancient river traffic. The town’s exact

  location is today unknown but of the numerous suggested sites two have

  recently aroused the greatest interest: today’s Dibse, which is situated by

  Asad Lake, or Qal’at Najim, which is some 80 km up river. Both these

  sites are now in modern Syria on the west bank of the Euphrates.4 Taking

  into account the route the Macedonian army took on the eastern side of the

  Euphrates, the more northern location (Qal’at Najim) seems more likely.

  Initially, the army must have marched along the Phoenician coast from

  Tyre to the place that later became known as Seleucia. Thence it would

  have turned east, first through the Orontes Valley and then through Aleppo

  towards the Euphrates. Along the coast the Macedonian forces could have

  been kept supplied by their fleet and then by the fertile farmlands that

  stretched all the way to Aleppo. This was a route that had been taken by

  ancient armies before Alexander and would be taken by other armies after

  him. The entire distance from Tyre to the Euphrates would have been

&nb
sp; approximately 600 km, whereas the distance of the section from Seleucia

  to Thapsacus would have been c. 240 km. Therefore Curtius’s statement

  that the march lasted 11 days would probably only apply to this later

  section. The army crossed the Euphrates using two pontoon bridges. There

  were approximately 6,000 Persian soldiers in the area commanded by the

  3 Arr., An. , 3.6.2-7; Curt., 4.8.11-15; It. Alex. , 53-54. Engels 1978, p. 64; Bosworth 1980, pp. 278-285; Dąbrowa 1988, pp. 65-66; Hammond 1996, pp. 131-132.

  4 Arr., An. , 3.6.4. Honigmann 1934; Bosworth 1980, p. 222; Seibert 1985, p. 91;

  Lendle 1988.

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  Chapter V

  experienced soldier and satrap Mazaeus, but instead of attacking

  Alexander’s army they observed its progress from a distance. The decision

  not to fight at the Euphrates crossing and the kind treatment Mazaeus later

  received from Alexander at Babylon has inclined some historians to

  speculate as to whether the Persian may have earlier made a secret

  agreement with the Macedonian king. However, there is nothing to suggest

  this in the ancient sources and the sheer disproportion in military strength

  may have dissuaded Mazaeus from engaging the enemy on the Euphrates.5

  From Thapsacus Alexander could have next marched his army along

  the Euphrates towards Babylon to face the Great King’s army. According

  to Xenophon, the same route was taken 70 years earlier by Cyrus the

  Younger, who intended to seize the Persian throne from his brother

  Artaxerxes II. However, such a route posed serious logistical and physical

  problems. If the Macedonians reached the Upper Euphrates sometime

  around the end of July or beginning of August, their march to Babylon

  would have been in the middle of the Mesopotamian summer, when

  temperatures frequently rise above 40oC. Covering the distance between

  Thapsacus and Babylon, 1,000 stades (180 km), would have been a

  physically extremely demanding task for the soldiers. Most of the route