Soldier, Priest, and God

by F S Naiden

  The army now camped in tiny villages of brick huts, where the people burned dung to keep warm. The soldiers suffered from frostbite and food stocks dwindled. There were no birds, no beasts of prey, no temples, and thus no gods. Move, Alexander ordered them, or starve. And they did move, over the snowy mountains down into the Kabul River valley, a long drop that led them into settled country with wells, and barns full of fodder and food. The army did not so much stop as collapse for several months.

  They did not know where they were. Alexander called the chief town in the valley, now Begram, “Alexandria in the Caucasus.” Even after a year in Iran, the surveyors clung to the notion that the Caucasus Mountains ran west to east for thousands of miles.

  Partly because the army had more camp followers than before, supplies eventually diminished. First olive oil ran out, and the men used sesame sap. The price of the sap skyrocketed, as did the price for any remaining wine. The grain gave out, and they began killing and eating their horses (but not the more valuable mules). And then, in May 329, after months of waiting, the snow diminished enough for the army to march. Alexander learned of several passes, but Artaxshasa had blocked the better ones. Alexander chose a pass more than a mile higher than Begram. Infantry and mules could travel two abreast, but not porters carrying goods on long poles. Horses could not walk abreast, either, for there was no room for a man to stand beside them and hold the reins. For men and animals alike, the snow was sometimes shoulder deep. Resting against the rocks was dangerous, for the men might be stuck to them by their own frozen sweat. As food and fuel ran out, they butchered and ate more of the animals, and drove away some of the slaves. The cavalrymen dismounted and tugged at their horses, and the infantrymen toted all their own gear. They ignored the plight of the camp followers bringing up the rear. As the climb became steeper, the soldiers slung the walking wounded over the backs of mules. In two weeks, they covered only forty-five miles.59

  From his position in front, Alexander could not see what became of those at the rear. He saw the snow, rocks, and sky ahead of him. When the blue air claimed the whole prospect, he could look down and descry the flatlands and hills of Bactria, and a tangle of rivers flowing northward, away from him, into the unknown.

  At the rear of the column, four days behind, the last Macedonian slogged in the mud and dung left by tens of thousands of men and animals. The vanguard sheltered him from the cold, but he saw only the trail in front of him. When he began to descend, he glimpsed the prospect of food, wine, and sacrificial meals stretching out across miles of towns, fields, and valleys. Days later, he and his comrades discovered that Artaxshasa had destroyed everything, especially the wells and vineyards. The men hauled the wounded off the backs of the mules and ate the animals. They had entered the homeland of the Iranians, where Cyrus died and Zoroaster was born.

  Alexander had brought an army through the Hindu Kush, the “Killer of Hindus.” He knew the legend that his ancestor Heracles led an army into India, so perhaps Heracles came this way. In Euripides, Dionysus led an army, or at least a band of revelers, to India. These were gods and heroes. No human had accomplished this feat, not even Cyrus the Great. The son of Philip was the first.

  Apparently, no local gods helped him. He had failed to make contact with them, just as he had failed to make contact with the Iranian gods at Persepolis, Pasargadae, and Ecbatana, or with the dying Darius. If he thought the Titan Prometheus was chained to a mountain somewhere in the Hindu Kush (and he might have, since Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus), he overlooked this Titan as well. Although he must have prayed to Zeus on high, he had run the risk of displeasing the chief god by the mistreatment of Philotas, a suppliant and a companion. Murder also offended Zeus, even or especially if the victim was an old man, like Parmenio.

  The Macedonians had now traveled as far from home as if they had gone to Newfoundland, in Canada, in a new world.

  firdausi continued his story of Alexander and Dara (his name for Darius) down to the Persian king’s death. In this version of events, the Macedonians, or Rumis, made peace with the Persians, Alexander and the dying Dara were reconciled, and Alexander became king of Persia:

  The armies engaged, and they fought seven days without striking a decisive blow. On the eighth day, Sikander compelled Dara to flee, and the Rumis pursued the Persians to the banks of the Euphrates. Afterward, Dara collected his scattered forces, and tried his fortune again, but Sikander defeated him a second time. Following this success, the Sikander devoted himself to winning the affections of the Persian people, telling them: “Persia is my inheritance: I am no stranger to you, for I am myself descended from Darab. I wish only to pass through your country and go on to other conquests.”

  Disaffection now spread in Dara’s army. A few troops, still faithful to their unfortunate king, offered to fight once more, and Dara was too grateful and too brave to discourage them. A sliver of an army went into action, and afterward Dara was again a fugitive, escaping with 300 men into the desert. Sikander captured his wife and family, but restored them to Dara. The Persian king now asked Sikander for a place of refuge somewhere in his own dominions. In return, Dara promised Sikander all the buried treasure of his ancestors. Sikander declined the offer, and said Dara should come and visit him. Although advised by his nobles to accept the invitation, Dara refused.

  Two of Dara’s ministers, named Jamusipar and Mahiyar, learned from astrologers that their king would soon fall into the hands of Sikander. In order to gain Sikander’s favor, they decided to put Dara to death themselves. One night as the king was traveling in his wagon, and his guards were dispersed, Jamusipar rode up and plunged his dagger into Dara’s side, and Mahiyar struck another blow, which felled the king. The two immediately sent word to Sikander, who hastened to the spot. Dismounting, he sorrowfully placed the head of Dara on his lap.

  Dara was still breathing. When he lifted up his eyes and saw Sikander, he groaned, and Sikander said, “We shall take you to safety, and tend to your wounds.”

  “It is too late for remedies,” Dara answered. “I leave thee to Heaven. May thy reign be peaceful.”

  “Never did I wish to see this sight,” Sikander said. “If God will spare your life, you shall be king again.” He added, “On my mother's word, you and I are sons of the same father.” The tears rolled down his face and fell on the face of Dara. “I shall punish your murderers to the utmost,” a promise Sikander soon kept.

  Dara blessed him, and said, “I die with my mind at rest. Do not weep. Preserve the honor of my family. Marry my daughter, Roshung. If God gives you a son, call him Isfendiyar” [which means “teacher of truth”] “and let him propagate the Avesta of Zoroaster. Let him hold the festivals I love, and tend the holy fire at the altars, and never cease his labors until the worship of Ahura Mazda is accepted everywhere, and all believe the true religion.”

  Sikander promised that he would fulfill Dara’s wishes. Then Dara placed the palm of his brother’s hand on his mouth and died. Sikander wept, and then put the body on a golden couch and attended it to the grave.60

  Illustration of the death of Darab in Nizami by Dharm Das, 1595.

  Walters Museum, ms. W.613.26b.

  In fact, Alexander would soon marry an Iranian, and then marry another, and he would have a half-Iranian heir. Yet neither the heir nor Alexander would propagate the religion of the Avesta. Like the Jews who told the story of Alexander visiting the temple in Jerusalem, Firdausi used religion to conquer the conqueror. In truth, Alexander remained wedded to his eclectic band of gods and epithets—Zeus as Amon, and the Zeus of the companions, Zeus as Marduk and Heracles as Melkart, and a Macedonian favorite who would reemerge in Central Asia and later India, Dionysus.

  8

  Sogdian In-laws

  the army had reached the edge of Bactria and Sogdiana, two Texas-size provinces that would strike a Greek or a Macedonian as crazily diverse. Outlying ridges of the Hindu Kush rose near many broad, fordable rivers, but the Vaxshu River, today’s Amu D
arya, and the Yaxsha, now the Syr Darya, were too broad to ford. Deserts lay between the rivers, and steppes between the mountains. Sandstorms, floods, and brigands often blocked the roads. Artaxshasa was king, but he was not fully or perfectly crowned. Militarily speaking, he was the same leader he had been when he was only a general. He shared control of Bactria and Sogdiana with warlords leading tribal, local followers. The death of Darius had created many Dariuses.

  In language and culture, the people of Bactria and Sogdiana were Iranian. They differed from the Persians as much as Welshmen differ from Englishmen, or New Englanders from Southerners. Like the Persians, they believed that a legitimate king served Ahura Mazda through Anahita. Artaxshasa claimed to be legitimate, but the Iranians could reject him and still oppose Alexander, who was utterly illegitimate. The Persians in Alexander’s entourage could do little to help Alexander. They knew mainly the cities they had governed or visited. Warlords generally controlled the country people.1

  The Persians had pioneered civilization in Bactria and Sogdiana. They improved irrigation, and collected more tribute than in many provinces. More remained to be done: Persian roads ran only between a few cities, and signal fires on mountaintops provided better communication than the Persian king’s famed postal riders. Whereas Persia was partly Mesopotamian in culture and social norms, Central Asia was overwhelmingly Iranian and nomadic. The most important Persian was the Elamite ruler Cyrus, but the most important Central Asian was reportedly the Iranian prophet Zoroaster.2

  In a meeting with his generals—all Macedonian and Greek—Alexander said the army should ignore the warlords and stick to the mission of pursuing Artaxshasa. Alexander thought that once he captured or killed him, resistance would collapse. He did not consider the danger that eliminating Artaxshasa would leave the warlords on their own, and that they might fight rather than surrender. The councilors did not consider this danger, either. Like Alexander, they worried that if Artaxshasa escaped he would go north to Scythia, an Iranian land outside the Persian Empire, and recruit more cavalry there.

  The Route of the Expedition from Central Asia to the Indus River, 327–326 BC.

  Ancient World Mapping Center.

  Still short of food, the Macedonians hastened north, pursuing Artaxshasa. They found ample supplies at Bactra, or modern Balkh, which surrendered straightaway. The army got mail from home and restored the baggage train, and local Phoenicians joined the expedition. Then came rumors that Artaxshasa and his cavalry had run ahead and swum across the wide, unbridged Amu Darya. When the tens of thousands of Macedonians reached the river, they could not cross so nimbly. For lack of timber to build pontoons or boats, most crossed the water on thousands of floats made of chaff wrapped in hides. It took six days. Rather than force unfit men to cross, Alexander pensioned them off. As the young swam the river and headed north toward Siberia, the old turned back into the welcoming arms of the sutlers, who provisioned them for the return to Europe.3

  Farther north, in Sogdiana, the invaders encountered one of the deserts dividing one river valley from the next. The early summer heat made moving the main body impossible, so Alexander rode ahead with his strike force. Travel by day would cause sun-blindness, so the troops marched by night, peering at wagon tracks to stay on the road.

  One of Artaxshasa’s supporters, the warlord Spitamanah, soon approached some Macedonian scouts and told them he and his men could kidnap the king and bring him to Alexander in exchange for being left in peace. They were offering the invaders a bargain: Artaxshasa would cease to be king, a gain for Alexander, but Alexander would not become their master. Alexander did not wish to accept these terms, but in order to get Artaxshasa, he pretended to agree.4

  Alexander dispatched his childhood friend Ptolemy with crack troops who covered ten days’ march in four days. They found Artaxshasa alone in a village where Spitamanah had left him. Once Ptolemy brought Artaxshasa to Alexander, Alexander set about humiliating him as well as putting him to death, all in as public a manner as possible. He put him, naked and chained, on a wagon and had him driven south, out of Sogdiana, to Bactra, where many Iranians could see him. From there, Alexander had him sent on the main road westward, to Ecbatana, one of the Persian capitals. Darius’s brother, Huxshathra, led the way. After Huxshathra arrived in the city, an assembly of leading Persians gathered to watch the execution of Artaxshasa, torn apart after being tied to two bent saplings.5

  This sudden success surprised Alexander, and he had to devise some new military objective. He decided to ride on and gain control of the rest of Sogdiana. He advanced by night to Maracanda, today’s Samarkand. This caravansary, which was the capital of the Persian province, surrendered. Soon afterward, the inhabitants of a nearby mountain stronghold snuck down and attacked a detachment of foraging soldiers. Alexander pursued them and they withdrew to their stronghold. He advanced and besieged the place, but they replied with stones, spears, and arrows. One arrow broke Alexander’s shin and he had to quit the field. He had not suffered any wound since Gaza, two and a half years before. No less disconcerting, some of the defenders hurled themselves from the battlements rather than supplicate.6

  In about four months, the Macedonians had overcome the Hindu Kush, seized two satrapies, and disposed of Darius’s heir. The Persian throne was now vacant. Since Alexander was not king of the Persians himself and would not become their king, the throne would be vacant permanently. The Macedonians thought this meant peace. They did not grasp that the throne belonged to Ahura Mazda, Mithra, and Anahita. This trio bestowed it and preserved it. No one could rule without it. Many Iranians were very sure of this—sure enough to fight for years against the invaders.7

  alexander and the council reacted to this new kind of war as though it were the old kind, between armies. Since the biggest hostile force belonged to the Scyths, they marched north to attack them near the second big river, the Syr Darya. They ran out of water and more men died of thirst than in most battles, yet in spite of the councilors’ appeals to Alexander he pressed on to Kurkath, the “City of Cyrus” that guarded the Persian frontier. After it surrendered, the troops pulled out their ox hides and floated across the Syr Darya. To their surprise, they met with no opposition. The Scyths invited Alexander to send emissaries farther north, and he dispatched Craterus and others.8

  Then came more guerrilla war. Kurkath rose in revolt, and so did lesser towns. Craterus returned and laid siege to the city, while Alexander attacked other Iranian centers. Each time he burned a place, the inhabitants of the next town saw the smoke and fled, and his cavalry would pursue and annihilate them. Then back to Kurkath, where Alexander deployed the siege train the Macedonians had hauled piece by piece over the Hindu Kush. Alexander led the assault under covering fire from the artillery and drove the defenders to an inner citadel. He took a blow on the head and neck from a stone, collapsed, and was struck dumb. He had suffered his first severe concussion. Recovering overnight, he accepted the enemy’s surrender the next day. The Iranians had run out of water. The Macedonians sold many of the survivors to sutlers, who shipped them westward, to the Near East. The Macedonians had not sold them so many slaves for two years.9

  To replace Kurkath, Alexander founded a stronghold nearby, and named it Alexandria Eschate, “The Ultimate (or Last) Alexandria.” The engineers threw up seven miles of circuit walls in twenty days. To celebrate, and to raise morale, he made offerings of cattle and sheep, hosted a feast, and presided over games: tag-team wrestling, chariots drawn by horses and mules, poetry recitals. While gathering fruit for the feast, his men came upon dwarf apples, a kind they had never seen, and Alexander sent some of the trees back to Aristotle.10

  Scythians assembled on the far side of the river and soon spoiled the occasion by firing arrows at the athletes. Alexander responded with an offering of another kind, to learn the omens for a counterattack. The entrails of the slaughtered sheep showed that the counterattack would fail, but Alexander pressed Aristander to alter the result. The companions objected,
and after Alexander insisted on new results, they begged him, something they had never done before and would never do again. They could not overrule him. He made more offerings, and when the omens remained poor he ignored them, halted the festivities, and ordered his best troops to counterattack.11

  After Macedonian catapults drove the Scythians from the bank, Alexander and the companion cavalry crossed on rafts and pursued them into the desert. Overcome by the heat and perhaps sickened by contaminated water, the king gave up the chase. Rather than go on, the companions accompanied him back to camp. This display of impiety and horsemanship had cost 160 Macedonian lives.12

  Spitamanah now joined the resistance. He and his cavalry rode through Sogdiana, behind Macedonian lines, and besieged Samarkand. Alexander sent some 2,000 reinforcements and for the first time assigned Macedonians to a foreigner, the Lycian Pharnuces, chosen because he spoke Iranian languages. The Macedonian officers disliked Pharnuces, and they especially disliked his order to pursue Spitamanah, who had withdrawn into the deserts to the north.13