Transcript The Necessary Knowledge

ALEXANDER
THE
GREAT
Relationship with Macedonians
The Policy of Fusion
Alexander knew that if he was to rule the Persian Empire, he would need to
gain the support of the Persians. This seems to have been his main
motivation behind his ‘Policy of Fusion’, the name given to his attempts to
bring Greeks and Persians together.
Some features of the Policy of
Fusion:
• Appointment of Persians to
leadership positions (First
example – Mazaeus was
reappointed satrap of Babylon)
• Adoption of Persian dress by
Alexander.
• Adoption of some Persian
customs (eg. proskynesis).
Key Events
 Burning of Persepolis 330BC
 Death of Philotas and Parmenio 330BC
 Death of Cleitus 328BC
 Callisthenes and proskynesis 327BC
 Royal Pages Conspiracy 327BC
 Mutiny on the Hyphasis 326BC
 Journey through Gedrosia 325 BC
 Execution of Generals of Medea 325BC
 Flight of Harpalus 325BC
 Mutiny at Opis 324BC
 The Susa Weddings 324BC
The Burning of the Palace at Persepolis
Arrian’s version:
“Alexander wished to punish the Persians for their invasion of
Greece; his present act was retribution for the destruction of
Athens, the burning of the temples, and all the other crimes they
had committed against the Greeks. My own view is that this was
bad policy.”
Read Diodorus’s account of the burning of the
palace (booklet), then Plutarch’s (Artus p.63)
1. What is the most likely cause of the fire?
2. What do we learn about Alexander?
3. What do we learn about the Greek /
Macedonian troops?
The Conspiracy of Philotas
Philotas and Parmenio
Conspiring against Alexander?
The Conspiracy of Philotas
Philotas
Boyhood friend of Alexander
Commander of Companion Cavalry
Why get rid of him?
• He was an egomaniac who often boasted of his
achievements and belittled Alexander’s
• Others had reported his disloyalty to Alex.
• He and his father represented the older
Macedonians who had served under Philip and did
not support the Policy of Fusion.
• He could be a potential rival to Alex - conspirators
against Alex would look to him for help
• Alex was becoming increasingly paranoid
• If he made an example of Philotas, other
‘conspirators’ would be discouraged.
The Conspiracy of Philotas
Parmenio was executed as well … the
reason for (his) execution may have been
that Alexander could not believe that he
had no share in his son’s conspiracy; on
the other hand, even granting his
innocence, his living on after his son’s
execution was already in fact a danger; for
he was a man of immense prestige: he
had great influence not only with
Alexander but also with the army – and not
only the Macedonian units, but also with
the mercenary soldiers.
- Arrian
Parmenio
Murdered at
Ecbatana
By officers acting
under Alex’s orders
In 330BC
The Murder of Cleitus
Use the text from Plutarch to complete the
notes on the murder of Cleitus
To discuss:
What do the sections of the text marked
with margin lines tell us about the
character of Alexander?
Cleitus
General in army
Had served under Philip
Saved Alex’s life at Granicus
Killed at Maracanda
Callisthenes and Proskynesis
Complete the notes on this, using Hamilton (top p105-top p107) and
Artus p.95
Persians: “This is showing respect to
someone of greater social rank. And who
is greater than the Great King?”
Greeks: “We only bow down before the
gods. No way should this be done before
a mortal man – it is hubris.”
The Pages Conspiracy
The Two Mutinies
at the River Beas/Hyphasis (India)
326BC
1. Watch the clip
and note down
what happens.
2. Read up on the
Mutinies and
complete notes.
3. Watch the clip
again – which bit
is which?
at Opis (Central Persia)
324BC
The Gedrosian Desert 325BC
The Gedrosian Desert
The Susa Weddings 324BC
The Harpalus Affair
Harpalus was one of Alexander’s boyhood friends, who had been left with the
job of looking after Alexander’s Treasury at Babylon in 331.
Six years later, upon hearing that Alexander was returning to Babylon, Harpalus
panicked and fled with 5000 talents and 6000 men.
Where to and Why?
Athens. Harpalus had become corrupt and misspent Alexander’s money. Alex
had executed a number of his officials. H feared he was next. H had been made
Athenian citizen.
What happened?
H tried to stir up a rebellion against Alexander. Athens refused H. entry to city,
because of his army. Took his forces to Taenarum and left them there. This time,
Athens put him under open arrest and took his 700 remaining talents.
Callisthenes and Proskynesis
The Necessary Knowledge:
1. Who was Callisthenes?
2. How and why did he object to
performing proskynesis?
3. What does “Very well then – I shall go
away poorer by a kiss” mean?
4. How did Alexander get back at
Callisthenes?
The Pages Conspiracy
The Necessary Knowledge:
1. Why did the Pages get upset with
Alexander?
2. What did they plan to do about it?
3. Why did the plot fail?
4. How was Callisthenes involved?
The Mutiny at the River Beas
(Hyphasis)
The Necessary Knowledge:
1. List the reasons why Alexander’s men
refused to go any further than the river
Beas.
2. How did Alexander react to the mutiny?
3. Why did he decide to take an alternative
route back?
The Gedrosian Desert 325BC
1. Read Artus’ account of the crossing
of the desert (pg.69). List the
difficulties faced by the Macedonians
in this crossing.
2. Read the accounts of the crossing
of the Gedrosian Desert by Arrian
(Artus pages 70-71).
• Why did Alexander want to cross the
Desert?
• What action does Arrian call “one of
Alexander’s noblest”?
The Gedrosian Desert
Pic: www.livius.org
The Susa Weddings 324BC
What We Need to Know:
Hamilton
pp.133-134
1. Briefly describe how the Susa Weddings
were staged.
2. How and why did Alexander
acknowledge existing relationships
between Greeks and Persians?
The Mutiny at Opis 324BC
What We Need to Know:
Hamilton
pp.142-143
1. What caused this mutiny of Alexander’s
oldest soldiers?
2. How did Alexander deal with it?
The Macedonian Generals of Media
Hamilton 128-130, Artus p.72
1. Which Macedonians were involved in the abuse of power?
How many?
2. What were the charges?
3. How did Alexander react?
4. Why did Alexander punish them so severely?
Result:
Fear spread throughout the empire and even Harpalus fled in
fear.
The Conspiracy of Philotas
The Necessary Knowledge:
1. Who was Philotas?
2. What was the nature of the plot against
Alexander?
3. How was Philotas involved?
4. What action did Alexander take?
5. What happened to Parmenio and why?
The Question That Remains:
Was there really a ‘Conspiracy of Philotas’?