Agua

Alexander the Great

Journey to the End of the Earth

8

NORMAN F. CANTOR

with Dee Ranieri

An e-book excerpt from

To my students

Contents

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Preface 1 The Greek World 2 Who Was Alexander? 3 The March of Conquest 4 The Last Years 5 How “Great” Was Alexander? Notes Bibliography About the Author Selected Titles by Norman F. Cantor Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher

iv 1 35 71 131 147 175 179

Preface

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in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan have drawn our attention again to Alexander the Great. Three hundred years before Christ, this hero of antiquity led an army of Macedonians and Greeks on a route through the Middle East and Central Asia that intersected with the recent tactical deployment of the U.S. Army and Marines. The first Western ruler to attempt a war of conquest in the Middle East and Central Asia, Alexander triumphed. But his army was no more comfortable than American forces have been in the difficult terrain and climate of Kabul, Baghdad, and surrounding territories. In this book I have minimized the romance and fantasies associated with Alexander, trying instead to construct a critical and well-rounded assessment of the man and the world in which he lived.

E C E N T E V E N T S

{ iv }

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The Greek World

O N E

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G R E E C E , extending from the kingdom of Macedonia in the north down to the city-state of Sparta in the south, was a large peninsula or archipelago jutting out into the Aegean Sea. Much of its land was taken up by forests, mountains, and deep valleys—a topography that made unification of the Greek city-states difficult. Up the coast from Sparta lay the rich and artistic city-state of Athens—distinguished by its Parthenon, navy, democracy, and opinionated orators—with the bustling port of Piraeus some ten miles to the southwest. Thebes and Corinth were other city-states, lying halfway between Macedonia and the well-disciplined but bellicose Sparta.

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