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posted on January 18th, 2011

(Photos, from top: The hole where the Tower of Babel once stood with the palace of Saddam Hussein in the background; the nearby well that is a pilgrimage site for Shia; a mural on the ceiling of Saddam’s palace; the outside of Saddam’s palace).

I wrote recently the first of 2 installments on my trip to Babylon. I’d now like to pick up the story where I left off.

After visiting the museum at Babylon, we had the option either to walk or drive to the site of the ancient Tower of Babel. Walking, of course, seemed like the more appealing choice.

As we began our walk, I quickly realized that the scope of the Babylon site was far beyond what I had imagined. This was, after all, one of the great cities of the ancient world. And for all the damage that Saddam Hussein did to the site, hastily reconstructing the city on the foundations of the ancient ruins, I found more than a modicum of hope in the idea that his project was confined to the city center, with vast tracts of unexcavated urban sprawl extending far in every direction.

In my first installment, I discussed visiting the Processional Way, a road that ran through the center of the city and the Ishtar Gate. That road, though, begins out at the Tower of Babel, and we followed it there through the Iraqi countryside. Unexcavated, the road looked more like a dry riverbed, running through the semi-arid landscape. My tour guide Abou Zayed and I wandered through brush and sand, crossing the occasional barbed wire barrier, toward where the Tower of Babel had once stood.

The Tower of Babel, of historical and Biblical fame, once stood over 90 meters tall, a stunning feat of ancient innovation. Sadly, nothing remains of it today. Alexander the Great found the structure in disrepair when he arrived at Babylon. He tore down what remained, therefore, intending to use the materials from the old tower to build a new one. Alexander died, though, before he could complete this project.

Today, the site is simply a hole in the ground, a deep pit situated on a high patch of earth. Stretching for miles in every direction are groves of palm trees, small villages nestled within them. The city of Hillah lies just a few miles away.

After taking in the site of the tower, which is still mesmerizing if the right amount of imagination is applied, I noticed a small mosque at the base of the hill on the far side. I had been warned about visiting the surrounding villages, but having operated in a security bubble for weeks, my interest was piqued by the opportunity to, at last, interact with average Iraqis.

We hustled down the hill to mosque, which was set in a shaded courtyard. Several cars were parked out front, and a handful of security personnel were on guard. After just a moment’s negotiation, I was invited inside the courtyard to look. According to the locals, this was an important pilgrimage site for the Shia. It contained a water well that had historical and religious importance. My research on the significance of the well is in contradiction to what I was told on site, and I need to reconcile the two accounts before I post more on it.

The courtyard of the mosque felt relaxed. Pilgrims, mostly women, filtered through, and the mosque administrators toured me around and showed me the well. They invited me for tea, but after a moment’s deliberation, I politely turned them down. The sun was setting, and I had one more stop on my tour.

After making the long walk back to the center of the Babylon ruins, we hopped in Abou Zayed’s car and meandered down a country road and up a man-made hill to Saddam Hussein’s palace.

Built on one of the locations historians believe could have been the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world, Saddam’s palace remains an awesome, if gaudy, reminder of his rule. The hill that the palace is perched on looks artificial. The palace, which casts a shadow over the ruins, was so close to Babylon, Abou Zayed told me, that Saddam’s security team would shut the ruins down to visitors whenever the president was in residence. Fortunately, because he had so many palaces, Saddam wasn’t often there.

From the outside, the palace is imposing and made of brown sandstone. Saddam’s initials adorn the walls, as do carvings of the general leading his men. Inside, the palace has been largely looted. No furniture or appliances remain. The palace was sacked after the start of the war, used for years as the offices of a U.S. military base, and remains a popular site for visitors. Navigating around ripped out chunks of marble and plaster, we wandered through the grand entrance hall, a dining room with great views of the Euphrates, and a living room with a nationalistic mural painted on the ceiling.

Because the ceilings were so tall, they have suffered little looting and destruction. As a result, murals, chandeliers, and moldings are still in tact. Graffiti lines most of the walls, some of it by U.S. troops.

The twin arching marble stairways to the second floor were blocked by barbed wire, so we headed up a back staircase. Upstairs featured balconies, once-luxurious bathrooms, and the dictator’s bedroom.

From Saddam’s bedroom, I could see one poor farmhouse on the other side of the Euphrates. Abou Zayed told me that when Saddam was building the palace, his security forces cleared out the surrounding houses. Saddam, though, announced that he wanted neighbors and told his team to spare the one farmhouse.

Our last stop was the back deck of the house. Saddam, an avid swimmer, had pools installed in nearly every palace. This one was no exception. The mushroom shaped pool was empty of water but would have provided spectacular views for the dictator as he swam his laps.

Down the hill from the pool was a grove of palm trees, with one in particular that looked well cared for. According to Abou Zayed, Saddam had once mentioned that he liked that tree. His eager-to-please staff, therefore, built a small wall around the trunk and looked after it closely. The wall is still there today.

My visit nearly coincided with the shortest day of the year. This was unintentional. It did mean, though, that by 4:30 it was almost nighttime. Abou Zayed and I said lengthy farewells, and he invited me to join his family for dinner in Hillah next time I came to town. After that, we shook hands and loaded up the cars. Meandering through the palm-covered roads at twilight, I marveled at how much Iraq had changed since Alexander’s time. And I made a promise to myself to, one day, return to the country under better security circumstances and complete the road to Babylon on foot.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Iraq
posted on October 10th, 2010

It takes a visit to Siwa to begin to understand the daring of Alexander the Great’s decision to march here.

In my previous posts, I’ve described how Isolated Siwa is: 80 kilometers from the Libyan border, 300 kilometers from Marsa Matrouh on the north coast, 800 kilometers from Cairo. Getting here by paved road is enough of a challenge. Alexander likely followed a caravan route through the desert, guided, the legend goes, by a flock of ravens. Still, the Macedonian forces ran the risk of getting lost and striking out into the nothingness of the Sahara.

As noteworthy as Alexander’s journey to far flung destinations in the east was, never in his life would he venture to a location as remote as Siwa.

He came here, moreover, not for military conquest or riches, but to have a conversation that would reshape his life and the history of the ancient world. Alexander came here to meet the renowned oracle at the temple of Amon (pictured above). Pharaohs had long made the journey here to ask the oracle about the most important decisions facing their empires.

One approaches the temple today by a dirt road that meanders through palm groves. A striking mud tower is the temple’s most prominent feature. But in a place like Siwa, where history is stacked on top of history, one quickly discovers that the mud tower is the minaret of a mosque, built within the temple complex long after the temple itself.

Inside, much of the temple lies in the ruins. The oracle’s chambers, though, are still very much intact, with hieroglyphs faded but still visible lining the walls.

As I stood in the oracle’s chamber, a wave of excitement washed over me. It had taken me almost 6 months to reach this point, the furthest I would venture from my starting point on the banks of the Payas River in southern Turkey.

Walking in Alexander’s footsteps, I have visited many of the sites of his most historic accomplishments. Standing in the oracle’s chamber, though, I realized that this was the first time I was literally standing in Alexander’s footsteps—standing in the same small room, surrounded by the same four walls within which he talked with the oracle.

To understand how critical this meeting was to Alexander, one must look at it in the context of his campaign against the Persian Empire. After overcoming the odds and defeating Persian Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Issus (where I began trekking), Alexander had the opportunity to regroup, chase Darius, and deliver a deathblow to the Persian military and empire. Instead, he spent two years shoring up his empire in the Middle East and North Africa. While he visited Siwa, the Persians were assembling one of the largest fighting forces in history. From the moment Alexander left the oasis, he was on the march to face Darius one last time in battle.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Alexander’s conversation with the oracle. In it, the oracle affirmed that Alexander was the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt and descended from the gods. This not only solidified Alexander’s rule over Egypt, but it would give him broad purpose later in his campaign. After defeating the Persians, many in the Macedonian army supported an end to the conquest. Buttressed by his conversation with the oracle, though, Alexander pressed east, determined to conquer the whole world.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Egypt
posted on September 25th, 2010

I can’t see the expanse of desert that lies before me. I arrived here in the dark, and the moon is mostly obscured by clouds. But I know from a previous visit that a sea of sand stretches in a seemingly endless expanse to the south, rising up sharply to form the hill on which I now find myself, before drifting back downward, gently, for less than half a mile to the sea.

To spend the night, I’ve found myself a small “lokanda,” as places like these are called. It’s a guest house, but more precisely it’s 5 shabby rooms stacked on top of a rundown convenience store. I’m paying 7 dollars for the priviledge of staying here. Apart from the half-blind owner sleeping on a cot downstairs, I’m the only one here.

My 1 star digs make the setting, a true crossroads of militaries, all the more vivid. Just over 2,300 years ago, Alexander the Great and his massive military drove down this coast on what must have seemed like a fool’s errand to some in the ranks. After being declared Pharaoh of Egypt by the leaders at Memphis, Alexander set off on a rather hairbrained scheme to seek out the oracle in the distant oasis of Siwa to have his claims of divinity bolstered.

As Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote, Alexander, “dissatisfied with elevation on the mortal level, he either considered, or wanted others to believe, that Jupiter was his ancestor.”

So here passed Alexander, probably atop his horse Bucephalus, with his legions of men, 100 kilometers west of what would become Alexandria. Before the Macedonians still lay nearly another 200 km to the village of Amunia, where they would turn southwest and journey 300 km through empty and remote desert to Siwa and the oracle.

But Alexander isn’t the only commander to guide a military across this land. I’m in the town of El Alamein, site of one of the most important battles of World War II. It’s an odd feeling sitting in my small, mosquito-infested room, the floors dirty from neglect and the paint stripped from the walls, because I know that I am literally surrounded by history. Across the street is a small museum dedicated to the Battle of El Alamein. To my immediate east lie fields of headstones at the British and Australian cemetery. To my west sits the round mausoleum paying tribute to the Germans that died here. Nearby it is the Italian cemetery. South of here, stretching far into the desert is the field of battle on which Montgomery and Rommel squared off over bloody weeks in 1942.

El Alamein was a battle of tactical maneuvering and bluffs, surprise attacks, air raids, and landmines. Much was at stake. Monty, in his first battle as commander, had to prove that he could take on the “Desert Fox.” Churchill, back against the wall as he oversaw the losing end of a war, stood to be ousted from power. The entire Africa theater hinged on the battle, as did the tide of the war at large.

All told, almost 40 thousand men died here, and the momentum of the war shifted to the Allies. To this day, northwestern Egypt remains one of the most heavily mined places on earth.

All of this history, swirling around my little hotel room.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Egypt
posted on September 19th, 2010

Alexandria is a city that’s an inch deep and a mile wide. More accurately, it hugs more than 10 miles of coastline, pushing little inland—a fact that would probably please Alexander the Great, who founded the city to be one of the great Mediterranean ports.

Unlike his campaign down the banks of the eastern Mediterranean, where he met with fierce resistance from the Persian army and cities like Tyre and Gaza, Egypt embraced Alexander’s arrival in 332 BC. The north Sinai city of Pelusium threw open its gates to the Macedonian army, as did Memphis, just south of Cairo.

The reason for this, said Professor of Greek and Roman History at Alexandria University Dr. Mohammed Abd-el-Ghani, is that the Greeks had banked good will with the Egyptians over 2 centuries by giving aid to Egyptian forces in their resistance to oppressive Persian occupation.

“Then when Alexander came,” Abd-el-Ghani said, “owing to the previous Greek support, they didn’t think of Alexander as a conqueror but as a liberator. And Alexander was diplomatic enough to persuade the Egyptians of this.”

Of course, Alexander was a conqueror, and years of subsequent Ptolemaic rule would prove it.

After taking Memphis, the Macedonian army, headed by Alexander, marched down the west branch of the Nile, a hike I’ve just completed. He passed through the city of Naucratis, which, on the Nile several miles inland, served as Egypt’s chief, if modest, port.

When he reached the sea, Alexander hiked west to the fishing village of Rhakotis and ordered it joined with the offshore island of Pharos to build one of two ports that would jointly become Alexandria. Along with Tyre, this was the second time Alexander had joined an island to the mainland.

One of the reasons Alexander succeeded in winning Egyptian loyalty was in his ability to fuse Egyptian and Greek religions. Whereas the Persians sought, with a heavy hand, to impose their own religion on Egypt, Alexander allowed the Egyptians to maintain their pantheon of gods and infused them with Greek influence, according Nevine Roushdy, a curator of the museum at the Library of Alexandria. And the equation seemed to have been successful enough that the Romans maintained the tradition 3 centuries after Alexander. At the museum, it was stunning to see statues of Egyptian gods, dressed in Greek clothing, built by the Romans. Talk about a cultural meld!

The photo you see here is one such example of this cultural fusion. Alexander humanized Egyptian gods (which were typically represented as animals), though he allowed them to retain their Egyptian names and features (note the Egyptian hat worn atop the statue).

Under the Greeks, Alexandria became an economic powerhouse for trade. According to Abd-el-Ghani, it was used by South and East Asian merchants to ship goods to Greece and Rome, both of which boasted high demands for Asian goods.

The city became a cultural center of the ancient world as well. The ancient Library of Alexandria is the most notable example of this. The city remained a center of learning until the second century BC when, according to Abd-el-Ghani, Ptolemy VIII cracked down on liberal scholarship that stood in opposition to him. That, some might argue, is a tradition that Egypt has become all too familiar with.

Alexandria is also home to one of the world’s great ancient mysteries. For millennia, scholars have argued over Alexander the Great’s burial place, with many surmising that he was laid to rest here, in the once-mighty port city that bears his name. Localscholars debate about where in the city he was buried, though his remains have never been found.

Some have argued that Alexandria’s best days are behind it—and they may be. But the city is still vibrant and, in many ways, remains the jewel in Egypt’s crown. A rebuilt library (pictured at top, and which I wrote about for GlobalPost last year) serves as a premier center of learning in the Arab world’s most populous nation. Alexandria University was just listed as one of the top 200 universities in the world (#147).

Yes, seaside buildings are showing their age from decades of neglect and exposure to sea air, which can give a sense of faded glory to the casual observer. But in many ways, this city maintains Alexander’s vision as a busy commercial hub and remarkable center of learning.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Egypt
posted on June 15th, 2010

My bag has finally arrived in Tel Aviv. Apparently it didn’t have any explosives in it after all. That means that tomorrow I’ll be heading north and beginning my trek down the Israeli coast.

In the meantime, let me wrap up telling you about my Lebanon leg.

Tyre is Lebanon’s last big coastal city before Israel. It’s also an important stopping point in the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Having won the Battle of Issus (where I started my trek) in 333 B.C., the Macedonian army marched down the Mediterranean coast, receiving surrenders from most of the cities it encountered.

Tyre, though, had a proud history of resisting conquering forces. So when Alexander demanded he be allowed to worship at Tyre’s temple of Heracles, the ruling family of Tyre said no. Many historians argue that Alexander demanded admission to the temple as a pretext for launching a war.

In 332 B.C., the siege of Tyre began.

At the time, the city of Tyre occupied a small island just off the mainland. It meant that the city was easily defended and invaders easily stymied.

So what do you do when you have an army of many thousands and want to invade an island city? You connect the island with the mainland, of course. Alexander forever altered Tyre’s history by building a bridge out to the city. His army did so under intense fire from the fortress city. It was one of the great engineering feats of the age. When the bridge was complete (some historians say it was up to a kilometer long), he used it to push two siege towers up to the city walls.

He also used the strength of his navy to batter the walls of the city. After 7 months (an eternity in the brief life of Alexander), the city crumbled. One of the strengths of Alexander’s campaign was that he left most of the cities he conquered in tact, forbidding his military to loot them. Given his anger towards Tyre, though, Alexander allowed his army to destroy the place, killing citizens or selling them into slavery, and ransacking the city of its riches.

It’s important to note that a period of two years passed between when the Macedonian and Persian armies faced at Issus and when they faced again at Gaugamela. In that time, Alexander covered the same 2,000 miles I’m currently walking. It’s amazing to consider, then, that of the two years, Alexander spent 7 months focusing just on Tyre.

Ever since Alexander built his bridge to the island of Tyre, the city has been an island no more. What started as a bridge got fleshed out over time, as the people of Tyre filled in the area between the island and the mainland.

Today, an old city and Roman ruins still cover what used to be the island. Now, though, the old island is just the end of a peninsula.

(Photos: Tyre’s old harbor; Roman ruins in Tyre’s old city, built after the time of Alexander the Great)

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Lebanon
posted on June 1st, 2010

Even though Alexander the Great carried out a protracted campaign against the Persian Empire, much of my journey chronicles a 2-year stretch of Alexander’s campaign, during which he subdued empires and city-states ruled over by the Persians. Despite delivering a massive blow to the Persians at Issus (where I began walking), it would be 2 years before the Macedonian forces would again face Darius III and his renewed military at Gaugamela, in modern-day northern Iraq.

Why did Alexander not pursue the Persians after Issus in an effort to deliver a deathblow? Why did he storm down the Mediterranean coast, taking over cities and empires like Tyre, Byblos, and Egypt, all while Darius regrouped and prepared for a new fight?

I asked Colby College professor Joseph Roisman for answers. Roisman is a leading ancient Greek and Roman historian. He is respected as one of the foremost authorities on Alexander the Great. You can read his full biography and list of published works here.

This is what he had to say:

The truth is that we can only speculate about Alexander’s motives not to pursue Darius’ for two years after Issus. Motives are hard to decipher at any time. But there must have been more than one reason.

1. He did not plan it this way. War or a military campaign often have their own dynamic and logic which dictate their course.  Thus, Tyre was supposed to surrender peacefully, but Alexander’s request to sacrifice to their god, which was perceived as an insult to their sovereignty and religion, led to their opposition and to the long siege. Some scholars think that he should have left Tyre under guard and kept going. I, however, do not believe that he could afford leaving behind such a big maritime force as an enemy. Similarly, Egypt. Going from Issus to Babylonia meant leaving Egypt with its huge resources still in Persian hands. He did not plan to stay there that long , but once he got there things changed or beckoned, like the oracle at Siwa.

2.  Alexander was confident that he could beat Darius again, then or later. He won two major victories by now, at Granicus and Issus, and Darius’ peace proposal after Issus, stingy as it was, confirmed to him that he had the advantage. He also captured the royal family and treasure. There was no pressure to pursue the war against Darius.

3. After Issus, at the latest, Alexander saw himself as king of Asia. Not everybody in his camp was happy about it. Later his general Parmenion even advocated taking Darius’ latest offer of splitting the empire, and apparently he was not the only one who thought so. I think that postponing the military decision with Darius postponed also the debate over the aims of the campaign, which worked in Alexander’s interest.

There are probably other possible reasons, but all we got are educated guesses. Welcome to ancient (or even modern) history.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great
posted on May 21st, 2010

I spent the last couple of nights in Byblos, an ancient port city just over 20 miles north of Beirut. It’s a lively, exciting town, that while laying claim to being one of the world’s oldest, still has the modern touches that attract thousands of Lebanese and foreign tourists alike every year.

Byblos is also an important city in the history of Alexander the Great.

Jbeil, as it’s known in Arabic, was a slave to empires for millennia, becoming a jewel in the imperial crown of one ambitious conquering force after another. As empires came through the region, Byblos changed and adjusted, alternately thriving and struggling, depending on the competence of its imperial rulers.

In the third millennium BC, the city grew to be a premier port thanks to heavy trade with the Egyptian Empire. After brief periods in the hands of other empires that did not encourage its economic growth, Byblos again flourished under Egyptian rule in the second millennium BC.

After a period of rule by the Assyrians, the Persian Empire laid claim to the city. It would remain under Persian rule until Alexander the Great came storming down the Phoenician coast.

After Alexander first defeated the Persian army at Issus, where I began my journey in southern Turkey, he spent 2 years venturing through the Middle East, conquering cities that had once belonged to the Persian Empire, instead of trying to deliver a death blow to the defeated and reeling Persian forces.

As Alexander came down the coast, many of the towns he encountered threw open their gates to him. Others did not.

Byblos, playing its usual part as cultural sponge, welcomed the Macedonian army. As a result, the city’s importance grew, and it remained one of the Mediterranean’s most dominant port cities for centuries.

The fate of Byblos under Alexander stands in stark contrast to that of its trade rival, Tyre, a city in south Lebanon where I’ll be next week.

Tyre held out against Alexander’s army, refusing to acknowledge a new conquering force. As a result, Alexander ordered his army to siege the city. The Macedonians won and sacked the city, but only after 7 intense months of siege warfare. It’s an incredible, bloody story that I’ll delve into when I make it south.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Lebanon
posted on May 6th, 2010

In an effort to make this journey more reader friendly, I’ve added a rough line to my map so that you can see my route through the region. My aim is to alter the points subtly as I go, so that the line reflects a detailed look at where I’ve been. The pins in the map represent dispatches on the GlobalPost site.

You’ll see that I’m walking the coast of the Mediterranean, beginning in Turkey, through Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, and Egypt. After crossing Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, I’ll walk down to ancient Memphis (just south of Cairo), before walking up to Alexandria. From Alexandria I’ll make a loop along the coast, through the desert to Siwa Oasis, and then back to Memphis. From there, I’ll skip back to Lebanon, cross the mountains to Damascus, walk up Syria through Homs and Hama, to Aleppo. I’ll then walk down the Euphrates, cut up to southern Turkey (modern-day), and hit the border with Iraq. For the moment, I’ve omitted a line detailing my travels in Iraq. I’ll end in Babylon, just south of Baghdad.

I know this is all re-hash, but I wanted to go over it again now that the route line is up!

I hope this line gives you a better sense of where I’m heading. And in 3 days, once I cross into Lebanon, I’ll turn my GPS back on, so you’ll be able to see where I am in real time.

In the meantime, I leave Damascus tonight and drive back to Tartus, on the coast, where I’ll finish in Syria with a 2 day walk to the Lebanese border.

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great
posted on April 18th, 2010

I should try to give some context to the Battle of Issus, which I reported on several days ago. While I was trying to get my (now aching) feet on the ground, I didn’t take the time to give some background on how Alexander the Great found himself facing Persian Emperor Darius III along a little creek bed in what is today southern Turkey.

Alexander took over the Macedonian throne from his father, Philip, who had, himself, been planning an invasion of Anatolia. When Alexander became king, he first had to put down insurrections among a handful of Greek states, which were chafing under Macedonian dominance.

That accomplished, Alexander crossed the Dardanelles (see the photo of your reporter doing the same thing some 23 hundred years later) and set off to face the Persians in battle.

The first of Alexander’s three major battles against the Persians came at Granicus, not far from Troy, where he faced off against an enemy led by Memnon. The Macedonians eventually won and sent the stunned Persians fleeing.

Alexander then (and I’m going to gloss over some history here, so Alexander buffs be warned) followed the Aegean coastline, accepting or forcing the surrender of the city-states that had their own rulers but had fallen under Persian domination. Some opened their gates to Alexander’s army. Others, like Halicarnassus, struggled, but ultimately fell. After some pursuits to the Anatolian interior, Alexander strode onto the field at Issus, shocking the world as he defeated the Persian Emperor, not by proxy as at Granicus, but head on.

*****

At some point, I’d love to bring a military historian to Backpacking to Babylon to discuss Alexander’s military strategy at greater length. I keep reading about all the new ground he broke in terms of military strategy, but I’d like an expert to give context. The reason I bring this up is that I’ve found it fascinating how much time Alexander devoted to dealing with city-states one by one. It wasn’t enough just to drive the Persians from Anatolia or from the Middle East, Alexander had to go plot by plot, accepting or forcing submission of each small kingdom.

In fact, as you’ll see, Alexander won’t face Darius again (though they traded letters and Alexander held much of Darius’ family captive after Issus) until near where I’m finishing my trek—at Gaugamela, near modern-day Mosul, Iraq.

Instead of pursuing Darius, Alexander crashes down the Mediterranean coast, taking fiefdom upon fiefdom, running into stiff resistance only at Tyre and Gaza. Alexander then heads to Egypt, takes control there, has himself named Pharaoh, and founds a city destined to be one of the world’s major ports! More on that in the coming months.

My question, therefore, is this. Alexander blazed a very long trail to Gaugamela, cementing his empire and stamping out opposition as he went. Was there precedent for this or was Alexander one of the first to realize that controlling the pieces that make up an empire (the city-states) was as important as winning the big battles against the imperial forces?

There’s your serious history for the day.

*****

Trek update:

After a couple long days in the Amanos Mountains, I’ve finally spilled out into the valley on the other side. I covered roughly 15 miles today, mostly in stunning mountainous countryside. It’s been my goal to reach the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch; see Paul the Apostle) by tomorrow night. Another 15-mile day and I should be enjoying a nargileh on the banks of the Orontes by sundown tomorrow!

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Turkey
posted on April 16th, 2010

Above is a picture of the Payas River (formerly the Pinarus), where I began my journey. It was on these banks that Alexander the Great first faced Persian Emperor Darius III in battle.

This site is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, historians estimate that Darius’ army outnumbered the Macedonians by 5 or 6 times. While Darius was waiting for battle on a more open plain, Alexander coaxed him to this spot, ideal because it was a narrow plain between sea and mountains. In that way, a couple historians have written, Alexander greatly diminished Darius’ force size advantage.

While the Macedonian forces proved more than capable of waging battle against the Persians, it was Alexander himself that won the day for his side. When he spotted Darius in his chariot, Alexander bee lined for the Persian king. As Alexander neared, Darius fled, causing his army, pieces at a time, to follow suit.

*****

This morning I’m in the town of Iskenderun, named after Alexander the Great. I’ve designed this trip so that I can trek one day and take the next to do some reporting. For the first few days, at least, though, while I get my sea legs, I’ll try to walk each day. If you check Google Maps, you’ll find the town of Arsuz, south of Iskenderun. That’s my next target, though I’m not sure I’ll make it that far today!

Written by: Theodore May
Topic: Alexander the Great, Turkey
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