As Befits A King

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Chapter 1 - The Arabian Campaign

Babylon, 10 June 323 B.C.

From Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian of Nicomedia, 7.26

The Royal Diary also says that Peithon, Attalus, Demophon, and Peucestas, as well as Cleomenes, Menidas, and Seleucus, slept in the temple of Serapis, and asked the god whether it would be better and more desirable for Alexander to be carried into his temple, in order as a suppliant to be cured by him. A voice issued from the god saying that he was indeed to be carried into the temple, and that it would not be better for him to remain where he was. This answer was reported by the Companions; and soon after the fever of Alexander broke, as if after all, this were now the better thing.

Despite all portents to the contrary, Alexander's fever broke early in the morning on 11 June, 323 B.C. He remained in Babylon for two weeks in order to fully recover, and on 25 June he rendezvoused with his army on the Persian Gulf, fully prepared for his expedition around Arabia. Alexander was not without friends already on the Persian Gulf. Nearchus, during his exploration of Arabia at Alexander's behest, visited and much impressed the people of Tylos (Bahrain). Tylos was to serve as the first forward base of the campaign.

Alexander's initial order of battle was an army of just 7,000. Armies, no matter how well-provisioned, ended up essentially living off the land. After the grueling trek through the Gedrosian desert, Alexander realized that he had to specialize his army for a desert campaign. To this end, he brought only 600 cavalry (the core of his Companion bodyguards), as the horses consumed far much more water than men did.

On 28 June, the fleet set off. On 4 July the fleet reached Tylos. The arrival of Alexander was much hailed, and the island offered to Alexander their complete fealty upon seeing the size of the fleet. On 7 July Alexander took his fleet (sans army) to Gerrha, a port city less than a day's sail southwest of Tylos. Upon seeing the size of the Macedonian fleet, the people of Gerrha likewise offered up total fealty to Alexander. Alexander established a small garrison at Tylos.

On 9 July, the fleet and army departed and began a tour of the entire coast up to the Straits of Hormuz. All of these locations had been visited by Nearchus before during his return from India, and so Alexander encountered precious little resistance. Gerrha and Tylos (which itself had been under Gerrhaean suzerainty) were the real centers of power on the Arabian coastline from Alexandria in Susiana (Charax) to the Straits of Hormuz, and so the campaign along this particular coast was highly uneventful.

On 19 July the army reached the Straits of Hormuz, where they rested. Along the way Alexander needed only show the small Arabian ports the size of his fleet, and their capitulation swiftly followed.

For 10 days they rested. The land was abundant, and the region was famous for its cultivation of dates. So enamored with the land was Alexander taht he announced his intent to settle Greeks at the location, to be named Alexandria in Near Arabia.

However on the fifth day, an emissary from the ruler of the city of Mascat came to Alexander. The ruler of Mascat asked Alexander what his business was in his land, for the ruler of Mascat controlled the coast from the Straits of Hormuz, all the way to the land of Hadhramaut, in the middle of Arabia's southern coast. Alexander replied that, since the Arabs were the only people in all the world to have never sent an embassy to him, he felt it fit that he visit these lands to discover if they had any reason to not send an embassy. On the seventh day the emissary returned, requesting Alexander return immediately to his own land. Alexander respectfully declined, and on 30 July set out for the city of Mascat.

On 1 August the fleet unloaded the army within a day's march of the city of Mascat, and Alexander sent an emissary requesting that his army be let into the city of Mascat. The ruler of Mascat refused, and a battle ensued on 3 August. Alexander's battle-hardened army prevailed readily over the veritable militia fielded by Mascat. On 4 August Alexander entered the city, and instead of putting the city's ruler to the sword, commended him on his bravery for taking on so powerful a foe.

This move was more political than anything else. Now that he was beyond the Straits of Hormuz he needed a friendly port to which he would be able to return, and from which he could supply his army. Mascat was a wealthy land, being in control of the spice trade between India and Mesopotamia, and could easily support Alexander's small army. With the establishment of a permanent garrison in Mascat, Mascat was fully incorporated as a satrapy of Alexander's empire. Additionally from Mascat Alexander would be able to receive news of the happenings in the new Indus satrapies far more quickly than before.

The ruler of Mascat was able to provide Alexander with some crucial information regarding the rest of Alexander's campaign. He told him that the kingdoms of Hadhramaut, Qataban, and Ma'in, along the southern and southwestern coasts of Arabia, were significantly more powerful than Mascat, and that he would do well to consider proceeding with a larger force (now ~6,500, around 400 of whom were currently vacationing in Tylos).

The king of Mascat offered 1,000 of his best troops (light infantry), which Alexander promptly accepted. Alexander believed that he would require an additional 2,500 Macedonians, to bring the size of his army to roughly 10,000. In addition he would need to eventually bring more Greeks to colonize the various major ports of southern Arabia, but for the time being felt an additional 2,500 Macedonians would suit his purposes.

Alexander also learned that the best time to campaign in this part of the world began in November and ended in March. It was during this time that the temperatures would be coolest. Alexander had more or less avoided the problem of desert campaigning by transporting his army mostly by sea. Indeed the army, all told, had done very little actual marching.

The additional 2,500 Macedonians arrived on 29 August, and the entire army set out on 5 September. The king of Mascat offered up his ships to act as water-bearing ships to the larger Alexandrian fleet. (Though some might say appropriation would be the better term) The communities along the southeastern coast of Arabia would not take kindly to an army of 10,000 demanding water, which would put a strain on local resources. However it was made known that water was far more plentiful in the southwest, and would not be so much of a problem, particularly during the cooler (and incidentally, rainier) seasons.

The next 25 days were to be fairly uneventful, and indeed aside from the minor skirmish outside of Mascat, the trip around Arabia had almost been a holiday, compared with the last several years, spent chiefly dealing with, among others, Persians and Indians.

That news of his impending arrival had preceded him to Hadhramaut did not surprise Alexander. What did surprise him was that the King of Hadhramaut had every intention of resisting his invasion. Hadhramaut had only relatively recently gained full control of its own portion of the highly lucrative incense routes, after years of political domination by the Minaean Kingdom to the northwest. Not to mention, Hadhramaut was a spice-producing region. Not something somebody gives up lightly.

This stretch of coastline was known for its hydreumata, fortified watering stations, crucial for traders along this route, who could not afford to carry much water on board (lest they be able to carry less spice). And while the Hadhramis at these stations were vastly outnumbered, they were fortified positions that needed to be taken. The fortifications were not particularly extensive, but they slowed Alexander's progress to Qana'a, the important port city of Hadharmaut.

It was at Qana'a that Alexander met the bulk of the Hadhrami host. Numbering 12,000, with 1,000 medium cavalry. It is noted in the memoirs of Onesicritus, one of Alexander's officers, that the horses were of fine pedigree, with prominent heads and high tails. They were quite similar to those found in Egypt, and experience told Alexander that these horses could endure without water far longer than other types of horse.

The battle of Qana'a, taking place on 2 October, was one chiefly fought with archers and skirmishing troops. The king of the Hadhramis knew that were Alexander to close the battle his well-armed phalangites would have the upper hand. Had Peucestas, satrap of Persis, not brought with him the finest archers in his satrapy and from satrapies further afield, then perhaps the king of Hadhramaut would have prevailed on that day.

The Persian archers, numbering 1,500 were divided into three parts. Each part was to engage the enemy at different distances, as the army of Alexander advanced.

At the front of Alexander's army was the contingent of Mascati warriors. They were skilled in the use of the javelin, and their entire purpose was to draw out the Hadhrami cavalry, themselves contented with throwing javelins.

The end result was a slow, steady advance, with the Hadhrami being fired upon from multiple distances. The officers of the king of Hadhramaut urged their king to withdraw, to regroup in the interior of the country. However the king of the Hadhrami was prideful, and, believing victory simply a matter of charging the rear of the phalanxes, divided his cavalry into two parts. Five hundred would engage the Mascati skirmishers, and drive them from the front of the invading host. The other five hundred would attempt to ride around the advancing army, and catch the center of the formation in a pincer maneuver.

But while the first five hundred succeeded against the Mascati skirmishers, they failed against the Companions, numbering six hundred. The king of the Hadhrami was slain in battle, and Qana'a was taken, the city throwing open its gates for the great invading king. All told, Alexander lost 700 men, to the Hadhramis' 2,000.

For 30 days Alexander campaigned in the country of Hadhramaut, recruiting locals to fill in the gaps in his ranks. Another significant battle took place at Samharam, further inland. It was a cavalry engagement, with Alexander's Companion Cavalry plus three hundred local cavalrymen fighting a the merchant-strongman of Samharam, an important stopover on the overland incense routes.

Alexander departed from the port of Qana'a on 1 November, having pacified the countryside and won over the influential merchants of the cities. He left a full 700 Macedonians to garrison Qana'a under the command of Meleagros, an infantry commander who for years served with distinction under Alexander. To supplement his now somewhat-depleted army, he absorbed Arab units into his army.

At this point, the end of Alexander's campaign was in sight. The kingdoms of Gerrha, Mascat, and Hadhramaut had fallen. Now all that remained were the kingdoms of Qataban, Sabaea, and Minaea.​

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Chapter 2 - I Am From Makedon

From A History of Arabia, Missukos Silugnos, 1.2

And of course all histories of the Arabian peninsula must naturally begin with the great Makedonian king, Alexander III. For it was he who brought these relatively unknown people into the sphere of the civilized world. No longer were they the subject of fantastic tales of wealth and splendor, but were now as known to the world as ancient Babylon, or the serene Pyramids.

Of course, it wasn't like that immediately.

In just one week the fleet arrived in Eudaemon Arabia (Aden). It was a fabulously wealthy city, with merchants from the furthest corners of the earth. From the east were men from Skuthia and Ganges, selling Agate, Carnelian, and Cloth. There were merchants from Ariaka selling Iron, Steel, and their own particular style of cloth. Among the spice merchants was a bewildering array of those from the furthest south of India, merchants from Dakinabades, Cheras, Damirika, from the island of Taprobane. From Africa came the Axumites, the Berbers of Cape Elephant, and even from furthest Azania, with Ivory, Cinnamon, and slaves.

In contrast to the welcome given Alexander by the late ruler of Hadhramaut, the king of Qataban received Alexander and his army with open arms, welcoming him and bidding his army enjoy the metropolis that was Eudaemon Arabia, and that Alexander stay in his home in Eudaemon Arabia. The king himself generally stayed in Timna, however came to Eudaemon Arabia to personally welcome the king of kings.

For ten days Alexander and his army enjoyed the pleasures of Eudaemon Arabia. On the tenth night, however, Alexander awoke to find an assassin in the room where he was guest. Alexander physically overpowered the assassin, and from him extracted that he was sent by the king of Qataban to kill him in his sleep. When asked why the king would do this, the assassin replied that the king had heard that Alexander was unconquerable in battle, and so the only way to remove the threat to his kingdom was to kill him outside of battle.

Alexander summoned his bodyguards to the room, and upon explaining what had happened, drew their swords and sought out the king of Qataban, to learn only that he had earlier in the night left his abode.

Leaving the house of the king, Alexander saw that the streets of Eudaemon Arabia were in an uproar. The king of Qataban had prepared a small force of rogues to surprise the Alexandrian army in the city. The army of Alexander was scattered in various encampments throughout the city, and it was the hope of the king of Qataban that this could be done with as little bloodshed as possible.

However, the plan failed, and now the streets of Eudaemon Arabia were in chaos. Alexander snuck out of the city with his bodyguards, in the outskirts where the cavalry was being kept. From here Alexander and the Companions rode through the city of Eudaemon Arabia, aiding the embattled Macedonians, Persians, and allied Arabs.

By dawn the threat was finished, Alexander's casualties totaling just under 600 men. Eudaemon Arabia was his, however the odious king of Qataban was fleeing at this time to Timna. Timna was a 15 day march away. When the king of Qataban arrived there, he would have ample time to raise an army to stand against him.

As such, Alexander had to move quickly. On 20 November he set out for Timna, with a force of 7,500 (leaving 500 in Eudaemon Arabia). The march was difficult, but there were minimum losses, as Alexander was following the well-traveled routes of the spice merchants.

They arrived on 5 December, and the king of Qataban had indeed prepared a force for them of 9,000. The battle took place on 7 December, and Alexander's men handily defeated them. What remained of the Qatabani foe fled into the city. For three more days they besieged the city, when on the dawn of the fourth day the king of Qataban was wheeled out in a cage by his own officers, to be brought as a peace offering to Alexander.

Alexander accepted the offer of peace, and the city of Timna was spared the sword. Alexander asked the king why he would resort to such treachery, and had told him that when he was told of the fall of Hadhramaut, he consulted Apollo (the Arab equivalent, the sun god) what should be done next. The god told him that Alexander could never be defeated in battle. So the king of Qataban sent an assassin to kill him instead.

Alexander then killed the king of Qataban for his cowardice, and entered the city.

Perhaps one of Alexander's strangest acts whilst in Arabia was the renaming of Eudaemon Arabia to Eudaemon Alexandria. This renaming went largely unnoticed for many years by the natives, who didn't call the city Eudaemon Arabia anyway. However as far as Greek geographers would be concerned for the foreseeable future, the city was now Eudaemon Alexandria.

Alexander thus found himself in a very unique position. He had just over 7,000 men at his disposal in Timna, and was a mere four days' march from Mareb, the very capital of the Sabaean Kingdom. However, it is a march across sheer desert, with fantastic dunes.

Alexander prepared a plan thus: He would send out ahead of time his cavalry, and create three temporary water stations. The men would march only by night, and they would use the stars to maintain a course as straight as possible through the desert.

On 17 December Alexander put his plan into action. On the night of 20 December, the army set out across the desert. Alexander's plan may seem horrendously foolish. However, it was now December, and was in actuality relatively cool. The night marching assisted with this. The only real danger was the threat of a sandstorm, a threat which never materialized.

On 21 December Alexander's army arrived at the walls of Mareb. The Sabaean king rode out with his own personal guard to meet Alexander, where the parleyed. The Sabaean king asked Alexander: 'Where do you come from?'

To which Alexander replied: 'I have come to your land from Timna, but before that I had taken Eudaemon Arabia, the kingdoms of Hadhramaut and Mascat and Gerrha. Before then I had vanquished the terrible king of India Porus on the Hydaspes, I besieged and took the great city of Aornos at the feet of the Kaukasos Indikos, after having taken the great fortress of Sogdian Rock. I laid waste to the capital of Persia after having destroyed the remnants of their army at Persian Gate. I defeated the Persian king personally at Gaugamela. I took the great cities of Gaza and Tyre, and before then prevailed over the Persians in Mikra Asia at Issus, and Granicus. Before then I with my father united the Greeks under our banner at Chaeronea.' After this Alexander paused, and then resumed. 'To answer your question, I have come from Makedon.'

To which the king of Sabaea responded: 'Oh great king, your previous conquests mean nothing here. Whether or not it is as they say, that you are invincible in battle, I as king of this land and lord of my own house must fight you here.'

The two kings continued to parley for a few minutes, and the king of the Sabaeans returned to assume his position in this siege as the besieged.

The siege lasted two weeks. The surrounding army had no trouble supplying itself with water from Mareb's world-renowned dam, and the fields around Mareb were handily pillaged for food. While the Sabaean king had a substantial garrison at Sana'a in addition to his forces in Mareb, he simply didn't have the ability to contact them.

The king of Saba sallied forth from Mareb on 7 January, with 7,000 men of his own, and was defeated swiftly. The Sabaean king surrendered on 9 January. The king of the Sabaeans was spared his life, and in return he was allowed to maintain lordship over the city of Mareb.

On 21 January Alexander began his march to the highlands of Sana'a, and arrived there on 1 February. The well-fortified city threw open its gates to Alexander, since word had already arrived that their king had submitted to him.

Alexander left garrisons in both cities, and marched back on 7 February to Eudaemon Arabia (or Eudaemon Alexandria, as far as the Makedonians were concerned). The greater part of his conquest was completed, with only the Minaean kingdom standing between him and total domination over the Arabian peninsula.

On 3 March he arrived in Eudaemon Alexandria, and set out on his fleet to the north on 7 March. This was the beginning of the last month of the campaigning season, and the only way to reach the heart of the Minaean Empire (Qarnaw) was a week's march overland.

On 16 March (stopping along the fairly fertile coast for provisioning along the way) they arrived on the coast of the Minaean Kingdom, and set off 17 March for Qarnaw.

On 23 March, still two days from Qarnaw, the Minaean host met Alexander on the highlands, and the battle which ensued was fierce. Alexander's remaining 5,500 (plus a supplementing force of 2,000, mixed mercenaries and recruits from the newest satrapies) against the Minaeans, numbering 10,000.

Typical of the region, the army was composed mainly of light infantry and light cavalry, with archers as well. The Minaeans had more archers, and so the plan for Alexander was to close as quickly as possible, while keeping both flanks secured by cavalry, and a reserve of lighter infantry, for in close quarters the Macedonians could be used to their full advantage.

This was the bloodiest battle for Alexander in the entire Arabian campaign, sustaining losses of 2,500. However, the Minaeans lost over 6,000 on that day, and scattered to the four winds. Once the battle lines closed, the Macedonian style of warfare made for a complete slaughter of the lightly-armed Arabs.

The Arabs attempted with their cavalry to outflank the Alexandrian army on multiple occasions, but the Companions and their Arab allies were able to keep the flanks secured against incursion.

Qarnaw was taken on 30 March, after a brief siege.

The next two months would be spent by Alexander mopping up in Sabaea and Minaea, taking important places along the caravan routes and population centers.

Alexander understood very well that in order to maintain control of Arabia, he had to ensure that no one man gained too much power in the region, especially not a local Arab. To this effect, he essentially carved out a series of city-states in the region, giving over cities to either locals who he defeated in battle (such as the king of Sabea) or officers of particular distinction (such as Meleagros back in Hadhramaut)

Alexander's first item of business, once he arrived back in Alexandria (Egypt), would be to send larger garrisons to various locations in Arabia, to cement his control.

On 2 June, 322 B.C. he departed from Eudaemon Alexandria for the final time, and would arrive in the city of Alexandria, in Egypt on 5 July. As for the great fleet which bore him from the mouth of the Euphrates to the Heroopolite Gulf (Gulf of Suez), he put it under the charge of Nearchus and various other navarchs, to patrol the new territories and to pay visits to the satraps.​