Preface
Of satraps and kings


Prelude


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Megos Alexandros III Argead

The ascension of Philip II to the Makedonian throne in 359 BCE signaled a defining moment in Makedonian, Greek, and even world history. Makedon, a largely irrelevant backwater in the Greek world for generations, had been teetering on the brink of collapse for over a decade ever since the death of Amyntas III. Threats, both external and internal engulfed the kingdom on all fronts. It was clear to everyone that Philip, like his four predecessors in the past decade, would end up dead, either from court intrigue, civil war, or external invasion, an irrelevant footnote in the long march of history.

Yet, against the odds, Philip not only survived, but thrived beyond all expectations in his new role. Following in the footsteps of greats such as the Athenian Iphikrates (whose swift moving peltasts revolutionized Greek warfare) and the Theban Epaminondas (whose echelon formation used at Leuctra won him everlasting fame for defeating the Spartans), he re-invented Greek warfare, turning Makedonian hillmen into the most effective ancient fighting force the world had yet known. The Makedonian phalanx, alongside the crack Makedonian cavalry, would become unbeatable for generations, only until an even more innovative fighting force, the Roman legion, shattered them at Cynoscephelae over 250 years later, and then settled the issue once and for all a generation later at Pydna.

Yet, on the eve of what was to be his greatest stamp on history, his invasion of Persia, Philip eventually met the end expected of him from the time of his ascension. Murdered at his wedding by a disgruntled lover, many have since speculated that it was his spurned Epeirote wife, Olympias, and their son and heir Alexander, who orchestrated the murder. Although evidence of this conspiracy has yet eluded its backers, the fact that Alexander and Olympias had the most to lose from the wedding, and the most to gain from Philip’s sudden death, allows the theory to persist.

Philip’s death paved the way for his even more famous son to make his indelible mark on world history, and cement himself as one of the greatest military minds not just of his generation, but in the entirety of world history. Admired as the most accomplished tactician and strategist by Hannibal, praised as, “a great warrior, a great statesman, a great lawmaker” by Napoleon, there are few other men who truly earned the title of “The Great”.

The campaigns of Alexander are well documented, both by ancient and modern sources alike. Conquering three fifths of the then known world, he cleverly untied the Gordion Knot, was proclaimed a son of Ammon in Egypt, and was then humbled in the mountains of Baktria and the monsoons of India. It was there in India, after a grueling and nearly ruinous battle with the Indian prince Porus, that Alexander’s troops, camped along the Beas River and facing an even more grueling campaign ahead of them, had finally had enough, and demanded to return home. Much to his anger and disappointment, he was unable to convince them otherwise as he had done on numerous occasions in the past, and instead was resigned to indulge the wishes of his soldiers and return home at last.

It was on this return trip, during an otherwise uneventful campaign against the Mallians along the confluence of the Hydraotis and Hydaspes Rivers, that a frustrated Alexander conducted a siege of the Multanese capital. It is here where our story begins.
 
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Another Alexander Timeline ..

Another line of Alexander the Great !!! :D

Interested to see how it develops from that Pod ..:confused:.
I must keep an eye on this.
 
Chapter I
Chapter I: The Siege of Multan

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Alexander The Great, atop the walls of the Multanese citadel

Following the revolt of his army and his eventual acquiescence to their demands to begin their long journey home, Alexander was an unhappy man. Bitter, frustrated, and especially infuriated by his troops disregard for his authority, he intended to take out all of his anger on the hapless Mallians, whose sole egregious crime was to be standing in the way of his long awaited coming home party. Subduing the Mallians was essential to securing supply and communication lines, and for that reason alone leaving them to their own devices was never an options.

Preparing for the coming storm, the Mallians began hoarding food and supplies, with the expectation that the campaign would not begin until the end of the rainy season. Unfortunately, Alexander campaigned in all seasons, no matter the circumstances. For their naiveté, the capture and brutal sacking of Sibae, used as an example for all those who opposed him, was their grim reward. Alexander then divided his forces into three. Hephaestion and Krateros were to march five days ahead of him alongside the east and west banks of the Acesinea respectively, with the intent of catching any retreating army. In between them sailed Nearchos with the fleet, with orders to sail down-river and prevent any reinforcements from arriving. Ptolemy was to depart across the desert three days behind Alexander, dispatching any force that had evaded him. In this way, all routes of escape would be closed off to the Mallians before all three armies rendezvoused at the confluence of the Acesinea and Hydraotis rivers, where the Mallian fortress of Multan resided.

The march proceeded across the desert, managing to once more stun the unprepared Mallians at Kot Kamalia, who barely managed to shut the gates before Alexander’s companions stormed through. A brief siege ensued before the city inevitably fell to Alexander’s mighty torsion catapults. From there he split his forces once more. Perdikkas immediately crossed the Hydraotis, capturing the now deserted town of Harapa, while Alexander proceeded downriver before sending Peithon ahead and seizing Tulambo, Atari, and Sukah across the river, as he marched from victory to victory. As he headed for the last Mallian bastion of Multan, the frightened Mallians offered battle across the Hydraiotis, only to witness, no doubt to their horror, a bloodthirsty Alexander charge directly across the river and send the whole army fleeing back to Multan.

The Mallians experience with the Makedonian expertise in siege warfare had taught them that defending the outer walls of their capital was pure folly. Alexander’s engineers could both out-think and overpower the defenders. Instead, they chose to defend the even more heavily fortified citadel overlooking the city, a strategy only slightly more likely to succeed, but the best option they possessed given their unfortunate circumstances.

Nevertheless, Alexander’s crack engineers were able to quickly force open the main gate, allowing his soldiers to flood in and occupy the outer wall. The siege proceeded for days as the engineers proceeded with their handiwork, meticulously working to undermine the inner layer of walls. Alexander, however, was impatient. Believing his men cowards, he grabbed a siege ladder and began climbing it himself, only followed by two brave phalangites behind him. Finally realizing the vulnerable position their king was putting himself in, his men were shamed into swarming the ladder. Their collective weight caused the ladder’s collapse as Alexander, never one to back down from a fight, descended from the walls into the Mallian fortress.

Desperate to protect their king, the Makedonians began a spirited attempt to bust through the gates. Through sheer determination, the gates were quickly breached. They frantically searched for Alexander, who in the meantime had personally slain the Mallian commander. The inhabitants of the citadel fought bravely, setting alight many of their buildings in a futile attempt to stifle the Makedonian onslaught. Others hurled stones and bricks from the rooftops. It was at this moment that an Indian archer drew his arrow, aiming it at the Makedonian king. Letting it fly from his fingers, he was sure it would hit its mark. And then Alexander, tripping over a loose stone, briefly stumbled to the ground, the arrow whistling safely past.[1]

[1] This is our first POD. I am of the opinion that the arrow shot that punctured Alexander's lung permanently weakened him, making him unable to be as active as usual on campaign and more susceptible to illness.
 
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Interesting. This will definitely help his life expectancy but there's a lot of difficult trials yet ahead. The biggest of which will be keeping his new empire intact.
 
Very interesting.

I think that Alexander will have an hard time keeping all he conquered, even without the arrow wound.

It will be fun to see a Satrap revolting in the far end of Persia and then the Satrap of Egypt getting the same idea and...

Alexander will have an harder time getting his Empire together than the Caesars ever had.
 
Alexander/Colin Farrell will probably not go further east. His will claimed that he wanted to do things like circumnavigate Arabia, conquer Carthage, and build a fuck ton of massive monuments to himself and others.

I can see those sorts of ambitions taking up all of his time that isn't spent dealing with constant rebellions. His best bet is mostly just to live to the age that he has a clear heir who can take over after he dies. Once he does that its not going to ensure the Empire will stay together but the Near East is going to be in Greek hands for a while regardless.
 
It's enjoyable reading the speculation. I have everything planned out at least tentatively for the next 15 or so years, during which some...eventful stuff will occur. I will speak on Alexander's plans though: at this point Alexabder had accepted that he was not going to go deeper into India, at least not on this campaign. His main goal at this time was securing his territory down to the mouth of the Indus, of which the Mallian campaign was a large part, before he returned back west. Aside from territorial ambitions this was also to secure trade between the mouth of the Indus and the Persian gulf. Hence the founding shortly thereafter of another port city of alexandria, and the whole reason for Nearchus's task of sailing from the Indus delta to the Persian Gulf (and by extension, the reasoning behind his march through Gedrosia was to assist Nearchus's fleet in being adequately provisioned along the coast.
 
Chapter II
Chapter II: Gedrosia

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Alexander would soon receive the submission of what remained of the Mallians, who wished no more bloodshed upon their people. Soon followed the as of yet unconquered Oxydracians, and then the Ossadanians. Having subdued the region, Alexander appointed Philipos as satrap, continuing on downstream along the southern Indus Delta. In the land of the Sodrians, he transformed their capital into another Alexander. Settled by Thracian soldiers and possessing a dockyard, Alexandria was intended to serve as both the economic and cultural hub for Alexander’s newly won Indian territories, designed to spread Hellenism to the farthest reaches of his empire. With this came the promotion of Oxyartes to viceroy of all of India alongside his Makedonian counterpart Peithon and 10,000 Greek men.

Alexander meanwhile appointed Krateros and Polyperchon to lead a force of over 11,000 veterans back to Makedon, ostensibly to replacethe current regent Antipatros(who, upon Alexander’s return to Babylon, was to be summoned back to Babylon in preparation for the Arabian campaign). Many have however speculated on Alexander’s true motives. Many of the veterans, including the famed silver shield hypaspists, had been among the most vocal opponents of Alexander’s insistence on marching even deeper into India. While Alexander cloaked this move in the veil of an honorable discharge for men who had served their time and were now too old to fight, their impressive performance in battle years later laid this excuse bare as pure fiction. When one also takes into account that Craterus and Polyperchon (alongside the infantry commanders Antigenes, Meleagros, and Attalos, who were also sent on this trip), besides being some of the last surviving members of Philip’s old guard, were also staunch opponents of Alexander’s orientalizing of the royal court, it becomes clear that this was as much a move to rid himself of political opponents as much as it was to retire old and sickly veterans. However, it must be noted, Krateros's route, which went north through Arachosia and Drangiana, allowed him to restore order in these regions, which had begun to fall outside the Makedonian orbit during Alexander’s extended absence in India. As such, Alexander was killing the proverbial two birds with one stone, ridding himself of political opponents while pacifying rebellious parts of his empire.

After a grueling mop up campaign, where the Makedonians fought, received submission from, and then fought again, the Indian kings Musicanus and Sambus, India up to the mouth of the Indus had largely been subdued by Alexander. His attention now turned to his homeward march. As they say, the journey beats the destination, and Alexander’s route home provided an endless source of controversy. He chose to march his army through the sprawling Gedrosian desert, a feat only attempted once prior according to legend by Semiramis. The result of the aforementioned expedition served as a cautionary tale for those foolhardy enough to retread through his tracks; the entire expedition vanished into the desert[1].

Alexander spent the better part of a year exploring the Indus delta and provisioning supplies for his upcoming march. He hoped to prove that a ship could sail from the mouth of the Indus towards the Persian Gulf, and to accomplish such a task, he sent Nearchos at the head of his fleet to sail into unknown waters along the barren coastline. Nearchos was to set sail behind Alexander, who tasked himself alongside Ptolemy and Leonnatos, with marching ahead and digging wells for which the fleet could be provisioned with enough water. Further inland, with the rest of the army, marched Hephaestion. With the army marching in four separate columns, Alexander ensured that his army was spread out as wide as possible, in order to best use the meager resources the desert presented them with.

Despite these preparations, miscommunication with the satraps of Gedrosia and Carmania, who had been expected to have stationed ample provisions along the path the Makedonian army was to take, ensured the expedition was nearly a disaster. The suffering was indescribable, with the next water source being as far as 60 miles away, or almost 5 days march. The wounded were simply left by the wayside as the oxen and mules that pulled the carts were butchered; when water was reached, men died of drinking too much. Famously, Alexander turned down an offering of water provided by his men in his helmet, pouring it into the sand and proclaiming he’d rather die of thirst than drink while his men suffered from the ills of dehydration.

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By the time he exited the desert and reunited with Nearchos’s fleet, his army was a skeleton of its former self. Rather than being greeted by a joyous relief at his return, Alexander instead found his kingdom rife with abuses and corruption, as many satraps had assumed he had died in India and had begun acting more like kings rather than representatives of the king. A large reshuffling was now in order. In Persis, Orxines, who had voluntarily assumed control of the satrapy in Alexander’s absence after its previous incumbent, Phrasaortes, had passed, was put to death for corruption and cruelty. In his place was installed Peukestas.


Similar abuses, followed by the same punishment, were discovered and carried out elsewhere. Baryaxes was executed for attempting to install himself as king. The Carmanian satrap Aspastes was executed and replaced by Tlepolemos. Apollophanes was removed from the satrapy of Gedrosia in favor of Sybirtius for his failure to adequately provision Alexander’s troops. Ordanes, who had elected to stir a revolt in his satrapy of Arachosia, was swiftly executed, his satrapy being subsumed into that of Sybirtius. The infantry captains Kleandros, Sitalces, and Heracon were executed for alleged cruelty towards the people of Media. Harpalos was charged with stealing from the treasury, but fearing his inevitable harsh punishment, had fled with his gold west to Greece, where a new saga would unfold in the upcoming years.



[1] This wouldn’t be the first time the trope of army’s vanishing in desert’s has popped up in ancient lore. The most famous is perhaps the lost army of Cambyses II, who supposedly sent an army of 50,000 to the Oracle of Amon at Siwa, only to have a massive sandstorm bury all the soldiers alive. Interestingly enough though, the account may have more than a grain of truth to it: http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.htm



*Note: Aside from the POD in Part I, all of this writing up to this point is from OTL.
 
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Chapter III
Chapter III: Administrative Matters

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Alexander returning to Babylon

From the outset of his great eastern adventure, Alexander strived to reconcile oriental cultures with his own Hellenic culture. During his campaigns, he catered to the local customs. In Egypt he had himself declared the son of Ammon at Siwa, thus legitimizing his claim as Pharaoh. His attempts to capture, rather than kill the Persian Shah Darios III was a part of a calculated plan to legitimize his conquest as the rightful heir to the Cyrus The Great. Throughout his time in the east, he adopted Persian court customs, including proselytization, much to the disdain of his Makedonian brethren. Ignoring their misgivings, he married the daughter of a Baktrian noble, Roxana, as a necessary step towards pacifying the mountainous province. He even went so far as to begin training a crack force of 30,000 Persian and Aramaean youths in the traditional Makedonian phalanx style of warfare. His goal was clear; to have one unified empire with one unified noble and soldier class, a fusion of eastern and Hellenic cultures.

Yet at some point the wheels were bound to come off on this grand vision, and Alexander was bound to face pushback. This manifested itself most notably much earlier, when Kleitos The Black drunkenly lashed out at him, only to be run through by a spear by Alexander himself. Yet it did not fully manifest itself in the rank and file until Alexander reached Opis, where they first encountered the Persian phalangites who they suspected, not without reason, were being trained to replace them. In the intervening years, the companion cavalry and many of the phalangites had been continuously supplemented with Asiatic soldiers (as diverse as Persians, Baktrians, Sogdians, Arachosians, Zarangians, Arians, and Parthians) to recoup losses. To the Makedonians, it appeared as if Alexander had forgotten where he had come from, and was turning his backs on those who helped him conquer the world in favor of those whom he had conquered.

These grievances boiled over into open mutiny when Alexander reached Opis in July of 324 BCE. Alexander, believing to be generous, announced once more (for he had by this time rendezvoused with Krateros) that those veterans most deserving would be honorably allowed to return home and retire in luxury in their homeland. To this, he was greeted with an outpouring of anger and frustration, as the soldiers believed finally the time had come where they were to be replaced by those they had conquered. Alexander was hardly allowed to begin his address before he was drowned out by complaints and cries of betrayal, to which he responded with a fiery condemnation, at one point daring any soldier to come forward and provide scars of more battle wounds than he, and announced the discharge of all of the Makedonian soldiers before storming off to his tent.

It was not long before the soldiers caved. Alexander had made necessary preparations in case his men remained obstinate in their opposition, prepping his Asiatic officers on plans for a conflict should one arise, but after a few days of tension, his men begged for forgiveness. Readily granting such a request, Alexander proclaimed everyone, both Makedonian, Persian, and all other cultures in his vast empire, his kinsmen. Those veterans deemed worthy of the honor, 10,000 in all, were discharged along with Krateros and Polyperchon to return to Makedon. Antipatros, currently residing as regent in Makedon, was ordered to return to Babylon with an equal number of soldiers to replace the discharged veterans. The next night, Makedonian and Persian, Arachosian and Sogdian, Baktrian and Median, celebrated with a massive feast. For at least the remainder of his life, Alexander had conquered the divide between the Hellenic and Asiatic cultures

Continuing his tour of his empire, Alexander next visited Ekbatana, where Harpalos had fled, taking the imperial treasury there along with him. It was here that Alexander’s best friend and lover, Hephaestion, fell deathly ill. Alexander despaired for his life, spending many anxious nights at his bedside, preparing to reconcile himself with the very real possibility of the former’s untimely death. He summoned the best physicians present in and around Ekbatana, hoping to save his lover. Perhaps their combined expertise was enough, for it was not long before Hephaestion fully recovered, much to Alexander’s joyful relief. [1]

After a brief interruption, where Alexander sent Ptolemy to subdue the Coessians making trouble along the road between Ekbatana and Susa, he at last arrived in Babylon by the end of the year (324 BCE). He had many architectural projects in store for his newly settled upon capital, including the construction of a massive dockyard and the rebuilding of the temple of Belus, the latter not very well endearing to the Chaldean priests who relied on the old temple for revenue (some even endeavored to threaten him with an omen promising death should he enter Babylon, which he dismissed out of hand).[2]

In addition, Alexander began preparing for his next military endeavor; the conquest of Arabia. He wished to directly control the lucrative frankincense and myrrh trade routes that originated from here, eliminating the Arabian middlemen. Nearchos’s fleet, which had by this point sailed up the Euphrates and into Babylon, was to be supplemented by a Phoenician fleet being towed to Babylon from the Mediterranean and vastly enlarged, was to sail around the Arabian Peninsula, mapping the sea route for future trade. This was, in many ways, to be an extension of Alexander’s previous exploration of the Indus and his reasons for sending Nearchos along the coast from its mouth to the Persian Gulf, which was also meant to be used for further expansion of sea trade routes between India and the rest of his empire

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The Incense Road

For this purpose, he brought together various contingents from across his empire to Babylon. Peukestas arrived with 20,000 Persians, Coessians, and Tapurians, and was soon followed by Philoxenos from Karia,[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]and Menandros and Menidas from Lydia. The Arabian campaign was the first campaign that was to be conducted fully with both complete Asiatic and Makedonian units working in tandem. Each Asiatic unit was commanded by a Makedonian, who also had a number of Greek speaking Asiatic subordinates to ensure orders were not lost in translation.

The rest of 323 and most of 322 BCE was spent drilling new recruits and preparing the logistics of the invasion. This was a daunting task, for, having learned from his ill prepared invasion of India and the debacle that was his march through the Gedrosian desert, Alexander endeavored to leave no stone unturned. He spent much of his time travelling between Babylon and Egypt, meticulously organizing the logistics of the operation. He only paused briefly, on two occasions, to celebrate the birth first of his son Alexander IV to his Baktrian wife Roxana in August, and then the following month of a daughter, Olympias, to his Persian wife, Stateira[3]. The future of his kingdom, provided he live long enough to see his son grow to adulthood, finally appeared a promising one for Alexander.

[1] This would be our second POD. In OTL, Hephaestion died suddenly and unexpectedly upon reaching Ekbatana. This was to cause Alexander much grief, and he vowed to build a huge funeral pyre in Babylon to his friend and lover. Here he hangs on and eventually survives his illness.

[2] This omen is a relatively unimportant footnote in this timeline, where Alexander does not die a few months after re-entering the city as he did OTL.

[3] IOTL, Stateira was also pregnant at the time of Alexander’s death. Perdikkas, who of course had become acting regent for the soon to be born Alexander IV, and Roxana both endeavored to quickly have her murdered before she could give birth, lest it be another son and undermine both of their positions. ITTL, she lives to give birth to a daughter.
 
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The King lives! Curious to see how the conquest of Arabia goes.
I just finished writing that update actually. I feel it lacks in the necessary campaign detail, as I simply cannot find much information on ancient Arabia, but I have tried my best to articulate a plausible invasion unfolding. However, I am trying a new thing out, whereby I update this thread one chapter behind what I actually wrote. In this way, I am always one chapter ahead and I hope it will allow me not get lazy and let this timeline whither and die like many of my others before it. :eek:
 
Alexander is definitely going to have to move around quite a bit in order to maintain an empire that massive. Definitely should invest in some serious road building :p
 
will you show his interaction with mauryan empire? and effects of his influence upon india?
I have...plans for India. Though, I would appreciate the assistance of someone with more knowledge on India than myself to help me flesh them out and maintain plausibility since I only have very basic knowledge of the region in this time period.
Alexander is definitely going to have to move around quite a bit in order to maintain an empire that massive. Definitely should invest in some serious road building :p
The Persian Royal Road is one hell of a gem. Though, now that you mention it, I believe IOTL, Alexander was planning to build a road from Egypt all the way to Carthage, as a part of/after his intended invasion. I assume it would have taken a similar route to that created by the Romans later on.
 
I have...plans for India. Though, I would appreciate the assistance of someone with more knowledge on India than myself to help me flesh them out and maintain plausibility since I only have very basic knowledge of the region in this time period.

i think very best works on that time can be found in writing's of Romila Thapar. look at Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas and The Mauryas Revisited.
 
The Persian Royal Road is one hell of a gem. Though, now that you mention it, I believe IOTL, Alexander was planning to build a road from Egypt all the way to Carthage, as a part of/after his intended invasion. I assume it would have taken a similar route to that created by the Romans later on.

So true the Persians built a good artery now you need to build the veins connecting every section of the empire centered to his capitol at Babylon. :D Definitely the roman model is a good one to follow especially if TTL's Alexander is determined to hold this massive Empire of his together
 
Chapter IV
Chapter IV: Alexander of Arabia

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By the summer of 322, Antipatros had arrived in Babylon from Makedon, bringing with him the requested 10,000 troops. With Antipater’s arrival, and the final preparations for the invasion being near completion, Alexander could finally safely leave Babylon behind and head out for his campaign. The importance of Antipatros's presence in Babylon could not be understated, for Alexander had learned from the anarchic situation his prolonged absence in India had caused back in his Asiatic holdings. Thus, he brought Antipatrps, a proven general, statesmen, and most importantly, a loyal member of the old guard, to maintain the status quo of affairs during his absence and prevent any egregious abuses. Krateros, with far less experience in managing a state, was sent to the more docile Makedonian homeland to carry out the same mission there.

The strategy Alexander drew out for his invasion of Arabia involved a two pronged assault, from either end of the of the Arabian Peninsula. The rewards of such a strategy were obvious, as a pincer movement would allow for a faster and hopefully easier invasion, with the two armies eventually meeting up. The downside, of course, was that communication between them was nonexistent, so if one of the two expeditions ended in disaster, there was little way of the other finding out in time to do anything about it.

Alexander was to himself use an enlarged Erythraean Sea fleet to ferry a force across the Erythraean Sea to the Lathrippa oasis [1]. From there, he hoped to use Lathrippa as a supply depot for grain and other provisions to be regularly provided from Egypt as he campaigned along the coast. At the other end, Hephaestion left Babylon for Alexandria-Characene at the mouth of the Euphrates, from where he was to be transported by Nearchos’s fleet to the city of Mleiha, in the former Persian satrapy of Maka[2] on the horn of Arabia and at the edge of the Asabon Mountains. From there, Nearchos was to commence his circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula, with Hephaestion marching ahead to dig wells and establish provisions for the fleet, as Alexander had done in Gedrosia.

After sending out an advance force led by Ptolemy to secure the area around Lathrippa, Alexander himself arrived with the bulk of his army in early September. This force, and presumably Hephaestion’s whose size is not mentioned, is said to have numbered a mere 25-30,000 by Ptolemy’s own account. From Lathrippa he embarked on his ships once more, transporting his army further south before descending on the Kingdom of Ma’in. His intent was to defeat them in a lightning shock and awe campaign that acted as an example to the other kingdoms in the region.

The Mineans, alongside their southern neighbors the Sabaeans, Hadramites, and Qatabanians were the major beneficiaries of the incredibly lucrative spice trade, particularly of frankincense and myrrh, that Alexander wished to control directly. As a result of being the most northerly kingdom on Alexander’s radar, they were unfortunately to be the first of his victims. With his trademark speed that had defined his marches ever since his sack of Thebes, Alexander split his force into three and descended upon the Minean capital. Ptolemy set off 2 days behind Alexander to the west, while Peithon and Perdikkas set off 2 days ahead, hugging the coast to Alexander’s east. Similarly to his Mallian campaign, the idea was to spread his forces out to make the most effective use of the land and ensnare any Minean forces that might otherwise have eluded his grasp.

He laid waste to their lands and surprised them with his rapid advance, reaching the gates of their capital Najran. After a brief siege of only a week, the Makedonian sappers were able to undermine the walls and bring a portion of them crashing down. This allowed them to storm the walls and put a large portion of the city to the sword. This was followed up by a ruthless campaign in the hinterlands, where Alexander hunted down those who had fled to the hills for protection. This turned out to be a rather costly endeavor, for the climate of the Minean hinterlands was not very agreeable, and the natives harassed Makedonian rear guards wherever possible, causing Alexander and his men frustration. Alexander, in kind, was merciless to those he captured, and eventually his terror campaign won out, when the Minean king was brought to him in chains. Alexander pardoned him, allowing him to maintain de jure control of his kingdom, but appointed Menelaos, brother of Ptolemy as acting satrap and de facto ruler over the region.

Before he could follow this up with a march on the Sabaeans, Alexander was greeted by ambassadors from the Sabaean King, humbly submitting to his suzerainty. The Sabaean King was playing good politics. An enemy of both the Minaeans and the Hadramites to his south east, it was well within his interest to ingratiate himself with the new foreign potentate, who he suspected would not be long active in the region anyway. Alexander eagerly accepted this diplomatic coup. An alliance with the Sabaeans allowed him to safely leave behind the land of the Minaeans, while also providing him with much easier access to the necessary provisions to continue his campaign, a big allure of the alliance being the Sabaean King’s promise to feed and supply the whole of his army. This was done no doubt at great logistical and monetary expense for the small kingdom, but the Sabaean King recognized that the rewards, the destruction of his two major rivals, were enough to justify the costs.

Alexander paused momentarily in Sabaea, resting and resupplying his men, before embarking on a winter campaign into the land of the Hadramites. The Hadramites, expecting Alexander to wait until the winter was over before resuming his campaign, had expected to have the entirety of the season to provision their cities for the coming invasion. Taking advantage of this, Alexander did precisely the opposite, as was his tendency. First sending the Greek Eumenes ahead with the cavalry (including a substantial number of Sabaean horsemen) as an advance force to catch the Hadramites off guard before word of his invasion reached their cities, he then once more split his main force into three, each commanded by Ptolemy, himself, and Perdiccas.

As was the case in India, Eumenes arrived before the Hadramites even had time to close the gates of Shabwa, and many of them were caught outside the city walls and slaughtered. Alexander arrived soon thereafter, conducting a quick siege of the city, his torsion catapults mercilessly bombarding the walls before a breach opened for his soldiers to pour in and capture the city. Ptolemy, meanwhile, had captured Qana along the coast, while Perdikkas and Peithon, who had been tasked with invading Qataban, soon overran their capital of Timma. Alexander now once more sent Eumenes ahead with the cavalry to capture Samharm, but the Greek found the town deserted, no doubt having heard of his approach. After chasing them down, Eumenes, at Alexander’s insistence, convinced them no harm would be done to them if they returned to the city, and so honored his pledge.

Alexander now received the submission of the Himyarites along the southeast corner of the peninsula, who had witnessed the devastation wrought upon those who opposed Alexander, and the rewards brought to his allies. Suzerainty over them alongside the newly conquered Qatabans and Hadramites was given to the Sabaean Kingdom, which was in turn subordinate to Alexander’s satrap over the region, Menelaus. It was also at Samharm that Alexander finally made an emotional reunion with Hephaestion’s now much diminished force, his march across southern Arabia having taken its toll on his men. Nearchos would not reunite with Alexander until he reached Himyarite port city of Aden, soon to be re-founded as Alexandria-In-Arabia.

His ambitions of controlling the spice trade satiated, Alexander then moved to enforcing his control, founding two new cities, Alexandria-In-Arabia along the southeastern tip and Alexandria-at-Lathrippa, both settled by Thracian and Greek soldiers respectively. Both were to become great cultural and trade centers, hopefully contributing to the gradual Hellenization of the region. Menelaus was provided with 10,000 troops, a mixture of Makedonians, Coessians, and Assyrians, to police his sprawling satrapy and maintain the peace.

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Rough map of ancient Yemen before Alexander's invasion

[1] The Red Sea. Lathrippa is better known originally as Yathrib in the native tongue, and, in modern times, as Medina.

[2] Modern day Oman
 
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