Alexander and the End of the Achaemenids

Before his death, Philip II of Macedon (r. 359-336 âñå) had sent 10,000 men across the Hellespont to Abydos, which later became the staging area for Alexander’s crossing in 334. Philip’s aims, and to what extent Alexander may have expanded upon them, are much discussed in the modern literature.^[363] Similarly, Alexander’s stunning achievement has been variously attributed to his own demonstrable brilliance—as a military leader on par with the greatest in history—or to a pervasive but nebulously defined Persian decadence and decline.

In the course of four years, Alexander inexorably conquered Persian territo­ries. By the summer of 330 the terrace of Persepolis had been burned and the last Achaemenid king, Darius III, was dead in northern Iran with Alexander in hot pur­suit. Alexander’s progression is usually tracked by the three main set battles fought against Persian forces—at Granicus in May of 334, at Issus in November of 333, and at Gaugamela in October of 331—and by his conquest of Egypt in 332. Though some places like Egypt were delivered to Alexander without resistance, Darius III and his officials contested almost every step of Alexander’s invasion. Action occurred si­multaneously on many fronts in Anatolia from the summer of 334 well into 332, so it took two years for Alexander’s generals to secure the northwestern flank of the empire. Fierce resistance in Gaza and other parts of Syro-Palestine belie superficial accountings of Alexander’s breezy acquisition of Egypt. The loss of those former re­gions made Egypt’s defense untenable. With Alexander in control of Cyprus and the Phoenician cities, there was no longer any effective Persian-controlled fleet in these regions to thwart him.

Alexander needed the Persian imperial bureaucracy—headed in the main by Persian elites or by Persianized local nobility—to have any chance at maintaining a successful conquest. Achaemenid officials who surrendered were not only spared but might keep their position and status. In other words, beyond a change in ruler and allegiance, the administration of many important cities looked no different than they had before Alexander arrived: local rule and local institutions continued. More than 200 years of Achaemenid rule would have Persianized many regions, especially manifest among the elites but to varying levels, an important phenom­enon that is in need of further study.^[364] Alexander himself would have had exposure to Persian dignitaries and customs, since Macedonia had had much contact with Persians and had been a Persian vassal in the fifth century âñå.

Alexander’s entry into Babylon in October of 331 âñå offers a showcase for his adoption of important aspects of Achaemenid ideology, modeled on previous traditions. The Babylonian performance paralleled Alexander’s entries into Sardis in Lydia and Susa in Elam, other cities that surrendered voluntarily, each undoubt­edly with local variations. The entry into Babylon followed a historical pattern; the one most immediately relevant was that of Cyrus's conquest in 539.^[365] After a hard- fought battle and decisive victory at Opis north of the city, Cyrus was received into the city of Babylon without a fight: a carefully choreographed entrance that glossed the violence that preceded it. Alexander clearly welcomed the opportunity to fit himself into a pattern that Cyrus himself had followed.

The Babylonians lined the walls and the streets to greet Alexander. The recep­tion culminated in his paying respect to the Babylonian god Marduk (Bel) and his temple, a necessary part of the process. In an astronomical diary entry about this event Alexander is called “King of the World” (Akkadian sar kissati^[366]), the same title used to describe Cyrus in the Verse Account of Nabonidus.

Alexander's progress into Fars was not so easy, as the defense of the Achaemenid heartland was fierce. Nevertheless, once successful, Alexander continued the im­portant acknowledgment of expected forms. A visit to Pasargadae and Cyrus's tomb to pay his respects to the empire's founder culminated in the continuation of the traditional sacrifices performed there. The burning of the Persepolis terrace in May 330—impetus for which is also still debated—of course does not fit a pattern of integration with the preceding dynasty. Such processes are never seamless and Alexander was obviously not Persian, but Macedonian. His men and the Greeks held certain expectations as well. The burning of Persepolis signaled a new order: one based on, but separate from, the previous. The circumstances surrounding the death of Darius III, seemingly bereft and murdered by his own officials, are often overshadowed by Alexander's assumption of the successor's mantle. Alexander cast himself in the role of Darius's avenger and is thus sometimes portrayed as “the last Achamenid.” That is an exaggeration, though continuity with the Achaemenid forms and traditions was both useful and necessary.

The Achaemenid Empire and dynasty may be viewed as having been brought to an end with the death of Darius III. One of the men who killed Darius III, Bessos the satrap of Bactria, took the Achaemenid moniker Artaxerxes, an attempt at dy­nastic continuity, so Alexander had more fighting to do before Bessos and other challengers were quelled. Alexander continued a policy of recruiting elites among the Persian nobility; while many resisted, no small number joined him, presum­ably in hopes of retaining their economic and social status in the new order.

Thus, Alexander’s necessary Persianization became more pronounced via his adoption of Achaemenid ideology and the incorporation of Persians and Iranians into his entourage. Alexander recruited Iranian troops from throughout the eastern satrapies, including a corps of 30,000 young men who were to learn Greek and to train in Macedonian tactics (Arrian 7.6.1). While considered by Quintus Curtius as hostages (8.5.1), this group may be considered one manifestation of Alexander’s policy of fusion—a policy only in its early stages before Alexander himself died in 323. There were other components. Alexander married Rhoxane, the daughter of an Iranian nobleman (Oxyartes) who was appointed as a satrap, for whatever other reasons no doubt to secure allegiances and to dissuade challengers among the eastern Iranian nobles. After his return from the Indian campaign in 324, Alexander also married the Achaemenid princesses Stateira (daughter of Darius III) and Parysatis (daughter of Artaxerxes III). More marriages occurred between Alexander’s companions and Iranian noble women at an elaborate joint wedding in Susa. Just as Darius I moved to consolidate his power after his accession by mar­rying the daughters of Cyrus, Alexander revealed here a far grander plan to integrate the Iranian and Macedonian elite, to form effectively a new ruling class. But many elements of Alexander’s approach were bitterly unpopular with his Macedonian cohorts, and he faced resistance within his own ranks.

In the end Alexander had a short time to implement a plan of governing this vast enterprise after his conquests. There is acrimonious debate yet about how Alexander should be viewed, at the extremes as a new philosopher-king pre­pared to unite west and east or as a bloodthirsty marauder.

Chronological Chart of Achaemenid Persian Kings

Cyrus (II) the Great, ca. 559-530 bce

Cambyses II, 530-522 bce

Darius I, 522-486 bce

Xerxes I, 486-465 bce

Artaxerxes I, 465-424 bce

Xerxes II, 424-423 bce

Darius II, 423-405 bce

Artaxerxes II, 405-359 bce

Artaxerxes III, 359-338 bce

Artaxerxes IV (Arses), 338-336 bce

Darius III, 336-330 bce

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