Three historical examples are often cited as explanations of Alexander’s unity, being
the wedding at Susa, the Epigonoi , and the Opis banquet- but their importance is often
exaggerated. 43 The Susa wedding did establish stronger kinship between Persians and
Macedonians, but by only allowing Macedonian men to take Persian wives, it shows he did
not value his Persian subjects as equals yet. 44 The banquet at Opis was very much done to
quell the hostilities that had brewed during the mutiny, which Taietti believes ‘supports the
idea that Alexander was trying to foster a conciliatory policy’ out of pragmatism and not
idealistic unity. 45 As the Epigonoi have already been discussed, what we see here is a series
of rational and selective measures both managerially and diplomatically to ease relations
and tensions, making ruling smoother. As Persepolis’s destruction was bred from
pragmati sm, this ‘unity’ highlights why Persepolis was reflective of Alexander’s attitudes
towards Persians.
According to the vulgate sources, Persepolis was destroyed on the basis of Hellenic
revenge. When looking critically, we can see that this Hellenism was more pragmatic then
ideological, and in turn, further supports Alexander as a practical ruler. In his initial invasion
of Asia Minor to free Hellenic cities, he positioned himself as chief-commander of the
Greeks, and descendant of Achilles and Heracles through Olympias and Philip II
respectively. 46 However, how much was this a façade? In Hellespontine Phrygia, Alexander
placed a Macedonian general, Calas, in charge. 47 In Lydia, he placed the son of Philotas,
Asander as satrap. 48 As administration was kept the same and it was only the transfer of
43 Taietti, ‘Alexander III’s Empire’, p. 95 44 Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander , 4.6 – 8; A. B. Bosworth, ‘Alexander and the Iranians’, The Journal of Hellenic Studies , 100. 1 (1980), pp. 1 – 21 (pp. 11 – 12) 45 Taietti, ‘Alexander III’s Empire’, p. 96 46 Plutarch, Lives. Alexander , 2.1; Taietti, ‘Alexander III’s Empire’, p. 85
47 Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander , 1.17.1 48 Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander , 1.17.6
104
Made with FlippingBook HTML5