Alexander the Great in Afghanistan (330 BC) DOCUMENTARY

As the last chapter of the US war in Afghanistan appears to draw to a close, the world watches armed and civilian forces alike conduct their final evacuations. However, in these moments we hear echoes of the past. The history of the so-called graveyard of empires is filled with many chapters that tell of yet another major power that has been forced to withdraw after years of spilled blood and treasure. The most well-known instances have occurred in recent memory. However, the pages of Afghan history go back thousands of years. Today, I wanted to take a look at one of these first major military withdrawals that may just be the most fubar one on record. The evacuation of Alexander the Great's Macedonian army from Afghanistan. While our gaze will be fixed on this specific chapter of Afghan history, you can learn a ton more through our sponsor Wondrium. They've actually been one of our longest backers under the previous name The Great Courses Plus. This recent rebranding comes with a massive expansion of their previous content to include even more educational videos. For those who don't know, Wondrium offers subscription-based on-demand videos covering a huge range of subjects from science, history, travel, art, hobbies, and more. These come delivered in a variety of packages, from your more academic courses to well-produced documentaries, exclusives, and more. Their platform has long been my go-to source for background research while making my own documentaries and I've learned a ton. Their episode on the Khyber Pass disaster in the First Afghan War was particularly revealing as I'd never fully grasped the depth of the military debacle that unfolded during this 1842 withdrawal. My mind was blown when I learned the British lost over 16,000 men in the retreat from Kabul alone. I highly suggest you check it out and see how this conflict stacks up against the other military blunders in Afghanistan throughout the eras. Right now, Wondrium is offering a free trial, which you can start by clicking the link in the description below or visiting wondrium.com. I highly recommend that you take a look at what they have to offer and dive into the material that you are most interested in. Enjoy! We can begin by describing the state of Afghanistan during this era. The first thing to note is that no such country existed by that name and its borders as we know them are very much a modern construct. Instead, the area would have been populated by a variety of socio-political groups inhabiting its life-sustaining river valleys. The earliest human presence dates back to around 50,000 BC with generations of indigenous farmers and herders slowly forming into tribes, clans, and minor kingdoms over the years. Throughout the Bronze Age, these would be influenced by the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Indus River Valley on its flanks. Trade, colonization, and migration between these and other groups helped accelerate the region's growth. Some small pockets may have been claimed by external powers, but for the most part it seems that the locals were in charge. This would change around the 700s BC when the Median tribes of the Iranian plateau united to form an empire that stretched across the Middle East. Unfortunately, its true nature is poorly understood by scholars who have a time identifying the extent of its borders. We know for instance that it drew power from control of important east-west trade routes which has led some to argue that its reach extended all the way into the region of modern Afghanistan. Yet the degree to which this control was exerted over the various local powers is disputed. However, it would be the rise of the succeeding Achaemenid Empire that can more conclusively be identified as the start of foreign control. According to our records, this was done through the formation of several eastern satrapies. As you can see, their approximate borders are quite different from our own modern ones. Each of these regions was governed by a satrap who oversaw the various tribal coalitions that inhabited his sphere of influence. New cities and fortresses were built to enforce control, while taxes and manpower were extracted. While somewhat remote, these satrapies were still important to the Achaemenid Empire. They were host to productive farmland, controlled key trade routes, produced valuable goods like wine, and supplied excellent forces to the royal army. Bactria to the north was so important as a base of power that it was often ruled by the crown prince or heir-to-be and was known as the land of a thousand gold cities. I could go on and on about the overlooked history of this region, but that will have to wait for another video. For now, I think we've sufficiently laid the groundwork for the main subject of the video, the invasion and eventual withdrawal of the Macedonian army. So how did these western armies end up in the area of modern Afghanistan in the first place? The short answer is that their invasion was a part of the eastward thrust of Alexander the Great's campaigns in the 330s BC. This had all begun a century earlier, when friction between the east and west led to the Ionian Revolt and the eventual outbreak of the Greco-Persian Wars. In these matters, Macedon played a relatively minor role. However, when this northern kingdom rose to power in the 340s BC under Philip II and came to dominate Greece, they would take up the mantle of this conflict as a way to unify the Hellenic world against a common enemy. When Philip was assassinated, however, it would be his young heir, Alexander, who carried out this vision. Over the next decade, he would lead an army of around 40,000 to gradually break up and consume the vast Achaemenid Empire. First came Anatolia, then the Levant, then Egypt, and finally Mesopotamia. Such victories brought glory, territory, and treasure beyond measure. However, for Alexander, this was not enough. The king of kings, Darius, had escaped his clutches and was fleeing to the remaining eastern satrapies. This could not stand. He must be defeated once and for all. Thus, Alexander dragged his army in pursuit of the leader without a throne. Along the way, he would put down local resistance, negotiate treaties, establish garrisons, and build new cities to incorporate these lands into his growing domains. But the satisfaction of victory would be denied him by Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, who in the summer of 330 BC had Darius mortally wounded and left by the side of the road. This diversion simultaneously facilitated his own escape. This enraged Alexander, who vowed to have the traitor brought to justice. However, retribution would have to wait for now, as more pressing matters were attended to. But finally, in the autumn of 330 BC, Alexander was once again ready to take up the fight against Bessus, who by this point was reported to be raising an army and proclaiming himself the rightful successor of Darius. The Macedonian army thus set off from Hyrcania through Parthia and to the borders of Arrea, a satrapy that was roughly equivalent to the modern Afghan province of Herat. Here, he established a small force before continuing onwards towards the objective in Bactria. However, he would be forced to double back to deal with a revolt led by Setibarzanes, the satrap of Arrea. Additional revolts in the region and even a conspiracy against Alexander by fellow Macedonians further delayed the army's advance. Brutal tactics were required by the king to put these down, and further campaigning saw the satrapies of Dragiana, Arakozia, and Gondara fall as Alexander now sought to approach Bactria from the south by crossing the Caucasus mountains. Here's a modern map of Afghanistan to give you a sense of where the army marched. Along the way, Alexander sought to secure his territorial acquisitions and supply lines by establishing new cities, many of which bore his name. Alexandria in Arakozia, for example, would eventually be translated into Iskanderia in Arabic and become known as Kandahar. These settlements were often populated with a mix of natives and thousands of demobilized Greek and Macedonian veterans who acted as colonists. This fact has always impressed me. The idea that soldiers who had marched literally thousands of kilometers would suddenly be deposited at the ends of the earth to start a new life sounds insane, and yet it happened. For some, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start anew, which they embraced. For many, though, they viewed these postings as punitive. But perhaps the situation was tolerable, knowing that for now Alexander was still by their side, campaigning in the area, and they might soon return home once operations were completed. Along those lines, the main Macedonian force was now bearing down on Bessus in Bactria. The foe retreated in a scorched-earth maneuver back across the river Oxus. Undeterred, Alexander crossed at a lightning pace and managed to finally capture his target alive. However, this did little to pacify the region. The Macedonians were deep in foreign territory and seen as vulnerable. The Sogdians and Bactrians rose up in revolt under the direction of the warlord Spitomenes, with Scythian forces further adding fuel to the fire by swarming across the border to take advantage of the chaos. For nearly two years, Alexander would be bogged down in bloody fighting filled with pitched battles and dozens of sieges. In many ways, combat differed from the battles in the West and Macedonian battle tactics had to evolve to meet the fierce challenges that faced them in this new theater of the world. One of the most cinematic of these engagements would be the assault on the great fortress of the Sogdian Rock, thought to be impenetrable by its defenders. However, one night, Alexander would send a picked force of 300 men with ropes and tent pegs to climb its steepest face. 30 died in the ascent, but the remainder managed to claim the heights. The miracle of their accomplishment so shocked the enemy that they surrendered immediately. This should give you a taste of the intensity of the conflict and determination that Alexander pursued, which saw tens of thousands perish and which saw the great Macedonian king himself even narrowly avoid death, once having his leg shot through with an arrow and another time suffering severe illness from fetid water. But finally, in the summer of 327 BC, the Macedonians were able to stamp out the last of the resistance in the regions that made up modern Afghanistan and its surroundings. Peace, supposedly, had come to the Middle East. Victory, though, now allowed Alexander to prepare for yet further conquest in his forever wars, this time aimed eastwards into India. Behind him, he would leave an occupation force of some 10 to 30,000 with numerous convoys of reinforcements and supplies that were making their way across the lands. Control of these regions was left in the hands of various commanders and satraps with orders to deal with any further resistance that might arise. On paper, it would seem that Macedon had conquered Afghanistan, but in reality we can only ever speculate what degree control was exerted beyond the local urban centers. It's sure that a great deal of power remained in the hands of local tribal chieftains with whom the foreign authorities had to negotiate for support. We hear little of what transpired in these lands during the nearly two years that Alexander spent in India. However, it seems that discontent among the stranded western colonists was increasing. When news came of Alexander's near death in the siege against the Malians, some settlers began to abandon their posts. News of his survival, though, restored some order and the people were perhaps placated by promises of a brighter future when the king finally completed his campaigns and could deal with the internal issues of the realm. Unfortunately, though, this would never come to pass as Alexander the Great would die shortly thereafter in June of 323 BC. We were told by Diodorus of Sicily that this was the straw that broke the camel's back. A revolt now swept across the Hellenic settlers of the eastern satrapies. Some simply packed their bags and left. Others banded together to elect their own general who in turn is reported to have raised a force of some 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. On this occasion, we are left to imagine what the situation on the ground was like for the local natives. Surely, it was a dangerous and chaotic time for all. Meanwhile, the rest of Alexander's empire was on the verge of fracturing. Nominally, it was under the control of Perticus who acted as regent while a series of backdoor deals held the whole thing together with duct tape. In response to the uprising, he dispatched an army under Pathan to confront the settlers of the east who had taken up arms. Apparently, Perticus was so afraid that the commander he sent would merely strike a deal with the rebels and form his own breakaway satrap that he gave explicit orders for the Macedonian soldiers to kill all the According to Diodorus, when the Greeks who had wanted to abandon their posts in Afghanistan were eventually defeated, they received pledges of assurance that they could return safely to their colonies. I'll now let him describe the situation that unfolded. When oaths to this effect had been sworn and the Greeks were interspersed among the Macedonians, Pathan was greatly pleased, seeing that the affair was progressing according to his intentions. But the Macedonians, remembering the orders of Perticus and having no regard for the oaths that had been sworn, broke faith with the Greeks. Setting upon them unexpectedly and catching them off their guard, they shot them all down with javelins and seized their possessions as plunder. While I know many other attempted withdrawals from Afghanistan have been quite chaotic, I can't recall one in which the allies of the occupying force came in to deliberately massacre its own troops when they attempted to abandon their posts. At the same time though, I'll admit, there are certainly debates to be had about whether or not this settler revolt should be considered a true military withdrawal on par with other planned exits throughout the ages. But semantics aside, this is as foobar a situation as I've ever seen it. Yet even still, the Hellenic world would not be done with Afghanistan. In the ensuing years, the rest of the empire would descend into chaos as the various successor kings fought for their share of the realm. Eventually, Seleucus gained control of a large portion of the eastern lands, founding the Seleucid Empire in the process. He would send military forces and new waves of colonists to reassert control of the regions around modern Afghanistan. However, parts of these lands would later be ceded to the Mauryan Empire following a war in 305 BC. In the following century, the region would come to be ruled by a Greco-Bactrian kingdom, the easternmost Hellenistic nation in antiquity. It's a fascinating piece of history that gets buried in the overall story of Afghanistan and is well worth covering. But that will have to wait for another time. For now, we hope you've found the story we've told so far to be an illuminating hook into this overlooked part of the past. A huge thanks to the sponsors for funding the channel, and to the researchers, writers, and artists who made this episode possible. Be sure to like and subscribe for more content, and check out these other related videos. See you in the next one!