Alexander the Great

Demonstrate understanding of a significant ideology in the classical world

Part A: Introducing Alexander’s Policy of Fusion

Alexander’s Policy of Fusion consisted of joining the Macedonian and Persians together so Alexander could govern the nations and maintain rule over Persia. The purpose was to come to an agreement of mutual respect between the nations and applied to anyone who fought. For this to occur, Alexander appointed the Persians with responsibilities and leadership positions as well as adopting their customs and their traditional attires.

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Part B: Key Events

Death of Cleitus: Cleitus was the Commander of the Royal Squadron of Companion cavalry that was led by Alexander the Great. He was close to Alexander especially in the duration of when Cleitus saved Alexander’s life at the Battle of Granicus. In 328 BC at Maracanda, there was a party where both the Persians and Macedonians, who were invited, were very drunk including Alexander and Cleitus.

Cleitus: the Macedonian General

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During the party, a bard sang a song that supposedly mocked the Macedonians for their defeat of the recent battle between the Persians which caused tension among people such as the elders and Cleitus who felt offended and insulted. Alexander and his friends took no notice and enjoyed themselves which made Cleitus fume in his drunk state. He did not approve of the Macedonians being mocked, therefore called out, defending his people saying it was “misfortune” to which Alexander responded that actually it was “cowardice”. Cleitus replied saying “This same cowardice saved you…when you were turning your back on Mithridates’ sword” (Plutarch, Alexander 50-51). This quote explains how at the Battle of Granicus, Alexander was about to be struck by Mithridates (a Persian soldier) and potentially kill Alexander, however, Cleitus had interfered and essentially saved Alexander’s life which consequently resulted in a closer relationship between the two. Alexander yelled back “do you think you can go on speaking about me like that… without paying for it?” (Plutarch, Alexander 50-51). This went back and forth among the two until Alexander felt great anger where he threw an apple at Cleitus then ordered in Macedonian for his guards and trumpeter to sound the alarm. Ordering in Macedonia dialect was only meant for serious complication and thus his friends forced Cleitus to leave the party, however he came back through a different entrance which further angered Alexander, so he grabbed a spear and struck Cleitus who fell to the floor. Alexander had realized what he had done and attempted to kill himself too but the guards prevented this and carried him into his room. His reaction further consisted of refusing to eat or drink without interacting with others for three days for he had thought very highly of Cleitus for reasons such as how Cleitus saved Alexander’s life at the Battle of Granicus and was therefore to be appointed to a higher position as a reward for saving Alexander’s life. However, he was still determined to continue with the Policy of Fusion.

There were many reasons for this quarrel such as resentment towards Alexander’s relationship with Ammon/Zeus, being mocked at the party and most importantly, the Policy of Fusion. Cleitus revealed how he truly felt throughout the years of service to Alexander as he released his anger. He spoke of how Alexander’s relationship between Ammon/Zeus consisted of rejecting Philip as his father which hurt Cleitus as he was close to Philip. Claiming Ammon/Zeus as Alexander’s father meant he was raised to a higher position thus not being “first among equals”. This meant that Alexander was now not considered to be equal with other noblemen (which the Macedonians, including Cleitus, believed in). Cleitus was a nobleman thus Alexander being recognised as “first among equals” meant that he and Alexander were of the same status however since Alexander was now son of Ammon, this created a difference between the two thus Cleitus resented Alexander for disrespecting himself and for disrespecting the Macedonians. Another reason was because of how the Macedonians were treated at the party. As the Macedonians had defeated the Persians, it was unnatural to treat them with mutual respect thus as the Macedonians were ridiculed in front of the natives who were also their enemies, this caused anger. On Alexander’s behalf, he was merely attempting to unite the two nations hence inviting the Persians to the party as that was part of the Policy of Fusion.

(Philip 2 of Macedonia-Father of Alexander the Great)

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This event relates to the Policy of Fusion as the party was between the Persians and Macedonians. Alexander had invited the Persians to show how he mutually respected them to the Macedonians, which was the purpose of the Policy of Fusion, which ultimately upheld his position of attempting to join the two nations together and maintain rule over both. As the Persians were invited to the party as part of the Policy, Alexander wore their clothing and adopted their customs such as Proskynesis to further show mutual respect. However, even though the Policy of Fusion to Alexander and most was seen to succeed and bring harmony, this key event surfaced opinions from people, who were especially close to Alexander too, that they were unhappy with the concept. However because of this, Alexander had disrespected two important figures in his life; Phillip and Cleitus. When Alexander became the son of Ammon/Zeus, he had taken away the father role from Philip, according to Cleitus, who was important to the Macedonians as Philip civilized Macedonia as well as making it master of Greece. As for Cleitus, who had saved Alexander’s life at the battle of Granicus from a Persian, Alexander disrespected him by his unconcern for the ridicule of the Macedonians from the singers. Alexander chose to ignore the mocking of people which was disrespectful towards the Macedonians, especially considering this party was a way to show mutual respect for both the Persians and Macedonians, and that the Macedonians were not receiving such respect. Alexander’s reaction to Cleitus was disrespectful as he disregarded what Cleitus was saying even though Cleitus was a big part of Alexander’s life and he was especially close to him. Cleitus still saw the Persians as the enemy as the Macedonians had defeated them thus should be treated as such and because the Persians were defeated, commonly the defeated would be made slaves thus even though the Persians should have been the Macedonians slaves, they are not due to Alexander’s vision for the Policy of Fusion.

Mutiny at Opis: As Alexander needed highly trained men in his army, he enlisted 30,000 Persian successors to arrive at Opis in 324 BC. These young Persian men were dressed in Macedonian attire, trained like the Macedonians and spoke Greek and put on a display of their training to show the Greeks and Macedonians how highly trained they were. Soon after Alexander announced that whoever was too injured or too old were to be sent home with gracious reward. Although Alexander had not intended to offend anyone and had the utmost intentions, the Macedonians felt enraged because they felt as if their king was offending and replacing them with the Persians. Since the Policy meant uniting the two nations in harmony, Alexander had also adopted Persian customs such as Pyrokinesis and attire such as their tunics, to show mutual respect. This further maddened the Macedonians who threw remarks at Alexander for replacing Philip by being the son of Ammon/Zeus which made him furious thus resulting in him commanding officers to arrest people who were leading the insults and execute them, which made everyone else quieten down.

Alexander had then spent two days in isolation, however on the third day, he assigned leadership roles to the Persians he favoured the most and referred to them as his “kinsmen” who were permitted to kiss him as a custom. Alexander announced his new act to the Macedonians resulting in shock as they were offended that the Persians were given these high statuses yet not their own. The Macedonians objected at the palace gates, begging for forgiveness and would not leave until Alexander came out and took pity; thus Alexander immediately emerged in sorrow to hear the Macedonians in distress. Callines, a Companion cavalry officer, said “What grieves the Macedonians is that you have made some of the Persians your kinsmen and Persians are called ‘Alexander’s kinsmen’ and are allowed to kiss you; but no Macedonian has yet enjoyed this privilege” (Arrian 7.8 and 11-12). To this, Alexander then allowed anyone to kiss him resulting in the Macedonians celebrating their victory and Alexander throwing a public banquet.

The mutiny was a result of Alexander’s decisions to send home people who were unfit for service, which to the Macedonians, it was as though he was getting rid of them and replacing them with the Persian successors who were ultimately trained as Macedonians and were given high status positions such as being in the Companion cavalry as well as further adopting Persian attire. For the Macedonians, their king was replacing them and prioritising the Persians which made them feel betrayed as a nation. For Alexander, his intentions were pure; to give injured or elderly individuals the right to stand down as they were unfit to serve, which is ultimately unfair to them to fight in war when they are incapable of properly doing so. The Macedonians reaction to this was to mutiny – shouting at Alexander about his decisions such as to adopt Persian customs and yelling at him to discharge the Persians. Alexander’s reaction was to immediately arrest people who were prominently insulting him and showing their ungratefulness as he himself was worthy of respect due to his many accomplishments, “he had won satrapy after satrapy…not himself but for them” (J.R Hamilton, 1973), thus his anger enraged him and ordered for the 13 most notable instigators for execution- ultimately scaring everyone else into silence. Once Alexander had calmed down, his choices of appointing his favoured Persians to high positions and allowing them to kiss him that was soon told about to the Macedonians who swarmed the palace gates, begging Alexander for forgiveness. Rather than further executing them, he allowed the Macedonians to also kiss him as a sign of respect to his people who had ultimately deserved it too as they had been there for him and deserved to have that privilege.

This event relates to the Policy of Fusion as Alexander had recruited Persians for his army and appointed them to high ranks which implemented it. Recruiting 30,000 Persians successors for his army, training them like Macedonians were trained and allowing them to use Macedonian equipment showed how he gave equal treatment to all which was what the policy entailed. Furthermore, he also appointed the Persians he favoured the most to positions such as foot guards and part of the Cavalry companion and new Royal squadron as well as giving them Macedonian names and assigning ‘kinsmen’ who were allowed to kiss him as it was a Persian custom. The Macedonians did not even have the privilege of kissing Alexander which ultimately showed how Alexander was applying the policy and doing so, showing both nations that he treated them with mutual respect. In the end however, he did also allow the Macedonians to kiss him to further insinuate that they were given mutual respect. Subsequently, the public banquet that consisted of Macedonians and Persians was another example of how it relates to the Policy of Fusion. At the banquet, Alexander himself drank from a bowl which he shared amongst everyone, a sign of unity and mutual respect (as per the Policy states), and Alexander “prayed for various blessings and in particular that Persians and Macedonians might exercise a joint rule in harmony” (Arrian 7.8 and 11-12). This quote explains how Alexander’s goal was for the Macedonians and Persians to exist in unity thus why he made the Policy of Fusion.

Part C: Policy of Fusion

Alexander’s possible motives for introducing this policy: The Policy of Fusion was an agreement of harmony and mutual respect between Persians and Macedonians to which Alexander had many motives to introduce it. Alexander’s main motive was to manage the Persian empire. Ruling Persia meant a lot of change to systems as Persia was known for its huge population and empire and diverse people whereas Macedonia was a smaller nation which followed old systems that fit for a smaller empire thus a modern system/policy was needed in order for the two nations to combine. “He did not seek to transplant a Macedonian-style monarchy to his Asian domain” (P. Cartledge) quotes how Alexander had come to change his way of ruling thus creating the Policy of Fusion. It also means that Alexander has had more people to recruit for his army, thus expanding his army which is advantageous during battle especially as he continued to grow his empire. It also reduced the risk of having the Persians as their enemy as they no longer have the ability to battle against the Macedonians. According to William Tarn, Alexander “liked the Persian customs and way of life and gained a new respect for the people he once thought of as his enemies”. Tarn’s view was inspired by Arrian, who said “He prayed for other blessings, and especially that harmony and community of rule might exist between the Macedonians and Persians”. Another motive was the relationship between Alexander and Philip. Once Philip arrived back in Macedonia, he had alienated Alexander which resulted in them being on bad terms. As Philip now had a second wife, Cleopatra, this threatened the position of Olympias (Alexander’s mother). It also threatened Alexander’s position as the son of Cleopatra was completely Macedonian, whereas Alexander was only half, thus it could be seen as Cleopatra’s son being more suited to becoming king. Due to this, there have been a series of events where Philip had banished Alexander thus the father and son relationship can be seen as a motive for Alexander wanting to prove that as king, he is worthy.

The Alexander the Great.

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Specific differences between Macedonian and Persian cultural expectations and codes of behaviour: There are specific differences between the Macedonians and Persians, such as cultural expectations and their codes of behaviours. A difference between the Persians and Macedonians is the use of the customary Proskynesis. Proskynesis is the act of prostrating oneself before the presence of a superior. Alexander used Proskynesis as an opportunity to connect the Persians and Macedonians together as a way to implement the Policy of Fusion. For the Persians, Proskynesis was used in the presence of superiors such as a king, however to them it was not considered worship. In contrast, the Macedonians and Greeks would only conduct Proskynesis in the presence of a god, implying worship, and was considered barbaric and hubris if a Greek or Macedonian were to perform Proskynesis to other individuals and would degrade them. However, knowing this, Alexander had still requested for the Greeks and Macedonians including Callisthenes (a Greek) to perform Proskynesis to which Callisthenes and some others refused. It was Alexander’s intention for the Macedonians and Persians to unite in harmony, just like he had prayed at the public banquet after the mutiny at Opis. Undoubtedly, this shows the codes of behavior of the Greeks and Macedonians as their strong opinion of prostrating themselves only infront of gods was enough to stand their ground and not perform in front of their own king.

Another difference was that when Alexander became the Great King, he was established as the son of Ammon/Zeus which meant that he was now no longer “first among equals” to the Macedonians. The Macedonians originally thought of their king as equal to noblemen which was a cultural expectation of any Macedonian king. Being the son of Ammon, Alexander was now of higher status and position to the rest as he was also now king of both Persia and Macedonia thus ultimately disrespecting the Macedonians as he was their king originally. It also disrespected Philip who had civilised Macedonia thus it was expected (on the Macedonians behalf) that Alexander were to be “first among equals” however to the Persians, he was the Great King and son of Ammon/Zeus.

After becoming king of both Persia and Macedonia, Alexander dressed differently from everyone else. In Macedonian culture, part of being “first among equals” meant that Alexander dressed like everyone else because he was considered equal to other noblemen thus as expected he wore the same attire as them. The only difference was that he wore a crown to distinguish himself as king. Once Alexander became the Great King, meaning ruling both Persia and Macedonia, as well as becoming son of Ammon, he dressed differently to everyone else by dressing like a god thus further separating himself and his position to other individuals. Alexander also wore Persian fashion as a way to show that he wanted to be their king which was a cultural expectation of a Persian king.

Another difference between the Macedonian culture to Persians was that for the Persians, harem and eunuchs were a custom but not to Macedonians. Harem is a group of usually slave women who were used purely for the pleasure of a Great King as well as socialising with other important court women, such as the mother, wives and daughters of the Great King, and eunuchs were castrated men who would attend to them. As Alexander became the Great King, he adopted these customs to show the Persians he wanted to be their king. Having a harem was also a privilege of the Great King thus as a result, Alexander adopted Darius’s (a Persian king) harem. As Alexander had adopted another Persian custom, some of his Macedonian men objected as this obstructed the cultural expectation for a Macedonian king to be “first among equals”. Adopting these customs symbolised that Alexander was now of superior status, therefore defying the expectation that he was “first among equals”.

How did Alexander implement the policy: In order for the policy to work and be followed by, Alexander did many things, such as mercilessly enforcing the policy. He intended for the Persians and Macedonians to be treated with mutual respect and anyone who had acted on their disposing opinion was severely punished, even if it meant to punish people who were especially close to him. This included individuals such as Cleitus, Callisthenes, prominent members of the mutiny, Philotas, Parmenio, Royal Pages and so on. This shows that Alexander was not afraid nor biased when enforcing the policy as it was important for him to show that he wanted to be a Great King for this policy to work so he could rule both Persia and Macedonia in harmony.

Alexander also adopted Persian customs and clothing to show the Persians that he wanted to be their king. He adopted customs such as harem, eunuchs and proskynesis which were important to the Persians as well as wearing Persian clothing such as the diadem (a jewelled crown), and the white robe and sash of the Persian king. He also appointed high ranking Persian officials to leadership positions such as when he made his favoured Persians, “Alexander’s’ kinsmen’” as well as recruiting Persian successors and training them to be in his army. Finally, to further join the Persians and Macedonians together, he encouraged marriage between the two nations. The Susa Weddings was an event that lasted five days where Macedonian men would marry Persian men, “fusing the Macedonians and Persians into one ruling race” (Paul Artan, 2001). Alexander himself married Barsine, the daughter of Darius III, who was his second wife as he had married Roxane, daughter of Oxyartes (a Bactrian chief), and he also married Parysatis, the daughter of Artaxerxes III (the king before Darius). Other Macedonians also married to daughters of Persian noblemen which prevented Persian men from marrying into wealthy families thus the Macedonians had more power. This unity between the Persian and Macedonian families meant that Alexander was now the Great King as his Policy of Fusion was implemented in the Persian empire.

The extent to which Alexander was successful: For the time being where Alexander was alive, he was successful to an extent in many ways. Although Alexander had ultimately brought success to Macedonia, it was his father who had first established Macedonia to become successful. Philip had civilised Macedonia by developing an army which was so modernised that it would be highly advantageous in war. The Macedonian army now used weapons such as the sarissa, which was an 18 foot spear (double the length of a normal Greek spear) that needed two arms to be able to throw towards a target. Due to its length, it held an advantage as the enemy would be impaled before they could get close. Philip also expanded on cavalry and an increasing number of men by using the expertise of horse riding to an advantage in the battlefield, thus by increasing the number of men, this caused an overpowering and effective tactic for the Macedonian men. This all further helped Alexander when conquering different nations due to the combination of cavalry and highly trained men. Alexander himself was successful due to many journeys to which had ended in a favourable outcome such as the Battle of Granicus. The Battle of Granicus was between the Persians and the Macedonians, where the Macedonians had easily outnumbered the Persians and due to Alexander’s tactics and ability to strategize to their advantage, they had won the battle. This results in Alexander gaining power over the Persian empire which was also Philip’s dream. He became the Great King thus resulting in carrying out the Policy of Fusion which was implemented thoroughly. The Policy of Fusion was successful during Alexander’s ruling as he would do everything he could to make sure it was followed such as adopting Persian customs and clothing, appointing Persians to higher leadership positions and even executing men who would interfere with his plan, even if they were especially close to him such as Cleitus the Black. Alexander had also led his men all the way to India which he conquered in 327 BC thus further expanding his empire all the way from Macedonia and Greece to Egypt and India. Alexander was fearless when it came to journey thus as a result, he brought the Hellenstic kingdom to the East side where it had been recognised and still thought of to this day. Throughout all his voyages, his men were regarded closely with him. He had immense respect and love for his men who in return admired and respected him back. One of the reasons is because of his various acts of compensation such how at the mutiny at Opis, Alexander announced that men who were unfit for service were to be released to go home and as such, “he promised that when they left he would give them enough to make them more envied by those at home and to rouse the enthusiasm of the other Macedonians to share the same hardships and dangers” (Arrian 7.8 and 11-12). This is one of the many examples that shows that he would reward his men generously for the service that they had given him. As he was addressing his men for reacting in an ungrateful manner, he reminded them of how he had led his men successfully to Asia to which they conquered many and had returned with wealth and glory even though they started out with struggle and debt. Alexander also compensated the families of the dead by giving them enough to take care of themselves as well as holding a proper burial for the deceased as a sign of respect. According to Cartledge, “… it was forms of Greek culture – religious, literary, artistic (theatre, music) – that provided such unity as the post-Alexander Hellenistic world was able to achieve”. This quote explains how the ideas and ambitions of Alexander led to the world that he had worked hard to achieve.

However, although he was deemed successful during his ruling, it was only to a certain extent. The Policy of Fusion, which Alexander had implemented on the Macedonians and Persians, was disliked by most Macedonians. Although their king had an elite vision for it, most of his men did not see the same and felt as if he was disrespecting them or replacing them with the Persians. An example of this was after Alexander had died, the Macedonian men who had married Persian women at Susa immediately divorced them which shows how unpopular Alexander’s vision of unity was. Many had voiced their opinions to Alexander, which resulted in their death thus it shows how Alexander was ruthlessly forced to do so after he died, it was not followed as sternly due to the unlikely conditions it had. Nonetheless, Alexander was still seen as successful to an extent.