History of Afghanistan E01 | Alexander's conquest of Afghanistan

Alexander's conquest of Afghanistan 

 In 2300 BCE, there was a mighty and great empire in the world. It was called Achaemenid Empire. This Persian Empire was the first great international empire. The center of this empire was Babylonia (today's Iraq). The Achaemenid Empire bordered Greece in the West. Its boundaries touched the Indus River in the East. Taxila and Baluchistan (modern-day Pakistan) were also part of it. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan,...

... Georgia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Israel (Palestine), Egypt, and Libya were also under its control.

You must have heard of 2 great emperors Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great. 

Both were rulers of this empire. But then, in 331 BC, Alexander the Great, ruler of the Greek state of Macedonia, invaded the empire. They fought in the battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE) that changed history. The last Achaemenid emperor, Darius III, lost the battle. He fled from the battlefield but his Afghan governor Bessus killed him later. Jesus declared himself the new emperor. Alexander the Great was forced to chase him. Alexander arrived in Modern-day Balkh, Afghanistan. At that time the city was called Bactra and its surrounding region was called Bactria. Bessus's own supporters betrayed him and presented him to Alexander in chains. An Afghan commander, Spitamenes, was also among those who arrested Bessus. Alexander the Great punished Afghan commander Bessus. The Greeks twisted trunks of two trees together and tied Commander Bessus between them. When the trunks were released with a jolt, Bessus was torn into pieces. Thus Alexander became the undisputed ruler of the whole Achaemenid Empire, including Afghanistan. His empire had reached Syr Darya (Jaxartes) beyond Samarkand in the north. He had easily conquered the Achaemenid Empire and most of Afghanistan. But friends, history proves that occupying Afghanistan has never been difficult. But it is difficult to keep control over Afghanistan. Afghans have never allowed anyone to do that. Because the real fight begins only when a foreign power takes over Afghanistan. So the Afghans fought a war that Alexander the Great could never win with his sword.

What was that war?

Why is Afghanistan called the Graveyard of empires?

How did Afghanistan travel through thousands of years and get here?

This series is "Afghanistan the graveyard of Empires." 

Alexander had conquered Central Asia up to the Syr Darya after the battle of Gaugamela. The area beyond the Syr Darya was home to nomadic Scythian tribes. These tribes could easily support rebellions in the Greek-occupied territories. They could also attack these territories and plunder them. Alexander decided to establish a permanent military base in the area. Like military barracks are set up today. The Macedonian army started building a great fort on the southern banks of Syr Darya. Today, the city of Khujand in Tajikistan stands on this place. The fort was named Alexandria Estate (the farthest Alexandria) But this fort created severe problems for Alexander the Great. The Afghans and other tribes were autonomous under the Achaemenid rule. Even emperor Darius had never forced his orders upon them. Afghans and Scythians thought that the Greek rulers would soon retreat. They were sure that their autonomy would remain as before. But the fort near the Syr Darya was a great hurdle to their plans. They now felt that the Greeks wanted to settle permanently in their lands. Now they did not like it at all. So the Afghans (Bactrians) started a rebellion against the Macedonians (Greeks). The Afghan commander, who had betrayed Bessus was leading the rebellion. His name was Spitamenes. He thought Alexander was violating the freedom of the local tribes. So he took up arms. Afghans, Central Asians, and Scythian tribes were all part of this rebellion. They attacked and killed man Greek soldiers near Samarkand. Flames of Rebellion erupted from the Syr Darya to Balkh. Even people in the cities rebelled and killed their Greek garrisons. Coraopolis, an ancient city near the Syr Darya, and its nearby towns also joined the uprising. They killed many Greek soldiers and closed the gates of their forts. Thousands of rebels established bases in mountains and forests. The rebels made it difficult for Greek troops to move between Samarkand and Alexandria Estate. Alexander the Great was not ready to give up. He stood up to the challenge with full force. He launched attacks on rebel strongholds in the mountains and forests. But every fort in the area put up extraordinary resistance. Even Alexander was injured by an arrow. The arrow pierced his leg and he was wounded. Historian Plutarch writes that the arrow shattered the shank bone and the pieces had to be taken out. When Alexander's soldiers saw their commander wounded, they were furious. They massacred all the enemy soldiers including prisoners. But the massacre didn't demoralize the Afghan rebels. Instead, such cruelties raised the spirits of the Afghan rebels. Now Alexander was injured and unable to move. He was laying siege to Cyropolis and the nearby towns. But they were facing stiff resistance from the enemy. Alexander the Great was bedridden, yet he continuously studied reports from the battlefield. He kept on giving orders to his troops. At his command, the Greek army laid a separate siege to each town near Cyropolis. Then they destroyed each town one by one. Whenever the Greeks captured a town or a fort, they killed all men and took women and children as slaves. The rebels in the city of Cyropolis were aware of the fate of their nearby towns. Yet they didn't surrender. Instead, they adopted new battle tactics. They started deceiving the Greeks. They raised white flags to show that they wanted to talk. But whoever approached them for talks was killed. At last, Alexander the Great recovered and got up from his bed. Now he was ready to join the fight again. Now he began planning to capture Cyropolis. He noticed that there was a drain under the wall of the city. Water flowed into the city from that drain. Alexander the Great took a few soldiers with him, swam through the drain, and entered the fort. Then he opened a city gate, and the entire Greek army entered the city. Then they started killing everyone in the city. Only a few of the city's 15,000 guards survived. But the rebels resisted till the end. They fired arrows and threw rocks from every roof. This made it difficult for the Greek army to advance. Alexander the Great once again tried to show bravery and joined the fight. But this time he was not so lucky. Suddenly he was hit on the head by a stone and became unconscious. His head and neck were wounded and bleeding. He fell down and fainted. His injury lowered the morale of his soldiers. They made a wall of shields and pulled their commander to safety. Then they brought their unconscious king back to their camp. The Macedonian army had captured Cyropolis but now their commander's life was in danger. For several days Alexander the Great could not see properly. He could not even speak clearly. Doctors bandaged him, but the wounds would open and bleed again. Alexander the Great remained in this state for a long time but eventually recovered. When Alexander the Great regained control, the army was embroiled in a devastating war. The fall of Cyropolis didn't end the rebellion. Thousands of rebels were still hiding in the mountains. The rebels were constantly attacking the army's supply line. This was a long supply line. Supplies were brought from Balkh to Samarkand, ... ... then they were sent to Alexandria Estate. Samarkand was the central link in the supply chain. This city was attacked so many times that its defenders felt it was besieged. The Greek soldiers in the fort didn't go out for fear of the Afghans. Whoever went out was killed by the enemy forces. The Greek commanders and their soldiers were also afraid of the physical appearance of their Afghan and Scythian enemies. Their unkempt hair and shaggy beards gave them a frightening look. It is said that a Greek general even suggested Alexander fight those rebels in the dark of night. He thought that in the dark his soldiers would not see their faces so they wouldn't be afraid of them. In short, the Greek army was terrified of the rebels and the morale of its soldiers was low. But Alexander the Great continued to build the fortress that caused the revolt. The Scythian cavalry continued to shoot arrows at the fort from the other side of Syr Darya. Once or twice the Greek army crossed the river to punish the invaders. But the rebels continued to resist. Then one day, Alexander suffered the worst defeat of his life. The rebels ambushed an army of 2,360 Greek soldiers. They used guerrilla tactics and killed most of the soldiers. 3 Greek generals and all the officers were among those killed. Only a few soldiers fled to Samarkand alive. Alexander ordered that the survivors should be kept away from the rest of the army. He didn't want the survivors to tell the dreadful stories of their defeat to others. After this attack, Alexander the Great quickly returned to Samarkand. But when he arrived, the rebels had already retreated. The actions of the rebels infuriated Alexander. He ordered the Greek army to kill the locals. Many forts and villages were destroyed, thousands of locals were killed. Their crops were burned, and the survivors were enslaved. But the Afghans didn't surrender and the fight continued. The more the Greek army oppressed the local population, the more the locals resisted. The local population was afraid of the Greek army. The locals built secret shelters in the mountains. Whenever the Greeks attacked them they took shelter in caves and forests. This war devastated the regions of Central Asia and Afghanistan. Their prosperity was turned into misery. But still, neither side was ready to give up. Alexander the Great was worried because he wanted to invade India as soon as possible. India was not far from Afghanistan. His empire had already reached up to the banks of the Indus River. But he was trapped in the swamp of Afghanistan. Alexander the Great had called 22,000 additional fresh troops from Greece for the Indian campaign. But he was unable to send them to India. These soldiers were deployed to fight the Afghans. Alexander's army suffered its highest casualties in Afghanistan. Even Persian emperor Darius had not inflicted such casualties. The Greek soldiers were so frightened that they were afraid of drinking water from wells. They thought Afghans had poisoned the wells. Alexander the Great was forced to dig new wells near his army positions. But the Afghans continued to surprise him. Then a winter campaign raised new questions for Alexander. He suddenly realized that a military victory wasn't possible.

What happened that winter?

Balkh was Alexander the Great's headquarters in Afghanistan. 

He would leave the city with his army during Summer. But he would return to Balkh for winter. Because winter was not a good season for fighting in Afghanistan and Central Asia. But one year the rebels took advantage of his absence and planned an attack on Balkh. They attacked the city. The rebels killed a large number of Greek soldiers. At that time, Alexander and most of his army wasn'tweren't there. The Greeks had gathered a lot of livestock as their winter food. The Afghans took that livestock away. Alexander the Great's favorite singer Aristonicus was also killed in the battle. The attacks of the rebels had damaged the morale of the Greeks. Common soldiers were frustrated. Even the officers fought among themselves. Even Alexander the Great was so upset that once during his stay in Samarkand, he got angry. And killed one of his generals, Cleitus, with his own hands. Alexander the Great finally learned a lesson from the war... ... that the Afghans could not be defeated by the sword. However, he could win them over with diplomacy. So he decided to make friends with the enemy. He soon got a chance. An Afghan chief was arrested with some of his people during a raid. There were women among those prisoners. They danced before Alexander including Chief's daughter Roxana. When Alexander saw Roxana, he fell in love with her. Alexander the Great married her and added his father to his alliance. This marriage established Alexander's relationship with the Afghans and strengthened his political authority. This was probably Alexander's first marriage. Other local chefs also took notice of Alexander's new position. They also came forward to shake hands with Alexander. Alexander also recruited large numbers of Afghans and Central Asians into his army. This act significantly reduced the resistance of the Afghans. These moves gave Alexander the Great the upper hand in Afghanistan and Central Asia. He also settled Greeks in Afghanistan and Central Asia on a large scale. This situation was troubling for the rebel commander Spitamenes. Ironically, he met the same fate as Darius III and Bessus. Spitamenes had betrayed Bessus. Now Spitamenes was betrayed. Commander Spitamenes' Scythian allies turned against him. They beheaded him and sent his head to Alexander. A legend claims that he was actually killed by his wife. His wife was fed up with the hardships of war. She asked him to make peace with the attackers. But Spitamenes refused. Then one night when he returned home drunk. His wife killed him. She beheaded him and took the head to Alexander the Great. The Afghan rebel was dead. But historians agree that he was the most formidable opponent Alexander ever faced. Spitamenes is considered one of the best guerrilla fighters in history. After his death, Alexander the Great succeeded in building Alexandria Eschate.Estate The same fortress that had sparked the Afghan uprising. Now, this fort is gone but the city of Khujand is located at its site now. Alexander campaigned for 2 to 3 years in the region. At last, he succeeded in securing peace in the region. But he paid a heavy price for the peace. He lost at least 7,000 soldiers. While at least 120,000 or more Afghans also died. Around 327 BCE, Alexander entered India from Afghanistan. He also left a large number of troops in Afghanistan to maintain peace. Because the rebellion there was still ongoing. Alexander fought Raja Porus in India. He defeated Raja Porus. Then he captured large parts of western India or modern Pakistan. Then he arrived in Babylon through Baluchistan and Iran. Here he died in 323 BCE. After his death, Afghanistan remained part of a few Greek empires. But then the Indian Maurya Empire annexed it.

How did that happen?

How did Afghans embrace Islam?

How did the Umayyad dynasty rule over Afghanistan? sea you in next part