Alexander the Great and His Empire by Kuhrt Amelie; Briant Pierre; Kuhrt Amelie

Author:Kuhrt, Amelie; Briant, Pierre; Kuhrt, Amelie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2010-04-05T04:00:00+00:00

Arrian (VII.20.2–10) follows this up by remarking that Alexander was attracted by the wealth of this land, which produced all kinds of spices (myrrh, frankincense, nard, cassia, etc.) Moreover, its extensive coastline was well supplied with harbors and excellent ports, and was bordered by prosperous islands. All this was known to Alexander thanks to the reports that the leaders of his expeditions had made.

On the basis of these texts (Arrian, Strabo, and others), scholars have put forward the idea, ever since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, that Alexander planned to create an entirely new commercial network in the Persian Gulf. This idea, prominent in historiography from Montesquieu (1748, 1757) to Droysen (1833, 1877), was forcefully reiterated by Wilcken in 1931:

During his journey [from Pattala] and perhaps beforehand, Alexander kept in view the great plan of finding a way by sea from the Indus to the Tigris and Euphrates, and if he succeeded, of forming a connection between the western empire and his new colonial empire in India; not only would military security and administrative control be facilitated in his Indian possessions, but the trade of India would be connected with that of Hither Asia, and wide perspectives opened to world commerce throughout his Empire. (Wilcken 1967: 194)

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