The Murder of Alexander the Great: Book 1 - The Puranas by Ajith Kumar

Author:Ajith Kumar
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Argead Star LLC
Published: 2019-12-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23: Location of the Greek Fort in Patala

Alexander reached Patala at the time of the rising of the Dog Star, during the rainy season in July 325 BC.[291] Patala was a mystic realm, mysterious even to the Indians.

At Patala, on approaching the southern sea, according to Curtius, Alexander excitedly told his men, “We could now, without the hazard of fighting, without any bloodshed, make the whole world our own. Even nature herself could advance no farther, and within a short time we would see what was known to none but the immortal gods.”[292]

He had planned to sail on the Arabian Sea with his armada of 2,000 boats along the Iranian coast to reach Babylon. He was surprised by the high waves in the Arabian Sea, which was extremely violent when compared to the mild Mediterranean Sea. Alexander had never seen the great oceans before. From July to December, the forceful winds from the sea blow towards the land, and the ships could not sail along the coast to Persia.

Inevitably, the geographical conditions compelled Alexander to set up his temporary capital at Patala. Arrian says: “He sent men into the adjacent country, which was waterless, to dig wells and to render the land fit for habitation.”[293]

Alexander built a large fort in Patala. “Hephaestion was then ordered to prepare what was requisite for the fortification of the harbour, and the construction of a dockyard, for here at the city of Patala, which stands where the river Indus bifurcates, he meant to leave behind a very considerable naval squadron.”[294]

He built a fort and a naval port at the mouth of the Indus, in the region of Saurashtra (modern Girnar and Bharuch), and the large army settled down here for about four months. Alexander marked the southern boundary of his global empire here by building an altar and he offered sacrifices to the gods. “Sailing again down to the lake, he there constructed another harbour and dockyard; and leaving a garrison for the place, he collected sufficient food to supply the army for four months.”[295]

In the meantime, he ordered the building of several cities in Patala, and ordered his generals, Nearchus and Onesecritus, who were experienced navigators, to sail with the biggest ships far into the ocean, to make themselves acquainted with the nature of the sea.[296] As a monument of his achievements, he founded in those parts the city of Barce. Having advanced to the world’s end, where the surrounding deserts barred his further progress and the seas were no longer navigable, he erected altars, and on departing left one of his friends to be governor of the Indians.[297]

The Greek warlords who subsequently followed Alexander into this region occupied these cities and ruled Patala for many centuries thereafter. “The Greeks took possession, not only of Patala, but also, on the rest of the coast, what is called the kingdom of Saraostus [Saurashtra] and Sigerdis [Sagar Dweep, meaning an island].”[298]

The exact location of the Greek fort at Patala has been a matter of some controversy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.