The Price of Prosperity by Todd G. Buchholz

Author:Todd G. Buchholz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

Alexander may have admired other cultures but he felt no guilt when trumpeting his own superiority or that of Greek culture. A man who carries Homer into battle apologizes for neither heroism nor literacy. This is important, for as we learned in chapter 5, a feeling of exceptionalism (or superiority) creates adhesion and cohesion within a group. While chasing his archrival Darius through the sands of Syria, Alexander forges a letter from Darius insulting the Macedonians. When he reads the fake missive to his council, they rise up and demand retaliation. Alexander then sends a letter to needle the soon-to-be-deposed great king. Alexander pens a simple salutation, “King Alexander to Darius,” avoiding any title for his foe. Then he accuses Darius of bribing mercenaries, fomenting uprisings among the Greeks, and hiring assassins to kill his father, Philip. Then the boasting begins: “First I defeated in battle your generals and satraps; now I have defeated yourself and the army you led. . . . I have made myself responsible for the survivors of your army who fled to me for refuge . . . they are serving of their own free will under my command.” Finally, Alexander offers to give back to Darius his family and his possessions under one condition: “any communication you wish to make with me be addressed to the King of all Asia. Do not write to me as to an equal.”23

We have learned that feelings of superiority are especially needed to keep groups together in the worst of times, so that members believe that they have a chance to recapture their lost pride or lost terrain. Alexander’s troops faced such a moment while fighting in the Hindu Kush. Entering a region known as Sogdiana, the soldiers confronted not the regimented soldiers of Persia, but wild, fearless, horseback-riding guerrilla fighters. An arrow ripped through Alexander’s leg, requiring infantrymen to carry him for several days. When Alexander and his men tried to breach a town called Cyropolis (named after King Cyrus II, the Great), they faced thousands of warriors ready for house-by-house combat. As Alexander stood at the base of a city wall, one Sogdian hoisted up and hurled a heavy stone, which smashed down on Alexander’s head, knocking him cold. He appeared dead, but later revived, groggy and embarrassed. Soon another band of warriors on horseback, the Scythian tribe from the north, joined the Sogdians, together outnumbering the Macedonians. To make matters worse, the Macedonians ran low on drinkable water and, during a multimonth brutally hot siege with temperatures surpassing 110 degrees, dysentery spread through the Companions, bringing even Alexander to a sickbed and possibly to his deathbed. In retreat, this was his least finest hour in battle. The Sogdians and Scythians massacred thousands of Alexander’s Companions. Smelling Macedonian blood, another tribe called the Spitamenes rushed to the scene, unleashing their arrows and catapults. The reign of Alexander could have ended at that moment. But calling upon past glory and relentless determination, Alexander rallied, got out of

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