Drink and the Burdens of Command

In the vast area of Bactria, Alexander founded more towns, and he married a local chieftain's daughter, Roxana, apparently more for good relations with a local ruler than for love. Alexander was still ignoring Aristotle's advice, for he was treating non-Greeks as kinsmen, which encouraged local peoples to treat him as a liberator and to join forces with him.

Alexander was concerned about his image among Persians, and, to match his court to the expectations of his new subjects and courtiers in the East, he began to discard the Macedonian custom of openness with which he could be addressed. As king of the East he began borrowing from the pomp of the Persian throne, and those who came to see him had to prostrate themselves before him in recognition of his divinity. This was easily accepted by the Persians and other easterners, but Alexander's troops found it embarrassing and considered it a part of the slavishness and inferiority of Eastern people.

Alexander took more Persians into his ranks, including Darius' brother as one of his companion soldiers. One of Alexander's most trusted commanders, Cleitus, who had saved his life at Granicus, was offended by Macedonians having to petition Persians for an audience with their own king, and he objected to positions of command passing to Persians. While Alexander and his companions were having one of their wine parties, Alexander and Cleitus argued. Alexander tried to strike Cleitus but was held back by others. Alexander called on his trumpeter to sound the call for help, but the trumpeter refused. A bodyguard named Ptolemy pulled Cleitus out of the room. Cleitus returned and Alexander, thinking that Cleitus was attacking, ran him through with a pike and killed him. Then Alexander noticed that Cleitus had not been armed, and he realized that Cleitus had not returned to kill him. For days Alexander lay on his bed filled with remorse and taking no food. Then he recovered and made a sacrifice to appease the god of wine, Dionysus.

1. Learn the following words:

2. Match the equivalents:

3. Find English equivalents in the text. Make up your own sentences with them:

1.Пренебрегать советом; 2.объединить силы; 3.признавать;4.неловкий; 5.спасти жизнь; 6.захотеть; 7.быть безоружным; 8.раскаиваться; 9.отказываться от еды; 10.утихомирить богов.

4. Answer the questions:

1. What was Alexander’s attitude to the local peoples of Bactria?

2. What did Alexander do to match his image of a liberator among the Persians?

3. Why couldn’t Alexander’s army accept some of the Persians customs?

4. How was Cleitus killed?

Into India and back to Susa

After two years in Bactria, the king of an area by the Indus River -- which had been a part of the Persian Empire -- declared himself an ally of Alexander and requested Alexander's help against a rival kingdom. In the summer of 327, Alexander and his army started a 400-mile journey to India, arriving there in the spring of 326. By the Hydaspes River, Alexander's army of 16,000 confronted the force of the rival king -- an army of 34,200 men, with elephants, chariots and cavalry and archers. Typical of his other battles, Alexander avoided a center confrontation by taking the initiative. He attacked the enemy's flank, compelling the enemy to rearrange his forces, and he took advantage of the enemy's confusion and imbalance. Alexander lost 990 men. The other side lost 2,180 and the battle.

Alexander hoped to advance to the Ganges River and make it his eastern border, but after a march of a hundred miles his troops refused to go farther east. With his Macedonians troops Alexander was still a leader by persuasion, as warrior-kings were traditionally unable to persuade them to continue, and seeing what he thought were unfavorable omens, he and his men returned to the Hydaspes River and began their return to Susa. They journeyed south along the Hydaspes to the Indus River and down the Indus to the Arabian Sea. Some of Alexander's entourage boarded ships, Alexander and the others began a murderous march of fifteen hundred miles through mountainous and dry terrain to Persepolis, then another three hundred miles to Susa -- a journey that began in September, 325, and ended in the spring of 324.

1. Learn the following words:

2. Match the equivalents:

3. Find English equivalents in the text. Make up your own sentences with them:

1.Объявить себя союзниками; 2.сталкиваться с силами противника; 3.брать инициативу; 4.использовать преимущество; 5.неблагоприятные признаки; 6.смертоносный поход; 7.засушливая местность.

4. Answer the questions:

1. How did Alexander manage to win the battle in India?

2. Why did Alexander and his army have to return to Susa?

3. What was their march to Susa like?

Tests

Variant 1

1. Complete the text with the following words:

Peoples daughter soldiers encouraged demobilized generous mobility educated integrated fathers

Plans, Death and Myth

During Alexander's absence some of his local governors had lusted after more power, had recruited private armies and had abused local (1)_________.When Alexander returned he listened to charges against the governors, and he had most of them executed. Then he continued his policy of integrating his forces with local people. He (2)_________ his officers to take local women as wives. He set an example by taking two more wives for himself. And one of them, Stateira, was a (3)_________of Darius, which added legitimacy to Alexander's claim of kingship over the Persians.

Some ten thousand of Alexander's (4)_________are said to have married local women. These soldiers received (5)________dowries, were demobilized and sent home. Their wives and children stayed in the East, where the children were to be maintained and (6)________in Greek ways, at state expense, and to be handed over to their (7)_________when they reached adulthood.

Alexander replaced the (8)_________soldiers with Persian troops, which outraged some of his remaining veterans. But Alexander was undeterred. With new troops that arrived from Macedonia, Alexander created an …..(9)_________force, with Macedonians in the front rank, carrying pikes, and Persians in rows behind them with swords and javelins. It was a force with greater (10)_________ than before and a creation that was to be adopted by the Roman Republic.

2. Match the words with definitions:

3. Are these statements TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false statements:

1. Alexander praised the governors for their deeds.

2. Alexander wanted his officers to marry local women to gain the assimilation with local people.

3. Alexander proved his right to rule the Persians by killing Darius and all the members of his family.

4. The children of Alexander’s solders had to leave their mothers in the East and get their education in Greece.

5. Alexander’s solders didn’t approve his decision to recruit some new troops from the Persians.

Variant 2

1. Complete the text with the following words: