Alexander the Great’s Middle East outpost discovered
Jeanne:
August 8th, 2007
The exploits of Alexander the Great have been chronicled for centuries. Alexander was undoubtedly one of the most prolific explorers of his time. Born in 356BC, he had by the age of thirty conquered huge swathes of territory across Africa and Asia. In a quest to gain a better grasp the Greek ruler’s exploits, archaeologists are currently examining the remains of what appears to be one of Alexander’s Middle East outposts. The ruins of this outpost are located on the island of Failaka, currently occupied by Kuwait. For Alexander, the island’s location would have been highly strategic. Situated only a short distance away from the mouth of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the island would have provided the perfect location from which Alexander could have exploited the thriving Mesopotamian economy.
Archeologists believe that this Middle Eastern outpoint was created by one of Alexander’s key generals, Nearchus, around the 4th century BC. The ruins include a cemetery and citadel. According to archaeologists, these buildings reflect Hellenistic architectural influences. However, the ancient buildings also bear the hallmarks of recent conflicts in the Middle East. In particular, a number of these structures have suffered damage from rocket fire during the 1990 Gulf War.
Archaeologists hope that the Failaka findings will provide them with further information about Hellenistic civilizations in Africa and Asia. There is already evidence to suggest that Greek ideas were flourishing in parts of Egypt and south Asia during this period. Indeed, some historians have described the unprecedented impact of Alexander’s conquests as ‘one of the first examples of globalization’. Ancient inscriptions found in the southern Iraqi town of Basra suggest that Alexander’s influence was keenly felt across the Middle East. Written in Greek and Babylonian, these inscriptions suggest the existence of a ancient civilization strongly structured around class. However, these writings date back to several years after Alexander demise, suggesting that Hellenistic influences remained strong in this part of the world long after the death of the Greek emperor.
Failaka’s strategic location was widely recognized by a number of early armies. Prior to the arrival of the Greeks, the island also served as the westernmost outpost of the Bronze Age Dilmun civilization – a collection of ancient people which inhabited modern day Bahrain.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
W. W. TARN: Alexander the Great and theUnity of Mankind. (From the Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. XIX.) Pp. 46.London : Milford, 1933. Paper, 2s. 6d. IN this thoughttul and thought-compelling paper Dr. Tarn presents Alexander in a somewhat unfamiliar light as the first propounder of the gospel of universal goodwill among mankind. The main lines of his argument are that ( I ) Alexander visualized nothing less than this ; (2) among earlier Greek thinkers 6p6uoiawas usually meant to begin and end at home ;(3) the Stoic 6p6vora was in the first instance borrowed from Alexander, and then reduced from a vital force to an inert gas by equation with the pre-existent cosmic harmony. The crux of this theory may be sought in Eratosthenes’ account of Alexander’s philosophy(quoted by Strabo, 1. 66). Here Alexander’s 6pbvora is confined to the select class of cd85~ipoi&v8per. But the context suggests that (unlikethe Stoics) Alexander reckoned the sheep as far more numerous than the goats. Dr. Tarn admits that the germs of Alexander’s idea might be found in earlier Greek thought. It may be worth recalling that Alcidamas reckoned all men as @v’ucr ihehBrpor, and that Isocrates sold the pass of Greek privilege when he defined Hellenism as a matter of culture,not of race. But, as Dr. Tarn aptly insists, Alexander’s o,u^voza connoted more than absence of racial privilege, and the king reckoned it his duty not merely to recognize fraternity which others had brought about, but himself to sow its seeds on every soil (except the stoniest). Dr. Tarn’s paper confirms the view which he has put forth elsewhere-a view also expressed in Wilcken’s great work on Alexander-that the Macedonian king was not only one of theancient world’s great practitioners, but one of its great visionaries. ,V.CARY.C’niversity of London.