BBC - In the footsteps of Alexander (Kabul) 16

In the footsteps of Alexander the Great

Alexander then set off in pursuit of Darius again, first into Media, and then Parthia.[94] The Persian king was no longer in control of his destiny, having been taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman.[95] As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius' successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Alexander.[96] Darius' remains were buried by Alexander next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a full regal funeral.[97] Alexander claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the Achaemenid throne.[98] The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with the death of Darius.

Alexander, now considering himself the legitimate successor to Darius, viewed Bessus as a usurper to the Achaemenid throne, and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia, with Alexander founding a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan. The campaign took Alexander through Media, Parthia, Aria (West Afghanistan), Drangiana, Arachosia (South and Central Afghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan), and Scythia.

During this time, Alexander took the Persian title "King of Kings" (Shahanshah) and adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis, either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians paid to their social superiors.[103][104] The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of deities and believed that Alexander meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him much in the sympathies of many of his countrymen.[104] A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers, Philotas, was executed for failing to bring the plot to his attention. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus Parmenion, who had been charged with guarding the treasury at Ecbatana, was assassinated by command of Alexander, so he might not make attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Alexander personally slew the man who had saved his life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, during a drunken argument at Maracanda.[105] Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against his life was revealed, this one instigated by his own royal pages. His official historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus (who had fallen out of favor with the king by leading the opposition to his attempt to introduce proskynesis), was implicated in the plot; however, there has never been consensus among historians regarding his involvement in the conspiracy

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[StanMyMan66]

This must be an expanded DVD version....my VHS copies do not have some of the scenes here.

[alexandros1821]

This is the complete video documentary from BBC. Are you sure your VHS recorder didnt stop recording during the Kabul peice ?

:)

[aalexander928]

What horror perpetrated on the artifacts at the Kabul museum but even more so against the Afghan people!

[aalexander928]

Unfortunately, events have become worse. The US uses depleted uranium & other atomic discards in weapons. The extent of the New World Order is more than even Alexander the Great and his fellow Greeks could imagine.

[parshiwal887]

@0Edgetho

this documentary was shot during taliban rule......

[parshiwal887]

@0Edgetho ... i will agree partly, since america has a fair share in making of taliban and al-qaeda... thats past now.... i guess its the nature of the super-power,.. they want to keep everybody under their thumb... whether its alexander or muslims of 8th century or romans, greeks... time changes but not the instinct..

[0Edgetho]

@parshiwal887 Not saying the US hasn't brutalized their fair share of Afghanistan, but this documentary was shot in the 90s, before 9/11 and the American led invasion. America has a lot to answer for, but what you see here isn't part of it.

[parshiwal887]

the devastation that US led troops caused is far superior to alexander's......... use of uranium weapons. carpet bombings... flattening whole villages....... such a shame

[nikos50100]

@sandow1000 my friend i am greek so i think that i have the major right to speak about my ancestor.

[Graham6762]

it was a civil war not an invasion

[AFGpersiangirl]

@BlackThoughtChannel

:)

[camomilleable11]

Who destroyed everything? illoim havari murdesh biet.

[alifia23]

@aalexander928 not for long