The Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress located north of

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...

Sogdiana Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empi ...

(near

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

), ruled by

Arimazes Arimazes ( grc, Ἀριμάζης) or Ariomazes ( grc, Ἀριομάζης), was a chief who had possession, in 328 BCE, of a very strong fortress in Sogdiana, usually called the Rock of Ariamazes, which the historian Johann Gustav Droysen identif ...

, was captured by the forces of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

in the early spring of 327 BC as part of his conquest of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

Background

Oxyartes Oxyartes (Old Persian: 𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼, Greek: ''Ὀξυάρτης'', in fa, وخش‌ارد ("Vaxš-ard"), from an unattested form in an Old Iranian language: ''*Huxšaθra-'') was a Sogdian or Bactrian nobleman of Bactria, father o ...

had sent his wife and daughters, one of whom was Roxane, to take refuge in the fortress, as it was thought to be impregnable, and was provisioned for a long

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. When Alexander asked the defenders to surrender, they refused, telling him that he would need "men with wings" to capture it.

The siege

Alexander asked for volunteers, whom he would reward if they could climb the cliffs under the fortress. There were some 300 men who from previous sieges had gained experience in rock-climbing. Using

tent peg A tent peg (or tent stake) is a spike, usually with a hook or hole on the top end, typically made from wood, metal, plastic, or composite material, pushed or driven into the ground for holding a tent to the ground, either directly by attaching to t ...

s and strong

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

en lines, they climbed the cliff face at night, losing about 30 of their number during the ascent. In accordance with Alexander's orders, they signalled their success to the troops below by waving bits of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

, and Alexander sent a herald to tell the defenders that if they looked up, they would see that he had found his winged men. The defenders were so surprised and demoralised by this that they surrendered, even though they outnumbered the mountaineers by a hundred to one and Alexander's main force still had no way to reach the summit. The defenders had thought that the Rock was impregnable, and with one bold stroke Alexander showed them how wrong they were. The enemy's quick surrender validated Alexander's insightful use of psychological warfare.

Aftermath

Alexander is said to have fallen in love with Roxane on sight. The Macedonians claimed that Roxane was "the loveliest woman they had seen in Asia, with the one exception of Darius' wife". From Sogdian Rock, Alexander advanced into Parsetakene which contained another supposedly impregnable craggy fortress known as the Rock of Chorienes, but it was no match for Alexander and it was soon captured. From there Alexander went to

Bactra ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

while he sent

Craterus Craterus or Krateros ( el, Κρατερός; c. 370 BC – 321 BC) was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life he was a loyal royalist and supporter of Alexander the Great.Anson, Edward M. (20 ...

with a division of the Macedonian army to complete the pacification of Parsetakene. Alexander remained at Bactra, preparing for his expedition across the Hindu-Kush into

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It was while in Bactra that he married Roxana.

Historiography

The story of the siege of the Sogdian Rock is told in many histories, but it is based on the history written by the Greek historian

Arrian of Nicomedia Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the bes ...

, in his '' Anabasis'' (section 4.18.4-19.6). However P. J. Rhodes points out that "this version f eventsproduces a very empty 328 and a very full early 327, so we should probably prefer the alternative tradition. In this second tradition instead of the Sogdian Rock and the Rock of Chorienes the same stratagems are used against the Rock of Arimazes and the Rock of Sisimithres in the summer of 328".

Notes

References

* * * * * *{{Citation , last=Savill , first=Agnes , year=1990 , chapter=Chapter VI: The Rocks to the Hydaspes, Winter 328 to May 326 B.C. , title=Alexander the Great and His Time , series=Dorset Oress Reprints Series , edition=2, reprint, illustrated , publisher=Barnes & Noble Publishing , isbn=9780880295918 , page
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93 Battles of Alexander the Great 327 BC 320s BC conflicts Ancient Central Asia