The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; , ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who rul ...

in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. The '' Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the campaigns of

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

, specifically his conquest of the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

between 336 and 323 BC. The ''Anabasis'' is by far the fullest surviving account of Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire. It is primarily a military history, reflecting the content of Arrian's model, Xenophon's ''Anabasis''; the work begins with Alexander's accession to the Macedonian throne in 336 BC, and has nothing to say about Alexander's early life (in contrast, say, to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's ''Life of Alexander''). Nor does Arrian aim to provide a complete history of the Greek-speaking world during Alexander's reign.

Historical Background

Both the unusual title "Anabasis" (literally "a journey up-country from the sea") and the work's seven-book structure reflect Arrian's emulation (in structure, style, and content) of the Greek historian

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

, whose own '' Anabasis'' in seven books concerned the earlier campaign "up-country" of

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...

in 401 BC. Arrian's Anabasis is our most complete account of Alexander's campaigns. Arrian writes his own anabasis roughly 400 years after the campaigns of Alexander occured. As such, he relies on several participants in the campaigns as primary sources for his writings. His main sources for his own writing are Ptolemy and Aristobulus. Arrian relies on the lost contemporary histories of Alexander's campaign by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

and Aristobulus and, for his later books,

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at t ...

. One of Arrian's main aims in writing his history seems to have been to correct the standard "Vulgate" narrative of Alexander's reign that was current in his own day, primarily associated with the lost writings of the historian Cleitarchus. Ptolemy was a general within the army and would later become a king in his own right, establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Ptolemy’s writings are thought to have exaggerated his own role within the campaign. He also actively excluded detailing the successes of his rivals, following the death of Alexander. Ptolemy also reconfigured his closeness to Alexander alluding that they were half brothers, which we know is not the case. This was likely to boost his status, potentially leading him to his monarchical position. Aristobulus is thought to have been a military engineer or some other non-fighting member of the army. His writings are seemingly more favorable towards Alexander. When compared between multiple sources he always seems to be the kindest towards the King.

Content

The ''Anabasis'' gives a broadly chronological account of the reign of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

(336–323 BC), with a particular focus on military matters. After a short Preface concerning Arrian's sources, the seven books describe the reign of Alexander the Great. Book 1: This book covers the early years of Alexander's reign (336–334 BC), including notable descriptions of Alexander's sack of Thebes in 335 and the battle of the Granicus in summer 334 BC. It also details the siege and capture of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

, and the siege and destruction of

Halicarnassus Halicarnassus ( ; Latin: ''Halicarnassus'' or ''Halicarnāsus''; ''Halikarnāssós''; ; Carian language, Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 ''alos k̂arnos'') was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia.

. Book 2: The majority of this book is dominated by three large set-piece military operations: the campaign and battle of Issus (333 BC) and the sieges of Tyre and Gaza (332 BC). This book also recounts the defeat of King Darius of Persia and how Alexander treated Darius's family after his death. The trial of the

Gordian Knot The cutting of the Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordium in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. In 33 ...

is also included in this book. Arrian

Book 3: Book three begins with an account of Alexander in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, including his visit to the oracle of Zeus-Ammon at Siwah (winter 332/331 BC), before turning to the battle of Gaugamela and defeat of Darius III (331 BC). The latter half of the book describes Alexander's pursuit of Darius through northern Iran, the revolt of the pretender Bessus, and the deaths of Philotas and

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; ; 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief military lieutenant and Alexander's ...

(331–329 BC). Book 4: This book begins with describing the long

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, 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 Achaemen ...

n campaign of 329–327 BC against Bessus,

Spitamenes Spitamenes (Old Persian ''Spitamana''; Greek ''Σπιταμένης''; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlordHolt, Frank L. (1989), ''Alexander the Great and Bactria: the Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia'', Leiden, New York, Co ...

, and Oxyartes, and the early stages of the campaigns in the Punjab (327–326 BC), with a notable departure from chronological sequence at 4.7–14, where Arrian collects many of the most notorious stories tending to Alexander's discredit in a single apologetic digression (the killing of Cleitus, the proskynesis affair, the pages' conspiracy and the death of Callisthenes). Book 5: This book continues the narrative of the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great of 326 BC, including Alexander's arrival at Nysa, the battle with Porus at the Hydaspes river, and the decision at the Hyphasis not to push on further into

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Book 6: The journey down the Indus to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

(326–325 BC) is described, including the increasingly brutal violence inflicted on the local inhabitants by the Macedonians ''en route'' (notably at the Malli town), and the crossing of the Gedrosian Desert (325–324 BC). This book also details a worrying injury for Alexander and the worrying of his soldiers as he suffered. Later followed by his recovery. Book 7: The last of the books recounts the events of Alexander's final year, including the

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

marriages, the Opis mutiny, the multiple predictions and omens of Alexander's own death, the death of Hephaestion, and Alexander's own death (324–323 BC). The very end of this book concludes with speculation about how Alexander died, and whether it was by poisoning or something else.

Criticism

Arrian's ''Anabasis'' has traditionally been regarded as the most reliable extant narrative source for Alexander's campaigns. Since the 1970s, however, a more critical view of Arrian has become widespread, due largely to the work of A. B. Bosworth, who has drawn scholars' attention to Arrian's tendency to

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

and apologia, not to mention several passages where Arrian can be shown (by comparison with other ancient sources) to be downright misleading. As A. B. Bosworth claims Arrian is inexperienced when it comes to primary source collection and evaluation. He writes that Arrian is a skillful writer, but his work on Alexander can't be viewed as good historiography if his material selection is poor. Arrian is known to idealize Alexander often writing of him as saint or god. This does not, however, mean that Arrian's writing is unusable. Arrian's work is still the most complete historiography of Alexander's campaigns. And, given Ptolemy and Aristobulus' works are lost it is a difficult task separating Arrian's own ideas from their previous writings.

Modern editions

The only complete English translation of Arrian available online is a rather antiquated translation by E. J. Chinnock, published in 1884. The original Greek text used by the

Perseus Digital Library The Perseus Digital Library, formerly known as the Perseus Project, is a free-access digital library founded by Gregory Crane in 1987 and hosted by the Department of Classical Studies of Tufts University. One of the pioneers of digital libraries, ...

is the standard A. G. Roos Teubner edition published at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in 1907. Probably the most widely used scholarly English translation is the

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

edition (with facing Greek text), in two volumes. The work first appeared in 1929 and was later revised with a new introduction and appendices by P. A. Brunt in 1976. An English translation by Aubrey de Sélincourt appeared in

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Korean language, Korean amon ...

in 1958. This edition was revised and annotated by J. R. Hamilton in 1971. The '' Landmark Ancient Histories'', edited by Robert B. Strassler, includes ''The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander'', edited by James Romm (Professor of

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, 2010) and translated by Pamela Mensch. The Landmark edition includes extensive margin notes and maps on every other page. A new translation by Martin Hammond with introduction and notes by John Atkinson appeared in the '' Oxford World's Classics'' series in 2013.Arrian, M Hammond, J Atkinson �
Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica
Oxford University Press, 2013 etrieved 2015-05-07/ref>

References

External links