A debate about Alexander – just for the fun of it

How often has Alexander the Great been at the center of a debate during his lifetime and more so during the 2,400 years following his death? No computer could keep track, I am sure!

Yet, today, just for the fun of it, I’d like to share one of the most recent debates that is centered around a mosaic that was found at Huqoq in Israel among the ruins of a synagogue dating from Roman times – not the first area that comes to mind when talking about Alexander but very much worth the argument.

Going by the picture, this mosaic looks rather confusing at first glance.

[Picture by Mark Thiessen for National Geographic]

It has been dated to the fifth century AD and it obviously shows a meeting of two high-ranking figures, one of which can be defined as a great general leading his troops. The scenes include elephants equipped for battle, which either could refer to Alexander the Great or to one of his Seleucid successors who often used elephants in their armies. Unfortunately, this mosaic, unlike most antique and Byzantine examples, does not carry any inscription. This basically means that your guess is as good as mine for even scholars cannot agree among themselves who is who or what is what. The reason for the absence of labels may simply be that everyone at that time knew exactly who was depicted here – an evidence that is lost to the modern viewer.

Theory No. 1

Reading the mosaic from bottom to top, the leader of the army is none other than Alexander the Great meeting with the high priest of Jerusalem – an event that never took place but that emerged in historical fiction in later centuries. It is a widespread tale that almost naturally resulted from the conqueror’s fame and many people, including the Jews, liked to associate themselves with his fame and greatness. The central part of the picture shows the high priest of Jerusalem (the bearded man in the center) surrounded by other priests or nobles who are at the city gates to welcome Alexander.  In the top part, the high priest and his retinue meet Alexander and his army that includes battle elephants. Alexander wears the attributes of a Greek king and military commander, i.e. a purple cloak and a ribbon in his hair that equaled the royal diadem.

Theory No. 2

The bottom part of the mosaic depicts a Seleucid attack led by Antiochus VII in 132 BC. Among the soldiers, we see an elephant and a bull killed by spears hurled down by Jerusalem’s defenders onto the invading army from atop the city walls. The middle part tells us what is happening inside Jerusalem during the battle with young men grasping their swords, ready to fight. The two leaders in the top part are John Hyrcanus I on the left and Antiochus VII on the right as both are negotiating a truce in the presence of their troops. As a true successor of Alexander the Great, the Seleucid leader wears a purple cloak and the royal Greek diadem. It should be added that the day of the truce is a Jewish feast, meaning that we see Antiochus offering the Judeans a bull to be sacrificed in their temple.

The theory about Alexander the Great reminds me of Alexander’s Mausoleum in Alexandria, Egypt that is not mentioned by any traveller in antiquity, simply because everybody knew it was there…

So, why or to what purpose this mosaic at Huqoq was made remains a mystery and so far, there is no watertight explanation that could fit all the details of the mosaic.

Arsemia, the summer capital of the Commagene Kingdom

Very few people have heard of the Commagene Kingdom, and even less of Arsemia. Well, to be honest, I hadn’t either till I visited Mount Nemrud (see: Nemrud, as close as you can come to the gods) a few years ago.

 

Arsemia, once the summer residence of the Commagene kings, is located sixty kilometers from Adiyaman. At the foot of this ancient city, there is a magnificent relief representing Heracles (or maybe Artagnes, a Persian deity whom the Greeks identified with Heracles) shaking hands with King Mithridates of Commagene from around 50 BC, and next to it is located the greatest Greek inscription of Anatolia. This sounds interesting enough for anyone to make the detour to visit the place, I would say.

There is a special path, once used for religious ceremonies that leads up the mountain with a statue pointing towards the temple. About one hundred meters farther stands what is called a Dexiosis relief, i.e. the abovementioned handshake. Nearby are several rooms cut from the rocky cliffs that were used for religious ceremonies. Further uphill still, one discovers the large Greek inscription telling about the political intentions and the religious beliefs of the Commagene Kingdom and mentioning Arsemia as its capital. It also states that Mithridates, the father of King Antiochus I, was buried here. Just beneath this inscription is a stairway running 158 meters down into the depth of the rocks and this once was the entrance to Arsemia which is now blocked. It would be interesting to learn what future excavations may reveal. Above the inscription, another path runs up the mountainside towards the remains of the Arsemia Palace and its mosaic floors.

 

It was King Antiochus I (Theos – signifying his divinity -  Dikaios Epiphanes Philoromaios Philhellen of Commagene) who built the city in honor of this father, King Mithridates I Callinicus. Due to its location, it soon became a military fortress, now to be found next to the modern town of Eski Kale and still showing well preserved walls and parapets. Antiochus’ mother was nobody less than Laodike, daughter of the Seleucid King Antiochus VII Grypos who ruled Commagene from around 69 to ca 31 BC.

 

About a mile outside Arsemia there are the remains of a Roman bridge built in honor of Septimius Severus around 200 AD. Here I can pick up the link for I crossed this very bridge on my way to Mount Nemrud. It has been erected at the narrowest point of the River Cedere and it is said that its 34 meters clear span makes it the second largest extant arch bridge ever built by the Romans.

 

There must be a second Arsemia on the Euphrates, at the modern location of Gerger, where Antiochus I set up a similar religious centre in honor of his father. Gee, there is still so much to discover and to see!

[Pictures from The Velvet Rocket Magazine]