Sogdian Rocks and Alexander’s Fort in Nurata (Central Asia 12a)

[11a - In early 327 BC, Alexander attacks the Sogdian Rocks of Ariamazes (= Sogdian) and Chorienes (= Sisimithres). Arrian and Curtius disagree on the location and the chronology.]

Having spent the harshest part of the winter 328/327 BC in either Maracanda or Nautaca, Alexander set out to capture the last mountain fortresses, the last sites of opposition in his eyes. We know that he passed the location of the Branchidae massacre of the year before. Nearby, he found a mountain stronghold sheltering some thirty thousand people, allegedly with ample supplies. The king sent an envoy up the high precipitous rock to parley the rebels into surrender, but Ariamazes, the commander, refused and simply dared the king’s army to come after him “if they could fly.” Well, we know they could, as Alexander sent up some three hundred volunteers to climb the back of the sheer mountain – 270 of them made it to the top. When he received the signal that they had reached the summit, it was the king’s turn to taunt Ariamazes. He told him to look up and see that his soldiers could indeed fly. That is how the fort fell into Alexander’s hands.

The Uzbek archaeologist E. Rtveladze has concluded that the Sogdian Rock offered asylum to Oxyartes’ family. He places the fort on the very border between Bactria and Sogdiana near the Iron Gates in the valley of the Shurob River, west of Derbent. This location is shared by Pierre Briant (Alexander the Great and his Empire), maybe also because archaeologists have recently found a Macedonian stone catapult ball near the Iron Gates on the Shurob River.

Shortly afterward, Alexander attacked the Chorienes Rock, also called the Rock of Sisimithres. Arrian and Curtius are not too helpful in placing events in the correct order and manage to jumble both attacks together. Frank Holt has closely studied the ancient writers and concludes that Arrian’s Rock of Chorienes seems to be that of Sisimithres mentioned by Curtius, Plutarch, and Strabo. At the same time, Arrian places Roxane in the context of the Rock of Sogdiana. Time-wise, this siege was set in the winter of 328/327 BC by some, but it seems more probable that spring was late and that Alexander experienced a sort of second winter in the early months of 327 BC. To make things even more complicated, Pierre Briant (Alexander the Great and his Empire) points out the location of three forts: The Kyrk-kyz or Rock of Chorienes, the Derbent-Sarymas or Rock of Ariamazes, and the Akrabat or Rock of Sisimithres. Moreover, a German-Uzbek archaeological team has recently located a fort whose oldest remains date from 328 BC, from Alexander’s days. The Kurganzol Fortress, as it is called, is located east of Derbent in Uzbekistan, but I couldn’t figure out if this fort matches one of the two or three known forts.    

       

We are sure that the citadel of Chorienes was no less formidable than that of Ariamazes. This stronghold took full advantage of the steep terrain, protected by a narrow defile and a raging river, reinforced by a strong wall. It was cramped with fugitives from other, less fortified places who sought protection. Alexander first attacked the fortified pass in the freezing cold with his battering rams. The second obstacle he faced was a deep ravine with a waterfall that he had to bridge. Once Alexander had made up his mind, nothing could stop him – we know that, but still. He organized the operation to take charge personally during the daytime, while his generals Perdiccas, Ptolemy, and Leonnatus took over at night. Round-the-clock work, which not only impresses us but, most of all, must have fascinated the rebels. The king had the ravine filled with a framework of piles and wickerwork filled with earth, slowly bringing him ever closer to the fortress level. Sooner or later, Sisimithres must have realized that he had no means to match the technology of his adversary; Alexander’s engineering and firing powers were more than he could take. The warlord was ready to parley with the king’s envoys. According to some sources, Oxyartes (Roxane's father), held captive after the Chorienes Rock was captured by Alexander’s forces, presently talked Sisimithres into surrendering.

At this stage of his conquests, the king treated the remaining Sogdian chieftains well. He may have executed Ariamazes and his kin, but he handled Oxyartes and others in a much milder way, often restoring the warlords to their ancestral position. It seems that Alexander finally rallied to the policy previously used by the Persian King, which consequently led to less opposition from the Sogdian side. During these fierce wintery times, supplies were short as the Macedonian army was caught in snow and freezing temperatures. Still, the recently conquered forts and their “commanders” readily shared their provisions. Chorienes alone offered a two-month’s ration for the entire army, distributing grain, wine, and dried meat from his storerooms. Arrian states that by this gesture, Chorienes had not even shared one-tenth of his provisions – something to think about, I would say.

Many more forts, generally less spectacular than these ones, must have been taken, but the Chorienes Rock signaled the beginning of a new era.

Around this time, Alexander must have laid eyes on Roxane, one of Oxyartes’ daughters, made captive with her family during the siege of the Sogdian Rock…

Click here to read Episode 12b of  Central Asia.

Jaxartes River and the Iron Gates (Central Asia 6)

[5 - Alexander moved to the end of the Persian Empire on the Jaxartes River (modern Syr Darya) through the Iron Gates (the only road east out of Maracanda), over Jizzak and Uratube.]

On my travel across Uzbekistan, I happen to drive on the road from Samarkand to Tashkent, which inevitably passes through the Gates of Tamerlane or Iron Gates, i.e. the only way to go east from Samarkand – now as it was in antiquity. This narrow passage is just wide enough to let the Sanzar River run through, flanked by a railroad and our main road. The lush grasses along the river offer good grazing grounds for a handful of cows and goats – a timeless picture, no doubt. In short, this pass is worth of Thermopylae, an easy place to defend.

It is obvious that history has been written here over the centuries and Alexander was no exception. Spirits from the past still seem to haunt the present carried by the winds squeezed at increasing speed between these steep rocky walls. On either side of the pass, these same walls once carried two Persian inscriptions; one telling about Ulugbek’s campaigns (the grandson of Tamerlane); the other about the brutal murder of Abdullah Khan, son of Iskandar Khan. Luckily both panels have been removed and placed in the care of the museum because the walls are desperately defaced with horrible screaming graffiti. Isn’t there a law against this? There is, but nobody seems to reinforce it. A dreadful sight for such a historic location!

It should be noted that there are two places in Uzbekistan labeled as “Iron Gates”. There is this one, on the road out of Central Asia to the east and there is a place south of Samarkand near Derbent which I mentioned above when Ptolemy went in pursuit of Bessus (I have not seen it for myself). Useless to mention that this adds to the confusing in locating Alexander’s path through Bactria and Sogdiana.

We drive on through Jizzak, an uneventful place. Further north we unexpectedly have to take a detour because of the intricate jigsaw puzzle borderline with Kazakhstan. The main road runs right through that foreign enclave, a complicated situation with customs and passport control we rather avoid by driving around it. We loose precious time, as far as I’m concerned for when we finally reach the Jaxartes River, of which I had such high hopes, it is pitch dark. The beams of the bridge flash by against a black void where the Jaxartes is said to run. What a disappointment that is.

This is one of the places of which we know for sure that Alexander was here and now I can’t see it! In the summer of 329 BC, he entered Maracanda, but not for long as he badly needed to secure the borders of his newly acquired empire which the Persians had set along the Jaxartes River (Syr Darya). On this occasion, he must have passed through these very same Iron Gates and the city of Jizzak to reach the Jaxartes which I didn’t see. So much for tracing Alexander in this corner of Uzbekistan!

[Click here to see all my pictures of the Iron Gates]
Click here to read Episode 7 of Central Asia .

Catching Bessus near today’s Shahrisabz (Central Asia 4)

[3 - Although it was Ptolemy who is said to ride to Nautaca to collect Bessus taken prisoner by local warlords in late June 329 BC, Alexander also crossed the Pamir Mountains between Maracanda and modern Shahrisabz as Nautaca is called now.]

Nautaca is one of those controversial places where history has lost its trail but most likely it matches modern Shahrisabz or Shahr-i-Sabz, which during the Middle Ages was also called Kashka (claimed by some to be Karshi). In any case, only a rough 50 kilometers separate both towns, both halfway between the Oxus River and Samarkand and I’m not going to settle this matter but stick to Shahrisabz as the Uzbeks generally do. [Edward Rtveladze points out that Nautaca has to be situated on the ancient site of Uzunkir, nine kilometers northwest of modern Kitab]. In any case, this is where the story of Bessus unfolds, the official satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana as well as self-proclaimed King Artaxerxes V, who was caught at Nautaca that I will follow here – with Alexander, of course.

Bessus, moving in his own satrapy, must have felt pretty secure but the truth was entirely different as his self-proclaimed kingship sent out confusing signals to his subjects who now had to choose between King Artaxerxes V and King Alexander. Who was their rightful king? The Bactrians and Sogdians may not have cared much for the faraway King of Persia but the fact remained that Bessus had killed Darius. The news of Alexander’s army marching in pursuit of the Bactrian usurper had evidently not gone unnoticed. Even to Bactrian standards, a king’s murderer had to be avenged and the population eventually chose the side of Alexander. Applying his scorched earth policy, Bessus had ordered all the food and fodder to be stored within the city walls. It is important to realize this for when these cities welcomed Alexander they gave him free access to the food supplies that had been stashed there. This was certainly not what Bessus had intended or expected.

Meanwhile Alexander was marching north, leaving the Oxus River behind him when scouts reported that Bessus had been located. Allied local warlords Spitamenes and Dataphernes managed to capture him and immediately sent word to Alexander, ready to hand him over. This event took place near Nautaca, i.e. at Shahrisabz. Ptolemy was sent to collect Bessus at high speed as Alexander feared that the usurper might be killed before he could punish him properly for regicide. It is said that Ptolemy covered the distance of 170 miles in four days, following the Shirabad River, and passing the Iron Gates at Derbent, meaning that he covered an average distance of 42.5 miles a day! Poor horses! Alexander meanwhile rode on to Maracanda.

Arrian tells us that when Ptolemy got hold of Bessus, he sent a messenger to Alexander asking how he should present the prisoner to him. Alexander replied that he wished him to be stripped of his clothes and led in a dog collar, a sign of disgrace. He should be standing on the right of the road along which he and his army would pass. When Alexander arrived on the spot he asked Bessus why he had so shamefully treated Darius, his king and kinsman, and why he had murdered him. Bessus’ defense was weak: he wanted to favor Alexander and save his life and that of the men who had remained faithful to him. Bessus was then whipped and sent to Bactria, eventually handed over to Oxyathres, the brother of Darius III who had become one of Alexander’s highest-placed Persian officers in order to be appropriately punishment the Persian way. Plutarch and Diodorus suggest however that Bessus was tied to two bound-together trees, to be subsequently ripped apart when the binding was cut, but it seems more likely that in the end he was crucified like a common murderer.

Whatever truly happened, Alexander was now the one and only King of Persia, the King of Kings. The entire Empire was his to rule.

While the Macedonians were here in Nautaca, most of them got fresh horses as their own mounts were worn out after the forced marches across the Hindu Kush and the desert to the Oxus. It must have been an interesting experience to exchange their fine European or Arabian horses for these shorter Turkmen beasts which were blessed with high strength and endurance. Something to think about. I wonder if I’ll be seeing any horse-herds in the area…

My treat today is a drive over the Pamir Mountains between Samarkand and Shahrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane and the place where he was buried although a splendid tomb was built in his honor in Samarkand. The name Shahrisabz is very well chosen since it means “green city” in Persian. It lies in the fertile valley of the Kashkadarya River where cotton is grown, a pleasant place to live. It always held a soft spot in Tamerlane’s heart …

Soon after leaving Shahrisabz and the irrigation range of the river, I meet a few last cultivated fields and fruit trees before reaching barren land. I stare over the landscape, not an easy terrain. Thinking of Ptolemy and his men dragging Bessus through these open spaces cannot have been without danger. There always could be a faithful tribal leader willing to risk his life to set Bessus free. Houses are sparsely spread over the sandy country where goats, sheep, a few donkeys, and occasional cows bravely roam in search of something edible. From time to time there is a small pond where shepherds bring their flock to drink and in the distance, I see flashes of green where there must be enough water for trees to grow or to irrigate some isolated crops.

Suddenly my bus comes to a halt. What’s happening? I see plenty of cars and vans both on and alongside the road either trying to park or to move on; lots of people, men, women and children randomly walking around or sitting on the ground; pack animals sullenly trudging in between… This is market day, I’m told. Oh yes? In the middle of the road? Of course not. There is a nicely fenced marketplace surrounded by brick walls but from the looks of it, it has burst out of its joints. People, mostly men, walk by with heavy plastic bags; the cars are stuffed to the brim ready to explode with bales, crates, bags, packs, boxes, carpets, etc. Just stuff it inside! Yet nobody is shouting, no loud protests, no magnifying gestures - amazing! This is simply how things are done over here, it seems. Since I have nothing better to do while our bus carefully tries to drive on, one inch at a time, I pick up my camera to illustrate my words. Nobody would believe me otherwise. A few women sit alongside the road next to piles of fluffy rough wool, freshly shaved off the sheep and goats, white, black, or grey – pick your choice. In the shadow of an electric pole, resting on top of a few plastic bags filled with today’s purchases, a young boy is enjoying his apple. What a strange world.

Slowly the Pamir Mountains (old Oxian or Sogdian Mountains) rise up from the horizon, somehow looking exactly as I imagined them to be: rough, rocky, and barren, the western end of a knot of several mountain chains like the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram. They count amongst the highest peaks of the world reaching easily above the 7,000 meters with eternal snow, I am told but fail to see.

I really feel like being on Alexander’s trail out here, heading like him towards Samarkand. It is so incredibly exciting to be traveling along the same route he and his army took, along which Ptolemy dragged Bessus, where the Macedonians drove their newly acquired horses; a road well-known to the Bactrian and Sogdian tribal leaders, men like Spitamenes, Dataphernes, and Catanes. In fact, this is a road Alexander must have taken several times since he spent two winters in Bactra (Balkh) after campaigning in Central Asia for the rest of the year.

[Click here to see all the pictures of Shahrisabz]
Click here to read Episode 5 of  Central Asia