Close Shave at Halincarnassis: Fall 334 BC

[MengJiao]

  Well..historically, Alex did okay at Granicus and many of the satraps of Asia Minor either joined him or had been killed or did not resist successfully.

  Memnon of Rhodes, the Greek "mercenary" (since his wife, Barsine, was the sister of a Satrap, he was more of an official Persian commander) whose "mercenary" command had supposedly been wiped out at Granicus (or was it? the sources are contradictory) was put in charge of the war against Alex.  Which he did by using the Persian fleet based in Halicarnassis.


  After falling in a river and getting a new mom (here is Wikipedia on this odd detour of Alex's:
Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by her usurping brother. When he died, Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. On the approach of Alexander in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him. Alexander and Ada appear to have formed an emotional connection. He called her "mother", finding her more amicable than his megalomaniacal snake-worshiping mother Olympias. In return for his support, Ada gave Alexander gifts, and even sent him some of the best cooks in Asia Minor, realizing that Alexander had a sweet tooth. In the past, Alexander had referred to his biological father, Philip, as his "so-called" father, and preferred to think of the deity Amon Zeus as his actual father. Thus, he had finally managed to divorce himself from both of his biological parents)

Okay so Alex headed for Halincarnassis, and was about to enter the city by treachery when Memnon opened up on Alex with catapults and unleashed the infantry that had supposedly been wiped out at Granicus.  Apparently, this was one of those 10 or 15 times where only luck saved Alex from a messy death.  Here's what that might have looked like in game terms (Alex is rallying his men, Memnon is attacking and the Macedonian Hypasts off-map working on getting into the city and knocking out the catapults):





 

[MengJiao]

  Well..historically, Alex did okay at Granicus and many of the satraps of Asia Minor either joined him or had been killed or did not resist successfully.

  Memnon of Rhodes, the Greek "mercenary" (since his wife, Barsine, was the sister of a Satrap, he was more of an official Persian commander) whose "mercenary" command had supposedly been wiped out at Granicus (or was it? the sources are contradictory) was put in charge of the war against Alex.  Which he did by using the Persian fleet based in Halicarnassis.


  After falling in a river and getting a new mom (here is Wikipedia on this odd detour of Alex's:
Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by her usurping brother. When he died, Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. On the approach of Alexander in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him. Alexander and Ada appear to have formed an emotional connection. He called her "mother", finding her more amicable than his megalomaniacal snake-worshiping mother Olympias. In return for his support, Ada gave Alexander gifts, and even sent him some of the best cooks in Asia Minor, realizing that Alexander had a sweet tooth. In the past, Alexander had referred to his biological father, Philip, as his "so-called" father, and preferred to think of the deity Amon Zeus as his actual father. Thus, he had finally managed to divorce himself from both of his biological parents)

Okay so Alex headed for Halincarnassis, and was about to enter the city by treachery when Memnon opened up on Alex with catapults and unleashed the infantry that had supposedly been wiped out at Granicus.  Supposedly, this was one of those 10 or 15 times where only luck saved Alex from a messy death.  Here's what that might have looked like in game terms (Alex is rallying his men, Memnon is attacking and the Macedonian Hypasts off-map working on getting into the city and knocking out the catapults):

  So while the hypasts pursue their commando raid into the city, we can digress to reflect on Memnon of Rhodes and Barsine.  Or even that in the 1956 film version of Alex's Excellent Adventure, Memnon was played by Peter Cushing and Barsine by Claire Bloom:

[MengJiao]

  So while the hypasts pursue their commando raid into the city, we can digress to reflect on Memnon of Rhodes and Barsine.  Or even that in the 1956 film version of Alex's Excellent Adventure, Memnon was played by Peter Cushing and Barsine by Claire Bloom:

Oh and here is Claire from 2 years later (1958) as a "buccaneer"

[MengJiao]

  Right so...back to our action-packed battle.  I think Alex is going to survive.  Krateras is dead, but his replacement is perfect for keeping the phalanx in action.

  Meanwhile...historically, Memnon, pulled out with the fleet and left Halicarnassis burning impressively behind him.  He was lining up for a direct attack on Macedonia via the Aegean with the backing of Athens, Sparta and Persia when he died luckily for Alex.  Alex wasted no time and took up with Barsine (possibly not a bad move in terms of satrapal politics).  They had a son, Hercules, (not the semi-divine hero, just an ordinary dynastic claimant who was bumped off with his mother in 309 BC by one of the contenders for the post-Persian hegenomy).

  Anyway...here is Alex surviving the little mix-up at Halicarnassis: