Chapter 13 Food and Conquest: Getting beyond Engels

In: Brill's Companion to the Campaigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great
Author:
James Lacey
Search for other papers by James Lacey in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

$40.00

Abstract

When Alexander crossed the Hellespont, his treasury was down to its last 60 talents (Arrian). As just covering the Army’s salaries for a single year required over 4,000 talents, Alexander’s march of conquest was a great raid. Its single-minded aim was to find and secure for Alexander’s use the great Persian treasuries. Without this booty, Alexander’s armies would disintegrate, leaving a bankrupt Alexander stranded in a hostile land far from home. In the end, Alexander’s great financial gamble paid off, as despite a three-fold increase of costs during the campaign the seizure of the Persia’s hoarded silver and gold reserves more than paid Alexander’s expenses. The seized sums were so vast that when Parmenio moved the accumulated treasure to Ecbatana, he needed 20,000 mules and 5,000 camels (Plutarch) to complete the job. At least half or this chapter centers on how Alexander financed his conquests, as well as the impacts the release of the amassed wealth of 3,000 years of civilization had on the administration of his empire. This second focus of the chapter is on making sense of the logistics of Alexander’s Persian campaign. My crucial point centers on deciphering how the course of the campaign and the timing of Alexander’s movements were determined by his logistic requirements. In military circles there is a saying: “Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.” Alexander, the greatest general of his age, certainly comprehended the key role logistics would play in his success. As such, he was always preoccupied by the never-ending requirement to daily find the food and water his Army needed just to survive.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
  • Alcock, S. E., Bodel, J., and Talbert, R. J. A. (eds) (2012) Highways, Byways, and Road Systems in the Pre-Modern World. Malden, MA.

  • Bang, S. H. (2013) “‘Is There any Seed Left in the Barn’ (Hag 2.19): What Could Grain Storage Tell Us about Yield in the Late Sixth Century B.C.E.Revue Biblique 120: 388404.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bardoňová, M. (2019) “Grain Storage in Ancient Egypt (2600–1650 BC): Typology and Socio-economic Implications.” PhD Dissertation, Charles University, Czech Institute of Egyptology.

  • Bellinger, A. R. (1979) Essays on the Coinage of Alexander the Great. New York.

  • Bosworth, A. B. (2001) Conquest and Empire: The Regin of Alexander the Great. Cambridge.

  • Briant, P. (2012) “From the Indus to the Mediterranean: The Administrative Organization and Logistics of the Great Roads of the Achaemenid Empire,” in Alcock et al. (2012) 186–201.

  • Brice, L. L. (2023) “Assessing Military Logistics and Diet in Ancient Greece and Rome,” in Donahue and Brice (2023) 403–32.

  • Cawkwell, G. (1980) “Review of Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army by D. Engels.” CR 30.2: 244246.

  • Devine, A. M. (1979) “Review of Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army by D. Engels.” Phoenix 33: 272276.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Donahue, J. F. and Brice, L. L. (eds) (2023) Brill’s Companion to Diet and Logistics in Greek and Roman Warfare. Leiden.

  • Echeverría, F. (2023) “Nutrition and Diet: Archaic and Classical Greece,” in Donahue and Brice (2023) 56–92.

  • Engels, D. W. (1980) Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army. Berkeley.

  • Fuller, J. F. C. (1960) The Generalship of Alexander the Great. London.

  • Hammond, N. G. L. (1980) “Review of Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army by D. Engels.” JHS 100: 256257.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hammond, N. G. L. (1983a) “Army Transport in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries.” GRBS 24: 2731.

  • Hassan, C. (2021) “Structure of the Army and Logistics,” in Jacobs and Rollinger (2021) 2: 1151–59.

  • Henkelman, W. F. M. and Jacobs, B. (2021) “Roads and Communication,” in Jacobs and Rollinger (2021) 1: 719–36.

  • Holt, F. L. (2016) The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man’s Wealth Shaped the World. Oxford.

  • Jacobs, B. and Rollinger, R. (eds) (2021) A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 vols. Hoboken, NJ.

  • Jacobsen, T. and Adams, R. M. (1958) “Salt and Silt in Ancient Mesopotamian Agriculture.” Science 128: 12511258.

  • Le Rider, G. (2007) Alexander the Great: Coinage, Finances and Policy. Translated by W. E. Higgins. Philadelphia.

  • Meadows, A. (2014) “The Spread of Coins in the Hellenistic World.” http:/ww.moneta-coins.com/library/Coins%20in%20the%20Hellenistic%20World_A%20Meadows.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Milns, R. D. (1987) “Army Pay and the Military Budget of Alexander the Great,” in Will and Heinrichs (1987) 233–56.

  • Petrie, W. M. F. (1928) Gerar. London.

  • Tarn, W. W. (1927) “Alexander and the Conquest of Persia,” in CAH1 6: 352386.

  • Wiesehöfer, J. (2001) Ancient Persia: From 550 BC to 650 AD. London.

  • Will, W. and Heinrichs, J. (eds) (1987) Zu Alexander d.Gr. Festschrift G. Wirth zum 60. Geburtstag am 9.12.86, Vol. 1. Amsterdam.

Metrics

All Time Past 365 days Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 291 291 19
Full Text Views 0 0 0
PDF Views & Downloads 7 7 0