#Mallian Campaign

[mapsontheweb]

Regions of Current Age Pakistan before Invasion of Alexander

Alexander the Great's military campaigns in the Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan) involved significant engagements with local territories, kingdoms, and their rulers. In 329 B.C., Alexander conquered Qandhar and encountered Indian tribes for the first time, marking the beginning of his interactions with the complex political landscape of the area. By 327 B.C., he had crossed the Hindukush Mountains, capturing key fortifications such as Astes Fort and massacring 7000 Indians at Massaga of Assakenians. His conquest continued with the siege and capture of Aornos in December of the same year.

During his campaigns, Alexander encountered various powerful entities in the region. The Buddhists, particularly in Sind, were influential, with prominent temples in Multan and Alore. Despite the power of the Buddhist monks, the Brahmins played a significant role in resisting Greek advances, inciting rebellion among local rulers such as Sambus. This resistance led to notable conflicts, including the defeat of Poros in 326 B.C. and the collapse of the Mallians in 325 B.C. The Greek conqueror’s interactions with these local powers highlight the complex and multi-faceted nature of the region's political dynamics.

Alexander's campaign in the southern Punjab in 326 B.C. was marked by the defeat of the Malli and Oxydraki principalities, followed by the liberation of the rivers Hydaspes, Acesines, and Indus. His naval fleet, consisting of 2000 warships, played a crucial role in these operations. The submission of Musicanus, the chief of upper Sind, who paid homage to Alexander to avoid destruction, further exemplifies the mix of military might and diplomatic engagements that characterized Alexander's approach. The appointment of Peithon as the Governor of Sind and the dispatch of Krateros with an army via Bolan Pass were strategic moves to consolidate Greek control over the region.

The period following Alexander's departure saw significant turmoil. In 325 B.C., revolts in Patala and other regions, such as the rebellion of Sambus and Musicanus, were brutally suppressed. Alexander's forces, led by his generals, employed severe measures, including mass executions and enslavement, to quell these uprisings. The death of Philippus, the Satrap of Upper Sindhu Valley, due to internal jealousy among Greeks and Macedonians, underscores the tensions within Alexander’s administration. These events reveal the fragile nature of Greek control and the persistent resistance from local rulers and populations.

Alexander's death in 323 B.C. marked a turning point, as his empire was divided among his generals. Despite the fragmentation of his empire, Sind continued to be governed by Peithon, reflecting the lasting impact of Alexander's conquests on the region. The strategic and administrative decisions made during his campaigns had enduring effects, shaping the political landscape of Sind and its neighboring territories. Alexander's legacy in these regions is a testament to the complex interplay of military conquest, local resistance, and administrative governance that defined his rule.

[jeannereames]

2. I think you mentioned somewhere in your blog that part of Alexander’s shock at Hephaistion’s death was that Alexander had expected himself to die first. Given that prior understanding, wouldn’t Alexander and Hephaistion have developed some kind of contingency plan in case one of them died? At least later on, once Alexander became more invested in actually ruling his newfound territory? Or did they just never consider what they would do if something happened to either of them?

What an intriguing question. I expect that, yes, they may have talked together of “what ifs”—especially after the Mallian debacle. Alexander would likely have expected himself to die first just because he had to lead from the front as part of the “heroic” style of kingship required of Macedonian kings. All the romantic allusions to Achilles-Patroklos aside, and assuming they even made those themselves, and it wasn’t made for them by Romans later, I really doubt they’d have expected Hephaistion to go first.

When I wrote my dissertation, I argued Hephaistion was made chiliarch relatively late, probably in early 324 after the return from India. But I’ve come to think his elevation owed to the Mallian debacle, occurring not too long after. There needed to be a clear chain of command not only if Alexander died, but if he was incapacitated for an extended period; after Parmenion’s murder, there wasn’t. Competition was the name of the game at the court, and if the king didn’t impose a pecking order, none of the top brass were inclined to step aside for another.

I don’t think Alexander was ever terribly invested in the “boring” part of ruling his empire. He basically handed that off to Hephaistion. “Here, I conquered it; you make it work.” Although we’re not told, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hephaistion was meant to stay behind in Babylon when Alexander went after Arabia—or Carthage. Regional commander. Persian kings had a layer between “satrap” and “Great King”: these regional commanders who were often high-ranking members of the Great King’s family: brothers or other close kin.

Anyway, not only did Hephaistion’s death leave Alexander emotionally bereft, it was really shitty timing. Hephaistion had barely established himself to formalize the changes introduced post-Susa weddings. The first substantial Persianizing of the court happened around mid-330 as the army marched into Baktria…not long before the infamous Philotas Affair. The next occurred after ATG’s return from India in late 325, then the Opis mutiny, the Susa weddings, etc., in 324. Hephaistion died in October of that same year.

So MUCH happened in Alexander’s life, it’s sometimes easy to lose track of timing. Even if Hephaistion had been named chiliarch in India, he wouldn’t have been able to implement a lot of court changes until they were back in central Persia, so effectively, he had less than 10 months, and probably less than 8.

Ergo, if Alexander’s appointment of him to the chiliarchy was part of a contingency plan for Alexander’s possible demise, imagine his shock when Hephaistion died first! AND before he really had much time to do the job Alexander had meant him to do: “you make [what I conquered] work.”

[thebansacredbanned]

“India was so much worse than Hephaistion had imagined.”

Hephaistion and the Mallian Campaign. Dark!Hephaistion ‘verse, but slightly less dark!Hephaisiton himslef

[impressionists]

lotor is basically alexander the great of macedon

so I had the privilege of watching the whole of vld while I was studying Alexander the Great and I couldnt help but notice all the similarities between Alexander and Lotor.

Like it’s uncanny. Someone working on vld definitely has an interest in classics!

Im more knowledgable about Alexander than vld so there might be some mistakes but these are all the parallels/similarities between Alexander of Macedon and Lotor.

(I will be referencing from Penguin Classics’ translations of Plutarch’s Age of Alexander and Arrian’s Life of Alexander.)

Half-Bloods

- Alexander was born to Philip of Macedon and his wife Olympias, who was a foreigner to Macedon. Olympias was widely disliked throughout Macedon because of this and even Philip was weary of her AND Alexander, because when she was pregnant, a serpent curled around her while she slept. This led Philip and his followers to believe she was a sorceress and that Alexander was somewhat cursed.

- Lotor’s mother is Honerva/Haggar. She isn’t galra and is also considered a witch of sorts.

- Both were considered unworthy of the throne because of their heritage, but go on to secure the throne by:

Killing Their Fathers

- This is highly debated amongst scholars but Alexander most likely helped plot Philip’s assassination. Alexander had a lot of reasons to do this and felt a lot of animosity towards his father, so the motive is definitely there. Alexander would not have taken the throne and started his Persian campaigns had Philip not be assassinated and the assassins were all close friends of Alexander...

- Lotor does just straight up kill Zarkon and uses this as the reason why he should take the throne. He also couldn’t have taken the throne without help (Philip’s assassins = Voltron)

Speaking of Heritage

- Lotor is very taken by his Altean heritage. He knows a lot about Altean lore, folklore, alchemy, srl.

- Alexander was taught by Aristotle, gave him a lifelong interest in philosophy, and mysticism, also a bit of alchemy too (Plutarch), he literally slept with The Illiad under his pillow.

- Aristotle/Homer’s Illiad = Honvera/Her Work

Campaigning and Tactics

- Alexander and Lotor have the same sort of philosophy when it comes to conquering: surrend quietly and no one dies. They both try to become “allies” with their desired territories before they turn to more violent methods. Both would rather have subservience and respect rather than fear.

- Still, they do use fear to set examples. Alexander’s treatment of the Theban rebels and the survivors of the siege of Tyre can be compared to Lotor’s defeat of Throk and capturing Puig.

- The way Alexander toys with Porus before approaching during the battle of Hydaspes and his cornering of Darius at Granicus so that his chariots would be disabled by the rough ground can be compared to the way Lotor makes Voltron chase its tail for a while, drawing them out and then retreating, cornering them on a planet with combustable gas, srl.

- Both achieve things their fathers could not: Alexander takes Persia and a good portion of India, Lotor gets the Black Lion back in galra hands.

- Battle of Granicus - Alexander’s 40,000 men defeat Darius’ 1 million men - Generals vs. Team Voltron

Allies and Enemies

- Parmenio’s role as the “inferior advisor” is similar to how Zethrid is often disregarded. (“That is what I would do... If I were Parmenio. But I am not Parmenio. I am Alexander.” - Arrian.)

- I would compare Darius and Bessus to Sendak personally.

- In a drunken rage, Alexander murders one of his Companion cavalry and closest friends, Cleitus, because Cleitus criticises his change in character and Alexander fears it will incite a mutiny. The way Cleitus is murdered is very similar to Narti’s murder.

- Narti can also be compared to Philotas. Philotas was considered guilty by association in an espionage and assassination plot against Alexander. Philotas’s execution was one of the reasons Callisthenes started the pages plot, because him and several others feared Alexander would turn on them. So, basically Narti’s death and the generals’ reaction, only the generals were successful to an extent in their mutiny.

Temper/General Character

- The Oriande arc = Gordion Knot, oracle of Delphi

- Alexander uses violence and brute force to try and prove his divine heritage - cuts open the Gordion Knot instead of untying it, physically attacks the oracle to make her confirm his own divinity

- Similar to how Lotor reacts to the White Lion

- The paranoia after one of their close friends “betrays” them

- Lotor is weaker than Alexander but both need to be saved multiple times. Keith saving Lotor at the kral zera echoes Cleitus saving Alexander at the battle of Issus and Alexander being saved during the Mallian siege

Diplomacy

- Alexander adopts Persian customs, replaces a portion of his army with the epigonoi (30,000 Persian boys) and marries Roxane, a Persian, in order to be a more favourable rule to Persians and the Indians

- Similar to Lotor turning Voltron into his victory symbol after taking the throne, trying to recreate Zarkon and Alfor’s alliance and his relationship with Allura

Death and Loose Ends

- Alexander dies mostly from a three day drinking session and his injuries from the Mallian siege.

- Replace neat wine with quintessence maybe?

- Parallels we don’t have yet:

- Hephaestion - Alexander’s lover, he dies from the flu and Alexander dies soon afterwards, thrown into a permanent depression

- Craterus - Alexander’s right hand man, his last words were for Craterus to take over his empire

- Gedrosia, Hyphasis Mutiny - Alexander’s “only defeats”

That’s a good chunk of the main parallels. Some of them might be a bit off or reachy but I just think it’s really interesting how many similarities there are and it couldn’t be a coincidence!

In terms of other classical texts, Lotor also has many parallels to Aeneas from Virgil’s Aeneid but that would be a different meta entirely.

[lordelmelloi2]

@mushishitposter OH ABSOLUTELY BERSERKER ALEXANDER IS VALID. HE WAS A FUCKING MADMAN ON THE BATTLEFIELD. LET ME JUST VALIDATE HIM FOR A MINUTE –

• after Philip II died and Alexander anticlimactically became king of Macedonia, several city states rebelled but were dealt with quickly i.e. Alexander beat the shit out of them, especially Illyria, who were asleep. Thebes was particularly difficult to deal with and was also crushingly defeated after the siege, which he proceeded to punish by Burning the FUCK out of the city afterwards. • Like not even halfway thru his campaign in Persia he reaches Mount Taurus, and sees a mountain stream, doesn’t think twice, jumps in. He gets caught within the river rapids, develops cramps, has a convulsion, and then by the time he was out was nearly dead. Then he developed pneumonia. THEN HE WAS COMATOSE FOR A LITTLE BIT AND NOBODY WANTED TO TREAT HIM BC THEY KNEW IF HE DIED THEY’D BE EXECUTED AS THE DOCTOR WHO KILLED HIM SO ONLY HIS CHILDHOOD PHYSICIAN DID. AND THEN GOT BETTER AND CONTINUED HIS CAMPAIGN • everyone knows the Battle of Issus was the deciding battle in which Alexander defeated Darius. what they don’t know is that after Darius begged for mercy and surrender through a letter that Alexander replied that while he’d release the Persian prisoners for no ransom, he was just straight up taking Persia. All of it. And to add insult to injury he wrote and told Darius to address him as “King of all Asia” and moreover “we are not equals”, … “bitch”. • Alexander: hi Tyre. I’d like to have your city City of Tyre: no. we’re neutral in this war. don’t try to attack us because we’re an island. Alexander: an island? well the macedonian navy is weak. hm. hmmm. what do i do inner Alexander: land bridge Alexander: I’M BUILDING A LAND BRIDGE AND TAKING YOUR CITY ANYWAYS AND THEN BURNING IT and also casually using this brand spanking new Persian navy (that’s mine now) to do it. Bye Tyre! Kiss ya wouldnt miss ya • When he got to Gaza, Egypt, the commander Batis refused to surrender to him, which of course sent Alexander into a bloodthirsty rage for the man. So after the battle- in which he received a shoulder wound- he kills Batis and then pulls a goddamn Achilles on him by DRAGGING HIM FROM HIS CHARIOT THREE TIMES AROUND THE CITY PERIMETER • ok this isnt necessarily about Berserker Alexander but they did, in fact, find Darius when he was dying, and Alexander spoke to him and was – holy shit!! – sympathetic towards him, giving him requested water and holding his hand and shit. Supposedly he named Alexander as his successor right there but on top of that told him to avenge him, since he was betrayed by one of his own. After that, Darius was given a full military funeral. • Iiiiiiit’s time for India! Alexander didn’t know shit at the time that the world didn’t end at East India’s oceans but as we all know he never made it there anyways because India was hell bent on killing him. He fought the Aspasioi and got a shoulder wound but won, along with several other tribes. • Later he fought the Assakenoi and in particular dealt with their stronghold in Massaga, and had Another Serious Ankle Wound. At this point you start wondering how he’s doing anything when he keeps getting seriously injured but it’s ok!! He fucking slaughtered & obliterated Massaga too. • SIEGE OF THE MALLIAN CITADEL OH MY GOD? THE MALLIANS WENT UP INTO THEIR MAIN CITADEL AND ALEXANDER PURSUED BUT NONE OF HIS SOLDIERS WOULD FUCKIN SCALE THE WALLS SO WHAT HE DID WAS GRAB A LADDER AND DO IT HIMSELF. LEAPED – L E A P E D INTO THE INNER AREA OF THE CITADEL AND KILLED THE MALLIAN LEADER HIMSELF. HE GOT SHOT BY AN ARROW IN THE FUCKING LUNG AND KEPT GOING EVERYONE THOUGHT HE FUCKIN DIED AND IT’S NOT CITED BUT THE MACEDONIAN ARMY WAS P I S S E D AND SUPPOSEDLY WAS PLANNING ON KILLING EVERYONE FOR REVENGE. • He dealt with these tribes obv brutally, but he wasn’t very attentive to how his men felt about it, considering Alexander was about to go and fight the fucking powerful Nanda Empire and the Gangaridai Empire with tired, exhausted, and fearful troops. That’s when there was mutiny, and finally Alexander decided to take everyone home. • HEPHAESTION DIED AND HE CRIED ON HIS CORPSE FOR A WHOLE DAY, HAD TO BE DRAGGED AWAY, TOLD EVERYONE TO SHUT THE FUCK UP BASICALLY AND TO STOP ALL MUSIC, MAKING IT DEAD QUIET, AND WOULDNT EAT FOR 2 DAYS STRAIGHT AND SULKED IN HIS BEDROOM. LIKE IT WAS INTENSE PEOPLE WERE SACRIFICED TO HEPHAESTION’S SPIRIT. TOLD HIS WHOLE ARMY TO MOURN. • let me just mention that he spent an a b s u r d amount of money on Hephaestion’s funeral and they think they unearthed it in Baghdad about a year ago because it was so fucking lavish and massive nobody could guess that it belonged to anyone else (people theorized his mother but he hated Olympias because she was a genuine snakefucker and moreover megalomaniac… he took on a woman named Ada as his mother in Egypt).

tl;dr: berserker alexander really, really ought to be canon lmfao

[infoaboutcity786-blog]

Multan-Pakistan

Multan is a Pakistani city and the seat of the Multan district in Punjab province. Located on the banks of the Chenab River, Multan is the 5th most populous city in Pakistan and is the largest cultural and economic center in the south of Punjab.

The history of Multan extends deeply into antiquity. The ancient city was the site of the famous Sun Multan Temple, and was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign. Multan was one of the most important commercial centers of medieval Islamic India and attracted a multitude of Sufi mystics in the 11th and 12th centuries, which earned the city the nickname City of Saints. The city, with the neighboring city of Uch, is famous for its large collection of Sufi shrines dating back to that time.

Some Most Visited Places in Multan are:

Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam

Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium

Qilla Kohna

Housing program Jinnah Shah Rukn Park E Alam

Ghanta Ghar Chowk

Fort Qasim

The birthplace of Ahmad Shah Abdali

Geography

Urban landscape

The urban typology of Multan is similar to other ancient cities in South Asia, such as Peshawar, Lahore and Delhi, all of which were founded near a main river, and included an old walled city, as well as a royal citadel. Unlike these cities, Multan lost its royal citadel, because it was largely destroyed by the British in 1848, which had a negative impact on the urban fabric of the city.

The old houses of Multan illustrate the concerns of Muslims in terms of privacy and defense against the harsh climate of the city. [63] The urban morphology is characterized by small private alleys that depart from bazaars and main arteries.

The architecture of the Multani style began to take root in the 14th century with the establishment of funerary monuments [63] and is characterized by large brick walls reinforced with wooden anchors, with sloping roofs. [63] The funeral architecture is also reflected in the residential neighborhoods of the city, which borrow architectural and decorative elements from the Multan mausoleum.

Topography

Multan is located in Punjab and has an area of ​​133 square kilometers (51 square miles). The nearest cities are Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur. Multan is located between a curve and that curve created by five rivers in central Pakistan.

climate

Multan has an arid climate (climatic classification Köppen BWh) with very hot summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is 186 mm (7.3 in).

Multan is known to have the hottest weather in Pakistan. The highest recorded temperature is approximately 126 ° F (52 ° C), and the lowest recorded temperature is approximately 30 ° F (-1 ° C).

[jeannereames]

How much of Alexander's death can be attributed to his last wound in the Mallian siege? I guess the real question is how much his last wound compromised his life (as a warrior and a leader), and would he still have been taken seriously in the battlefield (in the hypothetical Arabian campaign) if he could not lead as he previously did (what with the troops' waning enthusiasm for his campaigns). How important is the fighting from the front angle to Macedonian kingly traditions?

Alexander is the last of the “Great Generals” to lead from the front. This form of command was already falling out of fashion due to the rise in tactical complexity with combined armies. It was also more of a Greek/phalanx thing than an Ancient Near Eastern thing, based on how a phalanx worked.

Once the phalanx became only part of a larger army, fighting in the front didn’t work so well. Alexander is able to continue it because he fought on horseback, and could see. In fact, as Graham Wrightson has theorized (“The Nature of Command in the Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx”), most of the Macedonian officers, even of infantry troops, would have been on horseback—again, so they could see. That means they were not in the front. Philip supposedly fought on foot in the front at Chaironeia among the Pezhetairoi (= Hypaspists later). But we know in other situations, he also fought on horseback. He was famously wounded in the thigh by a Thracian pike that went clean through the limb and killed his horse under him.

In any case, ATG fighting in the front seems to have been part of his mystique, but he could pull it off because he was, apparently, a damn good hand-to-hand fighter. (Being a good general and a good fighter are notthe same thing.) But that was when he was young. He was voted the award for personal bravery at Granikos by his men.

By the time he returned from India, if he’d decided to back off a bit from the front, he’d just have been doing what his other generals were already doing. The real question is whether, once his battle-blood was up, he’d have been able to remain out of the middle of the fray. Honestly, I doubt it.

It’s hard to know how much his lung wound affected him, years later. You’d get a better answer from a thoracic specialist about long-term effects of pneumothorax (air in the chest cavity around the lung, collapsing it). Part of the issue is that, while it seems likely he suffered a partially collapsed lung, descriptions of the wound differ somewhat across sources. And collapsed lungs reinflate if the air is removed (which seems to have been the case). Infection would have been the biggest threat, I suspect. Alexander got damn lucky, although it seems his father also healed well, so it was likely hereditary.

Once he was out of the woods from infection, he may have healed relatively well. Certainly, he was able to march through the Gedrosian desert. And if, as king, he would’ve been carefully watched, it also seems that he was marching among them, encouraging them.

I expect his stamina was most affected. Also, as his final illness appears to have been a febrile infection of some sort (typhoid or malaria are best guesses, despite occasional attempts to diagnose him with something weird), if he were having difficulty breathing at the end, a prior pneumothorax may well have complicated his ability to combat it.

Gene and I co-authored an article “Some New Thoughts on the Death of Alexander the Great,” in The Ancient World. In addition, Gene co-authored an article in The New England Journal of Medicine where he worked with several medical doctors to analyze Alexander’s death. He was there to help them understand the historiography (so they didn’t take everything at face value). It’s the most reasoned take on Alexander’s demise that I’ve read, with multiple authors’ input.