The Rise of the Arche Boukephelia – A Baktrian AAR

[Apraxiteles]

The Rise of the Arche Boukephelia



Introduction

The rise of the Hellenes in Asia seems an unlikely thing with hindsight. That Megas Alexandros was able to conquer is way all the way from Hellas to India is truly an amazing feat. But that after his death, and all the wars between his successors, it would be the Hellenes who had settled in the furthest reaches of his conquests who would create the greatest Hellenistic empire of them all seems impossible. With endless hordes of nomadic horsemen to the North, the powerful armies of India with their many elephants to the South, and seemingly much more powerful and and secure Hellenistic kingdoms to the west.

Yet in spite of all these challenges, it was the Greeks who settled in Baktria (modern Boukephelia) and India who would be the most successful in the end. One has to wonder, offhand, why it was they who rose to prominence, and indeed, how they survived at all. The answer, it seems, is pride. All peoples are naturally proud of their heritage, but the Hellenes even more-so than seems normal. This is perhaps their greatest blessing, and their greatest curse. It is pride that allowed them to conquer nearly all of the known world, and it was this same pride that led most of their kingdoms in the east to failure. The mutual pride and animosity between the Hellenes and the Asians made it difficult to maintain order. If both the rulers and their subjects of a kingdom refuse to respect each other, then there can be no peace or order. The kingdom continue cannot exist at all.

Megas Alexandros was wise enough to understand this, and so he tried to merge East and West together in a way that all could become equally proud, and for this, he was murdered by his own people. Today he is revered by many as an angelos of Epiphanaios Soter, the enlightened savior, for it was through his life that he freed the people of the East from slavery, and it is through his death that the Hellenes were taught humility. This is perhaps a romantic claim about a man who, from all accounts, was all too human, despite his own claims to the contrary.

His successors made token efforts to legitimize themselves to their people, but none of them, other than maybe the early Seleukid kings, seemed to truly believe in Alexandros' dream. So why was it, that in the most distant regions of his conquest, his dream of a Brotherhood of Man was finally realized? Most likely, it was out of necessity. The Arche Boukephelia herself would not have come into existence had the Arche Seleukeia not already been failing. No matter how much authority a ruler claims, or where he claims it comes from, if he is not able to assert it, then he has already lost the right to it. This is related to a concept which the Sinai call the "Accordance of Olympos". Those whom deserve to rule shall, and those who do not, will eventually always fail.

Had Hellenes of the East and their Asian subjects not truly attempted to unite, it seems unlikely that they would have survived for long. Without the support of their people, the Hellenes would have been replaced by yet another wave of conquerors, likely some tribe of nomads from the North, and without the Hellenes, the Asians who they ruled over likely would have continued on as nothing more than uneducated slaves to the next group of conquerors.

But the calls of necessity are not always heeded, and when they are, they are often done so halfheartedly. Indeed, even the family that would eventually lead the Eastern Hellenes to follow the dream of Alexandros began it's story in the East as a prideful and foolish one. As much as they, the Boukephelaioi, are revered today, their earliest history is one that is mired in conspiracy and betrayal. It is how they rose above their situation, and brought their people with them that is the subject of this history.

to be continued…

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Credit goes to the EB team for the banner image, found unused in the depths of the Data folder.

[Vasiliyi]

Interested. Ill be following this. I liked the "quick" history lesson in the intro. Good work.

[Reality=Chaos]

very interested... a baktrian AAR.. NICE ! I will be following this...

[NickTheGreek]

Indeed, I too will be following this

[MerlinusCDXX]

I will also be following this. I like Eastern and Nomadic AARs, I think the East doesn't get enough AAR attention. Good start BTW.

[Apraxiteles]

From "The Rise of the Arche Boukephelia"

Of Krateros and the Eastern Satraps

This history of the Arche Boukephelia begins in the fifty-first year after the death of Megas Alexandros. The first year of the 127th Olympiad by the account in Hellas[272 BC]. It is several decades before the Boukephelian dynasty's founding. At that time, Pyrrhos of Epeiros was campaigning in Hellas, and Antiochos (I) Soter, King or the Arche Seleukeia, was in the midst of fighting a bloody war in Syria with Ptolemaios (II) Philadelphos of Aigyptos. Further to the west, the Karchedonioi and the Romaioi were struggling for superiority. Far away from the action of the Mediterranean Sea, distant Baktria was the furthest of Alexandros' conquests still in the hands of the Greeks. At the time, it was a semi-autonomous satrapy on the eastern edge of the Arche Seleukeia. The satrap of the region at the time, Theodotos (Diodotos I), was seeking greater autonomy for the region in order (he claimed) to better protect the region from the ever increasing Skythian raids from the North.



It was on the pretext of aiding the defense of the region, that Krateros the Bull-headed was sent there. Little is known of the life of Krateros before he came to Baktria. He came from a lesser pure-blooded Makedonian noble family, and it is known that his father served with Seleukos (I) Nikator in Megas Alexandros' elite Hypispastai, but he never seems to have risen to any prominence. It was because of Seleukos' relationship with his father that Krateros was appointed to be the captain of an elite unit of Peltastai Makedonikoi.

While never playing a decisive role in any of the battles in the wars of the Diodochi, he did perform well enough to maintain his position. He earned a reputation among his own men for his stubbornness, temper, and overall gruff nature, and it is because of this that he earned the nickname "Boukephelaios", the bull-headed. He seems to have taken to this characterization, and had his unit paint bull's heads on all their shields.



Nine years after Seleukos Nikator's death, his son, the new king, Antiochos Soter, was embroiled in the First Syrian War. Krateros and his peltastai were not involved at the time, however. They were under the command of Antiochos' first son, Seleukos (II), the satrap of Media, and Viceroy of the Upper Satrapies. It was on his orders that Krateros and his unit were sent to the far distant land of Baktria.



However, it seems that Seleukos (II) was more worried about treachery from Theodotos than any barbarians. Theodotos had been been making friendly overtures to the various lesser satraps in the region, even going so far as to marry his eldest daughter to Patrokles of Marakand, a the satrap of neighboring Sogdiana.

Seleukos, concerned of a conspiracy, and knowing that his father and younger brother were too wrapped up in the war against the Ptolemaioi to do anything to help should the eastern satrapies rebel, decided to send Krateros to keep an eye on Theodotos. Krateros had served the Seleukids for many years, and he always carried out his orders without complaint. However, it seems that he and his men were rather indignant at being sent to such a distant land for such a seemingly mundane political reason. That a trusted and loyal unit of elite troops was sent to the boondocks during a time of war seems to have infuriated Krateros.

It is odd that Seleukos (II) would send elite assault troops for the task. Some historians have posited that Seleukos planned to have Krateros assassinate Theodotos. Some have even suggested that he was suspicious of Krateros discovering his own treacherous activities and reporting them to his father, and decided to send him as far away as possible. Indeed, that may have been why he was serving under the young Seleukos in the first place, rather than serving in the Syrian War. But there is no proof either way. In any case, while he remained loyal to the Seleukid dynasty, he seems to have by this point become rather bitter and cynical about the politics of the Diodochi.



Regardless of whatever plans Seleukos (II) might have had, the eastern reaches of the Arche Seleukeia were thrown into chaos, not by the various internal conspiracies, but from events outside. Many years before, Seleukos (I) Nikator had fought a war with the great ruler of India, Sandrokottos. Seleukos lost, and was forced to cede to Sandrokottos all of his Indian territories, as well as Arachosia, Gedrosia, and Paropamisadae. After which, an alliance was made between the two, with Seleukos sending one of his daughters to cement the deal. Both kingdoms maintained good relationships for two generations.

During the spring of the year 51 after the death of Alexandros[272 BC], the same year that Krateros was sent to Baktria, the ruler of India, the son of Sandrokottos, Amitrochates, died, and India was thrown into chaos. Two of his sons, Sochimos and Piodasses entered into a bloody civil war over the throne. As a result, several of the western provinces of India, particularly those which had Greek settlers living in them, rebelled and declared their independence. These events were far from the minds of those living in Seleukid domains. And those governing the bordering satrapies expected that the situation would end without soon, without affecting them. After all, what better defense could the eastern and southern borders have than the great Caucasus? They were much more concerned with invading nomads from the north, and their own rebellious populations.

Seeing the weakness of the Seleukid kingdom's eastern domains, one of the new petty kingdoms decided to try and take advantage of this. Most of the Seleukid soldiers from the region had been sent to fight in the war against the Ptolemaioi in Syria. What few troops remained were mostly local levies concentrated on defending the northern border against the Scythians. The south-eastern border was, for the most part undefended. And so, just a few months after gaining independence, Iochibanes, a Persian noble who had become the new king of Paropamisadae, invaded the Seleukid satrapy of Baktria.



Theodotos immediately sent out riders to request reinforcements from Patrokles of Marakand and the neighboring satrapies, as well as a message to Seleukos in Media, informing him of the situation. It seemed unlikely, however, that any aid would arrive before Iochibanes' forces would reach the provincial capital of Baktra.

…to be continued

[EDIT: Added BC dates in brackets for additional clarity]