9 - THE LONG ROAD FROM SUSA TO BABYLON

Summary

IN 331/30, IN THE FLUSH OF VICTORY AT GAUGAMELA AND IN pursuit of the ultimate prize, Alexander had marched directly from Babylon to Susa. Now, more than six years later, he did not return directly but moved instead to Opis and, ultimately, Ecbatana, which he had passed through quickly in his pursuit of Darius III. But the year 324/3 was to be a long and painful journey from Susa to Babylon. Like the Achaemenid rulers who had preceded him, Alexander now went on procession, fleeing the stifling heat of Susa for the cooler climes of Ecbatana, and sharing the burden and expense of maintaining the royal court amongst the capitals of the empire. To this end, he had deprived himself of the pleasures of Persepolis, but the needs of Alexander's court may have represented a reduction from Achaemenid times.

The king himself returned to the Persian Gulf and sailed with Nearchus to the mouth of the Tigris, and up that river to the town of Opis. Here he was joined by the remainder of the army, which had been led by Hephaestion. Here, too, he announced the demobilization of the veterans – particularly those who were physically unfit – but offered incentives to those capable men who chose to remain. Dismissal was a bitter pill for the men, no matter how much they longed for home. Dismissal, that is to say, under circumstances that caused them to question the entire purpose of their labors.