The most famous conqueror almost didn’t conquer anything. In 334 B.C., Alexander (not the Great, yet) invaded Asia Minor to begin his conquest of the Persian Empire. His first battle was at the River Granicus. The Persian army, stiffened by Greek mercenaries, defended the opposite river bank. The ever-bold Alexander attacked what should have been a strong defensive position. He personally led his elite cavalry (the Companions) across the river. The Companions made contact with the Persian cavalry and a melee ensued. Alexander, on his famous war horse Bucephalus, was in the thick of it and very recognizable because of his shining armor. He saw Mithridates, the son-in-law of Emperor Darius III, and charged at him. Alexander speared him in the face. His lance shattered, but a comrade handed him a new one. At this point the distracted Alexander was attacked by a Persian nobleman named Rhosaces. The Persian’s sword came down on the Macedonian’s helmet, Alexander was stunned, but unwounded. He stabbed Rhosaces in the chest. At that moment, another nobleman approached from behind. Sphithrades raised his sword arm to kill the unsuspecting Alexander. A Macedonian horseman named Cleitus (sometimes referred to as Cleitus the Black) severed Spithrades sword-arm, saving his commander’s life. Alexander went on to win the Battle of Granicus and the rest is history, as they say.
You would think Alexander was grateful to Cleitus for saving his life. And he was. Cleitus was no common soldier. He was the brother of Alexander’s childhood nurse. They had known each other Alexander’s whole life and he was in his inner circle. Cleitus was probably more than ten years older than his friend. He was part of the old guard who had served Alexander’s father Philip. Cleitus made a smooth transition to serving the son, but there may have been some tension between the two men. Some of Philip’s veterans were uncomfortable with his son’s nontraditional notions. For instance, Alexander was melding the Greek and Persian cultures. He adopted ideas from the Persians that he felt were improvements upon his culture. For instance, he liked the trappings of a Persian emperor. He began to dress appropriately. This caused head-shaking by Philip’s generation. And Alexander also insisted on everyone prostrating themselves when approaching his throne. This was offensive to some.
It is possible that Cleitus was one of the grumblers. Still, Alexander owed him his life. It is still unclear what led to the deadly confrontation. Some historians contend that Alexander was trying to ease Cleitus from the court. He had promoted Cleitus to co-commander of the Companions, with his best friend Hephaestion. This might have been a move to soften the next move. Alexander appointed Cleitus to rule a satrapy and gave him Greek mercenaries who had switched sides after Granicus. Cleitus may have been upset about the make-up of his army and the “promotion” to battling nomads in a distant backwater. There was something brewing between the two friends. In 328, at a celebration of the god Dionysus, the pot boiled over. Naturally for a party for the god of wine, the brew flowed in copious amounts. It wasn’t long before the drunken singing began. One ditty poked fun at the generals who had lost a battle at the same place that the party took place. Alexander had not been involved with the battle, so the song may have emphasized that the loss was the result of poor leadership. It is possible that Cleitus’ brother-in-law was killed in the battle. Or maybe he just thought it was bad form to joke about a loss.
Words were exchanged. Alexander may have bragged about being a better general than his father. Cleitus refuted that and added that Alexander was not a legitimate heir. Foolish words from someone who knew that when Alexander was drunk, he sometimes lost control. (Cleitus had probably been there when a drunken Alexander had decided it would be cool to burn down the Persian capital of Persepolis.) Alexander threw an apple at Cleitus and reached for a weapon. Some of the partiers quickly forced Cleitus to leave. Unfortunately, he returned soon after to sneer at Alexander going native. That was the last straw and Alexander grabbed a javelin and put it in Cleitus’ heart.
In the aftermath, Alexander was distraught over his act. He had killed a man who had saved his life. And he also had shown a lack of restraint. He moped for several days, but was eventually convinced that what was done was done. Plus, Cleitus had asked for it. Alexander went on to conquer the rest of the Persian Empire and invade India. There were some ups and downs, but none of the down moments was as low as the moment when he killed a friend who had saved his life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleitus_the_Black
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Granicus
file:///C:/Users/Kevin/Downloads/pkpadmin,+Carney.pdf
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