THE TREASURES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture The Age of Titans: The Rise and Fall of the Great Hellenistic Navies William M. Murray Sophocles and the Language of Tragedy Simon Goldhill Nectar and Illusion: Nature in Byzantine Art and Literature Henry Maguire Adventures with Iphigenia at Tauris: A Cultural History of Euripides' Black Sea Tragedy Edith Hall Beauty: The Fortunes of an Ancient Greek Idea David Konstan Euripides and the Gods Mary Lefkowitz Brother- Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium: Monks, Laymen and Christian Ritual Claudia Rapp The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man’s Wealth Shaped the World Frank L. Holt THE TREASURES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT How One Man’s Wealth Shaped the World Frank L. Holt 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Holt, Frank Lee. Title: The treasures of Alexander the Great : how one man’s wealth shaped the world / Frank L. Holt. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. | Series: Onassis series in Hellenic culture | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015032790 | ISBN 978–0–19–995096–6 (hardback : alkaline paper) | ISBN 978–0–19–995097–3 | ISBN 978–0–19–046971–9 | ISBN 978–0–19–046970–2 Subjects: LCSH: Alexander, the Great, 356 b.c.–323 b.c.—Influence. | Greece—History—Macedonian Expansion, 359–323 b.c. | Wealth—Macedonia—History. | Property—Macedonia—History. | Pillage—Macedonia—History. | War—Economic aspects—Macedonia—History. | Imperialism—Economic aspects—Macedonia—History. | Macedonia—Kings and rulers—Biography. | Macedonia—History—To 168 b.c. | BISAC: HISTORY / Ancient / Greece. Classification: LCC DF234.2 .H65 2016 | DDC 938.07092—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015032790 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan, USA The amount of wealth that he plundered was unimaginable. Diodorus of Sicily qqqqqqqqqqddddddddtttttttttttttttt hhnnnnnnnoooooooppooooooooooo;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\.,\ For all our cats who have tip- toe- typed messages like this one across the pages of my manuscript, curious first readers of every line and mischievous editors of same. Jedi Han Bella CONTENTS List of Illustrations  xi Preface  xiii 1. Introduction  1 Imagining the Unimaginable  4 Sources and Methods  8 Exploring a Neglected Past  19 2. Poor Alexander?  23 Humbled Origins  24 The Making of a Hero  32 War and Wealth  39 3. Conquest, Up Close and Costly  44 Balkan Treasures  46 Asia Minor  50 The Middle East and Beyond  54 vii Contents 4. Reciting the Sword’s Prayer  68 The Lord of All Your Former Possessions  69 Booty beyond Imagining  71 The Sack of Persepolis  77 A Historic Haul  85 Rajas, Riches, Resentments  91 5. A King’s Priorities  95 Personal Gifts and Patronage  96 Religion and Ceremony  107 Cities and Other Infrastructure  110 Armies and Navies  112 6. (Mis)Management  119 Lucky Thessalian, Weary Macedonian  120 Debt and Despair  124 Harpalus the Treasurer  127 Scams and Schemers  133 With Harpalus or the King?  137 The Successors  141 7. Conclusion  146 The Story of the Moral  147 A Change of Hearts and Minds  151 Monetization  157 Counting Coins  164 What We Can Say about What We Can See  172 Appendices  179 1. Ancient Measures and Modern Conversions  179 2. Summary of Reported Assets  181 viii Contents 3. Summary of Reported Debits  187 4. Where Is It Now?  195 Notes  199 Selected Bibliography  263 Index  281 ix