By Chad Pillai.
I just completed an audio book on “Alexander the Great” by Jacob Abbott during my daily commute to work and it provided me time for reflection on his career and mine and how I have traveled along his path. The audio book was not the first time I read a biography on Alexander nor will it be the last as newer ones come to light. In fact, prior to my deployment to Iraq, I read another biography on Alexander to gain insights into the area of northern Iraq. What fascinated me about Alexander beyond his military exploits was his ability to redefine the known world and spread Hellenism as the connective tissue throughout his empire. As I look back at my travels since 1993, I realized that I have walked along Alexander’s path from Greece to India, and in some respects, attempted to redefine a small portion of his empire in Tal’Afar, Iraq in America’s image. It also reminded me that despite being similar in age to Alexander during my deployment, I did not possess his power to make the changes I wished.
Athens, Greece
My first stop along Alexander’s Empire was in Athens, Greece in 2005. At the time, it was the closest that I was going to come to Alexander’s birthplace of Macedon. My adventure in Greece began with the unfortunate episode of accidently leaving my passport in the taxi as I exited to enter my hotel only to recover it later after paying a €50 return fee to the taxi driver. As I traveled around the city (more accurately allowed myself to get deliberately lost) viewing all the key cites to include the Acropolis, I came to appreciate the splendor of Ancient Greece and its contributions to world history, along with realization of its modern economic decline. Alexander’s education in the arts and philosophy by Aristotle shaped his views and his desire to spread Greek influences throughout the known world. Once he consolidated his power in Greece, Alexander would spread Hellenism to the heart of the Persian Empire and as far as the footsteps of India. His quest for empire would connect east and west into the world’s first globalized market union that would later influence future civilizations, religions, and empires.
Tal’Afar, Iraq
I arrived in Tal’Afar, Iraq in February 2006 and realized that once you strip away the power lines, the city would be as recognizable to Alexander as it did to me. The city lies 50 kilo meters from the city of Mosul within Nineveh Province, an area of importance in the Old Testament. It later became a region controlled by the Ottoman Empire as they struggled for dominance against the Persians (Safavid Empire) in the region. The citadel that sits atop of the city was a reconstructed castle the Ottomans built on top of an older, possibly Roman, citadel to defend the area from Persian incursions.
Immediately upon arrival, my greatest desire was to rebuild the castle as a historic monument to the city’s past and to serve as the government center (inspired by my previous travels to Prague, Czech Republic and the Prague Castle which serves as the as the official residence of the nation’s president). After a few months working with then Mayor Najim Aljbourry, several key sheikhs, and my Iraqi engineers, my inner Alexander devised a plan to rebuild the castle as part of a larger “Urban Renewal” and peace initiative (get agreement from Sunni and Shiites to agree to a formal ceasefire). The initial cost estimate for the project was roughly $15 million (rough estimate since I was doing my best developing cost estimate with Iraqis from the city and as well as Kurds from Dohuk (inhabited by Kurds and Assyrians)). While I, as a 27-year old Army Captain, was able to convince my Corps Commander, General (Retired) Peter Chiarelli, to approve the plan, the money never materialized.
Like a young Alexander, I remained undeterred in my quest to remake Tal’Afar, perhaps foolishly, along my vision of a small American city. I undertook two initiatives: establish a city operating budget and seek investors for the newly established business center. The government of Iraq was a centralized and inefficient system for allocating resources. Mirror imaging how the system works at home where each level of government (city, county, state, and federal government) have various responsibilities and manage their own budgets, I sought to do the same in Tal’Afar. After a few months of coaching and mentoring with the various municipal (district) managers, city council, and mayor, a city operating budget of approximately $22 million wad developed. A signing ceremony, akin to the President of the United States signing a new piece of legislation, was conducted. The mayor then took the proposed budget and proposed it to the Provincial Governor for action. Unfortunately, the Iraqi system was not prepared to deal with a bottoms-up approach to budgetary request and once again a good idea died a bureaucratic death.
My last attempt to change Tal’Afar was to seek funding for the newly established business center. This initiative allowed me to travel west to Irbil where I flew over the ancient Gaugamela battlefield where Alexander had defeated Darius III and his Persian Army. Going to Irbil, like Dohuk, was like being in a different country compared to Tal’Afar, Baghdad, and even Ramadi (where I spent the 2nd half of my tour). It was a relatively peaceful city where they even sold beer and liquor at the corner convenience stores. At the time, I was seeking $500,000 in USAID seed money for the business center to provide micro-loans to encourage private entrepreneurship.
Once again, I came away empty handed (0-3) due to perceptions of continued insecurity. However, there were some key lessons I learned. First, my power as a wannabe Alexander was limited to persuasion (despite my O-3 record on the big items, I am proud that my record on smaller initiatives was much better). Second, I wish I had utilized the Turkish Liaison Officer to see if Turkey would offer more support due to the Turkmen (population of Tal’Afar) connection to fund the castle renovation. Finally, understanding the history and geography of the land was the key element to negotiating and convincing the local Iraqis of the merits of the projects. While I would usually avoided religious discussions about Islam and Christianity, conversations about the ancient empires of Babylon or Assyria or kings like Sargon were great discussions. As for Babylon, I never had the chance to visit the city, but I did manage to see the Ishtar Gate built by Nebuchadnezzar II at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Kabul, Afghanistan
The next stage along my travels of Alexander’s Empire was in Kabul, Afghanistan. Due to our current political difficulties with the Iranians (Persians), I could only settle for air travel instead of traveling along the ground to observe Alexander’s route to Afghanistan. Around 331 BC, Alexander defeated the Achaemenids (Darius III and his Persian Army) and took control of the area now known as Afghanistan. Though Kabul existed as a small town back then and played no major role during Alexander’s time, spending a year there did allow me to learn more about his influence on the region and major religions in the area to include Buddhism. At the same time, the closest I got to Alexander’s army in Kabul was interacting with the Macedonian Soldiers (Soldiers from the Former Republic of Macedon – Macedon not recognized by Greece) protecting our facility. Observing their men and women in the gym and dining facility (every time I watched them pile food on their plates, I could hear the Spartan King Leonidas of 300 Spartans say “Ready your breakfast and eat hearty…For Tonight, we dine in hell!”), I came to respect the fact that they would have served well in Alexander’s phalanx.
The city Alexander had the most influence on is Kandahar, initially named Alexandria, the spiritual home of the Taliban. From this area of Afghanistan, Alexander would lead his armies eastward towards India (Hindustan). During his campaign in India (in the area of modern day Pakistan), Alexander defeated his rival, King Porus, in the region of the Punjab; however, further conquest of India was terminated when his army refused to fight.
India also plays an important contribution to the legacy of Alexander through exportation of its religions, primarily Hinduism and Buddhism. While studying the history of the “Buddhas of Bamiyan” and the “Bactrian Gold”, I came to realize the connection between the early iconography of Buddha and Alexander. What is known as Greco-Buddhist Art (also known as Gandhara Art) contributed to the imagery of the Buddha in the region and extended as far east as China and Japan. The initial image of Buddha was developed by Afghan artisans who were influenced by Greek art and therefore the image we see of Buddha is actually believed to be that of Alexander.
The main lesson I learned from my time in Afghanistan utilizing the historical lens of Alexander is that the application of soft power (cultural and artistic) will have far longer effects and benefits than hard power (military). Alexander is remembered more for what he left behind by the people than what he did to conquer them.
India (Hindustan)
My first international trip in 1993 was to India, Alexander’s objective. My travels took me from the east (Chennai – formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu to the state of Kerala along the Malabar Coast to visit my father’s family. Far from the area Alexander operated in, the coast line and its relationship to the Monsoon winds would have allowed him to move his ships from the Persian Gulf and link up with his Army to consolidate his gains had he went further south. My second trip in 1998, during the nuclear testing by India and Pakistan, took me back to Kerala and then north to New Dehli and Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal.
My family and I were warned from going to Kashmir where hostilities between India and Pakistan were tense. It reminded me of the power of geography and the artificiality of the borders that separated these two nations. The 1947 partition that created Pakistan from lands that belong to Pashtu tribes (majority population in Afghanistan who are artificially separated from Pakistani Pashtu tribes) and Punjab (two separate parts now in Pakistan and India) were areas that Alexander fought to control and his attempted subjugation of the subcontinent.
India’s role as the birthplace of Buddhism served as the connective tissue to Alexander’s legacy (as mentioned above). It also served as a lesson of imperial overstretch. India’s size and its population (second only to China) provided a large pool of manpower for its armies, along with its elephants, deterred Alexander’s army from continuing his campaign. While Alexander’s army may have been tactically and operationally superior to the initial wave of Indian armies they faced, they learned, along with future nations like the U.S. fighting the Chinese in North Korea, that mass has a quality of its own, and overtime, they would attrite themselves into extinction.
I also came to appreciate India’s cultural and culinary influence on Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East. As the major spice producer along the Silk (China) and Spice (India) road to Europe, India’s spices were in high demand. It influenced culinary cooking throughout the region. In Afghanistan, I came to appreciate the similarities in food which allowed me to adapt quickly to the environment and people. In Tal’Afar, it provided me with numerous jokes regarding the poor quality food I ate. I used to ask the Iraqis their ancestors didn’t steal spices from the caravans were moving from east to west like pepper to flavor their food. More importantly, it demonstrated the influence Alexander had on the region that opened the area for greater intergration (through intermarriage and trade) and would influence how future Empires (Roman, British, and etc) operated in the region seeking to create greater market integration.
Connecting the West and Eastern Parts of the Empire
My first trip to India required that I be open and learn about a culture far different than my own. India was where I first learned about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, and the influence of Christianity and Judaism. Learning about the histories, geographies, and an appreciation for the various languages allowed me to effectively operate in the regions and converse with the local populations (through translators…not fluent in any local language). As I read more about the histories of Iraq, Afghanistan, and India, the more I saw the connective influence the West, as a result of Alexander, had on them, and their influence on the West. As we struggle for greater integration as part of today’s version of globalization, the continued necessity for knowledge in history, culture, and geography will be of greater importance. If we, the U.S., are to remain the world’s premier power, we need to take the time to learn about the rest of the world and look beyond our differences to observe what we have in common. Alexander’s quest to unite the known world is a good start and it served me well these past 14 years in the Army.
Finally, I learned that unless our laws change or a future President elects a 27-year old Captain to lead vast armies, I or a future version of me will never have the same power to force change like Alexander the Great. However, if given the chance, we can act as Mini-Alexander’s to transform the small pieces of geography we may have responsibility for by being better informed of the history and geography.
