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Alexander dreamed of a Brotherhood of Man in a world torn by Original articles for research students

conflicts. This may forever remain an unattainable goal yet he is Discovery of Alexander's Missing Altar
the finest symbol of our vision of a United Nations. It was due to Alexander's Mission and World Peace
his initiative that the East and West first met and this led not Alexander the Great in a Sanskrit Drama
only to an unprecedented rise in the crosscultural exchanges but Sashigupta and the Poisoning of Alexander
also ushered in a new era in world trade. In this respect he can A Coin­Portrait of Asoka or Diodotus­I
be called the first champion of globalization. He was aware of his
unique role in history and had included in his train expert
writers to chronicle his mission but there is little in his life
history
that is beyond dispute. This is due to two reasons, inability to distinguish between and facts and lies spread
by his own generals, who succeeded him (and who probably poisoned him) and more importantly, bungling in
geography.
The archaeologist who turns the soil also becomes a part of the land, wrote Sir Max Mallowan. The
historian also has to be attuned to the time and space of the people under discussion. This is nowhere more
important than in ancient Indo­Iran which had a complex multilingual and multiethnic background. The job
of the historian is not only to collate the literary and archaeological data at hand but also to fit it to common
sense and intuition. Revisionism in history is an ongoing process, but there is always the danger of
hyperactivism. Instead of rushing to a bandwagon, the historian has to be circumspect and wary of
misjudgment. The philiosopher­poet T.S. Eliot cautioned, 'History has many cunning passages, contrived
corridors and issues,/ Deceives with whispering ambitions, Guides with vanities,/ Think now.'

THE DISASTROUS FALLOUT FROM THE BLUNDER OF PALIBOTHRA

Chronology and geography are said to be the two eyes of history yet there is little awareness in the academic
circles of the pitfalls of false geography. Before 1947 Baluchistan was within India but was it the
westernmost part of ancient India? Incidentally the eastern extremity of Iran is also known as Baluchistan
and may have been within early India. This is missed by R. N. Frye but not Sir Charles Eliot,
Our geographical and political phraseology about India and Persia obscures the fact that in many periods the
frontier between the two countries was uncertain or not drawn as now.

Sir William Jones greatly loved India but his 'discovery' of Megasthenes' Palibothra at Patna is a blunder
that does not have a single archaeological proof. Writers like R. Thapar and D. Chakrabarti do not
mention that no relics of Chandragupta have been found from Patna or anywhere else. Another fraud that
has derailed history is the false discovery of Lumbini by Dr. A. Fuhrer. Historians, cautioned Ranke, have
to root out forgeries and falsifications from the records and test documents on the basis of their internal
consistency and that with other documents originating from the same period. They have to stick to
primary sources whch are coeval and lay less stress on later secondary sources. In plain defiance,
archaeologists like Martin Carver and D. Chakrabarti boldly justify Jones' decrepit theory of Palibothra
using the Chinese records written about a thousand years later. Chakrabarti misses that the most
damaging legacy of Colonial Indology is Jones' blunder which has destroyed the chronological framework
of Indology and banished figures like Rama, Manu and Chandragupta. This has falsified the histories of
Gotama, Zoroaster, Jesus and Alexander the Great. A key figure, Moeris, remains unmasked.
A new image of Alexander, as seen from the east, emerges from Non­Jonesian Indology. Palibothra
was at Kohnouj in Iran­Baluchistan where Alexander came. This throws new light on his death, the
Gedrosian voyage, and many other episodes. A Palibothra in Iran­Baluchistan shows that Ur from where
the Patriarch Abraham started his journey was in south­east Iran, not south Iraq.

THE PRESENCE OF ALEXANDER AT KOHNOUJ (PALIBOTHRA) DISPROVES JONES' HYPOTHESIS

Even a great scholar like Sir William Tarn naively imagined that ancient India was British India.
categorically
Stephanus described Carmania
as 'a country of India'. The
absurdity of the Jonesian idea can
be seen from Herodotus' report
about the tribes under Cyrus, "
The rest of the Persian tribes are
the following: the Panthialaeans,
the Derusiaeans, the
Germanians, who are engag­ed in

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husbandry, the Daans, the
Mardians, the Dropicans and the
Sagartians ". The Derusiaeans
and Panthialaeans were clearly
the Druhyus and the Panchalas
and the Sagartians were the
people of King Sagara who seem
to be linked to Sogar in the Gulf
area which was 'India'. The
Dropicans echo Drupada. The
Daans remind one of Gotama
Buddha whose name, according
to Al­beruni, was Buddho­dana.
Another decisive refutation of
Jones comes from the history of
Alexander. Arrian wrote (VI.28),
".. while he was in Carmania,
Alexander offered
Alexander offered sacrifice
sacrifice in
in gratitude to heaven for his conquest of India and the escape of his army from
the desert of Gedrosia, and that he held a festival with public competitions in athletics and the Arts." This is
usually linked to the victory over Porus 18 months back but this is absurd. The victory over the Indians at
Kohnouj shows that this was India. A. B. Bosworth writes that the festivities took place at Khanu or Kohnouj
but misses that the name tells a story, hoary figures like Gadhi and Visvamitra were from Kanauj. Although
Kanauj in eastern India is branded as ancient Kanauj, Vincent Smith noted the absence of ancient structures
at Kanauj. Contrarily the recent discoveries at Jiroft near Kohnouj prove its great antiquity. Kohnouj must
have been the Kanauj of Visvamitra. Djiroft (Jiroft) may in fact be a transform of Dvaravati, capital of
Kamboja. Relics of Alexander may be found here. Ancient Magadha must have been Magan which is
mentioned in the Sumerian texts together with Dilmun and Melukkha. Writers like D. Chakrabarti have run
from pillar to post in search of the Sisunagas and Kakavarnas of Magadha but have missed that they were
the Susinaks and Kak­kings of Magan. Kak­Siwe Tempti may be the Rishi Kaksivant of the Rigveda and the
Atharvaveda.
Manu is the first sacrificer in the Rigveda. Jonesian historians have no idea that Manu was Mannu or
Manium who was also from Magan. A. L. Basham and R. Thapar have boldly written that Rama was a
relatively insignificant tribal chief whose story was exaggerated in the Great Epic Ramayana. This is a lie. As
great scholars like Prof. Sukumar Sen indicated, Rama (Rama Margaveya) was also associated with the
Magan area. This reveals only partly how severely Indian ancient history has been disfigured by Jones' false
hypothesis. Reconstructing the geography of ancient India is a daunting task yet it is likely to open up new
vistas of research in the history of not only Indo­Iran but the whole of the ancient East. Iranian scholars have
justly celebrated the archaeological finds at Djiroft near Kohnouj but seem to be unaware that the history of
this region cannot be understood without considering the large body of evidence from the Indian texts. As
the reconstruction Djiroft = Dvaravati shows, the Djiroft area was the ancient Kamboja of the Indian texts.
The present author pointed out the importance of the Djiroft area before Madjidjadeh and others.

AN ANCIENT SECRET ­ ORONTOBATES WAS CHANDRAGUPTA

E. Badian and P. Green have rightly stressed the need to demythologise the story of Alexander but their
neglect of the non­European sources has obscured the identity of many figures including the chameleon­like
Moeris whose world collided with that of Alexander in diverse ways. Orontobates is said to be just another
faceless Persian who fought against Alexander in Caria and, together with Ariobarzanes, led the Persians,
Mardians and Sogdians at the battle of Gaugamela but this is a travesty. Together with him Alexander
rewrote history. The name Ariobarzanes offers a clue. Asoka's clan­name was Vardhana. In some manuscripts
of the Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa, Rantivarma takes the place of Chandragupta which shows that it was
another name of the latter. As Varma (like Bates) is a title, Rantivarma can be seen to be the same as
Orontobates who was from the Gulf area (Arrian, III,8). Alexander must have known him long

before he clashed with him and Memnon in Caria. Olmstead wrote that the
name Orontes corresponds to the name Arunadas. The word 'Aruna' in
Sanskrit means the 'charioteer of the Sun'. Thus the Sun's quadriga in
Andragoras' coin can be read as Arunadas or Orontes. E. Badian notes the
great importance of Sasigupta in Alexander's camp but has no clue to the
dramatic turn of events that followed. The words 'Sashi' and 'Chandra' stand
for the 'Moon' in Sanskrit. Thus Sasigupta was the same as Chandragupta or
Orontobates. That Moeris could have been Maurya Chandragupta was widely
suspected but due to a slanted perspective and Jones this was
forgotten. The equation Moeris=Sasigupta=Chandragupta=Orontobates is an important key to a proper
study of the history of Alexander. Moeris played a silent role in many of Alexander's victories. The
surrender of Persepolis marks a high point in world history. From a careful analysis of Diodorus' report it
can be seen that Tiridates who handed over the Persepolis treasury was also Moeris. Other aliases of
Chandragupta were Orontes (of Armenia), Diodotus of Erythrae and Andragoras.

SISINES WAS SISICOTTUS

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The trail of Sisicottus/Orontobates leads to another mystery figure, Sisines. Curtius wrote that Sisines
was sent on an embassy to Philip by the Persian Satrap of Egypt and was induced to remain in
Macedonian service. He is said to have accompanied Alexander on his expedition to Asia and while the
Army was in Cilicia he received a letter from Nabarzanes assuring him of rewards if he could kill
Alexander. The letter, however, had fallen into the kings hands, who had re­sealed it and had it delivered
to Sisines to test his fidelity. Sisines intended to brief Alexander about the letter but several days passed
without his finding an opportunity of doing so and Alexander, thus feeling sure about his treachery
ordered him to be put to death. Sisines is usually thought to be a Persian agent but R. Lane Fox sees
him as an ally of Alexander. He is clearly the same as Siscottus/Orontobates. He may have fled to Egypt
and then to Macedonia to escape from the murderous clutches of Ochus and his minister Bagoas.

ONE PRINCESS AND TWO SUITORS ­ ALEXANDER AND ORONTOBATES

Only Plutarch narrates an incident which has almost a cinematic touch. The Carian Satrap Pixodarus is
said to have offered the hand of his eldest daughter Ada­II to Arridaeus, Alexander's half­brother. A
discontented Alexander contacted Pixodarus through his friends and offered himself as a suitor which was
eagerly embraced by the Satrap but an indignant Philip put an end to the affair. Incidentally a daughter
of Pixodarus, probably Ada­II, was married to Orontobates whose true identity is revealed by the Indian
texts. This gives a new twist to whole of the Alexander saga. The king certainly did not forget Ada­II, but
there seems to be no warrant to invent a love triangle here. Whatever the truth is, Ada­II adds a
fascinating but unknown dimension to Alexander's life history. Where did the two first meet? If one
accepts Curtius' story this could have been at Pella. Were they friends to start with or were they
adversaries before the battle of Tyre, we do not know.

MAZAEUS AND HIS SONS ­ COLLABORATORS PAR EXCELLENCE

Alexander was one of the greatest military commanders of all times but all his victories were not won in
the battlefield. There is strong indication that Mazaeus, the Cilician Satrap, had become a collaborator
from a very early stage. No wonder he was allowed to mint coins in his own name
even when Alexander was alive. When Mazaeus offered to liberate Darius' mother
Sisygambis, she is said to have refused which also indicates that he was seen as a
traitor. Sisygambis may have been related to Sisicottus. Sasigupta is said to have
briefed Alexander about the feasibility of unseating the Nanda king. According to
Arrian, Antibelus, a son of Mazaeus, together with Bagistanes, is said to have
made a similar representation. As 'M' and 'B' are often interchanged, Bagistanes
can be seen to be Megasthenes who later became Seleucus' envoy in
Chandragupta's court. He may have been an Ionian Greek.

A FOCUS ON CILICIA­CARIA

Was Alexander in Caria during his estrangement with Philip? Carians and Cilicians played unusually
important roles in his life. mportant roles in his life. Mazaeus was the Satrap of Cilicia. Sisines also came
into prominence in Cilicia. Eumenes was a Carian and Diodotus of Erythrae also had Carian links. G.
Waddingham has described a Cilician coin bearing the legend AGR and depicting a lion which is similar to
SNG­Paris­Cilicie#209. This may be a coin of Agramesh who, according to Curtius, was
the ruler of the Gangaridae and Prasii. Agramesh may be a Nanda king or Sandrocottus,
The lion may symbolise the Macedonians. It can be seen that the Mauryas were the
traditional rulers of Pontus.
In the little polis of Amyzon in north­west Caria a decree from the time of Philip
Arrhidaeus granted citizenship to a man named Bagadates and his son Ariaramnes and on
the advice of the oracle at Delphi, appointed the former as the priest of the local goddess
Artemis. As 'Baga' is the same as 'Deva', Bagadates may be Diodotus of
Erythrae or his son. Whether this was done in consultation with Arrhidaeus is unknown
King slaying a but this may shed light on the murky state of affairs and bolster the conspiracy theories.
lion
ALEXANDER IN THE SANSKRIT DRAMA MUDRARAKSHASA

One common cliche' is that Alexander is ignored in the Indian literature. From this learned scholars like
Tarn and Rostovtzeff drew the sweeping conclusion that his influence on Asia was trivial. This is false. The
ancient Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa offers invaluable clues in the history of Alexander. The drama has
been dated to the 9th century by Sir A.B. Keith but this is baseless and is a result of the Jonesian goof­up.
The present form of the drama is emended but its core belongs to a much earlier date. It is only due to an
undue European bias and Jonesian muddling that scholars have missed that Chandanadasa in the drama is
a ghost of Alexander.
Alexander was known to many of his Asiatic subjects as Ale­Khan­Der. 'Khan' corresponds to the
ancient word 'Kana' which means great. Kana may be linked to the names like Kanika, Qarnain and Ai­
Khanum. King Kanika to whom Matrcheta addressed his 'Maharaja Kanika Lekha' is Alexander, not
Kanishka. The 16th century historian Taranatha cautioned that Kanika was not Kanishka but scholars have
not realised the importance of this warning. Taranatha also wrote that Matrcheta was Asvaghosa.

THE PURSUIT OF MOERIS THROUGH GEDROSIA

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Alexander's return to Susa through the burning Gedrosian desert has perplexed all as there were safer
routes. Following some ancient sources (not contemporary), Badian ascribed it to his growing megalomania
bordering on insanity but this is baseless. Among the later writers only Diodorus and Justin had some
knowledge of the East and Justin gave the crucial information that Alexander had defeated the Prasii but
due to Jonesian delusions this was ignored by all. Even a great scholar like J.B. Bury wrote that the
Gedrosian expedition was to support the Navy but the reverse may have been true. The navy carried
provisions, troops and even horses to back up the Army which was engaged in a grim struggle against the
Prasii, ruled by Moeris or Maurya whose lurking presence at Pattala clearly shows that the Gedrosian
expedition was dictated by the military compulsion to defeat the Prasii.

THE OPIS BANQUET WAS A KIND OF A FEAST OF MITRA

In a famous article, (Historia, 7:425­444) E. Badian raised grave doubts about Alexander's call for
Brotherhood of Man as described by the eminent scholar Sir William Tarn. This convinced the majority
and appears credible at first sight but he relied on only the Greek and Latin writers
and in contrast to Tarn, had limited knowledge of the East. P. Green and A. B.
Bosworth also take a similar view but the Opis feast took place in the month of
Mithra and was probably a kind of a Feast of Mitra which is celebrated on the day of
Mithra i.e. 8th October. This reminds one of the feasts of Gudea, a Mitra on earth
who advocated Brotherhood. That Alexander would be interested in the doctrines of
Mitra (not quite the Persian God) which influenced Buddhism and resemble Hellenic
doctrines is natural. His call for amity is echoed in the Edicts of Asoka who maintains
a measured silence on Alexander. In the 7th Edict he writes; "In the past, kings
searched for means whereby people's interest in Dhamma would increase ...". This
king can only be Alexander on whose Altar he was writing. Badian missed that
Alexander had great respect for Nebuchadrezzar. Plutarch wrote that the Altars were
venerated by the Prasiians. This must have been related to Dhamma.
Sitting on a throne once used by Gomata, it was natural that Alexander
would eschew violence and call for Brotherhood and love. His adoption of the
Persian Royal dress in place of the Macedonian attire has been seen as a
mark of degeneration but this may have been the dress of Gotama
(Gaumata) who shared the Persian throne with Bardiya (Bhaddiya of the Pali
texts). This adds a new dimension to his call for amity which is the central
plank of Buddhism. The presence of Gotama in Persia was suggested by Dr.
Spooner in 1915 but his voice was drowned by Jonesian unreason.

THE DJIROFT AREA WAS ANCIENT KAMBOJA

While rejoicing the victory over the Indians at the Palace at Kohnouj,
Alexander may or may not have learnt about the hoary antiquity of the
place. A careful study shows that this area was the ancient Kamboja the
capital of which was Dvaravati or Djiroft. That the term Indo­Iran is
preferable to India or Iran was known to scholars like Hillebrandt, Tucci,
Brunnhofer, Herzfeld, Toynbee and Tarn but modern historians like E. Badian and R. N. Frye have lost
sight of that part of modern Iran was once within greater India. This makes it impossible to write a
history of Persia without taking into consideration the vast Indian tradition. Alexander has been likened
to Spanish conquistadors without proper warrant. To do justice to Alexander in the East it is essential to
clear the mess created by Jones' false discovery and probe into the name Alexandria Prophthasia.

ALEXANDRIA PROPHTHASIA WAS AN ABODE OF PROPHETS

The straightforward meaning of the Greek word 'Propthes' is Prophet but owing to Dr. Fuhrer's forgery,
Tarn failed to locate any Prophets in the area and linked it to Alexander's 'intuition'. Although this found
wide acceptance it is clearly a figment of imagination. However, Tarn correctly located Prophthasia in the
Hamun Lake area in Seistan or Sakastan which is associated with Prophets. The problem of Zoroaster's
homeland has been endlessly debated but scholars like I. M. Diakonoff and G. Gnoli have suggested that
the Prophet belonged to Seistan. Incidentally Sir Aurel Stein discovered a Buddhist monastery at Kuh­i
Khwaja in Seistan in 1916. Ghirshman pointed out that the art of Kuh­e Khwaja predates Gandhara art
which disproves the widely accepted notion that Buddhism spread from Nepal or Eastern India. Once the
fraud of Dr. Fuhrer in Nepal which was backed by the British colonial administration, is taken note of, it
becomes clear that Kuh­e Khwaja was Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Gotama. Stein's work clearly shows
that Buddhism was born in Iran but was later nurtured in modern India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The
name Gomata in Sanskrit and Persian means 'one whose mother is a cow' and in Sumerian language this
corresponds to Gut­Ama or Gotama in Sumerian. As Gotama was was called a Sakya his abode would be
Sakyavati which appears to echo Sikayavatish, the abode of Gomata in the Behistun inscription. Even the
name Hamun Lake can be an echo of Saman which was the name of Buddhists. Place­names like Kabul in
Afghanistan and Zabol, Vast etc. near Kuh­i Khwaja are echoes of Babil and Kapilavastu.

DAHAN­E GHOLAMAN AND GOTAMA

A clear echo of Gotama comes from the name of the site of Dahan­e Gholaman which is about 44
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kilometres from Zabol but just as Prophthasia was assigned to Alexander's intuiion, slaves from Africa
have been conjured up to turn it into a 'Slaves entrance'. R.N. Frye has suggested that the Daivas
against whoim Xerexes led a famous expedition may have been the Indians inside Iran and Sir Aurel
Stein wrote about a Buddhist monastery in Seistan but owing to the havoc wreaked by Dr. Fuhrer, the
great Buddhist heritage of Iran has been totally ignored.
The question of religion of the people of Dahan­e Gholaman has been at the centre of many
discussions and scholars are of the opinion that the people of the locality were fire­worshippers but were
not Zoroastrians. One has to recall that one of the points of contention between Zoroaster and Gomata
was regarding the type of sanctuaries. Gomata had destroyed the Zoroastrian sanctuaries which were
later restored by Darius­I. This clearly indicates that the Buddhism was the religion in question as there
are references to fire worship in Buddhist literature. Al­beruni also clearly indicated that Zoroaster had
driven away the Buddhists from Iran.

ALEXANDER, GRECO­IRANIAN ART AND INDIAN GRECO­BUDDHIST ART

D. Schlumberger, who succeeded Foucher, boldly stated that Greco­Buddhist art was the Indian
descendant of Greco­Iranian art. The first patron of this Greco­Iranian art may have been Alexander.
Ghirshman also stated that the murals of Kuh­e Khwaja are the precursor of Gandhara art, This clearly
hints that Buddhism was born in Iran­Baluchistan.
Curiously it has escaped the notice of all that whereas
North­West India (or Iran) has an ancient religious, artistic
and literary tradition that fits with Buddhism, barring
Fuhrer's so­called discovery, Nepal has no place in the early
history of Buddhism. The same is true of eastern India. R.
Conningham's work on the location of Kapilavastu is an
attempt to divert attention from the hideous forgery of Dr.
Fuhrer. No early Buddhist text has been found from India
or Nepal. No Buddhist relic from India (or Nepal) is older
than the Asokan era, i.e. 3rd century BC. In fact scholars
like R. E. Emmerick and Pratapaditya Pal have no idea
about pre­Asokan Buddhist art and confuse early Buddhist
Art with Indian Buddhist Art which is in fact Greco­
Mahayana spread from the North­West, not Nepal Buddhist Art. Only a great scholar like Sir Aurel
Stein realised that to study sixth century BC Buddhist art one has to turn to the the North­West. Klaus
Fischer was also aware that early Buddhist Art was different from Indian Buddhist Art. Sir Charles Eliot
noted that the monks who first brought the message of Gotama to China were from the North­West, not
Nepal. The fact that Gotama's mortal remains were brought from the North­West again implicate Dr.
Fuhrer. The largest number of Buddha images have been found from the Gandhara area not Nepal or
eastern UP where one should expect them in the Jones­Cunningham theory.

ALEXANDER AND ASOKA (DIODOTUS­I)

Hard on the heels of Alexander followed another great Indo­Greek king, Asoka, without whom
Alexander's role in history cannot be assessed. Frank Holt has written much about Diodotus­I but
owing to an one­sided perspective has missed that he is the great Asoka.
Diodotus­I was not only a contemporary of Asoka but also a namesake. Both
were fierce warriors in their youth but later turned into saviours. Asoka never
refers to Diodotus­I who should have been his neighbour because he was
Diodotus himself. The bilingual Kandahar Edict of Asoka shows that he was the
master of the area whereas the evidence from coins indicate that Diodotus was
the ruler here. Asoka's Edicts stop exactly in the year Diodotus­I died. The first
Arsakes 'is sometimes a Parthian, sometimes a Bactrian, sometimes even a
descendant of the Achaemenids', wrote a perplexed Sir George McDonald.
Curiously the same is true of Asoka. In the Nittur record Asoka calls himself the
'King of Pathavi' which shows that he was the ruler of Parthia (Parthava of the
Achaemenians). Asoka's grandfather Chandragupta was a descendant of the
Nanda kings and Darius­II was called No(n)thos which shows that he was a Nanda king.
One crucial factor that seems to undermine Alexander's legacy is that there the archaeological
evidence of his expedition is scanty. In particular nothing is known about the twelve splendid Altars that
he is said to have erected to commemorate his expedition to India. An analysis of the Greek, Latin and
Sanskrit sources reveals that the Altars were overwritten by Asoka (Orontobates' grandson). There
remains the possibility, which cannot be proven, that the four­lion
emblem of India, which is taken from the so­called Asokan Pillar from
Sarnath may be a timeless relic of Alexander. It is not easy to explain
why Asoka maintains a measured silence on his grandfather and
Alexander who were the two great figures of the fourth century BC. It
appears that it was due to the latter's influence that Asoka, who led a
violent early life, later became a missionary.
It was Diodotus­I Soter who turned Alexander's dream into
reality. He not only re­inscribed the Altars ­ even his message of
tolerance and love was a continuation of Alexander's call for homonoia.
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His missionaries spread the message of Brotherhood far and wide and
altered the destiny of mankind.
It has been suggested that the Sun­god of the Colossus of
Rhodes was modelled after Alexander. If this is true then Alexander
lives in the Statue of Liberty in the USA. He was often depicted with
ram's horns like the Egyptian Sun­God Amon who was depicted with a
ram's head. It is possible that while the charioteer in the Sun's
quadriga is Andragoras himself, the Sun­God may be Mitra

ALEXANDER, ARISTOTLE AND CALANUS

"It is nonsense to report on the politicians without informing the reader on the philosophers with whom
they studied and consorted, or to discuss Jesus without reference to the politics of Roman Judea.", writes
F.E. Peters. Indeed, what differentiates Alexander from a despot like Tamerlane who also ruled a vast
empire is Aristotle and also Calanus. His debt to Aristotle has been questioned but this is baseless.
Although his scientific bent is generally underrated, his excellence in military engineering and flair for
geography are clearly traceable to Aristotle. Tamerlane's fury was fired by his teacher whose vision of
absolute truth guided him throughout his life and who
was buriedbeside him. Alexander's greatness lies in that
he could see through Aristotle's notion of innate
superiority of the Greeks and Macedonians over the non­
Greek Barbarians and was guided by the egalitarian views
of the Indian sage Calanus or Aspines (Spines of
Plutarch) who was none other than the great Buddhist
scholar Asvaghosa. 'Asva' in Sanskrit stands for the
'horse' and Calanus was famous for his horse which is
mentioned by the Greek sources. It is fitting that the
greatest thinker of the East influenced Alexander who
was a student of the greatest thinker of the West. The
affection of the sage Asvaghosa towards Alexander as
known from his letter to Alexander (Maharaja Kanika Lekha) is a glowing testimony of that he was not a
homosexual maniac as painted by some modern scholars.

ALEXANDER MAY HAVE BEEN POISONED

Aelian reported that Alexander had met Bagoas a few days before his death. Who was this Bagoas and
why did the king meet him? Bagoas and Ochus poisoned numerous princes and nearly obliterated the
Persian Royal line. Plutarch wrote about the rumours about Alexander's poisoning. Usually the prime
suspects are the Generals, the Royal cup­bearer, Arrhidaeus and even his wife Roxane, but Bagoas, the
poison­man par excellence, is left out as he is presumed to have died earlier. Diodorus reported that
Bagoas attempted to poison Darius­III but was forced to drink his own cup of poison. Did the Greeks
know the full truth? The Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa, on the other hand, indicates that Chanakya, who
is clearly Bagoas, helped Chandragupta to defeat his rivals and ascend to the throne. As the core of the
Mudrarakshasa, a story of poison­maidens and intrigue, appears to belong to a period just after
Alexander's death, it is natural to suspect that Alexander was poisoned and that Bagoas was a major
player in the plot. Significantly, in the drama Abhayadatta dies after drinking his own cup of poison.
Chanakya who boasts of decimating the Nanda line in the drama is clearly a shadow of Bagoas. It is
rather simplistic that a fiend like Bagoas who poisoned so many people could be eliminated so easily.
Chanakya made Chandragupta drink small doses of poison daily to get immunity and it is natural to
presume that he had taken the same precaution himself. Only Lane Fox suspects Diodorus' version.
Chandragupta's rise coincided with Alexander's fall and it is judicious to suspect a link. Asoka
hints in his Edicts that his ancestors also adopted the name Diodotus. This crucial data clarifies one of the
most intriguing mysteries linked to Alexander's death ­ the presence of the name of Diodotus of Erythrae
as co­editor of the Royal Diary. This Diodotus must be the lurking Chandragupta. His name in the Diary
can only point to his involvement in Alexander's poisoning. Seleucus at first fought with Chandragupta
but later had very close relations with him. Although most of the Greeks and Macedonians abandoned
their Persian wives, Seleucus remained faithful to Apame, the daughter of Alexander's bitter enemy
Satibarzanes. Was his reise due to the support he received from Alexander's enemies, the Zoroastrians?
This was probably also true of Perdiccas who married Atropates' daughter. The latter may have had a
hand in the poisoning of Hephaestion which was the prelude to the final murder of Alexander. In the
drama, Chandragupta joins hands with Rakshasa, a shadow of Oxyartes. This hints that the latter may
also have betrayed at the end. This points at a grand coalition of all the Persian nobles, Oxyartes,
Sasigupta and Apame to eliminate Alexander. Even Ptolemy may have played a part in the conspiracy.
Michael Wood also suspects poisoning. The lone female character in the drama mimics Roxane who may
also have betrayed.

THE HUMANE FACE OF ALEXANDER

The shadows of Orontobates and Mazaeus show that Alexander was a highly gifted individual who had his
share of human weaknesses. Tarn's flawless portrait of Alexander appears biased but even after making

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the amends Alexander still appears as a hero whose greatness has been acknowledged through the ages.
Whether he played a role in Philip's murder cannot be ascertained and his slaying of Clitus and his
estrangement with Callisthenes stain his character yet a closer look does not show him as an inhuman
dictator. Homosexuality was common among Macedonians and Greeks yet the reports in some sources of
his homosexual liaison with Hephaestion appear to be tainted. Lane Fox writes that while later gossip
claimed that Alexander had a love affair with Hephaestion, no contemporary history states this.
Furthermore, one has to consider that probably there was an extensive smear campaign launched by the
Generals and Sasigupta to cover up their treachery. Sadly although there is much in his relationship with
Hephaestion that is worth emulating, this has been underplayed by modern writers who abet the
unlimited thirst and tolerance for sensational falsehood in today's media­dominated world. His frenzy
after Hephaestion's death has been given a sexual slant but this is unjustified. He suspected that
Hephaestion was poisoned and executed the physician. Bosworth refers to the prevailing 'heavy
atmosphere of distrust and suspicion around the king', and it is likely that his frenzy was due to his fear
that the noose was tightening on his own neck. Moreover, it was Hephaestion who alone shared his new­
found religious sentiments which had alienated old allies like Cleitus, Callisthenes and perhaps even
Parmenio. His enthusiasm for Buddhism, which like Hellenism, favours the Middle Way, is consistent with
his hatred for Zoroastrianism which is a priestly religion having absolutist traits. His treatment of
Sisygambis, Porus, Apame and above all his association with the Indian sages reveal an enlightened
person, not a drunken despot. He was fervent, and occasionally even impetuous, but on the whole he
appears humane and magnanimous.
ALEXANDER IN SEISTAN

Seistan, today a playground of ignorance and terrorism, has sadly been relegated to the backyard of
history. Although Colin Renfrew includes Seistan in his theory of Aryans streaming out of Turkey, he
does not mention it in his textbook on archaeology. Seistan, in fact, holds the key to a proper
understanding of world history, including that of Alexander. I. M. Diakonoff and G. Gnoli have held that
Prophet Zoroaster's homeland was Seistan but owing to Jonesian misconceptions, Gnoli misses the link
with another Prophet ­ Gotama Buddha. An analysis of the history of Seistan throws a flood of light on
Alexander's life history. His stay in Seistan for about two months leaves many unanswered questions. "In
Persian legend, Alexander was said have soon sent Roxane away to Seistan, where he gave her its citadel
as a wedding present..", writes R. Lane Fox. Klaus Fischer writes with great insight,
While the country owes to the abundant alluvium its wealth and fertility, it also contains more ruined cities and
habitations than perhaps to be found within a similar space of ground anywhere in the world.

Seistan is the locale of of the Epic Shahnama and the cradle of all ancient Iranian tradition. It is in fact a
fallen Paradise which was once a very fertile country and was known as the granary of ancient Iran. As the
Iranian civilisation was once closely allied to the Indian civilisation, Seistan must have been of great
importance in Indian history as well. It was called a country of India in the Christian sources. Although
scholars like Frye and Renfrew attach little importance to Seistan, its great significance was known to E.
Herzfeld and Sir Aurel Stein. Herzfeld went so far as identify the home castle of Caspar who followed the
star to Bethelhem with Kuk­e Khwaja in Seistan. H.C. Raychaudhuri and others have suggested that the
Helmand river, which was called Harahuvaiti, was the original Saraswati river which is frequently alluded
to in the Rigveda. Seistan was known as Sakastan but the name can also be a variant of Shivastan, the
abode of God Shiva of Hinduism. During Alexander's time the
Sibi tribes (Sibai of the Greeks) may have been in the Punjab
area but the Mahabharata groups them with the Sakas,
Kiratas, Yavanas, and Vasatis. The Sakas were in Seistan and
the Vasatis may have been the people of the Vasht area in
Seistan. This imples that the Sibi tribes were once in the
Seistan area. According to the Mahabharata the kingdom of
the Sibis was ruled by King Usinara. This shows that Seistan
was once known as Usinara. The Queen of Sheba who went to
meet king Solomon may have been from Shivastan or
Seistan. The Rigveda mentions a Queen of Usinara
(Usinarani) who may be the Queen of Sheba herself or
another Queen of her line. Kapilavastu in Seistan appears to
have been the holiest religious centre of the ancient world.
The Usinara area was probably the Sineru of the Buddhist texts which corresponds to Shinar of
the Bible. Although Assyriologists equate Shinar with Sumer, their linguistic argument is far from
convincing. The 19th century Biblical scholars considered Shinar to be different from Sumer. Prof. Ran
Zadok also denies that Sumer was Shinar. The name Sakastan corresponds to Sakadvipa of the Indian
texts. The Magas of Sakadvipa are referred to in the Agnipurana which reminds one of Gomata who was
called a Maga. Gomata was from Seistan.
Alexander's stay in the Helmand area for some sixty days, where he is said to have enjoyed the
hospitality of the Ariaspians, appears unusual as he was still chasing Bessus. Arrian writes,
These people Alexander treated with every courtesy; he honoured them for the service rendered to Cyrus in the old days
and also for the fact, which he observed for himself, that their political institutions were different from those of other
tribes in that part of the world: like the best of the Greeks, they claimed to know the distinction between right and
wrong. He accordingly allowed them to retain their freedom, and offered to give them as much of their neighbours'
territory as they wanted ­ and they asked only for a small slice.

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His treatment of the Ariaspians sheds light on his personality and certainly does not indicate a vain
conqueror. Incidentally the Ariaspians correspond to the Hariasvas of the Indian texts who are also
described as noble. It is said that King Hariasva never ate animal food. Piety is not a familiar keyword
associated with modern terrorist­infested Seistan but King Sivi Ausinara became a legend in the Indian
tradition for his exemplary humanity and piety. This ancient tradition of piety of Seistan was carried on
by the Ariaspians and contributed to Alexander's call for Homonoia.

ALEXANDER'S FASCINATION FOR BABYLON WHICH WAS THE HEIR TO PROPHTHASIA

Alexander's fascination for Babylon has not been satisfactorily explained by writers like Badian and
Bosworth who have missed that his desire to make Babylon his world capital is linked to homonoia. He
died at the Palace of Nebuchadrezzar who was a mighty conqueror eulogised in the Bible, but later
dedicated his life in spreading a religion that stressed brotherhood. Babylon was a concourse of religions
and as Sir Leonard Woolley realised the E­sangila was a great centre of religious reforms. Bagapa, who
was probably the head of the E­sangila, a kind of a Sangha, was none other than Gotama Buddha whose
title was Bhagava.
The name Babylon is a Greek transform of the true name Babil. Joan Oates writes that the usual
explaination of the name as 'the gate of God' is incorrect. The American linguist I. J. Gelb pointed out
that 'Babil' is an echo of the name of an older city which had the same name. If one recalls that Babylon
was often in conflict with the Assyrians for religious reasons but was usually closer to the Elamites, it can
be guessed that this older 'Babil' was in the East. E. Herzfeld wrote about the city 'Bawer' in Iran, which
is said to have been founded by Jamshid. Herzfeld also noted that the only ancient structures of Eastern
Iran are at Kuh­e Khwaja near Zabol which is an echo of Babel. Bawer is cognate with Baveru of the
Jatakas and Kapil (vastu). The Lalitavistara states that
Gotama's birthplace Kapilavastu (Prophthasia) was the
abode of many earlier Prophets and was near the Paradise.
Babil is cognate with Kapil of the Indian texts, Kabil of the
Quran and Havilah of the Bible. Kapilavastu or Babil was
once the holiest religious centre of the world. Babaylon later
inherited the holy legacy of Babil.
As the Lalitavistara indicates, Babil was near the
ancient Paradise. It appears that the ancient Ur from where
Abraham started his westward trek was also in this area.
Woolley's identification of a city in south Iraq as Abraham's
Ur was once hailed as a great discovery but this now appears
to be a mistake. This was was rejected by W. F. Albright and
appears outdated in the light of recent discoveries at Shahr­
i Shokhta and Jiroft. E.A. Speiser
wrote that Sumerians city­names echo the names of older Elamite cities. Ur agrees with Urva of the
Vendidad and Uruvela (Bala=Kala=city) of the Indian texts. Islamic historians wrote about the Indian city
Ubbula in the Gulf area which is clearly an echo of Uruvela or Ur. After enlightenment Gotama preached
at Uruvela which is clearly Ur. It was only Jonesian insanity that led scholars to imagine that Uruvela was
in Eastern India. Babil was near the lost Paradise mentioned in the Bible and also alluded to in the
splendid art of Ajanta and Sanchi. It is likely that like Abraham Jesus Christ also had links with Ur and
the Paradise in the East. At this stage also it is important to note that Mithradates II (ό κτιστής), king
of Pontus, was actually Chandragupta Maurya. Strabo mentions Sandaracurgium (Strab. 12.3.40), and
Gangra, the royal residence of Morzeüs (Strab. 12.3.41) but had no idea that Mithradates­II was Maurya
Chandragupta who also ruled India. Gangra is an echo of Ganga. Chandragupta’s Suganga Palace on the
Ganga, (in fact on the Indus which was the earlier Ganga) was famous. Chandragupta was clearly an
ancestor of Mithradates VI Eupator, the famous poison­king. Chandragupta's relationship with the
poison king makes it almost certain that Alexander was poisoned.
THE LEGACY OF ALEXANDER

The links between Europe and Indo­Iran, forged by precursor of the Susa­Sardis road, go back to the 6th
millennim BC, but in the 4th century BC Alexander gave a new dimension to this kinship. His voyage
ended the world­domination of the East for almost three
millennia and signalled the ascendancy of the West, yet the
expedition was far from an Imperial conquest. The Nobel
laureate Wole Soyinka has highlighted the exploitive role of both
Christianity and Islam in Africa but notwithstanding the
bloodletting it caused, Alexander's expedition had a very
different outcome. The resurgence in Indian civilisation in the
4th century BC cannot be explained without noting the colossal
impact of his voyage. Like Buddhism, Hellenism also recognised
no national boundaries and as the Son of Ammon, Alexander
could not circumscribe himself within narrow national confines. Groomed by such great thinkers as
Aristotle and Asvaghosa, Alexander embodied not only Western science but also Eastern religiosity ­ he
had become a world­citizen (Anagarika) in the true sense of the word. It was due to his wisdom and
dynamism that Hellenistic culture emerged as a significant factor in the old world. Koine, a colloquial
form of Greek, became widely accepted as the language of the cultured people. The Old Testament was

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translated into Greek by about 285 BC. The New Testament was also written in Koine and is a typical
Hellenistic document. Significantly, the first Buddhist texts are from the 4th century BC and Gotama's
biography Buddhacharita was written by Asvaghosa. Tarn wrote that most of the Bactrian Greeks
adopted Buddhism which not only reflects Hellenistic
ideals but has greatly benefitted from Greek
participation. This was not only due to Asoka but also
Alexander. As Droysen wrote, Hellenistic culture was
Greek in essence but was greatly enriched by the
eastern cultures. From this mixing of cultures in which
the great Indo­Hellenic king Diodotus­I played a large
part, arose not only the mighty wave of Mahayana that
swept Asia but also Christianity and Islam. According to
Plutarch Mithraism came to the Roman world in the
12th cent. depictation of St. Josaphat preaching Christianity
1st century BC
Alexander's legacy can be seen as much in the Seleucid Empire or the culture of Alexandria as in
the Greek icon of the Buddha, or the immortal art of Ajanta or Gandhara. As the last Titan of the Heroic
Age he saw the sword as a means to further righteousness but at the end of his career he seems to have
mellowed and realised the futility of violence. He was not always above sin, but his greatness lies in that
even Sisygambis, the mother of Darius­III, and the Prasiians saw him as a Holy Sinner.

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