All language subtitles for Alexander.The.Making.of.a.God.S01E05.NF.WEBRip

Into each life comes adversity.

What is there to understand?

Why you would march us
through a burning desert for weeks,

just to see us climb into a lion's mouth?

What if it's something
I have to do before I face Darius?

But for those who seek greatness,

they must take the hardest path,

the road less traveled.

They must pass through the tempest,

the eye of the storm.

But this is how the gods test us.

For it is only
in the eye of that storm

where we find if we are truly worthy,

how they challenge us
to recognize what is truly important...

Alex?

...what is worth fighting for...

and what is worth moving heaven and earth...

...to protect.

We have been waiting for you, Alexander.

You know who I am?

The world knows who you are.

The question is,

do you?

Hmm.

Two bitter enemies

worlds apart.

But two sides of the same coin.

A young Macedonian prince
fighting for his country

and for his own name.

And a Persian king

determined to defend
the greatest empire on earth.

But who shall be victorious?

The gods will decide.

So...

this war,

the worlds I fight for,

everything I do in pursuit of some

higher meaning is pointless?

That is not what I said.

And it is not what you feel within.

But what if I fail?

The child of a god cannot fail.

My mother...

She told me that.

She told you only what
you needed to hear to set you on the path.

The path to where?

Let me show you.

We simply do not know

what happens in that inner sanctuary

in the Temple of Amun at Siwa.

Our sources are
at loggerheads with each other here.

But one thing is certain,

is that Alexander comes out
of the experience a changed man.

He claims that the Oracle
pronounced that he was

the son of the god Amun.

And whether it is
a fervent spiritual belief of his

or whether it is
an incredible piece of politics,

he projects himself from here on in

as a living, breathing god.

Stand back!

Everybody back!

Guards! Control this crowd!

Ptol, it's okay.

Really.

Alexander spends the night

at the temple in Siwa,

and there, the Oracle speaks to him.

Alexander, keep moving.

When he comes out, he says that
the god Amun-Ra claimed him as his son.

And so, Alexander is also divine

and, therefore, obviously
the legitimate ruler of Egypt,

and certainly for the Egyptians,

he is a god from that point on.

Alexander!

General.

Alexander.

It's good to see you.

A living god?

The High Priest confirmed it.

Apparently, he's the son of Zeus.

Well, then, if he is not Philip's son,
is he really our king?

- It's not a joke, General.
- And I'm not laughing.

The troops are getting fractious.
They've done nothing but train for months.

Then they'll be ready
to fight for Macedon.

But will Alexander?

Doesn't it bother you?

Him here, in his Egyptian clothes,

learning Persian from the enemy's wife.

He's going native.

A pharaoh.

Now a god.

Where does it all end?

With a glorious victory over Persia.

Does it?

I need to know that he is still with us.

And you too.

Why go to the oracle
of an Egyptian deity, Amun?

Well, the Greeks were quite flexible
in their understanding of their gods.

They accepted that perhaps their gods

could go by
different names in different places

and so, although it was
the oracle of Amun in Egypt,

the Greeks associated Amun with Zeus.

So, in going to that oracle,

it's also like Alexander
was getting recognition from Zeus as well.

They would've been
one and the same to the Greeks.

Again.

Again.

I've never seen him like this.

Right now, he would take on all of Macedon

if it would save
Stateira from that savage.

Let's not over-egg the idea

that it's all over for Darius.

He's still got substantial territories

from Babylon all the way through
to Northern India and Pakistan.

But we can't deny that the loss
of Asia Minor, the Levant,

Egypt, to Alexander

is an enormous blow.

That was a substantial part
of his kingdom gone.

Plus the fact now, he's lost his wife,

he's losing confidence
with his chief advisors,

ministers, and council of war.

It is looking dodgy for him.

But the game isn't over yet.

My king, I bring news.

Of Alexander's death, I hope.

No, sir.

My hope he would have been swallowed
by the Great Sand Sea proved optimistic.

He returned from
the Temple of Siwa a few days ago

to some excitement, it would seem.

Excitement?

Rumor amongst the locals is that

the high priestess at Siwa
has declared him the rightful pharaoh.

More than that...

...son of Zeus-Amun, sir.

A living god.

Then it seems
I am to be a god killer.

I have a little something to tell you.

I have a little news myself.

I'm afraid your news
has already spread like wildfire.

Is he going to be known as the son

of the son of God?

Alexander.

You need to come with me.

It's urgent.

By this stage in Alexander's life,

I think his heart
is no longer Macedonian per se,

but here's a young man
experiencing a much wider world

with a great cultural depth to it.

And I just think he happily buys in

to whatever he encounters next.

I think that's the thing with Alexander.
He's incredibly receptive

to the next thing that opens up to him.

Hm.

Well, this doesn't feel welcoming.

We are concerned,

the leaders of your army.

May I speak my mind, sir?

You've earned that right, General.

Then hear me when I say

we have lost all focus on our mission.

You might be worshiped
here by the Egyptians,

but our men
will never bow down to one of their own.

Now, wait a minute, General.

I know my men.

Theirs is a faith that needs to be earned

in great deeds.

Then I will earn that faith.

I promise you.

We'll make preparations
to leave Egypt immediately

and face Darius on the field.

But

I must have loyalty.

Especially among those
that I depend on most.

Did I not lead you to victory at Granicus?

Halicarnassus?

Issus and Tyre?

So I ask all of you right now

to make your choice.

Go

with my blessing.

Or pledge your life to me all the way
to the gates of Babylon and Persia beyond.

What do you say?

I agree with you, General.

Out here,

how they worship my oldest friend, it's...

It feels like hysteria.

It does.

But they are willing
to follow him to the ends of the world.

And that belief,

that faith in him...

it can level armies,

entire cities.

They're ready to fight to the death
to win a war in his name.

The least we can do...

is show them how.

So am I with you, my king?

Nai!

Nai!

Nai!

Nai!

Nai.

Ptolemy's dilemma is palpable.

He was probably the person who knew
Alexander best of all of his generals.

They'd grown up together since boyhood.
He knew him intimately.

And so, for Alexander
to now present himself to Ptolemy

as this god-king,
and an Egyptian-style god-king at that,

is so unpalatable to Ptolemy

and to the rest
of the... the Macedonians, of course.

But there is an irony to all of this,
and that is,

in years to come,

Ptolemy himself, of course,

was going to be crowned
as the pharaoh of Egypt,

the Lord of the Two Lands,

and he himself was made into a living god.

Thank you, Ptol.

For your faith in me.

Faith?

It's not faith, Alexander.

It's friendship.

And it's blood.

Because I know that for all of this,

you are still Macedon

to the bone.

Sir, the magi, what did they say?

The usual.

Omens of victory,
vague warnings of doom, empty words.

Are the generals all assembled?

They're ready for your orders, my king.

I can assure you, Bessus, they are not.

I don't think there's any doubt
whatsoever that after Issus,

Darius is hemorrhaging support
from the political elite.

They're starting to have doubts.

They don't know whether
this guy's gonna survive.

It... It's really quite chaotic.

If you can imagine that you've had
this imperial system in place

for 200 years,
it's very disruptive to everyone.

They don't know what comes in its place,
what's happening.

So, really, for Darius,
he's got one very last throw of the dice.

I think a big showdown
somewhere was inevitable.

Alexander still has
a huge numerical disadvantage,

even with his Egyptian reinforcement.

We estimate 30,000 heavy infantry,
7,000 cavalry.

Which means...

we can easily contain his forces here...

No.

My king?

No, no, no.

No, Mazaeus.

I've read those reports too.

He's restored army morale

and won the hearts of the Egyptian people.

He even has a new nickname.

Alexander the Invincible.

So, no.

We will not contain him.

We need to destroy him.

So, I am hereby mobilizing
the Immortal guards,

the hoplites,

the scythed chariots,

as well as the cavalries
of the Eastern satrapies,

the Indian garrison,
and the allied Scythian tribes.

In fact...

send everything.

Then let us see
how this Alexander the Invincible

fares against the entire Persian Empire.

Indeed, sir.

A great army.

Truly inspired.

Mazaeus?

Yes, my king?

I know you'll want to be at the vanguard,

so ride out
and determine Alexander's route.

Then burn all the crops between us.

We need to starve them out.

But be aware.

That will harm our people too.

It's two years since the Battle of Issus.

Things are looking grim for Darius.

The war is not over yet.

He has been in Babylon all this time,

putting troops together,

bringing in more mercenaries.

Darius is all set again for the fight.

Yes.

Stateira had been separated
from Darius III

for two years at this point,

so it is out of the question

that Darius could have fathered
this child, of course.

So that leaves Alexander or his men.

Now, I do not think that Alexander
would have conceivably allowed anyone

to have sexual relations
with this queen of Persia,

which leads me to believe that

the father of that child

can only have been Alexander himself.

Maman?

Maman?

Stateira and the baby do not survive
the traumas of childbirth.

Alexander's biographer,
the historian Plutarch,

specifically names Stateira,

and he tells us
the circumstances in which she died.

That's extremely unusual for Plutarch
or any other historian of the time.

The second thing is we can trace

the events that
lead up to Stateira's death

in the Babylonian evidence
from the astronomical charts.

Alexander seems to have
at least made a show

of mourning Stateira's death.

We know from our sources
that he provided her with a lavish funeral

that seems to have been in concert
with her station in Persian society.

And so at least Alexander made
a political performance out of her death.

My king.

A message has arrived from Alexander.

Darius should hear of her passing from me,

not his spies.

Yes, my king.

But, Ptol?

Make sure you tell him how she died.

Your wife...

She died giving birth...

to a son.

We really see Alexander there just
twisting the knife deliberately.

Bessus, she was lost.

And I failed her.

Sir.

We are soldiers.

We are Persia.

Sir?

They're waiting for you.

Stand guard!

Stateira being alive
gives Darius more legitimacy.

He wasn't a direct heir to the throne.

She was a Persian royal woman.
She was of high status.

And so, her connection to Darius

gave Darius more authority
and more of a right to rule.

Her loss means
that's been cut off from him.

Interestingly, at this period,

one of our key players,
Mazaeus, comes back into focus.

He's Darius's great confidant.

He's one of his chief advisors,

one of his go-to men,

and we find at this point, increasingly,

those who are loyal to Darius

start to move away from him.

Some of them actually even
start to go over to Alexander's camp.

And one later tradition,
outside the Alexander historians,

suggests that Hephaestion
actually met with Mazaeus

and persuaded him
to go over to Alexander's side.

Governor Mazaeus.

You know I'm duty bound
to gut you like a fish right here.

But before you do,

you should know
that Barsine is alive and well.

Untouched?

Not a hair on her head.

And King Alexander promises

that she will remain this way
under his personal protection.

But...

...he cannot keep his promise if he loses.

Why are you telling me this?

Perhaps you can help save Barsine

and remain governor of Babylon.

Darius has been trying
to avoid another pitched battle,

and you cannot blame him for that.

This was a disaster for the Persian side,

but Alexander is having none of it.

He is determined
to show his military expertise

to capture Darius and to literally take

the Persian Empire for himself.

And so, it's inevitable that the two
have to meet on the battlefield again.

They can only dance around each other

like two territorial dogs for so long

before they have to come to blows.

Darius leads his army to an area

that the locals called
the Place of the Camel,

Gaugamela, in Babylonian.

Gaugamela is situated in modern-day Iraq,

north of Babylon.

Alexander and his men

were pushing through the desert of Iraq

to get to this place,

and when they arrived
at their eventual campsite,

they were thirsty, hungry,

and exhausted already.

Meanwhile, Darius
and his men had set up camp.

They were well-fed, well-watered, rested.

If Alexander has
already crossed the Tigris...

he will be just days away.

You saw his cavalry, yes?

Mazaeus.

Yes, sir.

From a distance.

Then he will take
the direct southeastern route to Babylon.

Mazaeus, ride out with your cavalry

and prepare the plains for battle. Do it.

Do it now!

Yes, my king.

For Mazaeus,
this is a moment where

he begins to question
what Darius is all about.

Uh, and so, you really begin to see
this certain anxiety emerge in him

about Darius's qualities as a king.

My king! Bessus!

You must see this.

Darius seems to be trapped in
this whirlwind of bad news all the time,

and suddenly, out of the night sky,

comes the worst omen
he could possibly have,

and that's a lunar eclipse.

The skies darken,
and the moon turns bloodred.

Mazaeus.

Quickly, spread the word.

The magi have decreed
this foretells of a great victory.

That is all.

My king...

Do you understand?

Yes, my king.

Immediately.

Sir,

I suspect the magi
would see this omen differently.

Yes.

They would.

Find me a runner.

I need to send Alexander a message.

- Let me call back Governor Mazaeus.
- No.

He can be your envoy.

No, Bessus.

He must never know.

As with these things in these times,
these are omens,

and they're taken as omens
by either side about what it means

and interpreted in different ways.

And it's more than likely that,
from the Persian point of view,

it would've been seen as
the great king, in this case, Darius,

being eclipsed by the new challenger,
and that would have been Alexander.

Conversely, in Alexander's camp,

who witnessed the same eclipse, of course,

there, Alexander's priests say,
"Nothing to worry about here."

"This bodes badly for Darius,
but for you, this is a good sign."

You've seen it.

Well...

- You can't exactly miss it.
- Hm.

You're right.

What's worrying you, old friend?

What worries me

is the thousands of men
over that hill that want to kill us.

That we might be outnumbered five to one.

That we're walking into this
behind a man who thinks he's invincible.

And that might be
the sign he's very much not.

Alexander has requested our presence.

A message has arrived from Darius himself.

What is it? A demand for surrender?

Nope.

It's another desperate offer.

In return for peace, Darius will give me
all the territory west of the Euphrates

and 30,000 silver talents.

I take it it's not enough?

No.

He did leave a little extra bonus
to sweeten the deal though.

What?

The hand in marriage
of his daughter Barsine.

Seriously?

She's already betrothed to
Governor Mazaeus, his most loyal general.

What's he thinking?

Exactly.

If he's making an offer like that,
what's going through his head?

Let Darius know I will not accept.

Wait.

Alex.

We can use this.

We return Darius's offer

along with a message
from you declining it.

But we send it
care of Governor Mazaeus himself,

with instructions
to deliver it to his beloved king.

As Darius
is trying to negotiate,

Alexander's also planning ahead,

and so, Alexander
sends Mazaeus a little note being,

"Hey, you thought you were gonna
get to marry the great king's daughter."

"Well, he's changing his mind about that."

"So maybe don't believe
everything he tells you."

And this is an important part
of Alexander's strategy as well,

not just winning
victories on the battlefield

but also manipulating personalities

and relationships
behind the scenes as well.

This must have put Mazaeus
in a difficult position,

because who do you believe?

Do you believe the Macedonian,

who could be telling the truth,
or could be lying through his teeth?

While you're here,

place a garrison
on guard throughout the night.

I don't want a surprise attack.

So, Mazaeus has to decide

who does he sort of
throw his weight behind?

Does he continue to support his great king

and do what he can
to defend Persia from the Macedonians?

Or does he start
to question where he belongs

and who will be more beneficial to him?

This war will soon be over, my friend.

It is human nature
to try to bend the fates in their favor...

because they refuse to see

what destiny is.

That for all their plans...

...for all their paranoia,

they ignore the only truth that matters.

That their lives

are in the lap of the gods.

Charge!