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[dramatic music playing]
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Persia.
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Greece.
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Macedon.
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How strange it is that such fury
should land on mere lines on a map.
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Unless you're following
the path of heroes.
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And so the young King Alexander
sets off on his epic adventure,
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determined to take the fight
to the land of his bitter foe.
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[crowd cheering]
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[woman] One small kingdom...
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taking on the might of its vast oppressor.
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But what lies in wait?
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Is it glory...
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or is it insanity?
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[music intensifies, fades]
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{\an8}So in the spring of 334 BCE,
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{\an8}having defeated
and put down all of the rebellions
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{\an8}and uprisings and threats in Greece,
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Alexander and his army
march out of Macedonia
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to begin their invasion
of the Persian Empire.
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{\an8}So Alexander marches east
from the Macedonian capital of Aegae,
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and after a march of 22 days,
the army reaches the Hellespont,
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a stretch of sea that marks
the division between Europe and Asia.
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[heroic music playing]
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He arrives in Asia Minor with his army
of 32,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry,
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and, of course,
his retinue of close companions,
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which include Ptolemy and Hephaestion.
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[men shouting in background]
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[horses neighing]
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[man] All right, hurry.
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[Salima] For Alexander,
how he was first received by his troops
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was going to be critical,
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{\an8}because these people were going to
have to accept him and follow him
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{\an8}and be willing to die for him.
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[dramatic music thunders, wanes]
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Heaven cannot brook two suns.
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Nor Earth two masters.
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Asia shall be our gift from the gods.
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Let the invasion begin.
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[Ali] Alexander has to show
an early success
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{\an8}in order to convince his followers,
in a sense, that this entire venture,
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{\an8}which, you know,
from the start seems quite ludicrous,
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{\an8}actually has a chance of succeeding.
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[Parmenion] Sir, the men are just tired
from marching for days.
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From a defeat where almost half
their number was massacred.
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Exactly. They need leadership.
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[Parmenion] Let me assemble the lines
for your inspection.
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They can meet you.
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Brother, we need them with us.
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We'll need more than them, Ptol.
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We need the gods on our side.
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Come on. The shrine isn't far from here.
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This is the moment
Alexander needs to bond with his men.
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Don't ask.
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[Lloyd] The soldiers have been waiting
for him to come.
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They've suffered defeat.
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{\an8}They need him to show himself
to be the leader that he claims to be.
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But as ever with Alexander,
he behaves to the contrary.
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He goes completely off script,
and he goes AWOL for quite a while.
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[horse neighs]
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[Lloyd] He goes on a sightseeing tour
to explore for himself
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the world of his great hero Achilles.
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[Memnon] My king.
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Scouts report Alexander landing
his battalion at Hellespont, near Troy.
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He's merged with Parmenion's army,
what's left of it.
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Now they march south into Mysia.
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They're savages, sir.
A pollution on our land.
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And we will deal with them, Bessus.
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Memnon.
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This Alexander... You knew him?
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Back in Macedon
when I stayed at his father's court.
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He was just a boy.
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But...
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bright, endlessly curious.
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I remember at just ten years old,
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Philip sent him out
to meet with Persian diplomats.
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Learned men.
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He ran rings around all of them.
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But this...
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This is reckless.
He's wildly out of his depth.
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Then how do we exploit his foolishness?
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He's a long way from home,
already overstretched.
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Cut his supply lines. Burn the crops.
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Yes. Scorch the earth and starve him out.
Beat them without a fight.
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No.
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Sir?
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[Darius] No, Bessus.
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Such a Macedonian tactic demeans us.
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And it would starve our own people too.
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But I ask you this.
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What's wrong with a fight, anyway?
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Let's make an example of this... boy.
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A lesson in Persian supremacy
for the world to see.
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Memnon, you know his weaknesses.
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Take whatever troops you need
and destroy him definitively.
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Then, Bessus, spread the word
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to those rebels in Egypt or India,
a warning.
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Threaten Persia
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and you won't live to try again.
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Upon landing in Asia Minor,
Alexander's first act is not one of war
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but rather one of pilgrimage...
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[dramatic music playing]
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[Carolyn] ...as he takes himself and
Hephaestion to the famous site of Troy.
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He had a great deal of respect
for the great heroes like Achilles.
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So on the eve
of his great campaign against Persia,
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which would be no simple task,
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it makes sense that Alexander
would try to seek inspiration
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from the great warriors
of Greek mythology like Achilles.
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[Salima] That's what
makes Alexander very special,
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because he wasn't just
an out-and-out military commander.
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He was someone who
was thinking about things all the time,
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and everything in his life had meaning.
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[dramatic music intensifies]
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[dramatic music ends]
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[Salima] And so going to visit
the shrine of Achilles,
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he would feel would change
the outcome of a battle.
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[metal bowl clinks]
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[Alexander] Ptolemy should be here praying
to the world's greatest warrior.
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Remember how Homer described him?
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"A lionheart
who mauls battalions wholesale."
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- That's a lot to live up to.
- [Hephaestion scoffs]
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Only if you make such comparisons, right?
Achilles was a demigod.
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Alex, what is it?
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Before we left,
my mother revealed to me a vision
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of my true father.
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Not Philip?
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Apparently, I'm the son of Zeus.
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And you believe this?
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I mean... [sighs]
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There's a fire in me, Hephaestion.
You know that, and...
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[chuckles] You know, maybe it's a sign.
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But if I'm descended from the gods,
I can't rely on dreams
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or the winged words of my mother.
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I need...
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confirmation.
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[Salima] For the Greeks, there were gods,
and there were demigods,
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and a god was someone who was
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a being who was completely divine,
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and they had been there
at the creation of the world,
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whereas a demigod was
someone, as the name implies,
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half-god, half-mortal.
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And so, these were the people
who could even walk the Earth
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amongst the mortals.
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Know this.
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As my king,
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demigod, or just... just my friend,
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I will follow.
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And if you trust in them,
your men will trust in you.
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All they need is a hero.
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[chuckles softly]
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[dramatic music intensifies, fades]
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[Salima] For Alexander going into battle,
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in a way, he had an edge
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that other warriors didn't
because he saw himself as semi-divine,
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but, of course, the outcome of the battle
would be the proof of the pudding.
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{\an8}[Lloyd] Alexander leads his men throughout
what is, nowadays, modern Türkiye
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{\an8}to the River Granicus.
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{\an8}It probably took them about a month.
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The Persians have
something of a standing army as it is,
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but their genius is
always to use mercenaries,
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and Darius is really,
really, really adapted
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at getting the right people
at the right time
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and putting them in the right place,
really quite remarkably so.
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Uh, and so he gets
mercenary troops together,
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uh, and loads them into Asia Minor.
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So conflict becomes inevitable.
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[Ptolemy] The scouts have confirmed it.
It is General Memnon leading them.
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[Parmenion] The same commander
who forced our route at Magnesia.
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Two of his divisions
are already in formation
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on the opposite bank
of the Granicus River here.
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Forty thousand men, the scout reports.
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Five thousand of them
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Greek mercenaries.
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[sighs deeply] Traitorous rats.
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Led by the biggest rat of them all.
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Parmenion, how could this happen?
How could they intercept us so fast?
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He's had spies watching all of us
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since we left Macedon.
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Ptolemy, tell the men to make camp.
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Let's reassess. We go again tomorrow.
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Or we attack now.
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We catch them by surprise.
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We're swifter, more maneuverable.
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We've also been marching for four days.
The men are exhausted.
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[scoffs]
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The men only care about victory.
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[Ptolemy] I think the general
is right here, Alex.
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Give the men the night. Attack at dawn.
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And our current formation
leaves us entirely exposed.
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Sir, I do have experience
of fighting Memnon.
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[Alexander] I understand, General.
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But that experience was of defeat,
was it not?
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- [horse neighs]
- [men chattering]
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Alex?
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You are the king now.
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[dramatic music intensifies]
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[Alexander] General, ready your troops.
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You'll attack from the left
while I drive towards their center.
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[dramatic music continues]
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[assertively] Now, General.
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[music wanes]
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Sounded like an order to me.
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[Carolyn] The main difference really seems
to come down to age and experience.
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Parmenion is older. He has been a soldier.
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He has been a general
for most of his life.
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He knows all the potentials
that could happen on a battlefield,
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and he wants to think things through
and make the right choice,
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whereas Alexander has the bravery,
the impetuousness of youth.
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Alexander's mindset seems to be,
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"I know what I want.
We're just gonna do it. Let's go."
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[softly] "Grant, O all-seeing Zeus,
that victory may go with him."
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[horses neighing]
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{\an8}[Carolyn] And for the very first time
in Alexander's career,
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the Macedonians have faced off
against the Persians
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on either side of the Granicus River.
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[spears rattling]
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We have the Macedonians lined up
on one side of the river
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with Alexander's standard formation.
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On the opposite side,
the famous Persian cavalry
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has drawn up
along the steep banks of the river
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with the Greek mercenary infantry behind.
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[weapons rattle]
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[wind blowing]
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[Lloyd] Darius's troops are prepared for
early morning battle the following day...
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Cavalry prepare!
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[Lloyd] ...which is the standard way
in which ancient warfare took place.
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Hold your line!
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You take advantage of the dawn,
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you fight throughout most of the day,
and then it's all over by suppertime.
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But Alexander thinks differently.
He's not going to wait for tomorrow.
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It's going to happen now.
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[yelling] Charge!
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- [horses neighing]
- [men shouting]
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To arms!
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[Jennifer] This is a really
important moment for Alexander
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because this is the first time
that he can prove himself
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as a competent military commander
at the head of his army as king.
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And so he leads from the front
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at the head of
his trusted companion cavalry.
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Defensive flank positions!
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[Jennifer] The Macedonian cavalry
is really the most important part
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of their military machine.
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Prepare to repel!
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{\an8}And Alexander uses this
to punch through the Persian line.
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- [dramatic music playing]
- [horses neighing]
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[Carolyn] It would've been
startling and shocking,
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not just for the Persian soldiers
but their horses as well.
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00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,400
They had never really experienced
anything like this before,
249
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,120
and by the time
they sort of got their momentum back
250
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,480
or figured out what was going on,
it was too late.
251
00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,680
- [horses neighing]
- [men shouting]
252
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,920
- [men grunting in effort]
- [swords clanging]
253
00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,000
[man cries in pain]
254
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:27,120
[man shrieks]
255
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,920
Memnon must have been like,
"Oh my gosh! Like, what...?"
256
00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:32,360
"What's going on here?"
257
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,080
You know. "This is not a style of battle
that I have experienced before."
258
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,760
Left flank! Hold the line!
259
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:44,240
Memnon is completely thrown
by Alexander's bizarre tactic.
260
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:45,960
[man shrieks]
261
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:47,920
[Memnon grunts]
262
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,120
Fight, you damn cowards!
263
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,200
- [man grunts]
- [man cries in pain]
264
00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:54,560
[shouting] Keep pushing!
265
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,480
[Jennifer] This is a very
fast-moving battle.
266
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:57,560
[man yells]
267
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,480
[Jennifer] Although the Persian army is
quite a bit larger than Alexander's,
268
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,240
the speed of his attack allows him
to overcome that disadvantage.
269
00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,960
[shouting] Keep going!
We're pushing them back!
270
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:10,800
[man grunts, shrieks]
271
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,400
[swords clanking]
272
00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:13,640
[man screams]
273
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:18,560
Alexander wants to be plunging headlong
right into the center of the action.
274
00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:19,640
[Alexander] Spear!
275
00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:22,400
- [grunts]
- [man yells]
276
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:23,960
- [grunts]
- [man cries in pain]
277
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,640
Alexander was not just active. I mean,
he was almost quite recklessly active.
278
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:30,720
[horse neighs]
279
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,000
[Ali] He put himself
right at the heart of the danger.
280
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:39,200
In this battle, Alexander is
actually wearing the armor of Achilles
281
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,400
that he had taken from the temple of Troy.
282
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,320
This makes him really conspicuous
283
00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:46,760
and a very clear target for the Persians.
284
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:48,080
[man cries in pain]
285
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:49,720
[both grunting in effort]
286
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:51,640
[men shouting, grunting]
287
00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:54,600
- [grunts]
- [man charges]
288
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:55,960
To the king!
289
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:57,280
Alex! No!
290
00:17:58,680 --> 00:17:59,760
[men screaming]
291
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:03,240
[soldier shrieks]
292
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,600
[strains, pants]
293
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,360
[dramatic music increases over war sounds]
294
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:14,440
- [horse neighs]
- [man screams]
295
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,280
[panting]
296
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:22,840
It's really only with the foresight
and the bravery
297
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,360
of a Macedonian officer called Cleitus
298
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,320
that Alexander's life is saved.
299
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,680
He could very well have died
on the battlefield at that moment.
300
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,760
[panting]
301
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:35,680
[man screams]
302
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,160
So while this situation is occurring
on one side of the battlefield,
303
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,360
Parmenion and his heavy cavalry...
304
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,280
[man screams]
305
00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,320
[Jennifer] ...are gaining the upper hand
against the Persians.
306
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:47,440
- [man screams]
- [horse neighs]
307
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,560
Cavalry! Charge!
308
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:54,520
[soldiers shouting battle cries]
309
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,960
[Jennifer] And he causes their lines
to lose all discipline and break apart.
310
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,080
[shouts orders]
311
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,320
At which point the horses start to panic,
and the rider's like, "What's going on?"
312
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,520
and everything kind of
just falls into disarray.
313
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:09,640
[men shouting]
314
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,280
[Carolyn] That's the downside
of using horses on the battlefield,
315
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:16,680
that when everything starts to fall apart,
it can fall apart very quickly.
316
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,040
And their only choice is to flee.
317
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:23,800
I think it's Napoleon that said,
318
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,080
"Don't give me good generals.
Give me lucky ones."
319
00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,480
Undoubtedly, there was...
There are elements of luck there,
320
00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,080
and there's no doubt about it.
321
00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,040
But the... the point, really,
322
00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,680
about Alexander's army,
certainly at this stage,
323
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,720
is that it has the capacity, ability,
and mobility to seize these opportunities.
324
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:41,360
Can you believe it?
325
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,160
The entire Persian army vanquished.
326
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,000
Well, two divisions of it.
327
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,520
By a brilliant military tactician.
328
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,320
What's left of him, anyway.
329
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,040
[Hephaestion] Alex, ignore Ptol.
330
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,840
I mean, this...
This is a victory for the ages, right?
331
00:19:58,320 --> 00:19:59,320
[Alexander] Yes.
332
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:01,080
Yes, it is.
333
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,920
The Granicus was incredibly important
for Alexander.
334
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,840
Not only did he have to prove himself
to his own army,
335
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,040
he also had to prove himself
to those back in Greece,
336
00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:13,000
who might be doubting his ability.
337
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:14,840
He also had to
prove himself to the Persians
338
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,440
to show that he was worthy
of being taken seriously
339
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,320
and that he was a very real threat.
340
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,000
Look around, Heph.
341
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,240
It wasn't only Persian blood
we spilled today.
342
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,040
There were Greeks within their ranks.
343
00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:31,720
Greeks killing Greeks.
344
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,200
[Alexander] Tend to this man well.
345
00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,200
He's a hero of Macedon.
346
00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:49,840
Be assured, my friend.
347
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:51,520
I will deal with the enemy.
348
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,360
[Lloyd] The Persian army was always
comprised of Greek mercenaries.
349
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,320
So on that battlefield that day,
you know, when they've clashed,
350
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,040
Greek would've heard Greek.
Greek was fighting against Greek
351
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:11,560
and Macedonian against Macedonian.
352
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,320
And that's the way...
way the world worked in antiquity.
353
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,760
There were probably, eh...
more Greeks fighting in Darius's army
354
00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,760
than there were in Alexander's army,
which is a... a striking fact,
355
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,960
uh, in part, because
obviously they found service in the...
356
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,600
Eh... In Darius's army to be very lucrative
and very reliable employment.
357
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,680
[coins rattling]
358
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,520
[ominous tone reverberates]
359
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:37,640
[Alexander] So...
360
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:39,120
[bird caws in distance]
361
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,400
[Alexander] This is all it took...
362
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,000
to betray the land of your fathers...
363
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,480
to slay your blood brothers
for the King of Persia.
364
00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:11,480
[shouts] This...
365
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:14,280
[softer] ...is all it took.
366
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,520
A few coins from Memnon's filthy grasp.
367
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:27,400
Heph?
368
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:30,480
Would you?
369
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,160
Parmenion?
370
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:46,400
Well...
371
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,000
I hope, for your sakes,
you saved enough to pay Hades himself.
372
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:55,360
[coins rattle]
373
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:16,480
[sword slashes]
374
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,880
[Carolyn] The majority of the mercenaries
are massacred in cold blood.
375
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,920
Alexander is creating
a clear, definitive message
376
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,960
that if you are Greek
and you fight for the Persians,
377
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:32,880
expect no mercy from me.
378
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,800
You have betrayed my cause.
If you're Greek, you fight for the Greeks.
379
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:41,720
[Memnon] We were taken by surprise, sir.
380
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,160
Not as surprised as I am right now.
381
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:47,400
[inhales]
382
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:48,840
What did we lose?
383
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,040
[sternly] What did we lose?
384
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,400
Over 5,000 of our Greek soldiers,
1,000 cavalry.
385
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,440
I hear the treasury at Sardis
has also been looted.
386
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:12,440
[Darius] Oh.
387
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:14,480
It gets better.
388
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,640
Reports say he's heading south
towards the coastal cities.
389
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:28,360
Well, you can't fault his ambition.
390
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,920
Even so, this needs to end here.
391
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,520
[Memnon] Then let me end it, sir.
392
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,520
On my honor, I will not only
defend the cities in your name,
393
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:43,600
but I will also crush this irritant
in the process.
394
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,480
[Darius] It would be a welcome redemption.
395
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:48,880
Memnon.
396
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:50,680
We are Persia.
397
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,040
And we do not wish to be surprised again.
398
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,320
[Lloyd] Alexander,
with his success now driving him forward,
399
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,200
he begins to work his way down
400
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,680
to the Greek-speaking cities
of Asia Minor.
401
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,920
He publicizes this
as a kind of campaign of liberation,
402
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,480
um, releasing these Greek city-states
403
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,600
from the oppression
of... of the Persian overlords.
404
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,240
We need to remember
405
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,880
that there's a long history
of Greek-Persian interactions
406
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:36,440
on the coast of Asia Minor.
407
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,800
These Greeks have interacted
with the Persians
408
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,280
far longer than they have
with this new kid from Macedonia.
409
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:43,880
They don't know what to make of him.
410
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,760
So as Alexander is advancing down
the coast and taking the Greek cities,
411
00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,800
one of these cities is Halicarnassus.
412
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,800
The defense of Halicarnassus
is headed up by Memnon,
413
00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,000
and it basically turns into a stalemate.
414
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,200
This is a city that has really benefited
from Persian rule over the centuries,
415
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,560
and they are very loyal to Darius III,
416
00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,800
and Alexander finds
at Halicarnassus his first blockade,
417
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,320
the first moment when he can't push past,
418
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:14,680
um, the city itself.
419
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,080
Right column, down this street.
Left column, with me.
420
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,080
[Lloyd] And so he lays siege to it.
421
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:23,560
Search this house.
422
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,456
- [women and children screaming]
- [man shouting] Out now!
423
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,280
[Lloyd] The city finally falls.
424
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:29,480
[soldier] Move!
425
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,280
[Lloyd] And Alexander's men rush in,
426
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,480
and they are under very strict orders
to find Memnon
427
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,320
and bring him to Alexander.
428
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,000
- [horses neighing]
- [people screaming]
429
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,240
[soldier] There he is!
430
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:45,480
- [man grunts]
- [sword swishes]
431
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:46,680
[flesh squelches]
432
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:50,080
[cries in pain]
433
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:54,520
[soldier] Move!
434
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:56,416
- Tie them up.
- [woman grunts]
435
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,440
[man] Please leave me. That's my wife!
436
00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,160
[people screaming]
437
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,280
[dramatic music intensifies]
438
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,800
March these to the square. Go!
439
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:22,800
Do we have Memnon?
440
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,360
No. And he's ordered
the city be set on fire.
441
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,000
[Hephaestion] Alex, the city's ours.
442
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,080
Not yet, it isn't!
443
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:35,840
Let the fires burn.
444
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,240
Let it burn? Brother, these are
the very people we're meant to be saving.
445
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,240
But if they fail to rise up for Macedon,
what are they?
446
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:44,920
The enemy.
447
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,480
And enemies need to be purged.
448
00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,160
[Salima] Alexander is often portrayed,
historically,
449
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,160
as this great warrior, fair-minded person,
just, an intellectual,
450
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,920
and, indeed, he was all of those things,
but there was a flip side to him.
451
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,800
He could be very brutal.
He could kill entire villages.
452
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,560
He put to death many Greek mercenaries
who were fighting for the Persians.
453
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,120
So, on one side,
you had the noble Alexander,
454
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,800
and on the other side,
you had the brutal Alexander,
455
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,400
and sometimes you'd never know
which one you were going to meet.
456
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,480
[man grunting nervously]
457
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:33,280
[yelps]
458
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,720
[whimpers loudly in fear]
459
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:36,960
- [screams]
- [sword slashes]
460
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,000
[dramatic music playing]
461
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,000
[music fades]
462
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,400
Memnon has fled
from the city of Halicarnassus,
463
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:04,520
and he makes his way to the coast
and to the safety of the Persian fleet,
464
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:09,640
uh, who are there. Um, and sadly,
on board one of the ships, he dies.
465
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,720
Now, the sources are various
in their interpretation.
466
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,240
Some say that he died of a fever,
others from his war wounds.
467
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:18,800
Um, we simply don't know,
468
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,920
um, but it was a very sad
and inglorious death
469
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,640
for this really remarkable general.
470
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,280
But, of course, for Alexander,
it was something of a... of a coup.
471
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,000
This is a pivotal point for Alexander,
and it's one he could not have foreseen.
472
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,920
I mean, the death of Memnon is a stroke
of incredible good fortune for Alexander
473
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,720
because Memnon was such a skilled general.
474
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:47,040
Uh... Darius was incredibly reliant on him,
and now he's gone.
475
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:50,200
[Mazaeus] It belonged to General Memnon.
476
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,120
He died on board his command ship.
477
00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,960
Not how the Lion of Magnesia
would have wished to leave this earth.
478
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:11,080
Then we will remember him as he was.
479
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,400
We will celebrate him.
480
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:18,160
We will avenge him.
481
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,000
Sir, the general was
a true leader of the men.
482
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,560
We would be wise to name
his replacement immediately.
483
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,080
And, in time, a new commander
of the western satrapies too.
484
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,120
Without a stern hand,
Egypt may be tempted...
485
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:41,560
Yes, but right now,
this boy king is out of ideas.
486
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,040
His army is exhausted.
487
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,960
We may have lost General Memnon, but...
488
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:50,760
We can end this once and for all.
489
00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,320
[sword swishes]
490
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:04,480
Governor Mazaeus.
491
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,360
It's time to prove
you're worthy of my daughter's hand.
492
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,080
Notify your city garrisons.
493
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:14,680
At dawn...
494
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,400
we march west. All of us.
495
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:28,520
[Touraj] After the death of Memnon,
Darius has to now take charge himself
496
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,840
{\an8}and pay specific
and personal attention to Alexander
497
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,640
{\an8}as he is now going to move
towards the heartland of the empire.
498
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,680
{\an8}[Carolyn] In the midst of this marching
and campaigning,
499
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:47,160
{\an8}Alexander heads inland into,
basically, what is now central Türkiye,
500
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:53,280
{\an8}to a site called Gordion,
which has another mythical past.
501
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,120
Not for war, not because Darius is there,
502
00:31:58,200 --> 00:31:59,840
but because of a knot.
503
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:01,440
The Gordian Knot.
504
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,920
So there is a legend attached to this knot
505
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,960
that whoever manages to untie it
506
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,440
will become lord and master,
ruler of all Asia.
507
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,640
So you can see why this might be
kind of tempting for Alexander, right?
508
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,480
It has the potential to be a huge PR bonus
509
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:20,520
but also to be a PR nightmare.
510
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,200
I mean,
what if he can't actually untie the knot?
511
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,680
No one's told him
how he has to untie the knot.
512
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,680
There's no rules
about what constitutes untying,
513
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:38,800
and he pulls out his sword.
514
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,520
Boom. The knot is undone.
515
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:45,960
{\an8}- [Ptolemy chuckles]
- [Hephaestion scoffs]
516
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:47,800
[Ptolemy] Nicely done.
517
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,240
[Carolyn] Though he believed it or not,
518
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:57,880
he knows that accomplishing this
would sort of add to his status,
519
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:02,480
add to his propaganda,
add to his influence in the region.
520
00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:06,640
General Parmenion. Assemble the lines
and make preparations to leave.
521
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,080
At first light, we march east.
522
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:11,680
Away from the coast?
523
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,120
How will we resupply without our ships?
524
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:17,960
[Alexander] We'll plunder local towns.
They'll have all we need.
525
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,440
And we'll be nimbler, quicker for it.
526
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:23,880
This is our time to strike.
527
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:25,560
[scoffs]
528
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,000
So this is, what? Your big gamble?
529
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,680
You know breaking our supply lines
will leave us totally exposed.
530
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,640
No one wins a war with starving soldiers.
531
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,040
Well, then it can be
another thing I'm first at.
532
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:44,720
[scoffs]
533
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,240
And don't pretend
you're making us quicker or nimbler, sir.
534
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:49,760
[scoffs]
535
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:51,840
Then what am I making us, General?
536
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:55,920
Bait.
537
00:33:58,120 --> 00:33:59,320
That's it, isn't it?
538
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,880
You know Darius himself is out for blood,
539
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,880
so you are going to wage a war
540
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,640
with the largest army
the world has ever seen.
541
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:12,600
And even if, what?
542
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,000
- It'd be suicide.
- Absolutely.
543
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,880
Because that is
the only way we're going to win.
544
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,880
[woman] No man or woman born,
545
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,800
coward or brave,
546
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,680
can shun their destiny...
547
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:39,000
or avoid a path
they were always destined to follow.
548
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:41,680
[dramatic music playing]
549
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,120
[woman] A path where two men,
550
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,480
two sides of the same coin,
551
00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:53,640
would face each other for the first time...
552
00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:02,840
at a battle whose echoes
would outlast even the gods they idolize.
553
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,400
And where the spoils of victory...
554
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,160
are the world itself.
555
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:18,960
[dramatic music continues]
556
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:29,640
But this time...
557
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,160
all of our pieces are in place.
558
00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:39,880
Alexander, Darius,
559
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:42,680
and Stateira.
560
00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:50,640
[music wanes]
561
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:54,920
[dramatic music playing]
41782
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