Among the great mysteries of the past millennia, this one remains one of the most intriguing. American archaeologists put forward a very bold version, which contradicts the established views on the history of geographical discoveries.
Admiral of the Emperor
By 324 BC. Macedonian Greece became the ruler of vast territories. Alexander's troops reached India. In eleven years, almost the entire world known then was conquered. The details of Alexander the Great's campaigns have been thoroughly researched and relatively well known. We are interested in the other side of his conquests. At one time A. Humboldt noted that starting from 330 BC. Alexander deliberately put his campaigns at the service of geographical discoveries and for this purpose kept a large staff of scientists with him. Indeed, the ancient authors left us with some information that natural scientists and geographers, chroniclers, philosophers and artists took part in the campaigns.
Of course, at that time they could not dispel the darkness of the unknown that enveloped the borders of the ecumene, and were not able to put together and summarize everything they had done themselves and before them. However, Greek science nevertheless made great strides forward. How little did the Greeks know before the campaigns (and did they know at all?) About the high mountains of Armenia, about the Hindu Kush, Syr Darya and Amu Darya, about the peaks of the Himalayas and the Indus valley! All this was revealed to their amazed eyes only in the time of Alexander. In Punjab, he learned about the fabulous lands in the East. He was told that on the other side of the steppe, in the twelve days of the march, on the banks of a huge river there are cities and people live. He was told about a huge island in the south. And the sailors of Admiral Nearchus were the first of the Greeks to see the mangrove forests on the shores of the tropical seas …
“So this is not the end of the world yet? But where is he then? If the conclusions of my geographers are correct, that the ocean washes the entire world inhabited by us, then, perhaps, it is possible to reach the end of the world on ships, having crossed the ocean? " - so the Greek king could think. At the walls of Babylon, he built a huge fleet. This is what, according to the Greek historian Arrian, his naval forces were: “According to Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, from whom I mainly draw my information, the entire fleet consisted of about two thousand ships, including 80 thirty oars and many others, including horse carriers, open cargo boats, and all other boats. To serve the soldiers, Phoenicians, Cypriots, Carians and Egyptians were put on ships "(that is, the best sailors of antiquity). The fleet was commanded by Admiral Nearchus.
A native of Crete, one of Alexander's loyal comrades, childhood friends and most active associates, Nearchus was appointed satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia from 334 to 329 BC. During the Indian campaign, he was the chiliarch (a high post under the person of the king) of the royal shield-bearers. When the Greek troops returned from India to Asia Minor Nearchus, who commanded the entire Greek fleet, was ordered to explore the coastal strip of the Indian Sea up to the Persian Gulf. In September 325, he left the mouth of the Indus and, after many dangerous adventures, landed on the shores of Karamania, at the mouth of the Anamis River, at a distance of five days' march from the king’s camp, who soon lost sight of the fleet and was extremely worried about its fate.
Alexander, while crossing the Gedrosia desert, lost almost ¾ of his troops, while the fleet reached the Persian Gulf unharmed. Nearchus left notes to posterity about his campaign; they have not survived, unfortunately, but the fragments given in the works of Arrian ("India") and Strabo ("Geography") give an idea of them.
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Ships are on course
The expeditions of Admiral Nearchus systematically surveyed the coast of the Persian Gulf. Captain Bahias discovered the Bahrain Islands and named them "Tilos". Androsfen sailed to Abu Dhabi (the modern capital of the UAE) and reported on the pearl trade on the Arabian coast. Hieron went around Arabia by sea, but was forced to return prematurely, as the sailors were horrified by the endless deserts. Another expedition sailed to the area of modern South Yemen and also returned ahead of schedule - there was not enough food and, most importantly, water: the sandy shores were dead for hundreds of kilometers.
Of course, all of Alexander's latest ventures were based not on a thirst for research, but on practical, economic and political motives: the sea communication between the new capital of Babylon and Egypt was valuable in many ways, moreover, new sea routes ran through areas rich in spices and other valuable goods. In the summer of 323 BC. Nearchus was going to continue his reconnaissance voyages in the ocean. But … on June 10, Alexander died unexpectedly. According to reports that have come down to us, during a feast arranged in honor of Nearchus and his companions, the king contracted some kind of disease (there is a version that he was poisoned). A few days after that, his huge fleet disappeared. Where did Admiral Nearchus take him?
Alexey Komogortsev, Nikolay Nepomniachtchi