F. Holt's quotes on Alexander's campaign

Frank Lee Holt is a Central Asian archaeologist and author. He is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Houston, and is recognized as one of the leading authorities on Alexander the Great, Hellenistic Asia, and numismatics. Holt received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia. Holt has written five books and almost fifty articles, primarily concerning Alexander the Great and the Hellenization of Afghanistan.

Quotes from his article in Saudi Arabian eminent magazine Saudi Aramco World:

"In 1911, Barclay Head suggested that the Indian prince Taxiles, an ally of the Greeks, designed this medal to show his own heroic part in Alexander’s Battle of the Hydaspes River..."

"Through the same treacherous mountain trails that would later betray three merchants from Bukhara, young Alexander led an army of Greeks toward the frontiers of India..."

"Not yet 30 years old, Alexander was already hegemon of Greece, king of Macedonia, pharaoh of Egypt and lord of Asia. The huge Achaemenid Empire of Persia had fallen to him in a series of spectacular battles, giving him greater wealth than the Greek world had ever known. He claimed direct descent from Hercules, Achilles and Zeus himself..."

"Second, there were elephants. Porus’s army included a large corps of trained war-elephants whose very appearance alarmed the Greeks..."

"When Alexander defeated Darius at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC, Abulites switched allegiance and surrendered his wealthy city to the Greeks. He thus received Alexander’s pardon and was left in charge of Susa, but with the Greek soldier Xenophilus as his military overseer..."

"The large decadrachm medallions proclaim Alexander’s victory, with the king chasing down his Indian opponent in a display of Greek superiority. The smaller tetradrachm medallions, on the other hand, appear to showcase the power of Porus’s army, with no sign of the Greeks among the Indian archers, elephants and chariots..."

"On these medallions, therefore, Alexander literally stole Zeus’s thunder. By wielding his father’s thunderbolt, the king called attention to and took credit for the divine tempest that brought Greek victory. This was no ordinary triumph, and Alexander was likewise no ordinary leader..."

"Not yet 33, Alexander lapsed into a deep coma and perished of uncertain causes on a hot June day in the old city of Babylon. He had pursued by choice a most challenging career, burning brightly but briefly in the tragic manner of Greek heroes..."

- Frank Holt, "Stealing Zeus's Thunder", Saudi Aramco World 56/3 (May/June 2005), Houston, pg. 10-19.