Alexander the great arrived at the edge of the then known world. The history of conquests and discoveries are pretty much known. Few-about the project- men and a lot of determination. -But how was the campaign of Alexander the great; -Had hidden resources; -Maybe unknown goldmines; The information is conflicting. Most sources indeed, talk about huge debts he left Philip. Other where he got very little money with him in Asia. And others for more money and sources of revenue from gold mines in northern Greece initially and then in Asia. Did when Alexander, When he became King, He reiterated the well-known "Chorus" of Greek policies: "We received burned land from the previous Government"; Though Philip is not left at all "burnt Earth". Left an organized State, with conquests that yielded revenue, and particularly gold mines and argyrwrycheia who constantly gave metal for coins.
Ο Φίλιππος, knowing the need for money, in order to implement the campaign who dreamed in Asia, She had taken care of very early to find and understand places that promise revenues. Perhaps the most decisive Act was the 357 e.g.. (even before born Alexander) When captured Amphipolis using conqueror Rams. Along with Amphipolis won and the goldmines of Pageos – What,What better had to offer the land of Macedonia and Thrace from a financial point of view. Those mines formed the backbone of financing any activity of Philip. Had for the Kingdom of Macedonia, the same position they had argyrwrycheia of Lavrion on democracy of Athens a century before: Provide stable income. Fixed, but not enough for the designs of Philip. Until the death of Philip organized, planned, ekstrateye and conquer. And every conquest cost. It wasn't just the usual military spending, as Philip was modernist in martial art he learned to use war machines, which at the time were the recent inventions of Syrakoysiwn: Crossbows, petrobola, catapults and elepoleis (battle towers). All these cost, and Philip made without considering the costs, as many and conquer a city after another, so okay everyone in grandiose plans.
Philip still secured in Thrace goldmines – near the city Krinides, captured and renamed to "Philippi". It is said that only the goldmines in Philippi of attributed 1.000 Gold talents a year (26 tons). Thanks’ These began to Mint gold coins were the most prevalent currency in the Greek world.
Alexander continued to use gold and silver coins of Philip, but then highlighted in silver coins which followed the Athenian pattern as to their weight (with Hercules on one side and Jupiter on the other). The preference in silver shows maybe some possible shortage in gold. So, When came the time of Alexander the great ", He "inherited from his father, along with the Crown, and not a few debts, "according to the Koyrtio and Arriano. Arrian says that Alexander found in the vaults a few gold and silver objects. From money, Neither 60 talanta. From the other, Philip's debts reached in’ other Member 500 and in’ other Member 800 talanta. The talent as a unit of weight was 26 grams, but as currency amounted to 6.000 Greek drachmas, so the 60 talanta was 360.000 drachmas of that era. With the buying power that then had the Drachma (a penny then tantamount payday and a low purchasing power equivalent to 10-20 Euro) a man bought the necessary for a poor day. I.e. 60 talanta was salaries 1.000 poorly paid people for one year (somewhere 5-10 millions of current euro). But Alexander had with him when he started for Asia at least 35.000 men. This implies economic need for more than 2.000 talanta. Had Alexander does «hidden» resources; Unknown sources or financial backers began with what,what had. When started for Asia, got the 60 the talents and food for 30 only days (as reported by Plutarch, based on a source that calls Chieftain). The relevant sources give slightly different numbers, but all agree: money was not plentiful. The Onisikritos talks about debts 200 talanta (NB:military loan while Sarantos Kargako), While Aristobulus writes that the cost of preparation was 70 talanta. All of them are located far from the (to a minimum) necessary 2.000 talanta. Of Course, in Asia things changed. Go conquering the richest country in the world and ensure the necessary from the spoils of the enemy . The conquered satrapeies ' offered ' and they all,what they could from their own revenue (Alexander made sure not to change the administrative structure of the conquered land in order to continue to function smoothly in ' State '). Also, It seems from the narratives left by people who had accompanied the experts together prospectors (researchers Placer or geologists, We would say today) Why send to "follow" any rumor about gold meet. Search the resources employed until his death, even when he was no longer at the disposal of all the gold of the great kings of Persia – an incredible treasure. He died while the ships were ready to launch ekstrateyontas in Arabia, called that was rich in gold.
Can the start for Alexander it was difficult from an economic point of view, but the end was without such problems and, extra, brought a new epoch in economics. When Alexander swept away the Persian rule of Darius, the 329 e.g., and entered in the palaces of the Persians, found in front of the greatest treasures of history.
The treasure of Darius was essentially all the treasures of all the States of the Mesopotamian stacked since the dawn of history.
The gold 3.000 times! From the years of Sumerian, and as a people conquer another and States and empires of the region succeed one another, the gold and the treasures of each change every time. Darius had treasures and spoils which originated in Greece, taken at the time of the Persian wars and especially of Xerxes and fermenoys of the Kings before him. Had, yet, treasures from the various peoples that he and his predecessors had conquered.
These, though, was nothing in front of the treasures that had found the Validity, the first King of the Persians, by Medes, and the treasures they had grabbed the Medes from the Babylonians when face Babylon. And of course the Babylonians were treasures and spoils from the peoples they conquered, Assyrians and others.
The treasure of Darius showed that money does not bring victory. Neither the buy, If the opponent is Alexander. This was one of the courses that I took the Persian King.
When Alexander decided to ship the treasure of Darius, It took 20.000 mules and 5.000 camels. More wealth than he had ever seen of the Hellenic world, called that tantamount to 12 millions of pounds of silver. Only the scene with the throne gave Darius to Alexander treasure worth 3.000 talantwn (more than half a billion euros). Darius course perhaps was looking for revenge: Using a, unknown probably, form of psychological warfare, the loaded along with the gold and the women of. With the treasure Alexander found the mother of Darius, his wife and his harem!
The treasures they, that was more than the gold they had ever seen the Greeks, finally determined and Greek history, because these were "financed" the endless wars between «Epigonwn» – the successors of Alexander the great.
Are still "station" and the history of Economics: The existence and release of first created "inflationary trends». The history of inflation begins when Alexander started to pull out the gold of Darius from warehouses and distributes to the Greeks!
The consequence was that the Greeks were (athelitoi) inventors and inflation. With so much money and wealth to have come out of the vaults and be placed on the market, in conjunction with the military requirements that create campaigns, attracting new soldiers and endless wars between the successors of Alexander the great caused increases in everything. Salaries quadrupled, the same and the prices and cost of living.
Mining and argyrwrycheia of Philip and Alexander gave impetus and in the cutting of coins. Alexander's coins continued to be "cut" for years after the death of. They may be able to give an indication of the geographical location of the sources of precious metals.
Just as he lived there Alexander 25 different cuts of coins: two in Macedonia, one in Egypt and twenty-three in Asia. It becomes obvious from the minting of coins that the Centre of gravity and the sources of precious metals had moved East.
However, in quantity it seems that higher production came to Macedonia. There was the older gold coins, While other smaller and silver. This shows that the major source of gold was still in Macedonia.
After the death of Alexander mints made 31, and still 100 years later "tetradrachms of Alexander pods» 51 parts, which shows that & sources of the metals was too rich and continued to feed coins Greek world who had indulged in an unprecedented allilofagwma ignoring the "clouds from the West", the rising power of Rome.
The bulk of the treasure of Darius went to Pella.
Alexander sent enormous quantities from the Persian treasure back in Macedonia. We know that even 150 some years later he had left large quantity in Pella, enough to impress the new conquerors, the Romans.
Plutarch in his Parallel Lives (Timoleon-Aemilius Paul) Describes the treasure brought to Rome, the Aemilius Paul after his victory against Perseus. The spoils were passing in procession for three days:
"The first day passed 250 carriages loaded with statues, images and statues. The next day passed and again coaches with Macedonian for weapons and followed 3.000 men who would carry a silver four per pot full of silver coins, while others carried various precious objects and decorative. On the third day they say 77 Gold containers within which there were gold coins – as he had done with the silver!»
More from 150 years xodematos in equipments, wars, wastage and "excesses" that characterised the Hellenistic era of successors of Alexander the great and the treasure was still so large, to dazzle the Romans.
How would say at the beginning, When Alexander saw him;
For some unlikely reason nor Perseus, in front of the biggest danger the life and reign of, nor before that Kings of Macedonia "cashed" their "treasures" of Darius to strengthen their defense or to finance their war plans. The Romans found both gold, that if Perseus had used, You may not alter Macedonia. However, people always behave strangely with their treasures.
May go hungry, but the gold they inherited often refuse to part with.
Learned and the lesson he had learned Darius before them: that is not always the richest defeats. It is ironic, but the Greece seems to be drowned in the gold of. When he had more wealth "beyond imagination", then it was lost.
The goldmines of Alexander there were. It wasn't myth, nor were unknown. Found to finance the most foolhardy expedition of centuries and helped to create the largest State in the world so far. That the State that ultimately do not "kept" is another story, Maybe not completely unrelated to the wealth that had. From this point of view, It would not be an exaggeration to say that the gold mines of Alexander played the role of "life and death" in the history of mankind in General and in Greece in particular.
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