Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-28

carry on to final success the same
included his ancestral kingdom of
Macedon, the headship Of the Hellenic
League founded by his father, and a
mandate to wage q war of revenge,
liberation and spoliation against the
| Persians."
This conflict has been discussed as
naturally falling into two phases. The
first, from 334 to 331, left Alexander
in possession of all the lands around
the Eastern Mediterranean included
up to that time in Greek aspirations.
Not content with this, he succeeded
in hurting the Persian King, Darius III,
from his imperial throne and in as
serting his authority over all the
Iranian peoples and the entire basin
of the Indus" The second phase,
from 331 to 324, was a long enterprise
of consolidation, exploration and man
agement, by means of which Alexander
designed to "intermarry the East and
the West" to form one great political
and cultural structure under central
control.
In outline, the story of Alexander's
endeavorS may be sketched as follows:
He crossed into Asia in 334, visited the
site of Troy, defeated the Persians at
the battle of GranicuS, occupied Sardis,
took MiletuS, reduced HalicarnaSsuS, cut
the famous knot at Gordium, defeated
Darius at the battle of ISsus in 1888,
took Tyre after siege of seven months,
took GAIA, occupied all Syria and Pal
estine, gained Egypt without fighting,
founded the city of Alexandria, again
defeated Darius at the battle of Arbela
in 331. occupied Babylonia, took Susa,
Persepolis and Ecbatana; crossed the
Hindu Kush into Bactria, passed into
the Puniab in 327, defeated the native
Prince Porus at the battle Of the Hy-
daspes in 326, turned back when his
Macedonians refused to go farther,
rested at SuSa, planned an exploration
of the waterways around his empire
and prepared a fleet to sail in June,
1923. He was in the full flower Of his
genius as a master of war and states
manship when fate wrote a sudden
"finiS" to the tale. He developed a
fever and died June IS or %, 1913. He
was just SO years old.
Map Shows Triumphs.
A glimpse at the map of Asia dem
onstrates the full grandeur of the task
he undertook and the full value Of the
work he accomplished. 1t was the
greatest achievement of its kind in the
time of Julius Caesar Q00-44 B. CD.
Conventional historians in later days
spoke of Alexander as having failed
His empire, they said, fell to pieces
when he disappeared from the scene.
But in the writing of competent CO.
temporary judges he Is more justly es-
timated. 1.-The conquests of Alexan-
der" according to these authorities,
prepared the way for larger world
unity by breaking down existent states.
They permitted the expansion OF the
the threat of Persia and decided the
question of whether the civilization of
Europe should be Eastern in character
or Western. THE monarchy of Alex
ander I" was actually one 'all-embrac-
ing autocracy. BY divorcing government
from elf-government, it facilitated the
task Of Rome.
by uniting Europe and Asia in one
denationaliZed political world the con-
quests of Alexander favored the rise
and spread of the religious ideas which
ultimately found expression in Chris
tianity." Wells remarks, THE career
of Alexander was not so much an
end as beginning: 1t was the first rev.
elation to the human imagination Of
the onCsleSS of human affairs. Before
Alexander was dead and much more
after he was dead and there had been
time to think him over, the conception
of world law and organization was
practicable and aSsimilable idea for the
minds of men," He was thus a factor
in the creation Of the psychology of
cosmopolitanism and international har
mony which motivates, the League Of
Nations, the World Court and other
enterprises toward world peace in our
own era.
Handicaps Great.
Dead for 1884 years, Alexander's
legend marches on, and there will be
many who will wish Mr.. Carter well in
his endeavor to cross the centuries and
find the spot where rest the ashes of
the hero. The difficulties of his quest
are numerous and obvious. We are re-
minded Of the phrases which Shakes
peare wrote for the lips Of the Prince of
Denmark: ITO what base uses we may
return. Horatio! Why may not tmagi-
nation trace the noble dust of Alexan-
der, till we find 1t stopping bung-
hole?" Mere imagination will avail Mr.
Carter little, but modern science may
help. In any case, the search has its
value. It is part of the function of
archaeology to relate the world of today
with its past, and the practical utility
of Mr.. Carriers earlier work has been
made amply clear by the applause with
which his discoveries in Egypt have
been received.