01x03 - Face to Face

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music playing]

[woman] What is it, exactly, to lead?

It is one thing to make bold plans

and speak of victory to your men,

but to fill their hearts with a fire

so they willingly die for you?

As a wise man once said,

"I do not fear

an army of lions led by a sheep."

"I fear an army of sheep

led by a lion."

[dramatic music intensifies, fades]

[Bessus] Help me understand it, my king.

Our numbers are unbeatable.

- If we were to attack

- [Darius] Stop, Bessus.

Just look.

Breathe it in.

[birds chirping]

That reckless boy king would have

to take pause at such a glorious sight.

But "unbeatable," Bessus?

A man of your experience using that word.

I think we have the numerical advantage.

We had that at Granicus too.

And you, Mazaeus.

You think our hammer can crack this nut?

I think under these circumstances

You can drop the diplomacy, Mazaeus.

Our enemy has shown

we cannot rely on brute force.

Our enemy is riding his luck.

Which is why we need

to take the fight to him on our terms.

We will isolate this b*stard

and get rid of him.

Once and for all.

[woman] But the wise man also knows

that if you seek victory above all else

you need an army of lions

led by the biggest lion of all.

[dramatic music intensifies]

[music fades, echoes]

[man panting]

[panting continues]

Bad news?

We're facing the largest army on Earth

led by Darius.

For Darius, the defeat at Granicus makes

it clear that this is a serious problem.

Even more so as he sees

Alexander going down,

sort of, the Levant towards Egypt,

that he's coming to do

some serious damage to the empire.

So he then gathers an imperial army

to confront Alexander

on that Levantine coast at Issus.

Darius is determined

to stop him in his tracks right there.

Sir.

The Persians are retaking Issus.

Of course they are.

That will sever our supply lines,

reinforcements, communications.

Not to mention

where our wounded are being treated.

Alex.

We'll be completely cut off.

[Parmenion] You asked for

a stand-up fight.

Well, it'll happen there.

But I'm not sure you'll want it.

Alexander, you need

to hear this for yourself.

[Carolyn] You have to imagine Alexander

and Darius are moving through mountains.

They don't have a drone they can send

to try and see where their opponents are,

so they're relying on reports and strategy

and anticipating

what their opponents might do.

- [man strains, punches]

- [man 2 grunts]

- [punching continues]

- Ptol, that's enough.

[spits]

[pants]

[Parmenion] A patrol caught him

in the Beilan Pass, spying on our lines.

Turns out he knows a lot

about the Persian troop numbers too

with the right prompting.

Don't you? Huh?

Darius has called in reinforcements,

the city garrison of Babylon,

along with

several thousand local conscripts.

It gives them

a standing army of 100,000 men.

Versus our 40,000.

Look, Alex.

We need to at least consider a retreat.

Or it'll be the kind of m*ssacre

only the Androctasiae can dream of.

What?

Do you not know any mythology?

He means the spirits of slaughter, Ptol.

But I disagree.

Darius is running this by the book.

Meaning?

I've read it.

It's a well-worn Persian tactic.

He'll trap us here

between the Amanus Mountains and the sea,

then use their superior numbers

to crush us.

Those same mountains and sea

prevent him from outflanking us.

Meaning he can't bring his entire force

to bear on us all at once.

Parmenion, can you hold their horses?

For how long?

Get me enough time to drive at them

and they'll fold. I know it.

There's no small risk to this strategy.

But also no small merit.

I'll do my duty on the field.

Then let's take the battle to them.

It's clear from the outset

that Darius doesn't expect this

to be a minor confrontation

or a stepping stone to a larger battle.

He wants this to be decisive.

He wants to deal with the issue

and get Alexander out of the way,

so he's kind of throwing

everything he has at this battle.

[dramatic music playing]

- [metal rattles]

- [men speak in the distance]

[Alexander] Macedonians.

Already, danger has threatened you.

And you

You have looked it triumphantly

in the face.

[crowd] Yeah!

But this time, the struggle

will be between a victorious army

and an enemy already once vanquished.

[soldiers laugh]

And don't forget.

They are Persians.

[crowd laughs, boos]

Men who, for centuries,

have lived soft and luxurious lives.

[crowd whoops, boos]

While, for generations past,

we of Macedon

have been trained in warfare.

[crowd cheers]

There is a stain

upon your houses.

An infestation led by

a degenerate king with one aim.

- [man 1] Yeah.

- [man 2] Yeah.

[Darius] To sully all that is good

and pure about Persia.

[man] Yeah.

[Darius] My question to you.

Will you let him?

[crowd] No!

Will you stand by and watch him

take your homes, your livelihoods?

[all] No!

Let their filthy Greek hands

molest your wives?

[crowd] No!

[Darius shouts] Then I say fight!

Not for me, not for Persia,

but for yourselves!

[crowd] Yeah!

[Lloyd] When Darius travels,

he takes the whole of the court with him.

[crowd chants] Persia!

[Lloyd] Queen Stateira,

Barsine, his daughter,

were all present themselves.

It was an absolute standard

royal Persian practice

to bring the women

close to the b*ttlefield.

That suggests to me

that Darius thinks the outcome of this

is already secured,

that his wife and his family

are going to see the spectacle

of the king slaughtering his enemies.

[crowd] Yeah!

[Lloyd] Hopefully,

as far as Darius is concerned,

he'll put an end to this mess

once and for all.

But, above all, remember this.

We are free men,

and they are mercenaries

fighting for Darius,

fighting for pay.

But we

Brothers,

we will be fighting for Macedon,

- and our hearts will be in it.

- [crowd roars]

Yeah!

[soldiers cheer, roar]

Yes! Come on!

[heroic music playing over cheers]

Yeah!

[yells]

[Ali] The interesting thing here

for Alexander is that

he only has to lose one battle

and that's it. If he loses that battle,

you can be pretty sure that Darius

isn't going to be magnanimous,

because he sees him as a rebel.

Of course, the stakes

are pretty high for Darius too.

I mean, let's not underestimate those.

If Darius loses, basically, he loses

the western part of the Persian empire.

[dramatic music playing]

[music wanes]

The terrain of the b*ttlefield

really did work against the Persians,

particularly because

of the size of their army

and their dependence on cavalry.

I mean, basically you're almost

in a little bowl, right?

You know, sort of squashed

between the foothills

of a not insignificant mountain range

and the Mediterranean coast.

And so, although Darius had

a greater number of troops,

they're squashed together,

and they don't have the space to maneuver

as effectively as they could

on a flatter, more open b*ttlefield.

[Lloyd] Persians are using

a force of 100,000 men

as opposed to something like

40,000 troops that Alexander has.

So the odds are

certainly stacked against him.

[Ali] The Persians become

a little bit overconfident

because they seem

to have superiority in numbers,

but what really matters is

command and control, not the numbers.

If Alexander is going to win this battle,

then he has to win it on his terms

and employ the usual off-center tactics

that he's always employed

and have always been successful for him.

[weapons rattle]

[weapons rattle]

[soldier] Yeah!

[horse neighs]

[men shouting]

- [swords clinking]

- [shouting continues]

[man cries in pain]

[man screams]

[man screams in pain]

[grunts]

[man screams]

[man shouts]

- [Alexander] Shields up!

- [arrows whistle]

[man screams in pain]

[roars]

[man screams]

[Lloyd] The Persians swarm

around Alexander's troops,

especially those led by Parmenion.

It's looking pretty desperate for them.

Several major players

on the Macedonian side

are k*lled at that point.

[groans in pain]

Where the hell is he?

Mazaeus. Quickly!

Target their left flank.

Their cavalry is starting to fall.

I will hit them hard.

Troops! Charge!

[Lloyd] The Persian way of fighting

in battle,

it tends to be that the commander,

in this case, Darius himself,

they tend to stay at the center

of the army so they're surrounded.

Okay? So it's about keeping them safe,

but also, of course,

issuing orders from the center itself.

And that's in complete contrast

to Alexander's way of doing it,

who likes to cut through the center

all the time and actually get to the head,

to the charge.

So it's a very different

fighting technique to Alexander's.

- [men shouting]

- [swords clinking]

[men screaming]

- [grunts]

- [man screams]

- [strains]

- [man groans]

We need to buy him more time.

[straining]

Hoplites! Hold the line! Hold the line!

[Persian groans]

[man screams]

[grunts]

[Lloyd] Alexander clearly sees

that this is not going well.

One of his major players, Parmenion,

his friend, is in desperate danger.

[man groans in pain]

[dramatic music plays over battle noises]

[Lloyd] Alexander suddenly sees

that there's an opening,

and, as ever the opportunist,

Alexander seizes the moment

and takes decisive action.

Cavalry, on me!

- Charge!

- [soldier] Go!

The w*r-winning aspect

with Alexander's army is his cavalry.

And why is that?

Because he's able to move.

And he's able to move with alarming speed.

[Carolyn] He kicks things off.

He starts it with his charge

from the right companion cavalry

heading towards the Persian lines.

But this isn't a haphazard,

flat-out gallop towards the Persians.

Alexander has deliberately

picked a spot in the Persian lines

that he thinks is going to be the weakest,

where he sees the potential

for an opening, and it works.

[Darius] Hold the line!

Hold the line!

[dramatic music playing]

[soldiers shouting]

[swords clinking]

[man screams]

[music wanes]

[Lloyd] All the classical sources agree,

and it's even in the iconography as well,

that, for the first time, Alexander

and Darius lock eyes on one another.

It must have been quite remarkable.

You know, these two great kings,

these two warriors are there,

and the history of the world

is going to be formed

by what happens in the next few seconds.

[dramatic music playing]

- [Alexander strains]

- [man grunts]

[man shouts]

I think if he could've,

he would've k*lled Darius there and then.

- [men shout]

- [swords clink]

[Bessus] Clear a path! Clear a path!

[sword swishes]

We can't leave the men!

Sir, my duty is to the king, to Persia.

- [horse neighs]

- [man] Move it! Ha-ya!

- No!

- [horse neighs]

Darius's bodyguards are quick

to maneuver Darius out of the way.

They immediately turn the chariot

off the field.

[Carolyn] Darius has to

leave the b*ttlefield.

Darius cannot die on that b*ttlefield.

It's not because he's a coward.

It's not because he's running away

for any personal reason.

It's because of what he represents.

If Darius dies on the b*ttlefield,

that is the end of the Persian house.

- [horse neighs]

- [soldiers shout]

[swords clinking]

Alex, the battle has turned.

We can win this.

No. We can win the w*r. Come!

So, basically, Alexander is able

to make a tactical assessment

of the b*ttlefield really quickly

and to respond to it.

And he sees the weakness

in the opposing ranks,

and that's what Alexander

takes advantage of.

It is a very, very bold maneuver.

And it works.

[men shouting]

[Lloyd] With Darius gone from the scene,

the instinct that

all the Persian soldiers have

is to follow their king, of course.

And this is essentially what happens.

First of all, the middle lines,

those that were around Darius, go with him

until only the front line is left,

and they too then begin to peel away.

And this is when

the Macedonians simply hack them down.

They are slaughtered to a man

as they are leaving the b*ttlefield.

The loss of the Battle of Issus

meant for Darius

that his Western satrapies are gone

and now are going to be

in the hands of Alexander.

They are facing a new military force,

and the traditional Persian army

is not capable of withstanding Alexander.

[dramatic music playing]

- [music ends]

- [horse neighs]

[Mazaeus] My king.

Mazaeus, send word

to your garrison to regroup

Sir, please.

- With the remaining Kardakes

- Darius!

Where are the women?

Barsine and Stateira.

[horse neighs softly]

[dramatic music playing]

Quickly, give me your horse.

- [Bessus] Sir Sir.

- [Darius] We're going back.

It's too dangerous. For Persia,

your safety must be the priority.

[yells] But they are Persia!

After the battle, Alexander is able to,

basically, take the spoils of victory,

which is Darius's camp.

That camp included Darius's family.

So, he advances to the royal tent

where we have a rather fateful meeting.

- [man strains]

- [Persians groan]

King Alexander.

My husband will not tolerate

any bad treatment.

[scoffs]

You're not Alexander.

[Alexander] No, he is.

As much as I am.

[sword sheathes]

I read that Persian rulers

bring their families to battle.

[chuckles]

So this is how Darius wages w*r.

[whistles]

Such

luxury.

[Lloyd] For the Persians,

Persianness and the centrality of Persia

was everything.

Civilization was the hub of Persia.

The further away you went from that,

the more barbaric you became.

So this outcrop of land

which is called Macedonia,

for the Persians,

was the ultimate site of barbarity.

[Stateira] Just get behind me.

Stateira would have thought of Alexander

as the ultimate barbarian.

If you even breathe on her

What?

- I will make it my mission

- No.

No.

What kind of barbarian do you think I am?

Please.

- I've not harmed you.

- No.

And you won't either.

Because we have no value to you dead.

Then, if only in this regard,

we have an understanding.

They can gather their belongings

and bring them.

The women must have been terrified.

Or if not terrified,

resigned to an unenviable fate.

Let's be honest. The fate of most women

on the losing side of a battle

in antiquity was r*pe and death

or enslavement,

regardless of their status.

And so, when Alexander entered the tent,

they knew they were at his mercy.

Uh, their fate was entirely in his hands.

[hawk squawks]

[Touraj] I think taking

Darius's wife and daughter

sent a huge signal,

uh, to many of the mercenaries

and Darius's immediate followers

that the king, who cannot even

take care of their own children and wife,

how could they defend the empire?

- [Darius] Any word?

- I have no words.

- Mazaeus

- We let them be taken.

Don't.

You

[breathes shakily]

underestimated Alexander.

You're right.

And for that, I'm sorry.

But we are Persians.

We do not cower.

We do not panic.

Certainly not with 60,000 men

still on the field.

What good are they when that thug

is holding my fiancée,

your daughter, c*ptive.

I know.

I know you're right.

They are the world to me.

[wind blowing]

- [dramatic music playing]

- [horse neighs]

So that is what I will offer them.

What?

A bribe?

Will that work?

Trust me.

He's Macedonian.

Find me a messenger.

[Jennifer] Darius realizes that

he needs to get his family back

because Stateira,

given her high royal status,

had provided a legitimacy to him

in his early days of kingship.

So he sends Alexander a letter.

- We have the momentum.

- [man] My king.

No, Ptolemy, now is not the right time.

The right time?

Parmenion, his army is scattered.

They're licking their wounds.

Now is the time. Let's finish this.

The Persians may be scattered,

but they still substantially outnumber us.

Without reinforcements,

we could suffer the fate of Antaeus.

- He was crushed to death by Herakles.

- Yeah, I got that one.

Then perhaps we should

just stay here and give up.

It's an offer from Darius.

We keep all the territories and cities

we've taken so far,

plus a ransom.

Ten thousand gold talents.

- What does he ask in return?

- [Alexander] His family, mainly.

But also an end to our w*r.

It's a bribe for my obedience.

[Parmenion] It's a good offer, sir.

Think of all the cities

you conquered for Macedon.

If I were Alexander, I would take it.

And if I were Parmenion, I would too.

Alex,

it pains me, but

[scoffs] He's right.

You've proved yourself,

more than anyone could've envisioned.

If I consider this,

I am no better than Attalus.

Taking the Persian coin

with my head bowed?

[Parmenion] And what is the alternative?

Stretch our dwindling resources

to breaking point?

And thereby, truly test our mettle?

Well, I hope, for your sake,

Parmenion, it doesn't come to that.

Look at you all.

Am I the only one

who still has fire in his heart?

[Lloyd] The classical sources suggest that

rather than go headlong into battle again,

Darius was prepared

to offer Alexander, uh, various gifts,

everything from gold and silver coinage,

or even, one classical source says,

half of his empire.

That is to say, if Alexander now takes

everything that he conquered so far,

Darius would be satisfied,

and let's just call it quits.

[Alexander] Good morning.

I trust the new accommodation

is to your liking?

The beds comfortable?

Is there something you need?

Please, sit.

It would be very unusual for Alexander

not to seek to gain information

out of his captives.

It would be almost negligent

of him not to.

We don't know, for instance,

if Stateira had a rapport with Alexander.

You know, could he have gone to her

for advice about her husband,

the running of the empire?

We simply don't know.

It's pretty clear

if they're there in the baggage train,

they would've been a valuable source

of information for Alexander

about what's going on at the inner sanctum

of the Persian Empire, and also,

all sorts of things about the psychology

of Darius would've been revealed.

If you're the wife and daughter

of the Persian king

who's just abandoned you to your enemy,

you're probably not going

to be entirely complimentary about

what your husband or father has done.

Egypt What do you know of it?

[scoffs]

You want me to draw you a pyramid?

[chuckles]

No, I mean, what are his defenses?

- Troop numbers, cavalry?

- [Stateira scoffs]

And you think

I would be party to that kind of detail?

Yes, I do.

It is the only jewel in the Persian crown

more prized than you.

Its riches fill the Persian treasury.

The crops of the Nile delta

fill the bellies of your subjects.

It's why Artaxerxes built an army

of 350,000 just to conquer it

and gentrify all those barbarians.

Hmm.

[smacks lips]

Seems you already know a great deal.

[Alexander] Only what

anyone can learn from a book.

I want to know

what Egypt can teach me itself.

What a place like that can show me.

[scoffs]

So,

all that's stopping you

are 50,000 elite troops

who've sworn allegiance to my husband.

Then again

he did once share a hated enemy.

Us.

So maybe all you barbarians

have more in common than you think.

[Barsine] Mother.

What do you think you're doing?

Right now?

Surviving.

[Lloyd] Persian royal women

were not silent partners.

They had a long, long history

of being determined go-getters.

And if Stateira was representative

of any of the line of Persian women

that had gone before her,

then I think

she would have played on this situation

and maximized on it as best as she could.

Sir.

Have you decided

how to respond to the Persian offer?

I have.

[Parmenion] Good.

To the esteemed Darius Codomannus,

son of Arsames and current king of Persia

[dramatic music intensifies]

No.

[music fades]

As I, Alexander of Macedon,

am now the de facto king of all Asia,

it is up to me, and me alone,

to decide upon territorial divisions.

My decision is this.

I'm coming for you and your throne.

Ptol, send that immediately.

The rest of you,

prepare the troops and take on water.

Tomorrow, we march south to Egypt.

Egypt, where an entire garrison

of Persian infantry awaits us?

Well, it's bold.

I'll give him that.

It's a death wish is what it is.

Heph?

You need to make your friend

see his mistake. Now.

Or we will all die

and it would be for nothing.

So you might think that immediately

following his success at Issus

that Alexander would continue

his pursuit of Darius, get it done.

But, in a very Alexander way, he doesn't.

Instead, he goes to Egypt.

[whistles]

[Salima] Alexander was probably interested

and somewhat obsessed by Egypt

when he was quite young.

He had read about it,

Aristotle had taught him about it,

and Egypt featured

in sort of the mythos of the world.

[whistles]

Egypt is wealthy

in terms of financial resources,

but when you have an army,

you have to feed that army,

and Egypt was one of the breadbaskets

of the ancient world.

It produced a huge volume of grain.

So for Alexander to control Egypt

would make it easier to have access

to the supplies he needed for his army.

[whistles]

Poor Heph. They sent the friend

to talk down the madman.

No.

No, not talk down.

Understand.

What is there to understand?

Why you would march us

through a burning desert for weeks

just to see us climb into a lion's mouth.

What if I've been told the lion

might be friendlier than we think?

And who told you that?

Alex, who told you that? Stateira?

[horse neighs, snorts]

I need to listen to all voices, Heph.

Well, then listen to mine.

I know this goes against

all military sense.

But what if it's not a military decision?

What if it's something

I have to do before I face Darius?

You remember Homer's writings.

"The journey is the thing."

Well, I finally found my destination.

The question is, will you follow?

[horse snorts]

[woman] What is faith but a journey?

A pilgrimage that may lead you

through fire or hell itself

[dramatic music playing]

[woman] that may be beset by doubt

or a dread of what is to come.

That may even be misunderstood.

[Bessus] Alexander has arrived

at the gates of Pelusium.

Pelusium? Are you sure?

Straight towards

several thousand loyal troops

ready to liberate the royal women

on your behalf, sir.

Looks like the boy king may have

just made his first tactical error.

And maybe his last.

[woman] But one that if you can hold fast

and keep your nerve

[Ptolemy] So, what now?

[woman] a most glorious destination

awaits.

[dramatic music intensifies]

[music wanes]

[dramatic music playing]