Tristan Hughes

Or to allies, the famous story with Halicarnassus is that there's almost this mother-like figure of Alexander, Queen Ada, who I think there's one that she cooks in biscuits or cakes and sends them to him when he's on campaign later.

And he reinstates her as queen.

So he puts allies in charge of these places that he takes over from the beginning.

And then he heads eastwards.

I always kind of picture it almost like a horseshoe shape because he doesn't then go into the difficult highland areas, which are, as we'll see time and time again elsewhere, their home to what they think are more backward people, but they're warlike.

They're hillmen, they're tribesmen, and they live in these kind of strongholds up in the mountains, if you visit Termessus today.

It's a beautiful, beautiful surviving city high up.

And so he kind of avoids those hillmen and he focuses in on the Persian administrative centers, another one, Kelainai, which is just a bit inland.

And then he reaches a place, which I guess it's not too far from Ankara today, or is it that kind of area?

Gordium?

Home of the, once again, we've done Croesus already.

This is King Midas and Midas Touch.

Yeah.

And this is the story where we get the Gordian Knot.

But he is also visiting the prime cities all in that area, isn't he?

Avoiding the highlands we mentioned earlier.

So he's done Sardis, Ephesus, Halicarnassus, Kelinai, as mentioned, another important capital of the Persians in Anatolia, and now Gordium, home of Midas.

So he's kind of picking those places in his route to go, isn't it?

To make sure he gets the centre.

And Alexander, he doesn't stay there long.