Aornos (Ancient Greek: Ἄορνος) was the site of Alexander the Great's last siege, which took place on April 326 BC,[1] at a mountain site located in modern Pakistan. Aornos offered the last threat to Alexander's supply line, which stretched, dangerously vulnerable, over the Hindu Kush back to Balkh, though Arrian (although disbelieving himself of this story) credits Alexander's desire to outdo his kinsman Heracles, who allegedly had proved unable to take a fort that the Macedonians called Ἄορνος Aornos (according to Arrian and Diodorus; Aornis according to Curtius; elsewhere Aornus): meaning "birdless" in Greek. According to one theory, the name is a corruption of an Indo-Iranian word, such as *awarana "fortified place". According to Arrian, the rock had a flat summit well-supplied with natural springs and wide enough to grow crops: it could not be starved into submission. Neighboring tribesmen who surrendered to Alexander offered to lead him to the best point of access.
A 19th century painting of the Siege of the Aornos.The Aornos is located to the north of TaxilaThe Rock of Aornos, Shangla District, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK), Pakistan
The geographer Aurel Stein suggested that Aornos was located on Pir Sar – a mountain spur above narrow gorges in a bend of the upper Indus River, just to the west of Thakot in the Pakistani Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. However, the Indologist Giuseppe Tucci has instead proposed a site at the summit of Elum Ghar (Mount Ilam), a site significant in Hinduism, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Ptolemy and Alexander's secretary Myllinas (rather than the famous Eumenes), reconnoitered and reinforced a neighboring spur to the west with a stockade and ditch. His signal fire to Alexander also alerted the defenders of Pir-Sar, and it took two days of skirmishing in the narrow ravines for Alexander to regroup. At the vulnerable north side leading to the fort, Alexander and his catapults were stopped by a deep ravine. To bring the siege engines within reach, an earthwork mound was constructed to bridge the ravine with carpentry, brush, and earth. The first day's work brought the siege mound 50 metres (55 yd) closer, but as the sides of the ravine fell away steeply below, progress rapidly slowed; nevertheless, at the end of the third day, a low hill connected to the nearest tip of Pir-Sar was within reach and was taken. Afterwards, Alexander in the vanguard and his first force were repelled by boulders rolled down from above. Three days of drumbeats marked the defenders' celebration of the initial repulse, followed by a surprise retreat. Alexander hauled himself up the last rockface on a rope. Alexander cleared the summit, slaying some fugitives (Lane Fox), inflated by Arrian to a massacre, and erected altars to Athena Nike, Athena of Victory, traces of which were identified by Stein.[2]
aornos, ancient, greek, Ἄορνος, site, alexander, great, last, siege, which, took, place, april, mountain, site, located, modern, pakistan, offered, last, threat, alexander, supply, line, which, stretched, dangerously, vulnerable, over, hindu, kush, back, balkh. Aornos Ancient Greek Ἄornos was the site of Alexander the Great s last siege which took place on April 326 BC 1 at a mountain site located in modern Pakistan Aornos offered the last threat to Alexander s supply line which stretched dangerously vulnerable over the Hindu Kush back to Balkh though Arrian although disbelieving himself of this story credits Alexander s desire to outdo his kinsman Heracles who allegedly had proved unable to take a fort that the Macedonians called Ἄornos Aornos according to Arrian and Diodorus Aornis according to Curtius elsewhere Aornus meaning birdless in Greek According to one theory the name is a corruption of an Indo Iranian word such as awarana fortified place According to Arrian the rock had a flat summit well supplied with natural springs and wide enough to grow crops it could not be starved into submission Neighboring tribesmen who surrendered to Alexander offered to lead him to the best point of access A 19th century painting of the Siege of the Aornos The Aornos is located to the north of TaxilaThe Rock of Aornos Shangla District Khyber Pakhtun Khwa KPK PakistanThe geographer Aurel Stein suggested that Aornos was located on Pir Sar a mountain spur above narrow gorges in a bend of the upper Indus River just to the west of Thakot in the Pakistani Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province However the Indologist Giuseppe Tucci has instead proposed a site at the summit of Elum Ghar Mount Ilam a site significant in Hinduism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ptolemy and Alexander s secretary Myllinas rather than the famous Eumenes reconnoitered and reinforced a neighboring spur to the west with a stockade and ditch His signal fire to Alexander also alerted the defenders of Pir Sar and it took two days of skirmishing in the narrow ravines for Alexander to regroup At the vulnerable north side leading to the fort Alexander and his catapults were stopped by a deep ravine To bring the siege engines within reach an earthwork mound was constructed to bridge the ravine with carpentry brush and earth The first day s work brought the siege mound 50 metres 55 yd closer but as the sides of the ravine fell away steeply below progress rapidly slowed nevertheless at the end of the third day a low hill connected to the nearest tip of Pir Sar was within reach and was taken Afterwards Alexander in the vanguard and his first force were repelled by boulders rolled down from above Three days of drumbeats marked the defenders celebration of the initial repulse followed by a surprise retreat Alexander hauled himself up the last rockface on a rope Alexander cleared the summit slaying some fugitives Lane Fox inflated by Arrian to a massacre and erected altars to Athena Nike Athena of Victory traces of which were identified by Stein 2 Alexander was now free to pursue his journey into Punjab The devastating Battle of the Hydaspes River lay in the future Notes edit Sastri 1988 p 54 Lane Fox 1973 Arrian References editLane Fox Robin Alexander the Great Penguin 1973 ISBN 0 14 008878 4 Sastri K A Nilakanta ed 1988 1967 Age of the Nandas and Mauryas Second ed Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 0465 1 Arrian Anabasis IV chapters 28 1 30 4 in French 31 0 0 00 N 74 0 0 00 E 31 0000000 N 74 0000000 E 31 0000000 74 0000000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aornos amp oldid 1184100061, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
