‘I’ll bet,’ Madison said, smiling at Ben. ‘Anyhow, one of Alexander’s greatest conquests was his long war against the Persians, who were a mighty empire ruled at that time by King Darius III. He was called “the Great”, too, as you would if you were also King of Babylon and Pharaoh of Egypt. He’d been all over, conquering left, right and centre and crowning himself ruler. But in 331 BC it was his turn to go down, when Alexander kicked his ass big-time at the battle of Gaugamela, in modern Iraq. Darius escaped, but that was the end of his reign. Now Alexander found himself the ruler of the entire Persian empire. He’d enriched himself beyond anyone’s wildest dreams from its plundered treasures, and had almost limitless power over a vast kingdom. But he wanted more. So now he set his sights on the land of Bactria.’

‘You wonder what drew him to such a place,’ Ben said.

Madison replied, ‘It’s a good question. The country, if you could even call it a country at that time, was a chaotic sprawl of warring tribes and factions, highly fragmented and extremely difficult to invade because of its hostile terrain. Militarily, there wasn’t a whole lot to gain from even trying. But the fact is, Alexander’s interest in Bactria had a personal element to it. He was peeved that his old enemy Darius had managed to escape, even though he was beaten. And he got even more peeved when a warlord called Bessus murdered Darius and proclaimed himself “King of Kings” as Darius’s natural successor.’

‘Cheeky sod,’ Wolf said.

‘That’s what Alexander thought too. He wanted that glory for himself, right? There could only be one king of kings, after all. So when Bessus fled into the hills of Bactria with his followers, Alexander decided to lead his legions after him in pursuit. The most powerful military leader of his time, or any time until then, at the head of the biggest army in the world. But as a politician he needed to frame his personal quest in grander terms for the benefit of his men. He sold them the idea that the conquest of Bactria was a noble cause, targeting the Afghan warlords who he described in much the same kinds of terms that western leaders still use nowadays – he called them a rogue regime, a band of criminals and terrorists, lawless savages of a bleak, harsh land that, more than any other, needed to be taught a lesson in civilisation. The way to do this, Alexander’s way, was to crush them with overwhelming military force.’

‘As you do,’ Ben said. ‘Sounds like pretty familiar rhetoric.’