| Siege of the Sogdian Rock | |||||||||
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| Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Macedonian Empire | Sogdiana | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Alexander the Great | Spitamenes | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 300 | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 30 | Presumably None | ||||||||
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Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress located north of Bactria in Sogdiana (near Samarkand), was captured by the forces of Alexander the Great in 327 BC as part of his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.
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Oxyartes of Bactria had sent his wife and daughters, one of whom was Roxana, to take refuge in the fortress, as it was thought to be impregnable, and was provisioned for a long siege.
When Alexander asked the defenders to surrender, they refused, telling him that he would need "men with wings" to capture it.
Alexander asked for volunteers, whom he would reward if they could climb the cliffs under the fortress. There were some 300 men who from previous sieges had gained experience in rock-climbing. Using tent pegs and strong flaxen lines, they climbed the cliff face at night, losing about 30 of their number during the ascent. In accordance with Alexander's orders, they signaled their success to the troops below by waving bits of linen, and Alexander sent a herald to tell the defenders that if they looked up, they would see that he had found his winged men. The defenders were so surprised and demoralized by this that they surrendered, even though they outnumbered the mountaineers by a hundred to one, and Alexander's main force still had no way to reach the summit. The defenders had thought that the Rock was impregnable, and with one bold stroke Alexander showed them how wrong they were. The enemy's quick surrender validated Alexander's insightful use of psychological warfare.
Alexander fell in love with Roxana on sight and eventually married her. The Macedonians claimed that Roxana was "the loveliest woman they had seen in Asia, with the one exception of Darius' wife". Husband and wife shared a ritual loaf of bread, which Alexander sliced in two with his sword. His new father-in-law was quite influential. The Macedonians encountered another rock-fortress 4,000 feet high and seven miles wide. Oxyartes managed to convince the people of this rock that resistance was futile, and that they would be treated honorably. The story of the siege is told by the Roman historian Arrian of Nicomedia, in his Anabasis (section 4.18.4-19.6).