You've all heard of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon and Persia. You've heard of his stunning victories against the barbarians in the east. But did Alexander think of them as barbarians or equal to his Macedonians? Was he out to extend his empire and culture and customs or merge with the mysterious and strange Persia? Perhaps his campaign was not simply conquer and command, we see, when Alexander introduced his "Policy of Fusion." With the help of Plutarch, Diodorus and Arrian, we've sorted out the truth to find out what this strange idea is all about.
So what exactly is this "Policy of Fusion?" Well, it seems like Alexander did not, after all, want to simply smash the Persian Empire but make it and its people part of his own – he wanted Persians to be equal to Macedonians. He introduced this idea in several ways, for example, he has shunned some of the traditional Macedonian dress to wear a half-and-half outfit of mixed Macedonian and Persian. "I admit moreover that Alexander came to allow himself to emulate Eastern extravagance and splendour.regrettable too was the wearing by a descendant of Heracles of Median Dress in place of what Macedonians have worn from time immemorial, and the unblushing exchange of his familiar headgear, so long victoriously won, for the pointed bonnet of the vanquished Persians." – Arrian. "Everything else except the baggy trousers and the long-sleeved jacket." – Diodorus. He even wedded a Persian, using Iranian customs such as sharing a loaf of bread rather than Macedonian methods and asked many of his men to do the same, Susa. "The weddings were solemnized in the Persian fashion: chairs were placed for the bridegrooms in order of precedence; after the toasts the brides entered and sat down by her groom, who took them by the hand and kissed them." – Arrian.
This was not all. Alexander also let Darius' satraps hold their places after he had defeated them.
