LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

The campaign of Alexander the Great in the Balkans... 419
Before discussing the raid across the Danube, I intend to discuss some
problems of Alexander’s itinerary to the Danube. I see three main possible
ways:
First, from the nestus river (the Mesta); one could be from the nestus
(Mesta) to the Maritsa valley, east of philippopolis (plovdiv), outflanking
the rhodope Mountains and from there across the hills of eastern thracia
and the eastern Stara planina to the Dobrudja and the Danube Delta
(Peuce of the most ancient authors). this itinerary, west of the Black
Sea, although apparently easier, seems too long to be trod in such a short
amount of time, and therefore seems impossible (the more so because
Arrian’s narrative suggests nothing of a sort, and specifically deals with
the forcing of a mountain pass, possibly the famous Shipka pass in today’s
central Bulgaria, then thrace). nevertheless, Alexander’s land troops were
not only formidable fighters, but they were also professional warriors that
could literally eat space in forced marches, in a relatively short amount of
time. this route appears long as sheer distance, but as a terrain is not so
difficult to cross. however, it remains the mentioning of the forcing of the
Mountain pass in the land of autonomous thracians (Arrian, An.1.1.4-13,
especially An.1.1.5-7), unlikely to have happened on the sea coast.
Secondly, the route could very well be from the nestus (Mesta) to the
valley of the Vicea river (I use here the contemporary river’s name], between
the Western and the eastern rhodope Mountains, directly into the plovdiv
plain; or, less probably, through the nestus/Mesta valley and in between
the rhodope and the rila Mountains to pazardjik and to the confluence
between the topolnitsa and the upper course of the Maritsa rivers). From
there (west of philippopolis/plovdiv) he could have been taken the road to
the Central haemus (Balkan) Mountains, forcing the Shipka pass (or other
passing point in the same region, for example the republican pass; I again
use the contemporary name of the place) and crushing the autonomous
thracians there and then. By doing so, he could well arrive in time in the
zone between the lyginus river (perhaps this river is yantra/Iantra as peter
Green assumes vide supra foot-note 6; to Florin Medeleţ vide supra footnote
5 this river could be the nišava in the niš/naissus area, so further
unlikely to be formed out of a temporary island made out of a sand dune or a pebble
small hill on the river bed, uncovered by the low waters during a hot dry summer; and
Arrian’s island appeared to be covered with wood, an unlikely occurrence for a temporary
small island in the river (that moreover sheltered the triballian refugees, women, children,
elderly men unable to bear arms and fight anymore). however, one cannot pretend to
know the exact topography that was two thousand and more than three hundred years ago;
anyway, we should stick to what appears to be plausible, according to geography, biology,
and physics.