''The Afghan Campaign'' is a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

by the American writer

Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield (born September 1, 1943) is an American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays, including his 1995 novel ''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' and 2002 non-fiction book '' The War of Art''. Early life Pressfie ...

. It was first published in 2006 by Doubleday. It is the story of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

's invasion of the Afghan kingdoms (the

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

of today) in 330 BC through the eyes of Matthias (Μαντίθεος in Greek), a young soldier from Macedonia, who narrates the adventures of the Macedonian army against the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

warriors. Matthias fights for Alexander the Great's infantry confronting ferocious people who, determined to defend their homeland, follow tough war methods. Many pages of the book are dedicated to Alexander's army's fight against the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Spitamenes Spitamenes (Old Persian ''Spitamana''; Greek ''Σπιταμένης''; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlordHolt, Frank L. (1989), ''Alexander the Great and Bactria: the Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia'', Leiden, New York, Cope ...

(Σπιταμένης in Greek), the ''Wolf of the Desert'', whose army follows the barbarian war method contrary to their rivals who make war in array. Pressfield presents the brutalities and ferocities of both parties while he does not omit to refer to the vanity and voraciousness of

who in the last pages of the novel marries the

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...

n Roxane (Ρωξάνη in Greek), daughter of

Oxyartes Oxyartes (Old Persian: 𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼, Greek: ''Ὀξυάρτης'', in fa, وخش‌ارد ("Vaxš-ard"), from an unattested form in an Old Iranian language: ''*Huxšaθra-'') was a Sogdian or Bactrian nobleman of Bactria, father o ...

. Having thus safeguarded his rights in the kingdoms of

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, he sets off to conquer India crossing the mountains of Indian Caucasus. He leaves behind him many thousands of footmen and horsemen (one fifth of his army) to deter the indigenous people from possible insurrections and outbreaks within the conquered land.

Plot

Young Matthias from Macedonia follows his two older brothers’ example and enrolls in Alexander's cavalry together with his close friend Lygaios/Lucas (Λυγαίος in Greek). This special convoy departs from

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ar, طرابلس/ALA-LC: ''Ṭarābulus'', Lebanese Arabic: ''Ṭrablus'') is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Gove ...

and after 125 days of marching meets the rear of Alexander's army. The hero takes part into his first battle and is shocked by the atrocities of his adversaries and his own people as well. Noteworthy is the fact that the enemy, apart from its guerilla methods, recruits women and children to fight for their freedom. While marching, Matthias meets Shinar, an Afghan woman who, having abandoned her own people, offers her services as carrier of the Greek army's supplies. Nanguali is the

barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...

warrior's code; its three elements are: honour, revenge and hospitality. Their women's honour, if blackened, could be redeemed (turn back into white) only by death. Matthias stands up to Baz, Shinar's brother, but fails to reach a compromise and is deceived by Baz, who in the end kills his sister and her baby. At the end of the story, Matthias is left with nothing – he has lost his family, friends, health and hope. Instead of returning home (his wife and son having been killed) as initially planned and having nothing to lose, he decides to follow the Greek army in its way to India.

Reception

The novel was well received by critics who found it a "vivid, compelling tale about the challenges of the war", and that through the characters we learn something about human nature.

References

External links

Steven Pressfield's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghan Campaign American historical novels 2006 American novels Novels by Steven Pressfield Novels set in Afghanistan Novels set in ancient Greece Historiography of Alexander the Great Sororicide in fiction Doubleday (publisher) books

Plot

Reception

References

Further reading

External links