e rivers on rafts and stopped to attack and conquer villages along the way. During this trip, Alexander sought out Indian philosophers, the Brahmins, who were famous for their wisdom, and he debated with them on philosophical issues. He became legendary for centuries in India, for being both a wise philosopher and a fearless conqueror. Another scare that happened in India, was the attack of the village of Malli. They were said to be one of the most warlike of the Indian tribes. Alexander was wounded several times in this attack, most seriously when an arrow pierced his breastplate and his ribcage. The Macedonian officers rescued him in a narrow escape from the village. Alexander and his army reached the mouth of the Indus in July 325 B.C. and turned westward for home. They began to march west across the dangerous Gedrosian Desert. One of his officers, Nearchus, was put in command of a fleet that would take the sea route west rather than marching through the desert. Alexander, on land, lost nearly three-quarters of his army to starvation and the harsh conditions of the desert. When the survivors reached the region called Carmania, they were welcomed into a prosperous land. Alexander and his men celebrated the end of their ordeal in the desert and traveled in luxury to Harmezeia, where they rejoined Nearchus and his soldiers. Then the whole army marched inland to Persis to rest. In 324 B.C., Alexander furthered his mission to assimilate Macedonian and Persian cultures when he arranged thousands of marriages between the Greek soldiers and Persian women in Susa. Alexander himself took a second wife, Stateira, one of Darius' daughters. In the spring of the same year while the army was stationed in Ecbatana, his best friend, Hepaestion, died of a fever. He was overcome with grief, and he consoled himself by leading a campaign against a tribe of brigands called the Cossaeans. The next year, Alexander traveled with his men to Babylon despite nu...
