Born c. 360 B.C., Crete
Died 312 B.C.
By the sixth century B.C., Persia had become the largest and strongest empire in the known world, presiding over Egypt and all of western Asia. Persian ruler Darius I (reigned 521–486 B.C.) decided to add Greece to his vast holdings, and a series of conflicts known as the Persian Wars took place in 500–449 B.C. between the Persian empire and the Greek city-states (self-ruling areas, each made up of a city and its surrounding territory). By the fourth century B.C., however, the Greeks had grown in military strength and Persia had weakened. The Greeks looked to avenge the earlier invasions and conquer the huge Persian empire.
Philip II of Macedon (reigned 359–336 B.C.), ruler of a kingdom in northern Greece, united the Greek city-states and prepared to attack Persia, now led by Darius III (reigned 336–330 B.C.). But Philip was assassinated, and was replaced by his twenty-year-old son, Alexander, whose military genius and far-reaching conquests over the next several years would earn him the name Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.). Alexander and his army vanquished Persian forces and overtook Asia Minor—the west Asian peninsula that is now Turkey—and proceeded through Syria, Egypt, and Persia’s homeland (present-day Iran). Continuing east across Asia, Alexander pushed beyond the borders of the Persian empire.
Nearchus was a native of the Greek island of Crete. As a boy he moved to Amphipolis in Macedon (present-day Macedonia), and became Alexander’s friend. Beginning in 334 B.C., he participated in Alexander’s military campaigns against Persia; that same year—following a victory over Darius III at Granicus—he was appointed governor of Lycia (now southwest Turkey).
By 327 B.C. Alexander and his army were camped in Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) as he planned his invasion of India. Nearchus traveled there, taking supplies and more soldiers to his commander. In midsummer the massive army proceeded through the Khyber Pass (on the present-day border between Afghanistan and Pakistan) and then headed south, where it met strong resistance from Indian rulers. Alexander and his forces prevailed, however, even though their opponents used large Indian elephants in battle. He crossed the Indus River and planned to continue east to the Ganges River, eager to explore and conquer the vast Indian subcontinent.
By 325 B.C. Alexander and his army had reached what is now the Jhelum River, located in western India. Here his men—weary after nearly eight long years of military campaigns—refused to continue into unknown regions. Alexander reluctantly agreed to turn back, but along a different route. Almost as interested in exploration as he was in conquest, Alexander wanted to travel through as much unknown territory as possible on the homeward journey.
Alexander and his men returned to the Indus River, where a fleet of 150 small boats were constructed. Then the army sailed down the river, arriving at its mouth (which empties into the Arabian Sea) in September. From there Alexander sent many of his men home by an overland route that would take them north of Persia’s deserts. But Nearchus, leading a force of 5,000 men, would continue to sail north along the coast of the Arabian Sea toward the Persian Gulf, keeping detailed notes of good harbors, land features, and other discoveries. Alexander hoped that Nearchus would chart a new water route that would connect recent conquests in the Near East with India. As for himself, Alexander would lead a force of 12,000 men in a parallel route overland, along the coast. They would frequently rendezvous with the fleet, and provide its voyagers with food and water.
For twenty-four days, Nearchus’s expedition was delayed at Crocola (now Karachi, Pakistan), near the Indus delta, by unfavorable monsoon winds. He then headed westward along the coast of what is now Pakistan. During his five-month voyage, Nearchus was rarely in contact with Alexander and his troops, and he and his men had to deal with supply shortages, hostile natives, and other challenges on their own. Not long after their departure, near the mouth of the Hab River, three of the expedition’s ships capsized in a storm, but all crew members were saved.
Nearchus and his men frequently encountered many primitive peoples as they went ashore to replenish their supplies. Near the mouth of the Hingol River (in present-day Pakistan), they were attacked by 600 native inhabitants, whom Nearchus described as “hairy” from head to toe. These people possessed “nails like wild beasts,” which they used as tools. Nearchus and his forces defeated them and took several captive.
The expedition proceeded up the coast. Along one desolate stretch of land—in present-day Makran (which lies both in Pakistan and Iran)—the travelers could find no fresh water for twenty days. It was here that Nearchus and his men encountered “savage” native inhabitants whom they called “fisheaters,” for the people subsisted on a diet of fish and lived in dwellings built of whale bones. As the voyagers sailed along the barren coast, their food supplies dwindled and they were forced to hunt wild goats on the shore.
As the land they passed became more fertile, Nearchus and his men encountered more ports, where they were able to restock their boats. While stopped at Cophas (Kappar in present-day Pakistan) Nearchus observed that the people there paddled canoes rather than rowing their vessels, as the Greeks did. Nearby, the voyagers were surprised to see great towers of water rising up in the air. When they asked their guides about it, they were told that they were viewing a group of whales, creatures altogether unfamiliar to Mediterranean sailors.
Nearchus and his fleet reached the coast of Persia, where it was easier to get provisions. As the voyagers traveled north, they sighted Cape Musandam (in the present-day United Arab Emirates), the tip of the Arabian Peninsula that divides the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf. Nearchus rejected the suggestion of his second-in-command that they cross over and explore the other coast. Instead, he continued to follow the directive given by Alexander: to investigate the eastern shores of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
When Nearchus reached the mouth of the Minab River (in present-day Iran), he traveled inland. Proceeding to the Persian town of Golashkerd, he at last met up with Alexander and his troops. There was much rejoicing on both sides, for the great commander and his men had also had a hard journey; the difficult march through dry and mountainous terrain had taken many lives. After the visit, Nearchus headed back to sea, sailing past Ormuz Island (in the Strait of Ormuz)—which would become the main port of the Persian Gulf for many centuries. Then Nearchus sailed on to the larger island of Qeshm (also in the Strait of Ormuz). There his ships ran aground on sandbanks; the damage took three weeks to repair. Afterward, Nearchus and his men continued traveling northwest along the coast of Persia. At the head of the Persian Gulf they came upon the port of Diridotis, located at the mouth of the Euphrates River (which runs through present-day Iraq).
Nearchus and his fleet then traveled up the Karun River to rejoin Alexander in the Persian capital of Susa (situated in southwest Iran) in 324 B.C. As Alexander had hoped, Nearchus’s voyage had proven that a sea route did exist between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, connecting the Mediterranean world with the exotic and intriguing land of India. Perhaps with conquest in mind, Alexander planned more voyages of exploration led by Nearchus, which included a trip around the Arabian Peninsula and one circling the African continent. These voyages never took place, however, because Alexander died in 323 B.C. and his great empire soon broke apart. Nearchus returned to his post as governor of Lycia.
Nearchus published a full account of his sea journey, which became well known by ancient writers. In the second century A.D. Greek historian Arrian—in his work Indica, which still survives—published full extracts from the military officer’s narrative. Still, Nearchus’s report probably had very little geographical or navigational impact. His descriptions of the bleak northeastern coast of the Arabian Sea and its primitive inhabitants discouraged Greeks from revisiting there. Furthermore, a better sailing route from the Mediterranean world to India by way of the Red Sea—employing the variable monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean—would subsequently be found.
Baker, Daniel B., ed. Explorers and Discoverers of the World. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993.
Delpar, Helen, ed. The Discoverers: An Encyclopedia of Explorers and Exploration. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Explorers and Exploration, Volume 1: The Earliest Explorers, written by Nathaniel Harris. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1998.
Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of Discovery and Exploration, Volume 5: Lands of Spice and Treasure, written by William Napier. Freeport, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 1990.
Waldman, Carl and Alan Wexler. Who Was Who in World Exploration. New York: Facts on File, 1992.
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