Price of Steel
Alexander's calculation for the price of steel had been a long and detailed one.
First, he had to calculate the labor cost, which was subdivided into various categories.
There were three thousand ( 3,000) men that worked the iron mines, among which two thousand (2,000) were slaves that were promised freedom in five years, while the last thousand (1,000) were hardened criminals with no chance of freedom.
The latter had all been captured by Cambyses in her raid and in the following subsequent days as the city guards hunted down all that escaped, a task made much easier by the fact there were very few young or adult free male Adhanians in Zanzan, most either dead, missing or enslaved.
These captured slaves were of relative low maintenance, costing Alexander around only 2 ropals a day in food.
Much more expensive were the two thousand (2,000) soon-to-be freed slaves.