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HISTORY OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE |
At
the beginning of the spring he marched towards the Hellespont, entrusting the
affairs of Macedonia and Greece to Antipater. He led with him not much over
30,000 infantry together with light-armed troops and archers, and more than
5,000 cavalry. His march was past the lake Cercinitis, towards Amphipolis and
the mouths of the river Strymon. Having crossed this river he passed by the
Pangaean mountain, along the road leading to Abdera and Maronea, Grecian cities
built on the coast. Thence he arrived at the river Hebrus, and easily crossed
it. Thence he proceeded through Paetica to the river Melas, having crossed which
he arrived at Sestus, in twenty days altogether from the time of his starting
from home. When he came to Elaeus he offered sac rifice to Protesilaus upon the
tomb of that hero, both for other reasons and because Protesilaus seemed to have
been the first of the Greeks who took part with Agamemnon in the expedition to
Ilium to disembark in Asia. The design of this sacrifice was that disembarking
in Asia might be more fortunate to himself than that it had been to Protesilaus.
He then committed to Parmenio the duty of conveying the cavalry and the greater
part of the infantry across from Sestus to Abydus; and they crossed over in 160
triremes, besides many trading vessels. The prevailing account is that Alexander
started from Elaeus and put into the Port of Achaeans, that with his own hand he
steered the general's ship across, and that when he was about the middle of the
channel of the Hellespont he sacrificed a bull to Poseidon and the Nereids, and
poured forth a libation to them into the sea from a golden goblet. They say also
that he was the first man to step out of the ship in full armour on the land of
Asia, and that he erected altars to Zeus, the protector of people landing, to
Athena, and to Heracles, at the place in Europe whence he started, and at the
place in Asia where he disembarked. It is also said that he went up to Ilium and
offered sacrifice to the Trojan Athena; that he set up his own panoply in the
temple as a votive offering, and in exchange for it took away some of the
consecrated arms which had been preserved from the time of the Trojan war. It is
also said that the shield-bearing guards used to carry these arms in front of
him into the battles. A report also prevails that he offered sacrifice to Priam
upon the altar of Zeus the household god, deprecating the wrath of Priam against
the progeny of Neoptolemus, from whom Alexander himself was descended.
When
he went up to Ilium, Menoetius the pilot crowned him with a golden crown; after
him Chares the Athenian, coming from Sigeum, as well as certain others, both
Greeks and natives, did the same. Alexander then encircled the tomb of Achilles
with a garland; and it is said that Hephaestion decorated that of Patroclus in
the same way. There is indeed a report that Alexander pronounced Achilles
fortunate in getting Homer as the herald of his fame to posterity. And in truth
it was meet that Alexander should deem Achilles fortunate for this real son
especially; for to Alexander himself this privilege was wanting, a thing which
was not in accordance with the rest of his good fortune. His achievements have,
therefore, not been related to mankind in a manner worthy of the hero. Neither
in prose nor in verse has any one suitably honoured him; nor has he ever been
sung of in a Iyric poem, in which style of poetry Hiero, Gelo, Thero, and many
others not at all comparable with Alexander, have been praised.
ConsequentlyAlexander's deeds are far less known than the meanest achievements
of an tiquity. For instance, the march of the ten thousand with Cyrus up to
Persia against King Artaxerxes, the tragic fate of Clearchus and those who were
captured along with him, and the march of the same men down to the sea, in which
they were led by Xenophon, are events much better known to men through
Xenophon's narrative than are Alexander and his achievements. And yet Alexander
neither accompanied another man's expedition, nor did he in flight from the
Great King overcome those who obstructed his march down to the sea. And, indeed,
there is no other single individual among Greeks or barbarians who achieved
exploits so great or important either in regard to number or magnitude as he
did. This was the reason which induced me to undertake this history, not
thinking myself incompetent to make Alexander's deeds known to men. For whoever
I may be, this I know about myself, that there is no need for me to assert my
name, for it is not unknown to men; nor is it needful for me to say what my
native land and family are, or if I have held any public office in my own
country. But this I do assert, that this historical work is and has been from my
youth up, equivalent to native land, family, and public offices for me; and for
this reason I do not deem myself unworthy to rank among the first authors in the
Greek language, if Alexander indeed is among the first in arms.
From
Ilium Alexander came to Arisbe, where his entire force had encamped after
crossing the Hellespont; and on the following day he came to Percote. On the
next, passing by Lampsacus, he encamped near the river Practius, which flows
from the Idaean mountains and discharges itself into the sea between the
Hellespont and the Euxine Sea. Thence passing by the city of Colonae, he arrived
at Hermotus. He now sent scouts before the army under the command of Amyntas,
son of Arrhabaeus, who had the squadron of the Companion cavalry which came from
Apollonia, under the captain Socrates, son of Sathon, and four squadrons of what
were called scouts. In the march he despatched Panegorus, son of Lycagoras, one
of the Companions, to take possession of the city of Priapus, which was
surrendered by the inhabitants.
The
Persian generals were Arsames, Rheomithres, Petines, Niphates, and with them
Spithridates, viceroy of Lydia and Ionia, and Arsites, governor of the Phrygia
near the Hellespont. These had encamped near the city of Zeleia with the Persian
cavalry and the Grecian mercenaries. When they were holding a council about the
state of affairs, it was reported to them that Alexander nad crossed (the
Hellespont). Memnon, the Rhodian, advised them not to risk a conflict with the
Macedonians, since they were far superior to themselves in infantry, and
Alexander was there in person; whereas Darius was not with them. He advised them
to advance and destroy the fodder, by trampling it down under their horses'
hoofs, to burn the crops in the country, and not even to spare the very cities.
"For then Alexander," said he, "will not be able to stay in the
land from lack of provisions." It is said that in the Persian conference
Arsites asserted that he would not allow a single house belonging to the people
placed under his rule to be burned, and that the other Persians agreed with
Arsites, because they had a suspicion that Memnon was deliberately contriving to
protract the war for the purpose of obtaining honour from the king.
13.
Meantime Alexander was advancing to the river Granicus, with his army arranged
for battle, having drawn up his heavy-armed troops in a double phalanx, leading
the cavalry on the wings, and having ordered that the baggage should follow in
the rear. And Hegelochus at the head of the cavalry, who were armed with the
long pike, and about 500 of the light-armed troops, was sent by him to
reconnoitre the proceedings of the enemy. When Alexander was not far from the
river Granicus, some of his scouts rode up to him at full speed and announced
that the Persians had taken up their position on the other side of the Granicus,
drawn up ready for battle. Thereupon Alexander arranged all his army with the
intention of fighting. Then Parmenio approached him and spoke as follows,
"I think, O king, that it is advisable for the present to pitch our camp on
the bank of the river as we are. For I think that the enemy, being much inferior
to us in infantry, will not dare to pass the night near us, and therefore they
will permit the army to cross the ford with ease at daybreak. For we shall then
pass over before they can put themselves in order of battle; whereas, I do not
think that we can now attempt the operation without evident risk, because it is
not possible to lead the army through the river with its front extended. For it
is clear that many parts of the stream are deep, and you see that these banks
are very steep and in some places abrupt. Therefore the enemy's cavalry, being
formed into a dense square, will attack us as we emerge from the water in broken
ranks and in column, in the place where we are weakest. At the present juncture
the first repulse would be difficult to retrieve, as well as perilous for the
issue of the whole war."
But
to this Alexander replied, "I recognize the force of these arguments, O
Parmenio; but I should feel it a disgrace, if, after crossing the Hellespont so
easily, this paltry stream (for with such an appellation he made light of the
Granicus) should bar our passage for a moment. I consider that this would be in
accordance neither with the fame of the Macedonians nor with my own eagerness
for encountering danger. Moreover, I think that the Persians will regain
courage, in the belief that they are a match in war for Macedonians, since up to
the present time they have suffered no defeat from me to warrant the fear they
entertain."
14.
Having spoken thus, he sent Parmenio to takc the command upon the left wing,
while he led in person on the right. And at the head of the right wing he placed
the following officers: Philotas, son of Parmenio, with the cavalry Companions,
the archers, and the Agrianian javelin-men; and Amyntas, son of Arrhabaeus, with
the cavalry carrying the long pike, the Paeonians, and the squadron of Socrates,
was posted near Philotas. Close to these were posted the Companions who were
shield-bearing infantry under the command of Nicanor, son of Parmenio. Next to
these the brigade of Perdiccas, son of Orontes; then that of Coenus, son of
Polemocrates; then that of Craterus, son of Alexander; then that of Amyntas, son
of Andromenes; finally, the men com manded by Philip, son of Amyntas. On the
left wing first were arranged the Thessalian cavalry, commanded by Calas, son of
Harpalus; next to these, the cavalry of the Grecian allies, commanded by Philip,
son of Mene!aus; next to these the Thracians, commanded by Agatho. Close to
these were the infantry, the brigades of Craterus, Meleager, and Philip,
reaching as far as the centre of the entire line.
The
Persian cavalry were about 20,000 in number, and their infantry, consisting of
Grecian mercenaries, fell a little short of the same number. They had extended
their horse along the bank of the river in a long phalanx, and had posted the
infantry behind the cavalry, for the ground above the bank was steep and
commanding. They also marshalled dense squadrons of cavalry upon that part of
the bank where they observed Alexander himself advancing against their left
wing; for he was conspicuous both by the brightness of his arms and by the
respectful attendance of his staff. Both armies stood a long time at the margin
of the river, keeping quiet from dread of the result; and profound silence was
observed on both sides. For the Persians were waiting till the Macedonians
should step into the ford, with the intention of attacking them as they emerged.
Alexander leaped upon his steed, ordering those about him to follow, and
exhorting them to show themselves valiant men. He then commanded Amyntas, son of
Arrhabaeus, to make the first rush into the river at the head of the skirmishing
cavalry, the Paeonians, and one regiment of infantry; and in front of these he
had placed Ptolemy, son of Philip, in command of the squadron of Socrates, which
body of men indeed on that day happened to have the lead of all the cavalry
force. He himself led the right wing with sounding of trumpets, and the men
raising the war-cry to Enyalius. He entered the ford, keeping his line always
extended obliquely in the direction in which the stream turned itself aside, in
order that the Persians might not fall upon him as he was emerging from the
water with his men in column, but that he himself might, as far as practicable,
encounter them with a broad line.
15.
The Persians began the contest by hurling missiles from above in the direction
where the men of Amyntas and Socrates were the first to reach the bank, some of
them casting javelins into the river from their commanding position on the bank,
and others stepping down along the flatter parts of it to the very edge of the
water. Then ensued a violent struggle on the part of the cavalry, on the one
side to emerge from the river, and on the other to prevent the landing. From the
Persians there was a terrible discharge of darts; but the Macedonians fought
with spears. The Macedonians, being far inferior in number, suffered severely at
the first onset, because they were obliged to defend themselves from the river,
where their footing was unsteady, and where they were below the level of their
assailants; whereas the Persians were fighting from the top of the bank, which
gave them an advantage, especially as the best of the Persian horse had been
posted there. Memnon himself, as well as his sons, were running every risk with
these; and the Macedonians who first came into conflict with the Persians,
though they showed great valour, were cut down by them, except those who
retreated to Alexander, who was now approaching. For the king was already near,
leading with him the right wing. He made his first assault upon the Persians at
the place where the whole mass of their horse and the leaders themselves were
posted; and around him a desperate conflict raged, during which one rank of the
Macedonians after another easily kept on crossing the river. Though they fought
on horseback, it seemed more like an infantry than a cavalry battle; for they
struggled for the mastery, horses being jammed with horses and men with men, the
Macedonians striving to drive the Persians entirely away from the bank and to
force them into the plain, and the Persians striving to obstruct their landing
and to push them back again into the river. At last Alexander's men began to
gain the advantage, both through their superior strength and military
discipline, and because they fought with spears whose shafts were made of
cornel-wood, whereas the Persians used only darts.
Then
indeed, Alexander's spear being broken to shivers in the conflict, he asked
Aretis, one of the royal guards, whose duty it was to assist the king to mount
his horse, for another spear. But this man's spear had also been shivered while
he was in the thickest of the struggle, and he was conspicuous fighting with the
half of his broken spear. showing this to Alexander, he bade him ask someone
else for one. Then Demaratus, a man of Corinth, one of his personal Companions,
gave him his own spear; which he had no sooner taken than seeing Mithridates,
the son-in-law of Darius, riding far in front of the others, and leading with
him a body of cavalry arranged like a wedge, he himself rode on in front of the
others, and hitting at the face of Mithridates with his spear, struck him to the
ground. But hereupon, Rhoesaces rode up to Alexander and hit him on the head
with his scimitar, breaking off a piece of his helmet. But the helmet broke the
force of the blow. This man also Alexander struck to the ground, hitting him in
the chest through the breastplate with his lance. And now Spithridates from be
hind had already raised aloft his scimitar against the king, when Clitus, son of
Dropidas, anticipated his blow, and hitting him on the arm, cut it off, scimitar
and all. Meantime the horsemen, as many as were able, kept on securing a landing
in succession all down the river, and were joining Alexander's forces.
16.
The Persians themselves, as well as their horses, were now being struck on their
faces with the lances from all sides, and were being repulsed by the cavalry.
They also received much damage from the light armed troops who were mingled with
the cavalry. They first began to give way where Alexander himself was braving
danger in the front. When their centre had given way, the horse on both wings
were also naturally broken through, and took to speedy flight. Of the Persian
cavalry only about I,000 were killed; for Alexander did not pursue them far, but
turned aside to attack the Greek mercenaries, the main body of whom was still
remaining where it was posted at first. This they did rather from amazement at
the unexpected result of the struggle than from any steady resolution. Leading
the phalanx against these, and ordering the cavalry to fall upon them from all
sides, he soon completely surrounded them and cut them up, so that none of them
escaped except such as might have concealed themselves among the dead bodies.
About 2,000 were taken prisoners. The following leaders of the Persians also
fell in the battle: Niphates, Petines, Spithridates, viceroy of Lydia,
Mithrobuzanes, governor of Cappadocia, Mithridates, the son-in-law of Darius,
Arbupales, son of Darius the son of Artaxerxes, Pharnaces, brother of the wife
of Darius, and Omares, commander of the auxiliaries. Arsites fled from the
battle into Phrygia, where he is reported to have committed suicide, because he
was deemed by the Persians the cause of their defeat on that occasion.
Of
the Macedonians, about twenty-five of the Companions were killed at the first
onset, brazen statues of whom we erected at Dium, executed by Lysippus, at
Alexander's order. The same sculptor also executed a statue of Alexander
himself, being chosen by him for the work in preference to all other artists. Of
the other cavalry over sixty were slain, and of the infantry about thirty. These
were buried by Alexander the next day, together with their arms and other
decorations. To their parents and children he granted exemption from imposts on
agricultural produce, and he relieved them from all personal services and taxes
upon property. He also exhibited great solicitude in regard to the wounded, for
he himself visited each man, looked at their wounds, and inquired how and in the
performance of what duty they had received them, allowing them both to speak and
brag of their own deeds. He also buried the Persian commanders and the Greek
mercenaries who were killed fighting on the side of the enemy. But as many of
them as he took prisoners he bound in fetters and sent them away to Macedonia to
till the soil, because, though they were Greeks, they were fighting against
Greece on behalf of the foreigners in opposition to the decrees which the Greeks
had made in their federal council. To Athens also he sent 300 suits of Persian
armour to be hung up in the Acropolis as a votive offering to Athena, and
ordered this inscription to be fixed over them, "Alexander, son of Philip,
and all the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians, present this offering from the
spoils taken from the foreigners inhabiting Asia."
6.
While he was still at Mallus, he was informed that Darius was encamped with all
his force at Sochi, a place in the land of Assyria, distant about two days'
march from the Assyrian Gates. Then indeed he collected the Companions and told
them what was reported about Darius and his army. They urged him to lead them on
as they were, without delay. At that time he commended them, and broke up the
conference; but next day he led them forward against Darius and the Persians. On
the second day he passed through the Gates and encamped near the city of
Myriandrus; but in the night a heavy tempest and a violent storm of wind and
rain occurred which detained him in his camp. Darius, on the other hand, up to
this time was delaying with his army, having chosen a plain in the land of
Assyria which stretched out in every direction, suitable for the immense size of
his army and convenient for the evolutions of cavalry. Amyntas, son of
Antiochus, the deserter from Alexander, advised him not to abandon this
position, because the open country was favourable to the great multitude of the
Persians and the vast quantity of their baggage. So Darius remained. But as
Alexander made a long stay at Tarsus on account of his illness, and not a short
one at Soli, where he offered sacrifice and conducted his army in procession,
and moreover spent some time in marching against the Cilician mountaineers,
Darius was induced to swerve from his resolution. He was also not unwilling to
be led to form whatever decision was most agreeable to his own wishes; and being
urged on by those who for the gratification of pleasure associated with him, and
will associate for their injury with those who for the time are reigning, he
came to the conclusion that Alexander was no longer desirous of advancing
further, but was shrinking from an encounter on learning that Darius himself was
marching against him. On all sides they were urging him on, asserting that he
would trample down the army of the Macedonians with his cavalry. Nevertheless,
Amyntas, at any rate, confidently afffirmed that Alexander would certainly come
to any place where he heard Darius might be; and he exhorted him by all means to
stay where he was. But the worse advice, because at the immediate time it was
more pleasant to hear, prevailed; moreover perhaps he was led by some divine
influence into that locality where he derived little advantage from his cavalry
and from the very number of his men, javelins and bows, and where he could not
even exhibit the mere magnificence of his army, but surrendered to Alexander and
his troops an easy victory. For it was already decreed by fate that the Persians
should be deprived of the rule of Asia by the Macedonians, just as the Medes had
been deprived of it by the Persians, and still earlier the Assyrians by the
Medes.
7.
Darius crossed the mountain range by what are called the Amanic Gates, and
advancing towards Issus, came without being noticed to the rear of Alexander.
Having reached Issus, he captured as many of the Macedonians as had been left
behind there on account of illness. These he cruelly mutilated and slew. Next
day he proceeded to the river Pinarus. As soon as Alexander heard that Darius
was in his rear, because the news did not seem to him trustworthy, he embarked
some of the Companions in a ship with thirty oars, and sent them back to Issus,
to observe whether the report was true. The men who sailed in the thirty-oared
ship discovered the Persians encamped there more easily, because the sea in this
part takes the form of a bay. They therefore brought back word to Alexander that
Darius was at hand. Alexander then called together the generals, the commanders
of cavalry, and the leaders of the Grecian allies, and exhorted them to take
courage from the dangers which they had already surmounted, asserting that the
struggle would be between themselves who had been previously victorious and a
foe who had already been beaten; and that the deity was acting the part of
general on their behalf better than himself, by putting it into the mind of
Darius to move his forces from the spacious plain and shut them up in a narrow
place, where there was suffficient room for themselves to deepen their phalanx
by marching from front to rear, but where their vast multitude would be useless
to the enemy in the battle. He added that their foes were similar to them
neither in strength nor in courage; for the Macedonians, who had long been
practised in warlike toils accompanied with danger, were coming into close
conflict with Persians and Medes, men who had become enervated by a long course
of luxurious ease; and, to crown all, they, being freemen, were about to engage
in battle with men who were slaves. He said, moreover, that the Greeks who were
coming into conflict with Greeks would not be fighting for the same objects; for
those with Darius were braving danger for pay, and that pay not high; whereas,
those on their side were voluntarily defending the interests of Greece. Again,
of foreigners, the Thracians, Paeonians, Illyrians, and Agrianians, who were the
most robust and warlike of men in Europe, were about to be arrayed against the
most sluggish and effeminate races of Asia. In addition to all this, Alexander
was commanding in the field against Darius. These things he enumerated as
evidences of their superiority in the struggle; and then he began to point out
the great rewards they would win from the danger to be incurred. For he told
them that on that occasion they would overcome, not merely the viceroys of
Darius, nor the cavalry drawn up at the Granicus, nor the 20,000 Grecian
mercenaries, but all the available forces of the Persians and Medes, as well as
all the other races subject to them dwelling in Asia, and the Great King present
in person. After this conflict nothing would be left for them to do, except to
take possession of all Asia, and to put an end to their many labours. In
addition to this, he reminded them of their brilliant achievements in their
collective capacity in days gone by; and if any man had individually performed
any distinguished feat of valour from love of glory, he mentioned him by name in
commendation of the deed. He then recapitulated as modestly as possible his own
daring deeds in the various battles. He is also said to have reminded them of
Xenophon and the I0,000 men who accompanied him, asserting that the latter were
in no way comparable with them either in number or in general excellence.
Besides, they had had with them neither Thessalian, Boeotian, Peloponnesian,
Macedonian, or Thracian horsemen, nor any of the other kinds of cavalry which
were in the Macedonian army; nor had they any archers or slingers except a few
Cretans and Rhodians, and even these were got ready by Xenophon on the spur of
the moment in the very crisis of danger. And yet they put the king and all his
forces to rout close to Babylon itself, and succeeded in reaching the Euxine Sea
after defeating all the races which lay in their way as they were marching down
thither. He also adduced whatever other arguments were suitable for a great
commander to use in order to encourage brave men in such a critical moment
before the perils of battle. They urged him to lead them against the foe without
delay, coming from all sides to grasp the king's right hand, and encouraging him
by their words.
8.
Alexander then ordered his soldiers to take their dinner, and having sent a few
of his horsemen and archers forward to the Gates to reconnoitre the road in the
rear, he took the whole of his army and marched in the night to occupy the pass
again. When about midnight he had again got possession of it, he caused the army
to rest the remainder of the night there upon the rocks, having posted vigilant
sentries. At the approach of dawn he began to descend from the pass along the
road; and as long as the space was narrow everywhere, he led his army in column,
but when the mountains parted so as to leave a plain between them, he kept on
opening out the column into the phalanx, marching one line of heavy armed
infantry after another up into line towards the mountain on the right and
towards the sea on the left. Up to this time his cavalry had been ranged behind
the infantry; but when they advanced into the open country, he began to draw up
his army in order of battle. First, upon the right wing near the mountain he
placed his infantry guard and the shield-bearers, under the command of Nicanor,
son of Parmenio; next to these the regiment of Coenus, and close to them that of
Perdiccas. These troops were posted as far as the middle of the heavy-armed
infantry to one beginning from the right. On the left wing first stood the
regiment of Amyntas, then that of Ptolemy, and close to this that of Meleager.
The infantry on the left had been placed under the command of Craterus; but
Parmenio held the chief direction of the whole left wing. This general had been
ordered not to abandon the sea, so that they might not be surrounded by the
foreigners, who were likely to outflank them on all sides by their superior
numbers.
But
as soon as Darius was certified of Alexander's approach for battle, he conveyed
about 30,000 of his cavalry and with them 20,000 of his light-armed infantry
across the river Pinarus, in order that he might be able to draw up the rest of
his forces with ease. Of the heavy armed infantry, he placed first the 30,000
Greek mercenaries to oppose the phalanx of the Macedonians, and on both sides of
these he placed 60,000 of the men called Cardaces, who were also heavy-armed
infantry. For the place where they were posted was able to contain only this
number in a single phalanx. He also posted 20,000 men near the mountain on their
left and facing Alexander's right. Some of these troops were also in the rear of
Alexander's army; for the mountain near which they were posted in one part
sloped a great way back and formed a sort of bay, like a bay in the sea, and
afterwards bending forwards caused the men who had been posted at the foot of it
to be behind Alexander's right wing. The remaining multitude of Darius's
light-armed and heavy-armed infantry was marshalled by nations to an
unserviceable depth and placed behind the Grecian mercenaries and the Persian
army arranged in phalanx. The whole of the army with Darius was said to number
about 600,000 fighting men.
As
Alexander advanced, he found that the ground spread out a little in breadth, and
he accordingly brought up his horsemen, both those called Companions, and the
Thessalians as well as the Macedonians, and posted them with himself on the
right wing. The Peloponnesians and the rest of the allied force of Greeks he
sent to Parmenio on the left. When Darius had marshalled his phalanx, by a
pre-concerted signal he recalled the cavalry which he had posted in front of the
river for the express purpose of rendering the arranging of his army easy. Most
of these he placed on the right wing near the sea facing Parmenio; because here
the ground was more suitable for the evolutions of cavalry. A certain part of
them also he led up to the mountain towards the left. But when they were seen to
be useless there on account of the narrowness of the ground, he ordered most of
these also to ride round to the right wing and join their comrades there. Darius
himself occupied the centre of the whole army, inasmuch as it was the custom for
the kings of Persia to take up that position, the reason of which arrangement
has been recorded by Xenophon, son of Gryllus.
9.
Meantime when Alexander perceived that nearly all the Persian cavalry had
changed their ground and gone to his left towards the sea, and that on his side
only the Peloponnesians and the rest of the Grecian cavalry were posted there,
he sent the Thessalian cavalry thither with speed, ordering them not to ride
along before the front of the whole array, lest they should be seen by the enemy
to be shifting their ground, but to proceed without being seen in the rear of
the phalanx. In front of the cavalry on the right, he posted the lancers under
the command of Protomachus, and the Paeonians under that of Aristo; and of the
infantry, the archers under the direction of Antiochus, and the Agrianians under
that of Attalus. Some of the cavalry and archers also he drew up so as to form
an angle with the centre towards the mountain which was in the rear; so that on
the right, his phalanx had been drawn up separated into two wings, the one
fronting Darius and the main body of Persians beyond the river, and the other
facing those who had been posted at the mountain in their rear. On the left wing
the infantry consisting of the Cretan archers and the Thracians under command of
Sitalces were posted in front; and before these the cavalry towards the left.
The Grecian mercenaries were drawn up as a reserve for all of them. When he
perceived that the phalanx towards the right was too thin, and it seemed likely
that the Persians would outflank him here considerably, he ordered two squadrons
of the Companion cavalry, the Anthemusian, of which Peroedas, son of Menestheus,
was captain, and that which was called Leugaean, under the command of
Pantordanus, son of Cleander, to proceed from the centre to the right without
being seen. Having also marched the archers, part of the Agrianians and some of
the Grecian mercenaries up to his right in the front, he extended his phalanx
beyond the wing of the Persians. But when those who had been posted upon the
mountains did not descend, a charge was made by a few of the Agrianians and
archers at Alexander's order, by which they were easily put to the rout from the
foot of the mountain. As they fled to the summit he decided that he could make
use of the men who had been drawn up to keep these in check, to fill up the
ranks of his phalanx. He thought it quite sufficient to post 300 horsemen to
watch the men on the mountain.
10.
Having thus marshalled his men, he caused them to rest for some time, and then
led them forward, as he had resolved that their advance should be very slow. For
Darius was no longer leading the foreigners against him, as he had arranged them
at first, but he remained in his position, upon the bank of the river, which was
in many parts steep and precipitous; and in certain places, where it seemed more
easy to ascend, he extended a stockade along it. By this it was at once evident
to Alexander's men that Darius had become cowed in spirit. But when the armies
were at length close to each other, Alexander rode about in every direction to
exhort his troops to show their valour, mentioning with befitting epithets the
names, not only of the generals, but also those of the captains of cavalry and
infantry, and of the Grecian mercenaries as many as were more distinguished
either by reputation or any deed of valour. From all sides arose a shout not to
delay but to attack the enemy. At first he still led them on in close array with
measured step, although he had the forces of Darius already in distant view,
lest by a too hasty march any part of the phalanx should fluctuate from the line
and get separated from the rest. But when they came within range of darts,
Alexander himself and those around him, being posted on the right wing, dashed
first into the river with a run, in order to alarm the Persians by the rapidity
of their onset, and by coming sooner to close conflict to avoid being much
injured by the archers. And it turned out just as Alexander had conjectured; for
as soon as the battle became a hand-to-hand one, the part of the Persian army
stationed on the left wing was put to rout; and here Alexander and his men won a
brilliant victory. But the Grecian mercenaries serving under Darius attacked the
Macedonians at the point where they saw their phalanx especially disordered. For
the Macedonian phalanx had been broken and had disjoined towards the right wing,
because Alexander had dashed into the river with eagerness, and engaging in a
hand-to-hand conflict was already driving back the Persians posted there; but
the Macedonians in the centre had not prosecuted their task with equal
eagerness; and finding many parts of the bank steep and precipitous, they were
unable to preserve the front of the phalanx in the same line. Here then the
struggle was desperate; the Grecian mercenaries of Darius fighting in order to
push the Macedonians back into the river, and regain the victory for their
allies who were already flying; the Macedonians struggling in order not to fall
short of Alexander's success, which was already manifest, and not to tarnish the
glory of the phalanx, which up to that time had been commonly proclaimed
invincible. Moreover the feeling of rivalry which existed between the Grecian
and Macedonian races inspired each side in the conflict. Here fell Ptolemy, son
of Seleucus, after proving himself a valiant man, besides about I20 other
Macedonians of no mean repute.
11.
Hereupon the regiments on the right wing, perceiving that the Persians opposed
to them had already been put to rout, wheeled round towards the Grecian
mercenaries of Darius and their own hard-pressed detachment. Having driven the
Greeks away from the river, they extended their phalanx beyond the Persian army
on the side which had been broken, and attacking the Greeks on the flank, were
already beginning to cut them up. However the Persian cavalry which had been
posted opposite the Thessalians did not remain on the other side of the river
during the struggle, but came through the water and made a vigorous attack upon
the Thessalian squadrons. In this place a fierce cavalry battle ensued; for the
Persians did not give way until they perceived that Darius had fled and the
Grecian mercenaries had been cut up by the phalanx and severed from them. Then
at last there ensued a decided flight and on all sides. The horses of the
Persians suffered much injury in the retreat, because their riders were heavily
armed; and the horsemen themselves, being so many in number and retreating in
panic terror without any regard to order along narrow roads, were trampled on
and injured no less by each other than by the pursuing enemy. The Thessalians
also followed them up with vigour, so that the slaughter of the cavalry in the
flight was no less than it would have been if they had been infantry.
But
as soon as the left wing of Darius was terrified and routed by Alexander, and
the Persian king perceived that this part of his army was severed from the rest,
without any further delay he began to flee in his chariot along with the first,
just as he was. He was conveyed safely in the chariot as long as he met with
level ground in his flight; but when he lighted upon ravines and other rough
ground, he left the chariot there, divesting himself both of his shield and
Median mantle. He even left his bow in the chariot; and mounting a horse
continued his flight. The night, which came on soon after, alone rescued him
from being captured by Alexander; for as long as there was daylight the latter
kept up the pursuit at full speed. But when it began to grow dark and the things
before the feet became invisible, he turned back again to the camp, after
capturing the chariot of Darius with the shield, the Median mantle, and the bow
in it. For his pursuit had been too slow for him to overtake Darius, because,
though he wheeled round at the first breaking asunder of the phalanx, yet he did
not turn to pursue him until he observed that the Grecian mercenaries and the
Persian cavalry had been driven away from the river.
Of
the Persians were killed Arsames, Rheomithres, and Atizyes, three of the men who
had commanded the cavalry at the Granicus. Sabaces, viceroy of Egypt, and
Bubaces, one of the Persian dignitaries, were also killed, besides about I00,000
of the private soldiers, among them being more than I0,000 cavalry. So great was
the slaughter that Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who then accompanied Alexander, says
that the men who were with them pursuing Darius, coming in the pursuit to a
ravine, passed over it upon the corpses. The camp of Darius was taken forthwith
at the first assault, containing his mother, his wife, who was also his sister,
and his infant son. His two daughters, and a few other women, wives of Persian
peers, who were in attendance upon them, were likewise captured. For the other
Persians happened to have despatched their women along with the rest of their
property to Damascus; because Darius had sent to that city the greater part of
his money and all the other things which the Great King was in the habit of
taking with him as necessary for his luxurious mode of living, even though he
was going on a military expedition. The consequence was, that in the camp no
more than 3,000 talents were captured; but soon after, the money in Damascus was
also seized by Parmenio, who was despatched thither for that very purpose. Such
was the result of this famous battle which was fought in the month Maimacterion,
when Nicocrates was archon of the Athenians.
12.
The next day, Alexander, though suffering from a wound which he had received in
the thigh from a sword, visited the wounded, and having collected the bodies of
the slain, he gave them a splendid burial with all his forces most brilliantly
marshalled in order of battle. He also spoke with eulogy to those whom he
himself had recognized performing any gallant deed in the battle, and also to
those whose exploits he had learnt by report fully corroborated. He likewise
honoured each of them individually with a gift of money in proportion to his
desert. He then appointed Balacrus, son of Nicanor, one of the royal
body-guards, viceroy of Cilicia; and in his place among the body-guards he chose
Menes, son of Dionysius. In the place of Ptolemy, son of Seleucus, who had been
killed in the battle, he appointed Polysperchon, son of Simmias, to the command
of a brigade. He remitted to the Solians the fifty talents which were still due
of the money imposed on them as a fine, and he gave them back their hostages.
Nor
did he treat the mother, wife, and children of Darius with neglect; for some of
those who have written Alexander's history say that on the very night in which
he returned from the pursuit of Darius, entering the Persian king's tent, which
had been selected for his use, he heard the lamentation of women and other noise
of a similar kind not far from the tent. Inquiring therefore who the women were,
and why they were in a tent so near, he was answered by someone as follows,
"O king, the mother, wife, and children of Darius are lamenting for him as
slain, since they have been informed that you have his bow and his royal mantle,
and that his shield has been brought back." When Alexander heard this, he
sent Leonnatus, one of his Companions, to them, with injunctions to tell them,
"Darius is still alive; in his flight he left his arms and mantle in the
chariot; and these are the only things of his that Alexander has."
Leonnatus entered the tent and told them the news about Darius, saying,
moreover, that Alexander would allow them to retain the state and retinue
befitting their royal rank, as well as the title of queens; for he had not
undertaken the war against Darius from a feeling of hatred, but he had conducted
it in a legitimate manner for the empire of Asia. Such are the statements of
Ptolemy and Aristobulus. But there is another report, to the effect that on the
following day Alexander himself went into the tent, accompanied alone by
Hephaestion one of his Companions. The mother of Darius, being in doubt which of
them was the king (for they had both arrayed themselves in the same style of
dress), went up to Hephaestion, because he appeared to her the taller of the
two, and prostrated herself before him. But when he drew back, and one of her
attendants pointed out to Alexander, saying he was the king, she was ashamed of
her mistake, and was going to retire. But the king told her she had made no
mistake, for Hephaestion was also Alexander. This I record neither being sure of
its truth nor thinking it altogether unreliable. If it really occurred, I
commend Alexander for his compassionate treatment of the women, and the
confidence he felt in his companion, and the honour bestowed on him; but if it
merely seems probable toi historians try that Alexander would have acted and
spoken thus, even for this reason I think him worthy of commendation.
He
set out from Marathus and took possession of Byblus on terms of capitulation, as
he did also of Sidon, the inhabitants of which spontaneously invited him from
hatred of the Persians and Darius. Thence he advanced towards Tyre; ambassadors
from which city, despatched by the commonwealth, met him on the march,
announcing that the Tyrians had decided to do whatever he might command. He
commended both the city and its ambassadors, and ordered them to return and tell
the Tyrians that he wished to enter their city and offer sacrifice to Heracles.
The son of the king of the Tyrians was one of the ambassadors, and the others
were conspicuous men in Tyre; but the king Azemilcus himself was sailing with
Autophradates.
16.
The reason of this demand was, that in Tyre there existed a temple of Heracles,
the most ancient of all those which are mentioned in history. It was not
dedicated to the Argive Heracles, the son of Alcmena; for this Heracles was
honoured in Tyre many generations before Cadmus set out from Phoenicia and
occupied Thebes, and before Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, was born, from whom
Dionysus, the son of Zeus, was born. Dionysus would be third from Cadmus, being
a contemporary of Labdacus, son of Polydorus, the son of Cadmus; and the Argive
Heracles lived about the time of Oedipus, son of Laius. The Egyptians also
worshipped another Heracles, not the one which either the Tyrians or Greeks
worship. But Herodotus says that the Egyptians considered Heracles to be one of
the twelve gods, just as the Athenians worshipped a different Dionysus, who was
the son of Zeus and Core; and the mystic chant called Iacchus was sung to this
Dionysus, not to the Theban. So also I think that the Heracles honoured in
Tartessus by the Iberians, where are certain pillars named after Heracles, is
the Tyrian Heracles; for Tartessus was a colony of the Phoenicians, and the
temple to the Heracles there was built and the sacrifices offered after the
usage of the Phoenicians. Hecataeus the historian says Geryones, against whom
the Argive Heracles was despatched by Eurystheus to drive his oxen away and
bring them to Mycenae, had nothing to do with the land of the Iberians; nor was
Heracles despatched to any island called Erythia outside the Great Sea; but that
Geryones was king of the mainland around Ambracia and the Amphilochians, that
Heracles drove the oxen from this Epirus, and that this was deemed no mean task.
I know that to the present time this part of the mainland is rich in pasture
land and rears a very fine breed of oxen; and I do not think it beyond the
bounds of probability that the fame of the oxen from Epirus, and the name of the
king of Epirus, Geryones, had reached Eurystheus. But I do not think it probable
that Eurystheus would know the name of the king of the Iberians, who were the
remotest nation in Europe, or whether a fine breed of oxen grazed in their land,
unless someone, by introducing Hera into the account, as herself giving these
commands to Heracles through Eurystheus, wished, by means of the fable, to
disguise the incredibility of the tale.
To
this Tyrian Heracles, Alexander said he wished to offer sacrifice. But when this
message was brought to Tyre by the ambassadors, the people passed a decree to
obey any other command of Alexander, but not to admit into the city any Persian
or Macedonian; thinking that under the existing circumstances, this was the most
specious answer, and that it would be the safest course for them to pursue in
reference to the issue of the war, which was still uncertain. When the answer
from Tyre was brought to Alexander, he sent the ambassadors back in a rage. He
then summoned a council of his Companions and the leaders of his army, together
with the captains of infantry and cavalry, and spoke as follows:
17.
"Friends and allies, I see that an expedition to Egypt will not be safe for
us, so long as the Persians retain the sovereignty of the sea; nor is it a safe
course, both for other reasons, and especially looking at the state of matters
in Greece, for us to pursue Darius, leaving in our rear the city of Tyre itself
in doubtful allegiance, and Egypt and Cyprus in the occupation of the Persians.
I am apprehensive lest while we advance with our forces towards Babylon and in
pursuit of Darius, the Persians should again conquer the maritime districts, and
transfer the war into Greece with a larger army, considering that the
Lacedaemonians are now waging war against us without disguise, and the city of
Athens is restrained for the present rather by fear than by any good-will
towards us. But if Tyre were captured, the whole of Phoenicia would be in our
possession, and the fleet of the Phoenicians, which is the most numerous and the
best in the Persian navy, would in all probability come over to us. For the
Phoenician sailors and marines will not dare to put to sea in order to incur
danger on behalf of others, when their own cities are occupied by us. After
this, Cyprus will either yield to us without delay, or will be captured with
ease at the mere arrival of a naval force; and then navigating the sea with the
ships from Macedonia in conjunction with those of the Phoenicians, Cyprus also
having come over to us, we shall acquire the absolute sovereignty of the sea,
and at the same time an expedition into Egypt will become an easy matter for us.
After we have brought Egypt into subjection, no anxiety about Greece and our own
land will any longer rermain, and we shall be able to undertake the expedition
to Babylon with safety in regard to affairs at home, and at the same time with
greater reputation, in consequence of having appropriated to ourselves all the
maritime provinces of the Persians and all the land this side of the
Euphrates."
18.
By this speech he easily persuaded his officers to make an attempt upon Tyre.
Moreover he was encouraged by a divine admonition, for that very night in his
sleep he seemed to be approaching the Tyrian walls, and Heracles seemed to take
him by the right hand and lead him up into the city. This was interpreted by
Aristander to mean that Tyre would be taken with labour, because the deeds of
Heracles were accomplished with labour. Certainly, the siege of Tyre appeared to
be a great enterprise; for the city was an island and fortified all round with
lofty walls. Moreover naval operations seemed at that time more favourable to
the Tyrians, both because the Persians still possessed the sovereignty of the
sea and many ships were still remaining with the citizens themselves. However,
as these arguments of his had prevailed, he resolved to construct a mole from
the mainland to the city. The place is a narrow strait full of pools; and the
part of it near the mainland is shallow water and muddy, but the part near the
city itself, where the channel was deepest, was about eighteen feet in depth.
But there was an abundant supply of stones and wood, which they put on the top
of the stones. Stakes were easily fixed down firmly in the mud, which itself
served as a cement to the stones to hold them firm. The zeal of the Macedonians
in the work was great, and it was increased by the presence of Alexander
himself, who took the lead in everything, now rousing the men to exertion by
speech, and now by presents of money lightening the labour of those who were
toiling more than their fellows from the desire of gaining praise for their
exertions. As long as the mole was being constructed near the mainland, the work
made easy and rapid progress, as the material was poured into a small depth of
water, and there was no one to hinder them; but when they began to approach the
deeper water, and at the same time came near the city itself, they suffered
severely, being assailed with missiles from the walls, which were lofty,
inasmuch as they had been expressly equipped for work rather than for fighting.
Moreover, as the Tyrians still retained command of the sea, they kept on sailing
with the triremes to various parts of the mole, and made it impossible in many
places for the Macedonians to pour in the material. But the latter erected two
towers upon the mole, which they had now projected over a long stretch of sea,
and upon these towers they placed engines of war. Skins and prepared hides
served as coverings in front of them, to prevent them being struck by
fire-bearing missiles from the wall, and at the same time to be a screen against
arrows to those who were working. It was likewise intended that the Tyrians who
might sail near to injure the men engaged in the construction of the mole should
not retire easily, being assailed by missiles from the towers.
19.
But to counteract this the Tyrians adopted the following contrivance. They
filled a vessel, which had been used for transporting horses, with dry twigs and
other combustible wood, fixed two masts on the prow, and fenced it round in the
form of a circle as large as possible, so that it might contain as much chaff
and as many torches as possible. Moreover they placed upon this vessel
quantities of pitch, brimstone, and whatever else was calculated to foment a
great flame. They also stretched out a double yard-arm upon each mast; and from
these they hung caldrons into which they had poured or cast materials likely to
kindle flame which would extend to a great distance. They then put ballast into
the stern, in order to raise the prow aloft, the vessel being weighed down
abaft. Then watching for a wind bearing towards the mole, they fastened the
vessel to some triremes which towed it before the breeze. As soon as they
approached the mole and the towers, they threw fire among the wood, and at the
same time ran the vessel, with the triremes, aground as violently as possible,
dashing against the end of the mole. The men in the vessel easily swam away, as
soon as it was set on fire. A great flame soon caught the towers; and the
yard-arms being twisted round poured out into the fire the materials that had
been prepared for kindling the flame. The men also in the triremes tarrying near
the mole kept on shooting arrows into the towers, so that it was not safe for
the men to approach who were bringing materials to quench the fire. Upon this,
when the towers had already caught fire, many men hastened from the city, and
embarking in light vessels, and striking against various parts of the mole,
easily tore down the stockade which had been placed in front of it for
protection, and burned up all the engines of war which the fire from the vessel
did not reach. But Alexander began to construct a wider mole from the mainland,
capable of containing more towers; and he ordered the engine-makers to prepare
fresh engines. While this was being performed, he took the shieldbearing guards
and the Agrianians and set out to Sidon, to collect there all the triremes he
could; since it was evident that the successful conclusion of the siege would be
much more diffficult to attain, so long as the Tyrians retained the superiority
at sea.
20.
About this time Gerostratus, King of Aradus, and Enylus, King of Byblus,
ascertaining that their cities were in the possession of Alexander, deserted
Autophradates and the fleet under his command, and came to Alexander with their
naval force, accompanied by the Sidonian triremes; so that about eighty
Phoenician ships joined him. About the same time triremes also came to him from
Rhodes, both the one called Peripolus, and nine others with it. From Soli and
Mallus also came three, and from Lycia ten; from Macedonia also a ship with
fifty oars, in which sailed Proteas, son of Andronicus. Not long after, too, the
kings of Cyprus put into Sidon with about 120 ships, since they had heard of the
defeat of Darius at Issus, and were terrified, because the whole of Phoenicia
was already in the possession of Alexander. To all these Alexander granted
indemnity for their previous conduct, because they seemed to have joined the
Persian fleet rather by necessity than by their own choice. While the engines of
war were being constructed for him, and the ships were being fitted up for a
naval attack on the city and for the trial of a sea-battle, he took some
squadrons of cavalry, the Agrianians and archers, and made an expedition towards
Arabia into the range of mountains called Anti-Libanus. Having subdued some of
the mountaineers by force, and drawn others over to him by terms of
capitulation, he returned to Sidon in ten days. Here he found Cleander, son of
Polemocrates, just arrived from Peloponnesus, having 4,ooo Grecian mercenaries
with him.
When
his fleet had been arranged in due order, he embarked upon the decks as many of
his shield-bearing guards as seemed suffficient for his enterprise, unless a
sea-battle were to be fought rather by breaking the enemy's line than by a close
conflict. He then started from Sidon and sailed towards Tyre with his ships
arranged in proper order, himself being on the right wing which stretched out
seaward; and with him were the kings of the Cyprians, and all those of the
Phoenicians except Pnytagoras, who with Craterus was commanding the left wing of
the whole line. The Tyrians had previously resolved to fight a sea-battle, if
Alexander should sail against them by sea. But then with surprise they beheld
the vast multitude of his ships; for they had not yet learned that Alexander had
all the ships of the Cyprians and Phoenicians. At the same time they were
surprised to see that he was sailing against them with his fleet arranged in due
order; for Alexander's fleet, a little before it came near the city, tarried for
a while out in the open sea, with the view of provoking the Tyrians to come out
to a battle; but afterwards, as the enemy did not put out to sea against them,
though they were thus arranged in line, they advanced to the attack with a great
dashing of oars. Seeing this, the Tyrians decided not to fight a battle at sea,
but closely blocked up the passage for ships with as many triremes as the mouths
of their harbour would contain, and guarded it, so that the enemy's fleet might
not find an anchorage in one of the harbours.
As
the Tyrians did not put out to sea against him, Alexander sailed near the city,
but resolved not to try to force an entrance into the harbour towards Sidon on
account of the narrowness of its mouth; and at the same time because he saw that
the entrance had been blocked up with many triremes having their prows turned
towards him. But the Phoenicians fell upon the three triremes moored furthest
out at the mouth of the harbour, and attacking them prow to prow, succeeded in
sinking them. However, the men in the ships easily swam off to the land which
was friendly to them. Then, indeed, Alexander moored his ships along the shore
not far from the mole which had been made, where there appeared to be shelter
from the winds; and on the following day he ordered the Cyprians with their
ships and their admiral Andromachus to moor near the city opposite the harbour
which faces towards Sidon, and the Phoenicians opposite the harbour which looks
towards Egypt, situated on the other side of the mole, where also was his own
tent.
21.
He had now collected many engineers both from Cyprus and the whole of Phoenicia,
and many engines of war had been constructed, some upon the mole, others upon
vessels used for transporting horses, which he brought with him from Sidon, and
others upon the triremes which were not fast sailers. When all the preparations
had been completed they brought the engines of war both along the mole that had
been made and also from the ships moored near various parts of the wall and
attempting to breach it. The Tyrians erected wooden towers on their battlements
opposite the mole, from which they might annoy the enemy; and if the engines of
war were brought near any other part, they defended themselves with missiles and
shot at the very ships with fire-bearing arrows, so that they deterred the
Macedonians from approaching the wall. Their walls opposite the mole were about
I50 feet high, with a breadth in proportion, and constructed with large stones
imbedded in gypsum. It was not easy for the horse-transports and the triremes of
the Macedonians, which were conveying the engines of war up to the wall, to
approach the city, because a great quantity of stones hurled forward into the
sea prevented their near assault. These stones Alexander determined to drag out
of the sea; but this was a work accomplished with great difficulty, since it was
performed from ships and not from the firm earth; especially as the Tyrians,
covering their ships with screens, brought them alongside the anchors of the
triremes, and cutting the cables of the anchors underneath, made anchoring
impossible for the enemy's ships. But Alexander covered many thirty-oared
vessels with screens in the same way, and placed them athwart in front of the
anchors, so that the assault of the ships was repelled by them. But,
notwithstanding this, divers under the sea secretly cut their cables. The
Macedonians then used chains to their anchors instead of cables, and let them
down so that the divers could do nothing further. Then, fastening slipknots to
the stones, they dragged them out of the sea from the mole; and having raised
them aloft with cranes, they discharged them into deep water, where they were no
longer likely to do injury by being hurled forward. The ships now easily
approached the part of the wall where it had been made clear of the stones which
had been hurled forward. The Tyrians being now reduced to great straits on all
sides, resolved to make an attack on the Cyprian ships, which were moored
opposite the harbour turned towards Sidon. For a long time they spread sails
across the mouth of the harbour, in order that the manning of the triremes might
not be discernible; and about the middle of the day, when the sailors were
scattered in quest of necessaries, and when Alexander usually retired to his
tent from the fleet on the other side of the city, they manned three
quinqueremes, an equal number of quadriremes and seven triremes with the most
expert complement of rowers possible, and with the best-armed men adapted for
fighting from the decks, together with the men most daring in naval contests. At
first they rowed out slowly and quietly in single file, moving forward the
handles of their oars without any signal from the men who give the time to the
rowers; but when they were already tacking against the Cyprians, and were near
enough to be seen, then indeed with a loud shout and encouragement to each
other, and at the same time with impetuous rowing, they commenced the attack.
22.
It happened on that day that Alexander went away to his tent, but after a short
time returned to his ships, not tarrying according to his wont. The Tyrians fell
all of a sudden upon the ships lying at their moorings, finding some entirely
empty and others being manned with diffficulty from those who happened to be
present at the very time of the shout and attack. At the first onset they at
once sank the quinquereme of the king of Pnytagoras, that of Androcles the
Amanthusian and that of Pasicrates the Curian; and they shattered the other
ships by pushing them ashore. But when Alexander perceived the sailing out of
the Tyrian triremes, he ordered most of the ships under his command whenever
each was manned, to take position at the mouth of the harbour, so that the rest
of the Tyrian ships might not sail out. He then took the quinqueremes which he
had and about five of the triremes, which were manned by him in haste before the
rest were ready, and sailed round the city against the Tyrians who had sailed
out of the harbour. The men on the wall, perceiving the enemy's attack and
observing that Alexander himself was in the fleet, began to shout to those in
their own ships, urging them to return; but as their shouts were not audible, on
account of the noise of those who were engaged in the action, they exhorted them
to retreat by various kinds of signals. At last after a long time, the Tyrians,
perceiving the impending attack of Alexander's fleet, tacked about and began to
flee into the harbour; and a few of their ships succeeded in escaping, but
Alexander's vessels assaulted the greater number, and rendered some of them
unfit for sailing; and a quinquereme and a quadrireme were captured at the very
mouth of the harbour. But the slaughter of the marines was not great; for when
they perceived that the ships were in possession of the enemy, they swam off
without difficulty into the harbour. As the Tyrians could no longer derive any
aid from their ships, the Macedonians now brought up their military engines to
the wall itself. Those which were brought near the city along the mole did no
damage worth mentioning on account of the strength of the wall there. Others
brought up some of the ships conveying military engines opposite the part of the
city turned towards Sidon. But when even there they met with no success,
Alexander passed round to the wall projecting towards the south wind and towards
Egypt, and tried everywhere to make a breach. Here first a large piece of the
wall was thoroughly shaken, and a part of it was even broken and thrown down.
Then indeed for a short time he tried to make a storm to the extent of throwing
a draw-bridge upon the part of the wall where a breach had been made. But the
Tyrians without much difficulty beat the Macedonians back.
23.
The third day after this, having waited for a calm sea, after encouraging the
leaders of the regiments for the action, he led the ships containing the
military engines up to the city. In the first place he shook down a large piece
of the wall; and when the breach appeared to be sufficiently wide, he ordered
the vessels conveying the military engines to retire, and brought up two others,
which carried the bridges, which he intended to throw upon the breach in the
wall. The shieldbearing guards occupied one of these vessels, which he had put
under the command of Admetus; and the other was occupied by the regiment of
Coenus, called the foot Companions. Alexander himself, with the shield-bearing
guards, intended to scale the wall where it might be practicable. He ordered
some of his triremes to sail against both of the harbours, to see if by any
means they could force an entrance when the Tyrians had turned themselves to
oppose him. He also ordered those of his triremes which contained the missiles
to be hurled from engines, or which were carrying archers upon deck, to sail
right round the wall and to run aground wherever it was practicable, and to take
up position within shooting range, where it was impossible to run aground, so
that the Tyrians, being shot at from all quarters, might become distracted, and
not know whither to turn in their distress. When Alexander's ships drew close to
the city and the bridges were thrown from them upon the wall, the shield-bearing
guards mounted valiantly along these upon the wall; for their captain, Admetus,
proved himself brave on that occasion, and Alexander accompanied them, both as a
courageous participant in the action itself, and as a witness of brilliant and
dangerous feats of valour performed by others. The first part of the wall that
was captured was where Alexander had posted himself, the Tyrians being easily
beaten back from it, as soon as the Macedonians found firm footing, but at the
same time a way of entrance not abrupt on every side. Admetus was the first to
mount the wall; but while cheering on his men to mount, he was struck with a
spear and died on the spot. After him, Alexander with the Companions got
possession of the wall; and when some of the towers and the parts of the wall
between them were in his hands, he advanced through the battlements to the royal
palace, because the descent into the city that way seemed the easiest.
24.
To return to the fleet, the Phoenicians forcing their way into the harbour
looking towards Egypt, facing which they happened to be moored, and bursting the
bars asunder, shattered the ships in the harbour, attacking some of them in deep
water and driving others ashore. The Cyprians also sailed into the other harbour
looking towards Sidon, which had no bar across it, and made a speedy capture of
the city on that side. The main body of the Tyrians deserted the wall when they
saw it in the enemy's possession; and rallying opposite what was called the
sanctuary of Agenor, they there turned round to resist the Macedonians. Against
these Alexander advanced with his shield-bearing guards, destroyed the men who
fought there, and pursued those who fled. Great was the slaughter also made both
by those who were now occupying the city from the harbour and by the regiment of
Coenus, which had also entered it. For the Macedonians were now for the most
part advancing full of rage, being angry both at the length of the siege and
also because the Tyrians, having captured some of their men sailing from Sidon,
had conveyed them to the top of their walls, so that the deed might be visible
from the camp, and after slaughtering them, had cast their bodies into the sea.
About 8,ooo of the Tyrians were killed; and of the Macedonians, besides Admetus,
who had proved himself a valiant man, being the first to scale the wall, twenty
of the shieldbearing guards were killed in the assault on that occasion. In the
whole siege about 400 Macedonians were slain. Alexander gave an amnesty to all
those who fled for refuge into the temple of Heracles; among them being most of
the Tyrian magistrates, including the king Azemilcus, as well as certain envoys
from the Carthaginians, who had come to their mother-city to attend the
sacrifice in honour of Heracles, according to an ancient custom. The rest of the
prisoners were reduced to slavery; all the Tyrians and mercenary troops, to the
number of about 30,000, who had been captured, being sold. Alexander then
offered sacrifice to Heracles, and conducted a procession in honour of that
deity with all his soldiers fully armed. The ships also took part in this
religious procession in honour of Heracles. He moreover held a gymnastic contest
in the temple, and celebrated a torch race. The military engine, also, with
which the wall had been battered down, was brought into the temple and dedicated
as a thank-offering; and the Tyrian ship sacred to Heracles, which had been
captured in the naval attack, was likewise dedicated to the god. An inscription
was placed on it, either composed by Alexander himself or by someone else; but
as it is not worthy of recollection, I have not deemed it worth while to
describe it. Thus then was Tyre captured in the month Hecatombaion, when
Anicetus was archon at Athens.
25.
While Alexander was still occupied by the siege of Tyre, ambassadors came to him
from Darius, announcing that he would give him I0,000 talents in exchange for
his mother, wife, and children; that all the territory west of the river
Euphrates, as far as the Grecian Sea, should be Alexander's; and proposing that
he should marry the daughter of Darius, and become his friend and ally. When
these proposals were announced in a conference of the Companions, Parmenio is
said to have told Alexander that if he were Alexander he would be glad to put an
end to the war on these terms, and incur no further hazard of success. Alexander
is said to have replied, so would he also do, if he were Parmenio, but as he was
Alexander he replied to Darius as he did. For he said that he was neither in
want of money from Darius, nor would he receive a part of his territory instead
of the whole; for that all his money and territory were his; and that if he
wished to marry the daughter of Darius, he would marry her, even though Darius
refused her to him. He commanded Darius to come to him if he wished to
experience any generous treatment from him. When Darius heard this answer, he
despaired of coming to terms with Alexander, and began to make fresh
preparations for war.
7.
Alexander arrived at Thapsacus in the month Hecatombaion, in the archonship of
Aristophanes at Athens; and he found that two bridges of boats had been
constructed over the stream. But Mazaeus, to whom Darius had committed the duty
of guarding the river, with about 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 of which were Grecian
mercenaries, was up to that time keeping guard there at the river. For this
reason the Macedonians had not constructed the bridge right across as far as the
opposite bank, being afraid that Mazaeus might make an assault upon the bridge
where it ended. But when he heard that Alexander was approaching, he went off in
flight with all his army. As soon as he had fled, the bridges were completed as
far as the further bank, and Alexander crossed upon them with his army. Thence
he marched up into the interior through the land called Mesopotamia, having the
river Euphrates and the mountains of Armenia on his left. When he started from
the Euphrates he did not march to Babylon by the direct road; because by going
the other route he found all things easier for the march of his army, and it was
also possible to obtain fodder for the horses and provisions for the men from
the country. Besides this, the heat was not so scorching on the indirect route.
Some of the men from Darius's army, who had been dispersed for the purpose of
scouting, were taken prisoners; and they reported that Darius was encamped near
the river Tigris, having resolved to prevent Alexander from crossing that
stream. They also said that he had a much larger army than that with which he
fought in Cilicia. Hearing this, Alexander went with all speed towards the
Tigris; but when he reached it he found neither Darius himself nor any guard
which he had left. However he experienced great difficulty in crossing the
stream, on account of the swiftness of the current, though no one tried to stop
him. There he made his army rest, and while so doing, an eclipse of the moon
nearly total occurred Alexander thereupon offered sacrifice to the moon, the sun
and the earth, whose deed this was, according to common report. Aristander
thought that this eclipse of the moon was a portent favourable to Alexander and
the Macedonians; that there would be a battle that very month, and that victory
for Alexander was signified by the sacrificial victims. Having therefore
decamped from the Tigris, he went through the land of Aturia, having the
mountains of the Gordyaeans on the left and the Tigris itself on the right; and
on the fourth day after the passage of the river, his scouts brought word to him
that the enemy's cavalry were visible there along the plain, but how many of
them there were they could not guess. Accordingly he drew his army up in order
and advanced prepared for battle. Other scouts again riding forward and taking
more accurate observations told him that the cavalry did not seem to them to be
more than I,000 in number.
8.
Alexander therefore took the royal squadron of cavalry, and one squadron of the
Companions, together with the Paeonian scouts, and marched with all speed,
having ordered the rest of his army to follow at leisure. The Persian cavalry,
seeing Alexander advancing quickly, began to flee with all their might. Though
he pressed close upon them in pursuit, most of them escaped; but a few, whose
horses were fatigued by the flight, were slain, others were taken prisoners,
horses and all. From these they ascertained that Darius with a large force was
not far off. For the Indians who were adjacent to the Bactrians, as also the
Bactrians themselves and the Sogdianians had come to the aid of Darius, all
being under the command of Bessus, the viceroy of the land of Bactria. They were
followed by the Sacians, a Scythian tribe belonging to the Scythians who dwell
in Asia. These were not subject to Bessus, but were in alliance with Darius.
They were commanded by Mavaces, and were horse-bowmen. Barsaentes, the viceroy
of Arachotia, led the Arachotians and the men who were called mountaineer
Indians. Satibarzanes, the viceroy of Areia, led the Areians, as did
Phrataphernes the Parthians, Hyrcanians, and Tapurians, all of whom were
horsemen. Atropates commanded the Medes, with whom were arrayed the Cadusians,
Albanians, and Sacesinians. The men who dwelt near the Red Sea were marshalled
by Ocondobates, Ariobarzanes, and Otanes. The Uxians and Susianians acknowledged
Oxathres son of Aboulites as their leader, and the Babylonians were commanded by
Boupares. The Carians who had been deported into central Asia and the
Sitacenians had been placed in the same ranks as the Babylonians. The Armenians
were commanded by Orontes and Mithraustes, and the Cappadocians by Ariaces. The
Syrians from Coele-Syria and the men of Syria which lies between the rivers were
led by Mazaeus. The whole army of Darius was said to contain 40,000 cavalry,
1,000,000 infantry, and 200 scythe-bearing chariots. There were only a few
elephants, about fifteen in number, belonging to the Indians who live this side
of the Indus. With these forces Darius had encamped at Gaugamela, near the river
Bumodus, about seventy miles from the city of Arbela, in a district everywhere
level; for whatever ground thereabouts was unlevel and unfit for the evolutions
of cavalry had long before been levelled by the Persians, and made fit for the
easy rolling of chariots and for the galloping of horses. For there were some
who persuaded Darius that he had got the worst of it in the battle fought at
Issus from the narrowness of the battle-field; and this he was easily induced to
believe.
9.
When Alexander had received all this information from the Persian scouts who had
been captured, he remained four days in the place where he had received the
news; and gave his army rest after the march. He meanwhile fortified his camp
with a ditch and stockade, as he intended to leave behind the baggage and all
the soldiers who were unfit for fighting, and to go into the contest accompanied
by his warriors carrying with them nothing except their weapons. Accordingly he
took his forces by night, and began the march about the second watch, in order
to come into collision with the foreigners at break of day. As soon as Darius
was informed of Alexander's approach, he at once drew out his army for battle;
and Alexander led on his men drawn up in like manner. Though the armies were
only seven miles from each other, they were not yet in sight of each other, for
between the hostile forces some hills intervened. But when Alexander was only
three and one-half miles from the enemy, and his army was already marching down
from the hills just mentioned, catching sight of the foreigners, he caused his
phalanx to halt there. Calling a council of the Companions, generals, cavalry
officers, and leaders of the Grecian allies and mercenaries, he deliberated with
them, whether he should at orlce lead on the phalanx without delay, as most of
them urged him to do; or, whether, as Parmenio thought preferable, to encamp
there for the present, to reconnoitre all the ground, in order to see if there
was anything there to excite suspicion or to impede their progress, or if there
were ditches or stakes firmly fixed in the earth out of sight, as well as to
make a more accurate survey of the enemy's tactical arrangements. Parmenio's
opinion prevailed, so they encamped there, drawn up in the order in which they
intended to enter the battle. But Alexander took the light infantry and the
cavalry Companions and went all round, reconnoitring the whole country where he
was about to fight the battle. Having returned, he again called together the
same leaders, and said that they did not require to be encouraged by him to
enter the contest; for they had been long before encouraged by their own valour,
and by the gallant deeds which they had already so often achieved. He thought it
expedient that each of them individually should stir up his own men separately;
each infantry captain the men of his own company, the cavalry captain his own
squadron, the colonels their various regiments, and each of the leaders of the
infantry the phalanx intrusted to him. He assured them that in this battle they
were going to fight, not as before, either for Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, or Egypt,
but for the whole of Asia. For he said this battle would decide who were to be
the rulers of the continent. It was not necessary for him to stir them up to
gallant deeds by many words, since they had this encouragement by nature; but
they should see that each man took care, so far as in him lay, to preserve
discipline in the critical moment of action, and to keep perfect silence when it
was expedient to advance in silence. On the other hand, they should see that
each man uttered a sonorous shout, where it would be advantageous to shout, and
to raise as terrible a battle-cry as possible, when a suitable opportunity
occurred of raising the battle-cry. He told them to take care to obey his orders
quickly, and to transmit the orders they had received to the ranks with all
rapidity, each man remembering that both as an individual and in the aggregate
he was increasing the general danger if he was remiss in the discharge of his
duty, and that he was assisting to gain a victory if he zealously put forth his
utmost exertions.
10.
With these words and others like them he briefly exhorted his officers, and in
return was exhorted by them to feel confidence in their valour. He then ordered
the soldiers to take dinner and to rest themselves. It is said that Parmenio
came to him in his tent, and urged him to make a night attack on the Persians,
saying that thus he would fall upon them unprepared and in a state of confusion,
and at the same time more liable to a panic in the dark. But the reply which he
made to him, as others were listening to their conversation, was, that it would
be mean to steal a victory, and that Alexander ought to conquer in open
daylight, and without any artifice. This vaunting did not appear any arrogance
on his part, but rather to indicate self-confidence amid dangers. To me, at any
rate, he seems to have used correct reasoning in such a matter. For in the night
many accidents have occurred unexpectedly to those who were sufficiently
prepared for battle as well as to those who were deficiently prepared, which
have caused the superior party to fail in their plans, and have handed the
victory over to the inferior party, contrary to the expectations of both sides.
Though Alexander was generally fond of encountering danger in battle, the night
appeared to him perilous; and, besides, if Darius were again defeated, a furtive
and nocturnal attack on the part of the Macedonians would relieve him of the
necessity of confessing that he was an inferior general and commanded inferior
troops. Moreover, if any unexpected defeat befell his army, the circumjacent
country was friendly to the enemy, and they were acquainted with the locality,
whereas the Macedonians were un acquainted with it, and surrounded by nothing
but foes, of whom the prisoners were no small party. These would be likely to
assistin attacking them in the night, not only if they should meet with defeat,
but even if they did not appear to be gaining a decisive victory. For this way
of reasoning I commend Alexander; and I think him no less worthy of admiration
for his excessive liking for open action.
11.
Darius and his army remained drawn up during the night in the same order as that
in which they had first arrayed themselves; because they had not surrounded
themselves with a completely entrenched camp, and, moreover, they were afraid
that the enemy would attack them in the night. The success of the Persians, on
this occasion, was impeded especially by this long standing on watch with their
arms, and by the fear which usually springs up before great dangers; which,
however, was not then suddenly aroused by a momentary panic, but had been
experienced for a long time, and had thoroughly cowed their spirits. The army of
Darius was drawn up in the following manner, for, according to the statement of
Aristobulus, the written scheme of arrangement drawn up by Darius was afterwards
captured. His left wing was held by the Bactrian cavalry, in conjunction with
the Daans and Arachotians; near these had been posted the Persians, horse and
foot mixed together; next to these the Susians and then the Cadusians. This was
the arrangement of the left wing as far as the middle of the whole phalanx. On
the right had been posted the men from Coele-Syria and Mesopotamia. On the right
again were the Medes; next to them the Parthians and Sacians; then the Tapurians
and Hyrcanians, and last the Albanians and Sacesinians, extending as far as the
middle of the whole phalanx. In the centre where King Darius was had been posted
the king's kinsmen, the Persian guards carrying spears with golden apples at the
butt end, the Indians, the Carians who had been forcibly removed to Central
Asia, and the Mardian archers. The Uxians, the Babylonians, the men who dwell
near the Red Sea, and the Sitacenians had also been drawn up in deep column. On
the left, opposite Alexander's right, had been posted the Scythian cavalry,
about I,000 Bactrians and 100 scythe-bearing chariots. In front of Darius's
royal squadron of cavalry stood the elephants and fifty chariots. In front of
the right wing the Armenian and Cappadocian cavalry with fifty scythe-bearing
chariots had been posted. The Greek mercenaries, as alone capable of coping with
the Macedonians, were stationed right opposite their phalanx, in two divisions
close beside Darius himself and his Persian attendants, one division on each
side.
Alexander's
army was marshalled as follows: The right wing was held by the cavalry
Companions, in front of whom had been posted the royal squadron, commanded by
Clitus, son of Dropidas. Near this was the squadron of Glaucias, next to it that
of Aristo, then that of Sopolis, son of Hermodorus, then that of Heraclides, son
of Antiochus. Near this was that of Demetrius, son of Althaemenes, then that of
Meleager, and last one of the royal squadrons commanded by Hegelochus, son of
Hippostratus. All the cavalry Companions were under the supreme command of
Philotas, son of Parmenio. Of the phalanx of Macedonian infantry, nearest to the
cavalry had been posted first the select corps of shield-bearing guards, and
then the rest of the shield-bearing guards, under the command of Nicanor, son of
Parmenio. Next to these was the brigade of Coenus, son of Polemocrates; after
these that of Perdiccas, son of Orontes; then that of Meleager, son of
Neoptolemus; then that of Polysperchon, son of Simmias; and last that of
Amyntas, son of Andromenes, under the command of Simmias, because Amyntas had
been despatched to Macedonia to levy an army. The brigade of Craterus, son of
Alexander, held the left end of the Macedonian phalanx, and this general
commanded the left wing of the infantry. Next to him was the allied Grecian
cavalry under the command of Erigyius, son of Larichus. Next to these, towards
the left wing of the army, were the Thessalian cavalry, under the command of
Philip, son of Menelaus. But the whole left wing was led by Parmenio, son of
Philotas, round whose person were ranged the Pharsalian horsemen, who were both
the best and most numerous squadron of the Thessalian cavalry.
12.
In this way had Alexander marshalled his army in front; but he also posted a
second array, so that his phalanx might be a double one. Directions had been
given to the commanders of these men posted in the rear to wheel round and
receive the attack of the foreigners, if they should see their own comrades
surrounded by the Persian army. Next to the royal squadron on the right wing,
half of the Agrianians, under the command of Attalus, in conjunction with the
Macedonian archers under Briso's command, were posted angular-wise in case they
should be seized anyhow by the necessity of deepening the phalanx, or of closing
up the ranks. Next to the archers were the men called the veteran mercenaries,
whose commander was Cleander. In front of the Agrianians and archers were posted
the light cavalry used for skirmishing, and the Paeonians, under the command of
Aretes and Aristo. In front of all had been posted the Grecian mercenary cavalry
under the direction of Menidas; and in front of the royal squadron of cavalry
and the other Companions had been posted half of the Agrianians and archers, and
the javelin-men of Balacrus who had been ranged opposite the scythe-bearing
chariots. Instructions had been given to Menidas and the troops under him to
wheel round and attack the enemy in flank, if they should ride round their wing.
Thus had Alexander arranged matters on the right wing. On the left the Thracians
under the command of Sitalces had been posted angular-wise, and near them the
cavalry of the Grecian allies, under the direction of Coeranus. Next stood the
Odrysian cavalry, under the command of Agatho, son of Tyrimmas. In this part, in
front of all, were posted the auxiliary cavalry of the Grecian mercenaries,
under the direction of Andromachus, son of Hiero. Near the baggage the infantry
from Thrace were posted as a guard. The whole of Alexander's army numbered 7,000
cavalry and about 40,000 infantry.
13.
When the armies drew near each other, Darius and the men around him were
observed: the apple-bearing Persians, the Indians, the Albanians, the Carians
who had been forcibly transported into Central Asia, the Mardian archers ranged
opposite Alexander himself and the royal squadron of cavalry. Alexander led his
own army more towards the right, and the Persians marched along parallel with
him, far outflanking him upon their left. Then the Scythian cavalry rode along
the line, and came into conflict with the front men of Alexander's array; but he
nevertheless still continued to march towards the right, and almost entirely got
beyond the ground which had been cleared and levelled by the Persians. Then
Darius, fearing that his chariots would become useless, if the Macedonians
advanced into the uneven ground, ordered the front ranks of his left wing to
ride round the right wing of the Macedonians, where Alexander was commanding, to
prevent him from marching his wing any further. This being done, Alexander
ordered the cavalry of the Grecian mercenaries under the command of Menidas to
attack them. But the Scythian cavalry and the Bactrians, who had been drawn up
with them, sallied forth against them, and being much more numerous they put the
small body of Greeks to rout. Alexander then ordered Aristo at the head of the
Paeonians and Grecian auxiliaries to attack the Scythians; and the barbarians
gave way. But the rest of the Bactrians, drawing near to the Paeonians and
Grecian auxiliaries, caused their own comrades who were already in flight to
turn and renew the battle; and thus they brought about a general cavalry
engagement, in which more of Alexander's men fell, not only being overwhelmed by
the multitude of the barbarians, but also because the Scythians themselves and
their horses were much more completely protected with armour for guarding their
bodies. Notwithstanding this, the Macedonians sustained their assaults, and
assailing them violently squadron by squadron, they succeeded in pushing them
out of rank. Meantime the foreigners launched their scythe-bearing chariots
against Alexander himself, for the purpose of throwing his phalanx into
confusion; but in this they were grievously deceived. For as soon as they
approached, the Agrianians and the javelin-men with Balacrus, who had been
posted in front of the Companion cavalry, hurled their javelins at some of the
horses; others they seized by the reins and pulled the drivers off, and standing
round the horses killed them. Yet some got right through the ranks; for the men
stood apart and opened their ranks, as they had been instructed, in the places
where the chariots assaulted them. In this way it generally happened that the
chariots passed through safely, and the men by whom they were driven were
uninjured. But these also were afterwards overpowered by the grooms of
Alexander's army and by the royal shield-bearing guards.
14.
As soon as Darius began to set his whole phalanx in motion, Alexander ordered
Aretes to attack those who were riding completely round his right wing; and up
to that time he was himself leading his men in column. But when the Persians had
made a break in the front line of their army, in consequence of the cavalry
sallying forth to assist those who were surrounding the right wing, Alexander
wheeled round towards the gap, and forming a wedge as it were of the Companion
cavalry and of the part of the phalanx which was posted here, he led them with a
quick charge and loud battle-cry straight towards Darius himself. For a short
time there ensued a hand-to-hand fight; but when the Macedonian cavalry,
commanded by Alexander himself, pressed on vigorously, thrusting themselves
against the Persians and striking their faces with their spears, and when the
Macedonian phalanx in dense array and bristling with long pikes had also made an
attack upon them, all things together appeared full of terror to Darius, who had
already long been in a state of fear, so that he was the first to turn and flee.
The Persians also who were riding round the wing were seized with alarm when
Aretes made a vigorous attack upon them. In this quarter indeed the Persians
took to speedy flight; and the Macedonians followed up the fugitives and
slaughtered them. Simmias and his brigade were not yet able to start with
Alexander in pursuit, but causing the phalanx to halt there, he took part in the
struggle, because the left wing of the Macedonians was reported to be hard
pressed. In this part of the field, their line being broken, some of the Indians
and of the Persian cavalry burst through the gap towards the baggage of the
Macedonians; and there the action became desperate. For the Persians fell boldly
on the men, who were most of them unarmed, and never expected that any men would
cut through the double phalanx and break through upon them. When the Persians
made this attack, the foreign prisoners also assisted them by falling upon the
Macedonians in the midst of the action. But the commanders of the men who had
been posted as a reserve to the first phalanx, learning what was taking place,
quickly moved from the position which they had been ordered to take, and coming
upon the Persians in the rear, killed many of them there collected round the
baggage. But the rest of them gave way and fled. The Persians on the right wing,
who had not yet become aware of the flight of Darius, rode round Alexander's
left wing and attacked Parmenio in flank.
15.
At this juncture, the Macedonians being at first in a state of confusion from
being attacked on all sides, Parmenio sent a messenger to Alexander in haste, to
tell him that their side was in a critical position and that he must send him
aid. When this news was brought to Alexander, he turned back again from further
pursuit, and wheeling round with the Companion cavalry, led them with great
speed against the right wing of the foreigners. In the first place he assaulted
the fleeing cavalry of the enemy, the Parthians, some of the Indians, and the
most numerous and the bravest division of the Persians. Then ensued the most
obstinately contested cavalry fight in the whole engagement. For being drawn up
by squadrons, the foreigners wheeled round in deep columns, and falling on
Alexander's men face to face, they no longer relied on the hurling of javelins
or the dexterous deploying of horses, as is the common practice in cavalry
battles, but every one of his own account strove eagerly to break through what
stood in his way, as their only means of safety. They struck and were struck
without quarter, as they were no longer struggling to secure the victory for
another, but were contending for their own personal safety. Here about sixty of
Alexander's Companions fell; and Hephaestion himself, as well as Coenus and
Menidas, was wounded. But these troops also were overcome by Alexander; and as
many of them as could force their way through his ranks fled with all their
might. And now Alexander had nearly come into conflict with the enemy's right
wing; but in the meantime the Thessalian cavalry in a splendid struggle, were
not falling short of Alexander's success in the engagement. For the foreigners
on the right wing were already beginning to fly when he came on the scene of
conflict; so that he wheeled round again and started off in pursuit of Darius
once more, keeping up the chase as long as there was daylight. Parmenio's
brigade also followed in pursuit of those who were opposed to them. But
Alexander crossed the river Lycus and pitched his camp there, to give his men
and horses a little rest; while Parmenio seized the Persian camp with their
baggage, elephants, and camels. After giving his horsemen rest until midnight,
Alexander again advanced by a forced march towards Arbela, with the hope of
seizing Darius there, together with his money and the rest of his royal
property. He reached Arbela the next day, having pursued altogether about
seventy miles from the battle field. But as Darius went on fleeing without
taking any rest, he did not find him at Arbela. However the money and all the
other property were captured, as was also the chariot of Darius a second time.
His spear and bow were likewise taken, as had been the case after the battle of
Issus. Of Alexander's men-about 100 were killed, and more than 1,000 of his
horses were lost either from wounds or from fatigue in the pursuit, nearly half
of them belonging to the Companion cavalry. Of the foreigners there were said to
have been about 300,000 slain, and far more were taken prisoners than were
killed. The elephants and all the chariots which had not been destroyed in the
battle were also captured. Such was the result of this battle, which was fought
in the archonship of Aristophanes at Athens, in the month Pyanepsion; and thus
Aristander's prediction was accomplished, that Alexander would both fight a
battle and gain a victory in the same month in which the moon was seen to be
eclipsed
16. Immediately after the battle, Darius marched through the mountains of Armenia towards Media, accompanied in his flight by the Bactrian cavalry, as they had then been posted with him in the battle; also by those Persians who were called the king's kinsmen, and by a few of the men called apple-bearers. About 2,000 of his Grecian mercenaries also accompanied him in his flight, under the command of Paron the Phocian, and Glaucus the Aetolian. He fled towards Media for this reason, because he thought Alexander would take the road to Susa and Babylon immediately after the battle, inasmuch as the whole of that country was inhabited and the road was not difficult for the transit of baggage; and besides Babylon and Susa appeared to be the prizes of the war; whereas the road towards Media was by no means easy for the march of a large army. In this conjecture Darius was not mistaken...
THE END