The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
all probability come over to us. For the Phoenician sailors and marines
will not 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
at the same time coming 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
remain, 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 cut off from the Persian
empire all the maritime provinces and all the land this side of the
Euphrates.”
CHAPTER XVIII.
SIEGE OF TYRE.—CONSTRUCTION OF A MOLE FROM THE MAINLAND TO THE ISLAND.
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[307] 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[308]
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[309] 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.[310] 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 was the deepest part of the channel, was
the depth of about three fathoms. But there was an abundant supply of
stones and wood, which they put on the top of the stones.[311] 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[312] 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 their 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.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE SIEGE OF TYRE.
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 the enclosure 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.[313] 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.[314] 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 men to
approach in order to bring 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 burnt up all the engines of war
which the fire from the vessel did not reach.[315] 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 shield-bearing 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 difficult to attain, so long as the Tyrians
retained the superiority at sea.[316]
CHAPTER XX.
TYRE BESIEGED BY SEA AS WELL AS LAND.
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_,[317] and with it nine others. 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.[318] Not long after,
too, the kings of Cyprus put into Sidon with about one hundred and
twenty ships, when they 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 of 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 into the range of mountains called
Anti-Libănus.[319] 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.[320] Here he found Oleander, son of Polemocrates,
just arrived from Peloponnesus, having 4,000 Grecian mercenaries with
him.[321]
When his fleet had been arranged in due order, he embarked upon the
decks as many of his shield-bearing guards as seemed sufficient for his
enterprise, unless a sea-battle were to be fought rather by breaking
the enemy’s line[322] 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 learnt 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 any 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.
CHAPTER XXI.
SIEGE OF TYRE.
He had now collected many engineers both from Cyprus and the whole of
Phoenicia, and many engines of war had been constructed,[323] 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 up the engines of war along the mole that had been made
and also began to shoot from ships moored near various parts of the
wall and making trial of its strength. 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
one hundred and fifty 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