The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
then, being in a state of confusion from being attacked on all sides,
fled without coming to close conflict; but they were hemmed in on all
hands, Alexander pressing upon them in one direction and the men of
Craterus running up in another. Therefore most of them were compelled
to wheel round and flee into the fortifications, which were already in
the hands of the Macedonians. For Alexander, expecting the very thing
which really occurred, had left Ptolemy there with three thousand
infantry; so that most of the barbarians were cut to pieces by the
Macedonians at close quarters. Others perished in the terrible flight
which ensued, hurling themselves over the precipices; but Ariobarzanes
himself, with a few horsemen, escaped into the mountains.[449]
Alexander now marched back with all speed to the river, and finding
the bridge already constructed over it, he easily crossed with his
army.[450] Thence he again continued his march to Persepolis, so
that he arrived before the guards of the city could pillage the
treasury.[451] He also captured the money which was at Pasargadae[452]
in the treasury of the first Cyrus, and appointed Phrasaortes, son
of Rheomithres, viceroy over the Persians. He burnt down the Persian
palace, though Parmenio advised him to preserve it, for many reasons,
and especially because it was not well to destroy what was now his
own property, and because the men of Asia would not by this course of
action be induced to come over to him, thinking that he himself had
decided not to retain the rule of Asia, but only to conquer it and
depart. But Alexander said that he wished to take vengeance on the
Persians, in retaliation for their deeds in the invasion of Greece,
when they razed Athens to the ground and burnt down the temples. He
also desired to punish the Persians for all the other injuries they
had done the Greeks. But Alexander does not seem to me to have acted
on this occasion with prudence; nor do I think that this was any
retributive penalty at all on the ancient Persians.[453]
CHAPTER XIX.
DARIUS PURSUED INTO MEDIA AND PARTHIA.
After bringing these matters to a successful issue, he advanced towards
Media; for he ascertained that Darius was there. Now Darius had formed
the resolution, if Alexander remained at Susa or Babylon, to stay
there among the Medes, in order to see if any change of policy were
made by Alexander. But if the latter marched against him, he resolved
to proceed into the interior towards Parthia and Hyrcania, as far
as Bactria, laying waste all the land and making it impossible for
Alexander to advance any further. He therefore sent the women and the
rest of the property which he still retained, together with the covered
carriages, to what were called the Caspian Gates[454]; but he himself
stayed at Ecbatana,[455] with the forces which had been collected
from those who were at hand. Hearing this, Alexander advanced towards
Media, and invading the land of the Paraetacae,[456] he subdued it, and
appointed Oxathres, son of Abulites, the former viceroy of Susa, to
rule as viceroy. Being informed on the march that Darius had determined
to meet him for battle, and to try the fortune of war again (for the
Scythians and Cadusians had come to him as allies), he ordered that the
beasts of burden, with their guards and the rest of the baggage, should
follow; and taking the rest of his army, he led it in order of battle,
and on the twelfth day arrived in Media. There he ascertained that the
forces of Darius were not fit for battle, and that his allies, the
Cadusians and Scythians, had not arrived; but that he had resolved to
flee. He therefore marched on with still greater speed; and when he was
only three days’ journey from Ecbatana, he was met by Bistanes, son of
Ochus, who reigned over the Persians before Darius. This man announced
that Darius had fled five days before, taking with him 7,000 talents
of money[457] from the Medes, and an army of 3,000 cavalry and 6,000
infantry.
When Alexander reached Ecbatana, he sent the Thessalian cavalry and
the other Grecian allies back to the sea, paying them the full hire
which had been stipulated, and making them an additional donation from
himself of 2,000 talents. He issued an order that if any man of his
own accord wished still to continue to serve for hire with him, he
should enlist; and those who enlisted in his service were not a few.
He then ordered Epocillus, son of Polyeides, to conduct the rest
down to the sea, taking other cavalry as a guard for them, since the
Thessalians sold their horses there. He also sent word to Menes to take
upon himself the duty of seeing that they were conveyed in triremes to
Euboea, when they arrived at the sea.[458] He instructed Parmenio to
deposit the money which was being conveyed from Persis in the citadel
at Ecbatana, and to hand it over to the charge of Harpalus;[459] for
he had left this man over the money with a guard of 6,000 Macedonians
and a few horsemen and light-armed infantry to take care of it. He told
Parmenio himself to take the Grecian mercenaries, the Thracians, and
all the other horsemen except the Companion cavalry, and march by the
land of the Cadusians into Hyrcania. He also sent word to Clitus, the
commander of the royal squadron of cavalry, who had been left behind at
Susa ill, that when he arrived at Ecbatana from Susa he should take the
Macedonians who had been left there in charge of the money, and go in
the direction of Parthia, where also he himself intended soon to arrive.
CHAPTER XX.
MARCH THROUGH THE CASPIAN GATES.
Then taking the Companion cavalry, the light cavalry used for
skirmishing, the Greek mercenary cavalry, under the command of
Erigyius, the Macedonian phalanx, except the men who had been placed
in charge of the money, the archers, and the Agrianians, he marched
against Darius. In the forced march which he made, many of his soldiers
were left behind, worn out with fatigue, and many of the horses
died. He nevertheless pressed on, and on the eleventh day arrived at
Rhagae.[460] This place is distant from the Caspian Gates one day’s
journey to one marching as Alexander did. But Darius had already passed
through this defile before Alexander came up, though many of those who
were his companions in flight deserted him on the way and retired to
their own abodes. Many also surrendered to Alexander. The latter now
gave up the hope of capturing Darius by close pursuit, and remained
there five days to give his troops repose. He appointed Oxodates a
Persian, who had the ill fortune to be arrested by Darius and shut up
at Susa, to the office of viceroy of Media; for this treatment was
an inducement to Alexander to rely on his fidelity. He then marched
towards Parthia; and on the first day encamped near the Caspian Gates,
which he passed through on the second day as far as the country was
inhabited.[461] Hearing that the country further on was desert, he
resolved to procure a stock of provisions from the place where he was
encamped, and accordingly sent Coenus out on a foraging expedition with
the cavalry and a small body of infantry.
CHAPTER XXI.
DARIUS IS ASSASSINATED BY BESSUS.
At this time Bagistanes, one of the Babylonian nobles, came to him
from the camp of Darius, accompanied by Antibelus, one of the sons of
Mazaeus. These men informed him that Nabarzanes, the commander of the
cavalry which accompanied Darius in his flight, Bessus, viceroy of
Bactria, and Barsaëntes, viceroy of the Arachotians and Drangians,[462]
had jointly arrested the king. When Alexander heard this, he marched
with still greater speed than ever, taking with him only the Companions
and the skirmishing cavalry, as well as some of the foot-soldiers
selected as the strongest and lightest men. He did not even wait for
Coenus to return from the foraging expedition; but placed Craterus over
the men left behind, with instructions to follow in short marches.
His own men took with them nothing but their arms and provisions for
two days. After marching the whole night and till noon of the next
day, he gave his army a short rest, then went on again all night, and
when day began to break reached the camp from which Bagistanes had set
out to meet him; but he did not catch the enemy. However, in regard
to Darius, he ascertained that he had been arrested and was being
conveyed in a covered carriage[463]; that Bessus possessed the command
instead of Darius, and had been nominated leader by the Bactrian
cavalry and all the other barbarians who were companions of Darius in
his flight, except Artabazus and his sons, together with the Grecian
mercenaries, who still remained faithful to Darius; but they, not being
able to prevent what was being done, had turned aside their march
from the public thoroughfare and were marching towards the mountains
by themselves, refusing to take part with Bessus and his adherents in
their enterprise. He also learnt that those who had arrested Darius had
come to the decision to surrender him to Alexander, and to procure
some advantage for themselves, if they should find that Alexander was
pursuing them; but if they should learn that he had gone back again,
they had resolved to collect as large an army as they could and to
preserve the rule for the commonwealth. He also ascertained that for
the present Bessus held the supreme command, both on account of his
relationship to Darius and because the war was being carried on in his
viceregal province. Hearing this, Alexander thought it was advisable
to pursue with all his might; and though his men and horses were
already quite fatigued by the incessant severity of their labours, he
nevertheless proceeded, and, travelling a long way all through the
night and the next day till noon, arrived at a certain village, where
those who were leading Darius had encamped the day before. Hearing
there that the barbarians had decided to continue their march by
night, he inquired of the natives if they knew any shorter road to
the fugitives. They said they did know one, but that it ran through a
country which was desert through lack of water. He nevertheless ordered
them to show him this way, and perceiving that the infantry could not
keep up with him if he marched at full speed, he caused 500 of the
cavalry to dismount from their horses; and selecting the officers of
the infantry and the best of the other foot-soldiers, he ordered them
to mount the horses armed just as they were. He also directed Nicanor,
the commander of the shield-bearing guards, and Attalus, commander
of the Agrianians, to lead their men who were left behind, by the
same route which Bessus had taken, having equipped them as lightly as
possible; and he ordered that the rest of the infantry should follow in
regular marching order. He himself began to march in the afternoon, and
led the way with great rapidity.[464]
Having travelled 400 stades in the night, he came upon the barbarians
just before daybreak, going along without any order and unarmed; so
that few of them rushed to defend themselves, but most of them, as soon
as they saw Alexander himself, took to flight without even coming to
blows. A few of those who turned to resist being killed, the rest of
these also took to flight. Up to this time Bessus and his adherents
were still conveying Darius with them in a covered carriage; but when
Alexander was already close upon their heels Nabarzanes and Barsaëntes
wounded him and left him there, and with 600 horsemen took to flight.
Darius died from his wounds soon after, before Alexander had seen
him.[465]
CHAPTER XXII.
REFLECTIONS ON THE FATE OF DARIUS.
Alexander sent the body of Darius into Persis, with orders that it
should be buried in the royal sepulchre, in the same way as the other