The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
over the Areians. Being now joined by the men who had been left behind
with Craterus, he marched into the land of the Zarangaeans,[483] and
reached the place where their seat of government was. But Barsaëntes,
who at that time had possession of the land, being one of those who
had fallen upon Darius in his flight, learning that Alexander was
approaching, fled to the Indians who live this side of the river Indus.
But they arrested him and sent him back to Alexander, by whom he was
put to death on account of his guilty conduct towards Darius.
CHAPTER XXVI.
PHILOTAS AND PARMENIO PUT TO DEATH.
Here also Alexander discovered the conspiracy of Philōtas, son of
Parmenio. Ptolemy and Aristobūlus say that it had already been
reported to him before in Egypt[484]; but that it did not appear to
him credible, both on account of the long-existing friendship between
them, the honour which he publicly conferred upon his father Parmenio,
and the confidence he reposed in Philotas himself. Ptolemy, son of
Lagus, says that Philotas was brought before the Macedonians,[485] that
Alexander vehemently accused him, and that he defended himself from the
charges. He says also that the divulgers[486] of the plot came forward
and convicted him and his accomplices both by other clear proofs and
especially because Philotas himself confessed that he had heard of a
certain conspiracy which was being formed against Alexander. He was
convicted of having said nothing to the king about this plot, though he
visited the royal tent twice a day.[487] He and all the others who had
taken part with him in the conspiracy were killed by the Macedonians
with their javelins;[488] and Polydamas, one of the Companions, was
despatched to Parmenio, carrying letters from Alexander to the generals
in Media, Cleander, Sitalces, and Menidas, who had been placed over the
army commanded by Parmenio. By these men Parmenio was put to death,
perhaps because Alexander deemed it incredible that Philotas should
conspire against him and Parmenio not participate in his son’s plan; or
perhaps, he thought that even if he had no share in it, he would now
be a dangerous man if he survived, after the king had violently made
away with his son. Moreover he was held in very great respect both by
Alexander himself and by all the army, having great influence not only
among the Macedonian troops but also among the Grecian auxiliaries,
whom he often used to command according to Alexander’s order, both in
his own turn and out of his turn, with his sovereign’s approbation and
satisfaction.[489]
CHAPTER XXVII.
TREATMENT OF AMYNTAS.—THE ARIASPIANS.
They also say that about the same time Amyntas, son of Andromenes,
was brought to trial, together with his brothers Polemo, Attalus, and
Simmias, on the charge of being accessory to the conspiracy against
Alexander, on account of their trust in Philotas and their intimate
friendship with him. The belief in their participation in the plot was
strengthened among the mass of men by the fact that when Philotas was
arrested, Polemo, one of the brothers of Amyntas, fled to the enemy.
But Amyntas with his other two brothers stayed to await the trial,
and defended himself so vigorously among the Macedonians that he was
declared innocent of the charge. As soon as he was acquitted in the
assembly, he demanded that permission should be given him to go to
his brother and bring him back to Alexander. To this the Macedonians
acceded; so he went away and on the same day brought Polemo back. On
this account he now seemed free from guilt much more than before. But
soon after, as he was besieging a certain village, he was shot with an
arrow and died of the wound; so that he derived no other advantage from
his acquittal except that of dying with an unsullied reputation.[490]
Alexander appointed two commanders over the Companion cavalry,
Hephaestion, son of Amyntor, and Clitus, son of Dropidas, dividing
the brigade of the Companions into two parts, because he did not
wish any one of his friends to have the sole command of so many
horsemen, especially as they were the best of all his cavalry, both
in public estimation and in martial discipline.[491] He now arrived
in the land of the people formerly called Ariaspians, but afterwards
named Euergetae, because they assisted Cyrus, son of Cambyses, in
his invasion of Scythia.[492] Alexander treated these people, whose
ancestors had been serviceable to Cyrus, with honour; and when he
ascertained that the men not only enjoyed a form of government unlike
that of the other barbarians in that part of the world, but laid claim
to justice equally with the best of the Greeks, he set them free, and
gave them besides as much of the adjacent country as they asked for
themselves; but they did not ask for much. Here he offered sacrifice to
Apollo, and arrested Demetrius, one of his confidential body-guards, on
suspicion of having been implicated with Philotas in the conspiracy.
Ptolemy, son of Lagus, was appointed to the post vacated by Demetrius.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
ALEXANDER CROSSES THE HINDU-KOOSH.
After the transaction of this business, he advanced against Bactra and
Bessus, reducing the Drangians and Gadrosians[493] to subjection on his
march. He also reduced the Arachotians to subjection and appointed
Menon viceroy over them. He then reached the Indians, who inhabit
the land bordering on that of the Arachotians. All these nations he
reached marching through deep snow and his soldiers experiencing
scarcity of provisions and severe hardship. Learning that the Areians
had again revolted, in consequence of Satibarzanes invading their land
with 2,000 cavalry, which he had received from Bessus, he despatched
against them Artabazus the Persian with Erigyius and Caranus two of the
Companions, also ordering Phrataphernes, viceroy of the Parthians, to
assist them in attacking the Areians. An obstinately contested battle
then took place between the troops of Erigyius and Caranus and those
of Satibarzanes; nor did the barbarians give way until Satibarzanes,
encountering Erigyius, was struck in the face with a spear and killed.
Then the barbarians gave way and fled with headlong speed.
Meantime Alexander was leading his army towards Mount Caucasus,[494]
where he founded a city and named it Alexandreia.[495] Having offered
sacrifice here to the gods to whom it was his custom to sacrifice, he
crossed Mount Caucasus, after appointing Proëxes, a Persian, viceroy
over the land, and leaving Neiloxenus son of Satyrus, one of the
Companions, with an army as superintendent. According to the account
of Aristobulus, Mount Caucasus is as lofty as any in Asia, and most of
it is bare, at any rate in that part where Alexander crossed it. This
range of mountains stretches out so far that they say even that Mount
Taurus, which forms the boundary of Cilicia and Pamphylia, springs
from it, as do other great ranges which have been distinguished from
the Caucasus by various names according to the position of each.
Aristobulus says that in this part of the Caucasus nothing grew except
terebinth trees and silphium;[496] notwithstanding which, it was
inhabited by many people, and many sheep and oxen graze there; because
sheep are very fond of silphium. For if a sheep smells it even from a
distance, it runs to it and feeds upon the flower. They also dig up the
root, which is devoured by the sheep. For this reason in Cyrene,[497]
some drive their flocks as far as possible away from the places where
their silphium is growing; others even enclose the place with a fence,
so that even if the sheep should approach it they would not be able
to get within the enclosure. For the silphium is very valuable to the
Cyrenaeans.
Bessus, accompanied by the Persians who had taken part with him in the
seizure of Darius, and by 7,000 of the Bactrians themselves and the
Daans who dwelt on this side the Tanais,[498] was laying waste the
country at the foot of Mount Caucasus, in order to prevent Alexander
from marching any further, both by the desolation of the land between
the enemy and himself and by the lack of provisions. But none the
less did Alexander keep up the march, though with difficulty, both on
account of the deep snow and from the want of necessaries; but yet he
persevered in his journey. When Bessus was informed that Alexander was
now not far off, he crossed the river Oxus,[499] and having burnt the
boats upon which he had crossed, he withdrew to Nautaca[500] in the
land of Sogdiana. He was followed by Spitamenes and Oxyartes, with the
cavalry from Sogdiana, as well as by the Daans from the Tanais. But
the Bactrian cavalry, perceiving that Bessus had resolved to take to
flight, all dispersed in various directions to their own abodes.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CONQUEST OF BACTRIA, AND PURSUIT OF BESSUS ACROSS THE OXUS.
Alexander now arrived at Drapsaca, and having there given his army a
rest, he marched to Aornus and Bactra, which are the largest cities in
the land of the Bactrians. These he took at the first assault; and left
a garrison in the citadel of Aornus, over which he placed Archelaüs
son of Androcles, one of the Companions. He appointed Artabazus the
Persian, viceroy over the rest of the Bactrians, who were easily
reduced to submission. Then he marched towards the river Oxus, which
flows from mount Caucasus, and is the largest of all the rivers in Asia
which Alexander and his army reached, except the Indian rivers; but the
Indian rivers are the largest in the world. The Oxus discharges its
water into the great sea which is near Hyrcania. When he attempted to
cross the river it appeared altogether impassable; for its breadth was
about six stades, and its depth was much greater than the proportion of
its breadth. The bed of the river was sandy, and the stream so rapid,
that stakes fixed deep into the bottom were easily rooted up from
the earth by the mere force of the current, inasmuch as they could
not be securely fixed in the sand. Besides this, there was a scarcity
of timber in the locality, and he thought it would take a long time
and cause great delay, if they brought from a distance the materials
needful for making a bridge over the river. Therefore he collected the
skins which the soldiers used for tent-coverings, and ordered them to
be filled with chaff as dry as possible, and tied and stitched tightly
together, so that the water might not penetrate into them.[501] When
these were filled and stitched together, they were sufficient to convey
the army across in five days. But before he crossed the river, he
selected the oldest of the Macedonians, who were now unfit for military
service, and such of the Thessalians as had volunteered to remain in
the army, and sent them back home. He then dispatched Stasanor, one
of the Companions, into the land of the Areians, with instructions to
arrest Arsames, the viceroy of that people, because he thought him
disaffected, and to assume the office of viceroy of Areia himself.
After passing over the river Oxus, he made a forced march to the place
where he heard that Bessus was with his forces; but at this time
messengers reached him from Spitamenes and Dataphernes, to announce
that they would arrest Bessus and hand him over to Alexander if he
would send to them a small army and a commander for it; since even at
that very time they were holding him under guard, though they had not
bound him with fetters. When Alexander heard this, he gave his army
rest, and marched more slowly than before. But he despatched Ptolemy,
son of Lagus, at the head of three troops of the Companion cavalry and
all the horse-lancers, and of the infantry, the brigade of Philotas,
one regiment of 1,000 shield-bearing guards, all the Agrianians, and