The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
Syrmus, king of the Triballians, hearing of Alexander’s expedition long
before, had sent the women and children of the nation on in advance
to the Ister, ordering them to pass over into one of the islands in
that river, the name of which was Peuce.[31] To this island also the
Thracians, whose territories were conterminous with those of the
Triballians, had fled together for refuge at the approach of Alexander.
Syrmus himself likewise, accompanied by his train, had fled for refuge
to the same place. But the main body of the Triballians fled back to
the river, from which Alexander had started the day before.
When he heard of their starting, he wheeled round again, and, marching
against them, surprised them just as they were encamping. And those
who were surprised drew themselves up in battle array in a woody glen
along the bank of the river. Alexander drew out his phalanx into a
deep column, and led it on in person. He also ordered the archers
and slingers to run forward and discharge arrows and stones at the
barbarians, hoping to provoke them by this to come out of the woody
glen into the ground unencumbered with trees. When they were within
reach of the missiles, and were struck by them, they rushed out
against the archers, who were undefended by shields, with the purpose
of fighting them hand-to-hand. But when Alexander had drawn them thus
out of the woody glen, he ordered Philotas to take the cavalry which
came from upper Macedonia, and to charge their right wing, where they
had advanced furthest in their sally. He also commanded Heraclides and
Sopolis[32] to lead on the cavalry which came from Bottiaea[33] and
Amphipolis against the left wing; while he himself extended the phalanx
of infantry and the rest of the horse in front of the phalanx and
led them against the enemy’s centre. And indeed as long as there was
only skirmishing on both sides, the Triballians did not get the worst
of it; but as soon as the phalanx in dense array attacked them with
vigour, and the cavalry fell upon them in various quarters, no longer
merely striking them with the javelin, but pushing them with their very
horses, then at length they turned and fled through the woody glen to
the river. Three thousand were slain in the flight; few of them were
taken prisoners, both because there was a dense wood in front of the
river, and the approach of night deprived the Macedonians of certainty
in their pursuit. Ptolemy says, that of the Macedonians themselves
eleven horsemen and about forty foot soldiers were killed.
CHAPTER III.
ALEXANDER AT THE DANUBE AND IN THE COUNTRY OF THE GETAE.
On the third day after the battle, Alexander reached the river Ister,
which is the largest of all the rivers in Europe, traverses a very
great tract of country, and separates very warlike nations. Most of
these belong to the Celtic race,[34] in whose territory the sources
of the river take their rise. Of these nations the remotest are the
Quadi[35] and Marcomanni[36]; then the Iazygians,[37] a branch of
the Sauromatians[38]; then the Getae,[39] who hold the doctrine of
immortality; then the main body of the Sauromatians; and, lastly, the
Scythians,[40] whose land stretches as far as the outlets of the river,
where through five mouths it discharges its water into the Euxine
Sea.[41] Here Alexander found some ships of war which had come to him
from Byzantium, through the Euxine Sea and up the river. Filling these
with archers and heavy-armed troops, he sailed to the island to which
the Triballians and Thracians had fled for refuge. He tried to force a
landing; but the barbarians came to meet him at the brink of the river,
where the ships were making the assault. But these were only few in
number, and the army in them small. The shores of the island, also,
were in most places too steep and precipitous for landing, and the
current of the river alongside it, being, as it were, shut up into a
narrow channel by the nearness of the banks, was rapid and exceedingly
difficult to stem.
Alexander therefore led back his ships, and determined to cross the
Ister and march against the Getae, who dwelt on the other side of that
river; for he observed that many of them had collected on the bank of
the river for the purpose of barring his way, if he should cross. There
were of them about 4,000 cavalry and more than 10,000 infantry. At
the same time a strong desire seized him to advance beyond the Ister.
He therefore went on board the fleet himself. He also filled with hay
the hides which served them as tent-coverings, and collected from the
country around all the boats made from single trunks of trees. Of these
there was a great abundance, because the people who dwell near the
Ister use them for fishing in the river, sometimes also for journeying
to each other for traffic up the river; and most of them carry on
piracy with them. Having collected as many of these as he could, upon
them he conveyed across as many of his soldiers as was possible in such
a fashion. Those who crossed with Alexander amounted in number to 1,500
cavalry and 4,000 infantry.
CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER DESTROYS THE CITY OF THE GETAE.—THE AMBASSADORS OF THE CELTS.
They crossed over by night to a spot where the corn stood high; and in
this way they reached the bank more secretly. At the approach of dawn
Alexander led his men through the field of standing corn, ordering the
infantry to lean upon the corn with their pikes[42] held transversely,
and thus to advance into the untilled ground. As long as the phalanx
was advancing through the standing corn, the cavalry followed; but
when they marched out of the tilled land, Alexander himself led the
horse round to the right wing, and commanded Nicanor[43] to lead the
phalanx in a square. The Getae did not even sustain the first charge
of the cavalry; for Alexander’s audacity seemed incredible to them,
in having thus easily crossed the Ister, the largest of rivers, in a
single night, without throwing a bridge over the stream. Terrible to
them also was the closely-locked order of the phalanx, and violent
the charge of the cavalry. At first they fled for refuge into their
city, which was distant about a parasang[44] from the Ister; but when
they saw that Alexander was leading his phalanx carefully along the
river, to prevent his infantry being anywhere surrounded by the Getae
lying in ambush; whereas he was leading his cavalry straight on, they
again abandoned the city, because it was badly fortified. They carried
off as many of their women and children as their horses could carry,
and betook themselves into the steppes, in a direction which led as
far as possible from the river. Alexander took the city and all the
booty which the Getae left behind. This he gave to Meleager[45] and
Philip[46] to carry off. After razing the city to the ground, he
offered sacrifice upon the bank of the river, to Zeus the preserver,
to Heracles,[47] and to Ister himself, because he had allowed him to
cross; and while it was still day he brought all his men back safe to
the camp.
There ambassadors came to him from Syrmus, king of the Triballians,
and from the other independent nations dwelling near the Ister. Some
even arrived from the Celts who dwelt near the Ionian gulf.[48] These
people are of great stature, and of a haughty disposition. All the
envoys said that they had come to seek Alexander’s friendship. To all
of them he gave pledges of amity, and received pledges from them in
return. He then asked the Celts what thing in the world caused them
special alarm, expecting that his own great fame had reached the Celts
and had penetrated still further, and that they would say that they
feared him most of all things. But the answer of the Celts turned out
quite contrary to his expectation; for, as they dwelt so far away from
Alexander, inhabiting districts difficult of access, and as they saw he
was about to set out in another direction, they said they were afraid
that the sky would some time or other fall down upon them. These men
also he sent back, calling them friends, and ranking them as allies,
making the remark that the Celts were braggarts.[49]
CHAPTER V.
REVOLT OF CLITUS AND GLAUCIAS.
He then advanced into the land of the Agrianians and Paeonians,[50]
where messengers reached him, who reported that Clitus, son of
Bardylis,[51] had revolted, and that Glaucias,[52] king of the
Taulantians,[53] had gone over to him. They also reported that the
Autariatians[54] intended to attack him on his way. He accordingly
resolved to commence his march without delay. But Langarus, king of the
Agrianians, who, in the lifetime of Philip, had been an open and avowed
friend of Alexander, and had gone on an embassy to him in his private
capacity, at that time also came to him with the finest and best armed
of the shield-bearing troops, which he kept as a body-guard. When this
man heard that Alexander was inquiring who the Autariatians were, and
what was the number of their men, he said that he need take no account
of them, since they were the least warlike of the tribes of that
district; and that he would himself make an inroad into their land, so
that they might have too much occupation about their own affairs to
attack others. Accordingly, at Alexander’s order, he made an attack
upon them; and not only did he attack them, but he swept their land
clean of captives and booty. Thus the Autariatians were indeed occupied
with their own affairs. Langarus was rewarded by Alexander with the
greatest honours, and received from him the gifts which were considered
most valuable in the eyes of the king of the Macedonians. Alexander
also promised to give him his sister Cyna[55] in marriage when he
arrived at Pella.[56] But Langarus fell ill and died on his return home.
After this, Alexander marched along the river Erigon,[57] and proceeded
to the city of Pelium;[58] for Clitus had seized this city, as it was
the strongest in the country. When Alexander arrived at this place,
and had encamped near the river Eordaicus,[59] he resolved to make an
assault upon the wall the next day. But Clitus held the mountains which
encircled the city, and commanded it from their height; moreover, they
were covered with dense thickets. His intention was to fall upon the
Macedonians from all sides, if they assaulted the city. But Glaucias,
king of the Taulantians, had not yet joined him. Alexander, however,
led his forces towards the city; and the enemy, after sacrificing three
boys, an equal number of girls, and three black rams, sallied forth for
the purpose of receiving the Macedonians in a hand-to-hand conflict.
But as soon as they came to close quarters, they left the positions
which they had occupied, strong as they were,[60] in such haste that
even their sacrificial victims were captured still lying on the ground.
On this day he shut them up in the city, and encamping near the wall,
he resolved to intercept them by a circumvallation; but on the next
day Glaucias, king of the Taulantians, arrived with a great force.
Then, indeed, Alexander gave up the hope of capturing the city with
his present force, since many warlike troops had fled for refuge
into it, and Glaucias with his large army would be likely to follow
him up closely if he assailed the wall. But he sent Philotas on a
foraging expedition, with the beasts of burden from the camp and a
sufficient body of cavalry to serve as a guard. When Glaucias heard
of the expedition of Philotas he marched out to meet him, and seized
the mountains which surrounded the plain, from which Philotas intended
to procure forage. As soon as Alexander was informed that his cavalry
and beasts of burden would be in danger if night overtook them, taking
the shield-bearing troops,[61] the archers, the Agrianians, and about