The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
by outstripping the rest. The noise of the rowing was never equalled on
any other occasion, inasmuch as it proceeded from so many ships rowed
at the same time; also the shouting of the boatswains giving the time
for beginning and stopping the stroke of the oars, and the clamour of
the rowers, when keeping time all together with the dashing of the
oars, made a noise like a battle-cry. The banks of the river also,
being in many places higher than the ships, and collecting the sound
into a narrow space, sent back to each other an echo which was very
much increased by its very compression. In some parts too the groves
of trees on each side of the river helped to swell the sound, both
from the solitude and the reverberation of the noise. The horses which
were visible on the decks of the transports struck the barbarians who
saw them with such surprise that those of them who were present at
the starting of the fleet accompanied it a long way from the place of
embarkation. For horses had never before been seen on board ships in
the country of India; and the natives did not call to mind that the
expedition of Dionysus into India was a naval one. The shouting of the
rowers and the noise of the rowing were heard by the Indians who had
already submitted to Alexander, and these came running down to the
river’s bank and accompanied him singing their native songs. For the
Indians have been eminently fond of singing and dancing since the time
of Dionysus and those who under his bacchic inspiration traversed the
land of the Indians with him.[738]
CHAPTER IV.
VOYAGE DOWN THE HYDASPES INTO THE ACESINES.
Sailing thus, he stopped on the third day at the spot where he had
instructed Hephaestion and Craterus to encamp on opposite banks of
the river at the same place. Here he remained two days, until Philip
with the rest of the army came up with him. He then sent this general
with the men he brought with him to the river Acesines, with orders
to march along the bank of that river. He also sent Craterus and
Hephaestion off again with instructions how they were to conduct the
march. But he himself continued his voyage down the river Hydaspes,
the channel of which is nowhere less than twenty stades broad. Mooring
his vessels near the banks wherever he could, he received some of the
Indians dwelling near into allegiance by their voluntary surrender,
while he reduced by force those who came into a trial of strength
with him. Then he sailed rapidly towards the country of the Mallians
and Oxydracians, having ascertained that these tribes were the most
numerous and the most warlike of the Indians in that region; and
having been informed that they had put their wives and children for
safety into their strongest cities, with the resolution of fighting
a battle with him, he made the voyage with the greater speed with
the express design of attacking them before they had arranged their
plans, and while there was still lack of preparation and a state of
confusion among them. Thence he made his second start, and on the
fifth day reached the junction of the Hydaspes and Acesines. Where
these rivers unite, one very narrow river is formed out of the two;
and on account of its narrowness the current is swift. There are also
prodigious eddies in the whirling stream, and the water rises in waves
and plashes exceedingly, so that the noise of the swell of waters is
distinctly heard by people while they are still far off. These things
had previously been reported to Alexander by the natives, and he had
told his soldiers; and yet, when his army approached the junction
of the rivers, the noise made by the stream produced so great an
impression upon them that the sailors stopped rowing, not from any word
of command, but because the very boatswains who gave the time to the
rowers became silent from astonishment and stood aghast at the noise.
CHAPTER V.
VOYAGE DOWN THE ACESINES.
When they came near the junction of the rivers, the pilots passed on
the order that the men should row as hard as possible to get out of
the narrows, so that the ships might not fall into the eddies and be
overturned by them, but might by the vigorous rowing overcome the
whirlings of the water. Being of a round form, the merchant vessels
which happened to be whirled round by the current received no damage
from the eddy, but the men who were on board were thrown into disorder
and fright. For being kept upright by the force of the stream itself,
these vessels settled again into the onward course. But the ships
of war, being long, did not emerge so scatheless from the whirling
current, not being raised aloft in the same way as the others upon
the plashing swell of water. These ships had two ranks of oars on
each side, the lower oars being only a little out of the water. These
vessels getting athwart in the eddies, their oars could not be raised
aloft in proper time and were consequently caught by the water and came
into collision with each other. Thus many of the ships were damaged;
two indeed fell foul of each other and were destroyed, and many of
those sailing in them perished.[739] But when the river widened out,
there the current was no longer so rapid, and the eddies did not whirl
round with so much violence. Alexander therefore moored his fleet on
the right bank, where there was a protection from the force of the
stream and a roadstead for the ships. A certain promontory also in the
river jutted out conveniently for collecting the wrecks. He preserved
the lives of the men who were still being conveyed upon them; and when
he had repaired the damaged ships, he ordered Nearchus to sail down
the river until he reached the confines of the nation called Mallians.
He himself made an inroad into the territories of the barbarians who
would not yield to him, and after preventing them from succouring the
Mallians, he again formed a junction with the naval armament.[740]
Hephaestion, Craterus, and Philip had already united their forces here.
Alexander then transported the elephants, the brigade of Polysperchon,
the horse-archers, and Philip with his army, across the river Hydaspes,
and instructed Craterus to lead them. He sent Nearchus with the fleet
with orders to set sail three days before the army started. He divided
the rest of his army into three parts, and ordered Hephaestion to
go five days in advance, so that if any should flee before the men
under his own command and go rapidly forward they might fall in with
Hephaestion’s brigade and thus be captured. He also gave a part of the
army to Ptolemy, son of Lagus, with orders to follow him after the
lapse of three days, so that all those who fled from him and turned
back again might fall in with Ptolemy’s brigade. He ordered those in
advance to wait, when they arrived at the confluence of the rivers
Acesines and Hydraotes, until he himself came up; and he instructed
Craterus and Ptolemy also to form a junction with him at the same place.
CHAPTER VI.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MALLIANS.
He then took the shield-bearing guards, the bowmen, the Agrianians,
Peithon’s brigade of men, who were called foot Companions, all the
horse bowmen and half the cavalry Companions, and marched through a
tract of country destitute of water against the Mallians, a tribe of
the independent Indians.[741] On the first day he encamped near a
small piece of water which was about 100 stades distant from the river
Acesines. Having dined there and caused his army to rest a short time,
he ordered every man to fill whatever vessel he had with water. After
travelling the remaining part of that day and all the ensuing night
a distance of about 400 stades, he at daybreak reached the city into
which many of the Mallians had fled for refuge. Most of them were
outside the city and unarmed, supposing that Alexander would never come
against them through the waterless country. It was evident that he led
his army by this route for this very reason, because it was difficult
to lead an army this way, and consequently it appeared incredible to
the enemy that he would lead his forces in this direction. He therefore
fell upon them unexpectedly, and killed most of them without their
even turning to defend themselves, since they were unarmed. He cooped
the rest up in the city, and posted his cavalry all round the wall,
because the phalanx of infantry had not yet[742] come up with him.
He thus made use of his cavalry in place of a stockade. As soon as
the infantry arrived, he sent Perdiccas with his own cavalry regiment
and that of Clitus, as well as the Agrianians, against another city
of the Mallians, whither many of the Indians of that region had fled
for refuge. He ordered Perdiccas to blockade the men in the city, but
not to commence the action until he himself should arrive, so that
none might escape from this city and carry news to the rest of the
barbarians that Alexander was already approaching. He then began to
assault the wall; but the barbarians abandoned it, finding that they
were no longer able to defend it, since many had been killed in the
capture, and others had been rendered unfit for fighting on account
of their wounds. Fleeing for refuge into the citadel, they defended
themselves for some time from a position commanding from its height
and difficult of access. But as the Macedonians pressed on vigorously
from all sides, and Alexander himself appeared now in this part of the
action and now in that, the citadel was taken by storm, and all the men
who had fled into it for refuge were killed, to the number of 2,000.
Perdiccas also reached the city to which he had been despatched and
found it deserted; but learning that the inhabitants had fled from it
not long before, he made a forced march on the track of the fugitives.
The light-armed troops followed him as quickly as they could on foot,
so that he took and massacred as many of the fugitives as could not
outstrip him and flee for safety into the river-marshes.
CHAPTER VII.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MALLIANS (_continued_).
After dining and causing his men to rest until the first watch of the
night, Alexander marched forward; and travelling a great distance
through the night, he arrived at the river Hydraotes[743] at daybreak.
There he ascertained that most of the Mallians had already crossed the
river; but coming upon those who were still in the act of crossing, he
slew many of them in their passage. Having crossed with them in pursuit
without any delay by the same ford, he kept close up with those who had
outstripped him in their retreat. Many also of these he slew; some he
took prisoners; but the majority of them escaped into a place strong by
nature and made more so by fortifications. When the infantry reached
him, Alexander despatched Peithon against the men in the fortress,
giving him the command of his own brigade of infantry and two regiments
of cavalry. These, attacking the place, took it at the first assault,
and made slaves of all those who had fled thither for safety, at least
as many of them as had not perished in the attack. After accomplishing
this, Peithon returned again to the camp. Alexander in person led
his forces against a certain city of the Brachmans,[744] because he
ascertained that some of the Mallians had fled for refuge into it. When
he reached it, he led his phalanx in serried ranks close up to the wall
on all sides. The enemy seeing that their walls were being undermined,
and being themselves repulsed by the missiles, abandoned the walls, and
having fled for safety into the citadel, began to defend themselves
from thence. A few Macedonians having rushed in with them, turning
round and drawing together into a close body, drove some of them back
and killed five-and-twenty of them in their retreat. Hereupon Alexander