The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
all; but if, while still on the march, on account of the length of
the way, they were caught by the heat, then they did indeed suffer
hardships from the blazing sun, being at the same time oppressed by
unassuageable thirst.[799]
CHAPTER XXV.
SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY.
The soldiers killed many of the beasts of burden of their own accord;
for when provisions were lacking, they came together, and slaughtered
most of the horses and mules. They ate the flesh of these, and said
that they had died of thirst or had perished from the heat. There was
no one who divulged the real truth of their conduct, both on account of
the men’s distress and because all alike were implicated in the same
offence. What was being done had not escaped Alexander’s notice; but
he saw that the best cure for the present state of affairs would be
to pretend to be ignorant of it, rather than to permit it as a thing
known to himself. The consequence was, that it was no longer easy to
convey the soldiers who were suffering from disease, or those who were
left behind on the roads on account of the heat, partly from the want
of beasts of burden and partly because the men themselves were knocking
the waggons to pieces, not being able to draw them on account of the
depth of the sand. They did this also because in the first stages they
were compelled on this account to go, not by the shortest routes, but
by those which were easiest for the carriages. Thus some were left
behind along the roads on account of sickness, others from fatigue or
the effects of the heat, or from not being able to bear up against the
drought; and there was no one either to show them the way or to remain
and tend them in their sickness. For the expedition was being made
with great urgency; and the care of individual persons was necessarily
neglected in the zeal displayed for the safety of the army as a whole.
As they generally made the marches by night, some of the men were
overcome by sleep on the road; afterwards rousing up again, those who
still had strength followed upon the tracks of the army; but only a few
out of many overtook the main body in safety. Most of them perished in
the sand, like men shipwrecked on the sea.[800] Another calamity also
befell the army, which greatly distressed men, horses, and beasts of
burden; for the country of the Gadrosians is supplied with rain by the
periodical winds, just as that of the Indians is; not the plains of
Gadrosia, but only the mountains where the clouds are carried by the
wind and are dissolved into rain without passing beyond the summits of
the mountains. On one occasion, when the army bivouacked, for the sake
of its water, near a small brook which was a winter torrent, about the
second watch of the night the brook which flowed there was suddenly
swelled by the rains in the mountains which had fallen unperceived by
the soldiers. The torrent advanced with so great a flood as to destroy
most of the wives and children of the men who followed the army, and to
sweep away all the royal baggage as well as all the beasts of burden
still remaining. The soldiers, after great exertions, were hardly able
to save themselves together with their weapons, many of which they lost
beyond recovery. When, after enduring the burning heat and thirst, they
lighted upon abundance of water, many of them perished from drinking to
excess, not being able to check their appetite for it. For this reason
Alexander generally pitched his camp, not near the water itself, but
at a distance of about twenty stades from it, to prevent the men and
beasts from pressing in crowds into the river and thus perishing, and
at the same time to prevent those who had no control over themselves
from fouling the water for the rest of the army by stepping into the
springs or streams.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ALEXANDER’S MAGNANIMOUS CONDUCT.
Here I have resolved not to pass over in silence the most noble deed
perhaps ever performed by Alexander, which occurred either in this land
or, according to the assertion of some other authors, still earlier,
among the Parapamisadians.[801] The army was continuing its march
through the sand, though the heat of the sun was already scorching,
because it was necessary to reach water before halting. They were far
on the journey, and Alexander himself, though oppressed with thirst,
was nevertheless with great pain and difficulty leading the army on
foot, so that his soldiers, as is usual in such a case, might more
patiently bear their hardships by the equalization of the distress. At
this time some of the light-armed soldiers, starting away from the army
in quest of water, found some collected in a shallow cleft, a small and
mean spring. Collecting this water with difficulty, they came with all
speed to Alexander, as if they were bringing him some great boon. As
soon as they approached the king, they poured the water into a helmet
and carried it to him. He took it, and commending the men who brought
it, immediately poured it upon the ground in the sight of all. As a
result of this action, the entire army was re-invigorated to so great
a degree that any one would have imagined that the water poured away
by Alexander had furnished a draught to every man. This deed beyond
all others I commend as evidence of Alexander’s power of endurance
and self-control, as well as of his skill in managing an army. The
following adventure also occurred to the army in that country. At last
the guides declared that they no longer remembered the way, because
the tracks of it had been rendered invisible by the wind blowing the
sand over them. Moreover, in the deep sand which had been everywhere
reduced to one level, there was nothing by which they could conjecture
the right way, not even the usual trees growing along it, nor any solid
hillock rising up; and they had not practised themselves in making
journeys by the stars at night or by the sun in the daytime, as sailors
do by the constellations of the Bears—the Phoenicians by the Little
Bear, and other men by the Greater Bear.[802] Then at length Alexander
perceived that it was necessary for him to lead the way by declining to
the left; and taking a few horsemen with him he advanced in front of
the army. But when the horses even of these were exhausted by the heat,
he left most of these men behind, and rode away with only five men and
found the sea. Having scraped away the shingle on the sea-beach, he
found water fresh and pure, and then went and fetched the whole army.
For seven days they marched along the sea-coast, supplying themselves
with water from the shore. Thence he led his expedition into the
interior, for now the guides knew the way.
CHAPTER XXVII.
MARCH THROUGH CARMANIA.—PUNISHMENT OF VICEROYS.
When he arrived at the capital of Gadrosia, he there gave his army
a rest. He deposed Apollophanes from the viceroyalty,[803] because
he discovered that he had paid no heed to his instructions. Thoas
was appointed viceroy over the people of this district; but as he
fell ill and died, Sibyrtius succeeded to the office. The same man
had also lately been appointed by Alexander viceroy of Carmania; but
now the rule over the Arachotians and Gadrosians was given to him,
and Tlepolemus, son of Pythophanes, received Carmania. The king was
already advancing into Carmania, when news was brought to him that
Philip, the viceroy of the country of the Indians, had been plotted
against by the mercenaries and treacherously killed; but that Philip’s
Macedonian body-guards had caught some of the murderers in the very
act and others afterwards, and had put them to death. When he had
ascertained this, he sent a letter into India to Eudemus and Taxiles,
ordering them to administer the affairs of the land which had
previously been subordinated to Philip until he could send a viceroy
for it. When he arrived in Carmania, Craterus effected a junction with
him, bringing with him the rest of the army and the elephants. He
also brought Ordanes, whom he had arrested for revolting and trying
to effect a revolution.[804] Thither also came Stasanor, the viceroy
of the Areians[805] and Zarangians, accompanied by Pharismanes, son
of Phrataphernes, the viceroy of the Parthians and Hyrcanians. There
came also the generals who had been left with Parmenio over the army in
Media, Cleander, Sitalces, and Heracon, bringing with them the greater
part of their army. Both the natives and the soldiers themselves
brought many accusations against Cleander and Sitalces, as for example,
that the temples had been pillaged by them, old tombs rifled, and other
acts of injustice, recklessness, and tyranny perpetrated against their
subjects. As these charges were proved,[806] he put them to death,
in order to inspire others who might be left as viceroys, governors,
or prefects of provinces with the fear of suffering equal penalties
with them if they swerved from the path of duty.[807] This was one of
the chief means by which Alexander kept in subordination the nations
which he had conquered in war or which had voluntarily submitted to
him, though they were so many in number and so far distant from each
other; because under his regal sway it was not allowed that those who
were ruled should be unjustly treated by those who ruled. At that time
Heracon was acquitted of the charge, but soon after, being convicted
by the men of Susa of having pillaged the temple in that city, he also
suffered punishment. Stasanor and Phrataphernes came to Alexander
bringing a multitude of beasts of burden and many camels, when they
learnt that he was marching by the route to Gadrosia, conjecturing that
his army would suffer the very hardships which it did suffer. Therefore
these men arrived just at the very time they were required, as also did
their camels and beasts of burden. For Alexander distributed all these
animals to the officers man by man, to all the various squadrons and
centuries of the cavalry, and to the various companies of the infantry,
as their number allowed him.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
ALEXANDER IN CARMANIA.
Certain authors have said (though to me the statement seems incredible)
that Alexander led his forces through Carmania lying extended with
his Companions upon two covered waggons joined together, the flute
being played to him; and that the soldiers followed him wearing
garlands and sporting. Food was provided for them, as well as all
kinds of dainties which had been brought together along the roads by
the Carmanians. They say that he did this in imitation of the Bacchic
revelry of Dionysus, because a story was told about that deity, that
after subduing the Indians he traversed the greater part of Asia in
this manner and received the appellation of Thriambus.[808] For the
same reason the processions in honour of victories after war were
called _thriambi_. This has been recorded neither by Ptolemy, son of
Lagus, nor by Aristobulus, son of Aristobulus, nor by any other writer
whose testimony on such points any one would feel to be worthy of
credit. It is sufficient therefore for me to record it as unworthy of
belief.[809] But as to what I am now going to describe I follow the
account of Aristobulus. In Carmania Alexander offered sacrifices to the
gods as thank-offerings for his victory over the Indians, and because
his army had been brought in safety out of Gadrosia. He also celebrated
a musical and gymnastic contest. He then appointed Peucestas one of his
confidential body-guards, having already resolved to make him viceroy
of Persis. He wished him, before being appointed to the viceroyalty,
to experience this honour and evidence of confidence, as a reward for
his exploit among the Mallians. Up to this time the number of his
confidential body-guards had been seven:—Leonnatus, son of Anteas,