The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
is a translation of the Syrian _Zaba_ (wolf).
[422] About sixty-nine miles. Cf. _Strabo_ (xvi. 1, 3).
[423] ἐλινύσας. This is an Ionic word used by _Herodotus_ (viii. 71,
etc.), and rarely in Attic poets and later prose writers.
[424] See _Arrian_, ii. 11 supra.
[425] _Curtius_ (iv. 63) says that 40,000 of the Persians were slain,
and that less than 300 Macedonians were killed. _Diodorus_ (xvii. 61)
states that more than 90,000 Persians and 500 Macedonians were slain.
[426] September 331 B.C. Cf. Plutarch (_Alex._, 31).
[427] For this prediction, see iii. 7 supra.
[428] As to the kinsmen and apple-bearers, see iii. 11 supra.
[429] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 63) and _Curtius_ (v. 6) state that from the
treasure captured in Babylon, Alexander distributed to each Macedonian
horseman about £24, to each of the Grecian horsemen £20, to each of the
Macedonian infantry £8, and to the allied infantry two months’ pay.
[430] Belus, or Bel, the supreme deity of the Babylonians, was
identical with the Syrian Baal. The signification of the name is
_mighty_. Cf. _Herodotus_ (i. 181); _Diodorus_ (ii. 9); _Strabo_ (xvi.
1).
[431] See i. 17 supra.
[432] The Chaldees appear in Hebrew under the name of _Casdim_, who
seem to have originally dwelt in Carduchia, the northern part of
Assyria. The Assyrians transported these rude mountaineers to the
plains of Babylonia (Isa. xxiii. 13). The name of Casdim, or Chaldees,
was applied to the inhabitants of Mesopotamia (Gen. xi. 28); the
inhabitants of the Arabian desert in the vicinity of Edom (Job i. 17);
those who dwelt near the river Chaboras (Ezek. i. 3; xi. 24); and the
priestly caste who had settled at a very early period in Babylon, as
we are informed by Diodorus and Eusebius. Herodotus says that these
priests were dedicated to Belus. It is proved by inscriptions that the
ancient language was retained as a learned and religious literature.
This is probably what is meant in Daniel i. 4 by “the book and tongue
of the Casdim.” Cf. _Diodorus_ (ii. 29-31); _Ptolemy_ (v. 20, 3); and
Cicero (_De Divinatione_, i. 1). See Fürst’s _Hebrew Lexicon_, sub voce
כֶּֽשֶׂד.
[433] In the Bible this city is called Shushan. Near it was the
fortress of Shushan, called in our Bible _the Palace_ (Neh. i. 2; Esth.
ii. 8). Susa was situated on the Choaspes, a river remarkable for the
excellence of its water, a fact referred to by _Tibullus_ (iv. 1, 140)
and by Milton (_Paradise Reg._, iii. 288). The name Shushan is derived
from the Persian word for lily, which grew abundantly in the vicinity.
The ruins of the palace mentioned in Esther i. have recently been
explored, and were found to consist of an immense hall, the roof of
which was supported by a central group of thirty-six pillars arranged
in the form of a square. This was flanked by three porticoes, each
containing two rows of six pillars. Cf. _Strabo_ (xv. 7, 28).
[434] The name of the viceroy was Abulites (_Curtius_, v. 8).
[435] If these were Attic talents, the amount would be equivalent to
£11,600,000; but if they were Babylonian or Aeginetan talents, they
were equal to £19,000,000. Cf. Plutarch (_Alex._, 36, 37); _Justin_
(xi. 14); and _Curtius_ (v. 8). _Diodorus_ (xvii. 66) tells us that
40,000 talents were of uncoined gold and silver, and 9,000 talents of
gold bearing the effigy of Darius.
[436] Cf. _Arrian_ (vii. 19); _Pausanias_ (i. 8, 5); Pliny (_Nat.
Hist._, xxxiv. 9); _Valerius Maximus_ (ii. 10, 1). For Harmodius and
Aristogeiton see _Thucydides_, vi. 56-58.
[437] Polis meant in early times a particular part of Athens, viz. the
citadel, usually called the Acropolis. Cf. Aristophanes (_Lysistrata_,
245 et passim).
[438] Demeter and Persephone.
[439] About £730,000.
[440] Antipater had been left by Alexander regent of Macedonia. Agis
III., king of Sparta, refused to acknowledge Alexander’s hegemony,
and after a hard struggle was defeated and slain by Antipater at
Megalopolis, B.C. 330. See _Diodorus_, xvii. 63; _Curtius_, vi. 1 and 2.
[441] According to _Curtius_ (v. 6) these forces amounted to nearly
15,000 men. Amyntas also brought with him fifty sons of the chief men
in Macedonia, who wished to serve as royal pages. Cf. _Diodorus_, xvii.
64.
[442] A river flowing through Susiana, formed by the junction of the
Eulaeus and Coprates.
[443] Cf. _Strabo_, xv. 3.
[444] πλεονεκτούμενοι, with dative, defrauded of. Cf. _Demosthenes_,
1035, 26.
[445] γέρα. An Homeric expression.
[446] Named Sisygambis (_Curtius_, v. 11).
[447] This was the Araxes. See _Strabo_, xv. 3.
[448] Notice the use of the adverb πρίν with the
genitive, instead of the preposition πρό. Cf. Pindar
(_Pythia_, iv. 76) πρὶν ὥρας.
[449] _Curtius_ (v. 16) says that Ariobarzanes after a bloody contest
got away through the Macedonian lines, with about 40 horsemen and 5,000
foot, and made for Persepolis. Being shut out of that fortress, he was
overtaken and slain with all his companions. Cf. _Diodorus_ (xvii. 68).
[450] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 69) and _Justin_ (xi. 14) state that on
approaching Persepolis, Alexander met 800 Grecian captives, mutilated
by loss of arms, legs, eyes, ears, or other members. _Curtius_ (v.
17-19) says there were 4,000 of them. Alexander offered to send these
men home, with means of future support; but they preferred to remain in
Persis. The king gave them money, clothing, cattle, and land.
[451] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 71) and _Curtius_ (v. 20) both state that
the amount of treasure captured at Persepolis was 120,000 talents,
or £27,600,000. In his own letter Alexander stated that there was
sufficient treasure and valuable property to load 10,000 mule carts
and 5,000 camels (Plutarch, _Alex._, 37). Curtius tells us that 6,000
talents were captured at Pasargadae.
[452] Pasargadae was the old capital of Persia, founded by Cyrus; but
its place was afterwards taken by Persepolis.
[453] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 70, 71) and _Curtius_ (v. 20, 22) say that
Alexander delivered Persepolis to his soldiers to pillage, and that
he ordered a general massacre of the inhabitants. These authors agree
with Plutarch (_Alex._, 38) in asserting that in a drunken revel he
was instigated by the courtesan Thais to set fire to the palace, and
accompanied her to commence the act of destruction. See _Dryden’s_
famous ode. But Arrian’s account establishes the fact that the fire was
the result of a deliberate plan. As regards the massacre, _Plutarch_
(37) expressly states that Alexander wrote home that he ordered it from
motives of policy.
[454] This was the principal pass through the Elburz mountains from
Media into Hyrcania and Parthia.
[455] This was the capital of Media, called in Chaldee _Achmetha_
(Ezra vi. 2). The present city of Hamadan is on the same site. It is
situated at the foot of Mount Orontes, and was used by the Persian and
Parthian kings as their summer residence. It was surrounded by seven
walls, each overtopping the one before it, from the outer to the inner,
crowned with battlements of different colours. Its citadel was used as
a royal treasury. Below it stood a splendid palace, with silver tiles,
and adorned with wainscotings, capitals, and entablatures of gold and
silver. These treasures, to the value of 4,000 talents, were coined
into money by Antiochus the Great of Syria. See _Herodotus_, i. 98;
_Polybius_, x. 27.
[456] This tribe lived in the mountains between Media and Persia.
[457] £1,700,000.
[458] _Curtius_ (v. 23) says that 6,000 Grecian mercenaries under Plato
the Athenian met Alexander in Media, having marched up from Cilicia.
[459] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 80) says that the amount of treasure deposited
at Ecbatana was 180,000 talents or £41,400,000.
[460] A large city in the extreme north of Media, mentioned in the Book
of Tobit. It was famous in the Middle Ages under the name of Rai. The
ruins of Rai lie south-east of Teheran.
[461] ἔστε generally means _until_. In its present use cf. ii. 11
supra, ἔστε μὲν φάος ἦν.
[462] The Drangians lived in a part of Ariana west of Arachosia.
[463] _Justin_ (xi. 15) and _Curtius_ (v. 34) state that Darius was
bound in chains of gold. The former says that the name of the place was
Thara in Parthia, where the king was arrested. Probably these chains
were those worn by the king or his nobles, according to the Persian
custom. This is the only sentence in Arrian where περὶ
suffers anastrophe, coming after the noun.
[464] Plutarch (_Alex._, 42) says that Alexander rode 3,300 stades, or
about 400 miles, in eleven days. In the next chapter he says that only
sixty of his men were able to keep up with him in the pursuit.
[465] _Curtius_ (v. 24-38) gives very ample details of what occurred
during the last days of Darius. Cf. _Diodorus_ (xvii. 73); _Justin_
(xi. 15).
[466] The Persian kings were buried at Persepolis. See _Diodorus_,
xvii. 71. Plutarch (_Alex._, 43) says that Alexander sent the corpse of
Darius to his mother.
[467] In the year B.C. 330, the first of Hecatombaion fell on the first
of July.
[468] Darius came to the throne B.C. 336.
[469] In 2 Kings xi. 4, 19 the word translated _captains_ in our
Bible is _Carim_, the Carians. These men formed the body-guard of the
usurper Athaliah, who stood in need of foreign mercenaries. David had a
body-guard of Philistines and Cretans. The Carians served as mercenaries
throughout the ancient world, as we learn from _Thucydides_, i.
8; _Herodotus_, i. 171; ii. 152; v. 111; _Strabo_, xiv. 2. The
Lydians appear in the Bible under the name of _Lud_ (Isa. lxvi. 19).
_Herodotus_ (i. 94) gives an account of the colonization of Umbria by
the Lydians, from which sprung the state of the Etruscans. Hence Vergil
(_Aeneid_, ii. 782) speaks of the “_Lydius Tybris_.” See also _Aeneid_,
viii. 479; Horace (_Satires_, i. 6, 1); Tacitus (_Annals_, iv. 55);
Dionysius (_Archaeologia Romana_, i. 28).
[470] He married Barsine, eldest daughter of Darius (_Arrian_, vii. 4
infra). She was also called Arsinoe and Stateira.
[471] According to _Curtius_ (vi. 6-10) the soldiers were very desirous
of returning home; but Alexander made an harangue and induced them to
advance into Hyrcania.
[472] The modern Balkh.
[473] The Caspian.
[474] _Diodorus_ (xvii. 75) calls this river Stiboetis; _Curtius_ (vi.
10) calls it Ziobetis.
[475] _Krüger_ has ἐνταῦθα instead of τούτῳ.
[476] _Curtius_ (vi. 14) says Artabazus had nine sons, one of whom,
Pharnabazus, was the admiral of the Persian fleet. See _Arrian_ (ii. 1;
ii. 2; iii. 2 supra).
[477] Cf. _Curtius_, vi. 16.
[478] Sinope was a prosperous colony of Miletus on the Euxine. It is
still called Sinoub. It was the birthplace of Diogenes.
[479] Chalcedon was a colony of Megara, situated on the Propontis at
the entrance of the Bosporus, nearly opposite Byzantium.
[480] Areia occupied what is now the east part of Khorasan, and the
west and north-west of Afghanistan. Susia is the modern Tus.
[481] Compare the words of Tissaphernes to Clearchus (Xenophon,
_Anabasis_, ii. 5): “Though the king is the only man who can wear the
tiara erect upon his head, I shall be able to wear mine erect upon my
heart in full confidence, when you are in my service.” Cf. _Curtius_
(iii. 8); Aristophanes (_Birds_, 487). The cap of the ordinary
Persians was low, loose, and clinging about the head in folds; whereas
that of the king was high and erect above the head. From Xenophon
(_Cyropaedia_, viii. 3, 13) we learn that the Persian king’s vest was
of a purple colour, half mixed with white, and that no one else was
allowed to wear this mixture of white. He had loose trousers of a
scarlet colour, and a robe entirely purple. Cf. also _Strabo_ (xv. 3),
where the tiara is said to be in the shape of a tower; and Seneca (_De
Beneficiis_, vi. 31); _Ammianus_, xviii. 8, 5.