The Campaigns of Alexander (Classics) (21 page)

There Alexander sacrificed to Apollo – and arrested one of his personal guards named Demetrius on suspicion of complicity in Philotas’ plot. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, was appointed in his place.

These difficulties settled, Alexander advanced against Bessus in Bactria. On the way to Bactria he subdued the Drangae, the Gedrosians, and the Arachotians, appointing Menon as governor of Arachotia. In fact, he got as far as the neighbouring Indian tribes. The march was all the way through deep snow, and his men suffered severely from exhaustion and lack of supplies.

A report came in that, Satibarzanes having entered Aria with a force of 2,000 cavalry which he had received from Bessus, the Arians had again revolted; Alexander accordingly sent the Persian officer Artabazus there, accompanied by Erigyius and Caranus, two of the Companions, with further orders to Phrataphernes, the satrap of Parthia, to assist them in dealing with the Arians. The troops of Erigyius and Caranus fought a brisk engagement with Satibarzanes, the Persians holding their ground until Satibarzanes in hand-to-hand fight with Erigyius was struck in the face with a spear and killed; then they broke, and fled in confusion.

Alexander’s route now led him to the Indian Caucasus. Here he founded a city and named it Alexandria;
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then, after the traditional religious observances, he crossed the Caucasus range. A Persian called Proexes was made governor of the district, and Neiloxenus, one of the Companions and son of Satyrus, was appointed overseer, and left there with a body of troops at his disposal.

According to the testimony of Aristobulus, the Caucasus range is as lofty as any in Asia, and most of it, at any rate on its hither side, is barren. It extends for a very great distance – so far, indeed, that the Taurus range,
which forms the boundary of Cilicia and Pamphylia, is supposed to be part of it, as are other great mountains distinguished from it by various names according to the countries in which they are situated. Here – that is, in the Indian Caucasus – nothing grows (to quote Aristobulus once more) except silphium and terebinth; nevertheless the region was by no means sparsely inhabited; large numbers of sheep and other cattle grazed there, for sheep like silphium, and if they smell the plant in the distance make straight for it and bite off the flower, and even grub up and eat the root. For this reason the people of Cyrene keep their flocks as far away as they can from the places where silphium grows; sometimes they fence the ground to keep the sheep out out should they approach, so valuable is this plant to them.
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Bessus did his utmost to prevent Alexander from advancing further: he had with him, besides the Persians who had taken part in the arrest of Darius, about 7,000 Bactrians and the Daae from the hither side of the Tanais,
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and with these troops he proceeded to lay waste the country round the foothills of the Caucasus, in the hope that if all crops and everything edible between Alexander and himself were destroyed, Alexander would be halted by sheer lack of supplies. The hope, however, was vain; Alexander, in spite of everything, continued to advance. Snow and privation made it a laborious task – but they could not stop him.

When the report reached Bessus that Alexander was already close at hand, he crossed the Oxus in boats, which he then burned, and withdrew to Nautaka in Sogdiana; he was accompanied by the troops of Spitamenes and Oxyartes, together with the mounted troops of Sogdiana
and the Daae from the Tanais. The Bactrian cavalry dispersed to their homes as soon as they knew that Bessus had made up his mind to avoid a conflict.

At Drapsaka, Alexander halted to rest his men, and then went on to Aornos and Bactra, the two chief towns of Bactria; both of them were surrendered without resistance.
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He left a garrison in Aornos under the command of Archaelaus son of Androcles, one of the Companions. From the rest of Bactria he met with little opposition, and appointed the Persian officer Artabazus as governor of the district. His next objective was the river Oxus.

The source of the Oxus is in the Indian Caucasus; it is greater than any other Asian river reached by Alexander’s army, except the rivers of India, which are the greatest in the world. It empties itself into the Caspian Sea in Hyrcania.
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At Alexander’s first attempt to cross it, it seemed an impossible task: it was about six furlongs wide and much deeper than its breadth would lead one to expect; the combination of a rapid current and a sandy bottom made it impossible to drive piles securely into its bed: they could get no grip on the soft sand and were quickly loosened by the force of the stream. Moreover, timber was scarce, and it seemed a great waste of time to go far afield in search of enough to construct a bridge. Accordingly Alexander had all the hides collected which served the men for tents, and gave instructions that they should be filled with chips and other dry rubbish, and then tied up and carefully sewn to make them water-tight.
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When
they were filled and sewn, there were enough of them to get the men across in five days.

Before the crossing, Alexander sent home all Macedonians whose age rendered them no longer fit for service, and also the Thessalian volunteers who had remained with the army. He sent Stasanor, one of the Companions, to Aria with orders to put Arsaces, the satrap, under arrest for suspected treason and to take over the governorship in his place.

Once over the river, he pressed on with all speed to where Bessus and his army were reported to be. Meanwhile a message arrived from Spitamenes and Dataphernes to the effect that if a body of troops – not necessarily a large one – under command of an officer were sent them, they would arrest Bessus, and hand him over to Alexander. In fact, they already had him under open arrest. On receipt of this message Alexander slackened the speed of his advance, halting frequently, and ordered Ptolemy, son of Lagus, to go on ahead with forced marches and make contact with Spitamenes and Dataphernes with the least possible delay: he was to take with him a force consisting of three regiments of the Companions, all the mounted javelin-men, Philotas’ infantry battalion, one regiment of the Guards, all the Agrianes, and half the archers. With these troops Ptolemy covered in four days a distance which would normally take ten, and reached the spot where Spitamenes’ men had bivouacked on the preceding day. There he learned that Dataphernes and Spitamenes were in two minds about the surrender of Bessus, so leaving his infantry with instructions to follow in marching order, he rode off with his cavalry to a village not far away where Bessus and a few soldiers were. Spitamenes had already left the place, he and his men feeling the actual betrayal of Bessus to be too much for their conscience.

The little settlement was fortified more or less, having an outer wall with gates in it. Ptolemy cordoned it off with his mounted troops and announced to the Persians inside that if they gave Bessus up they would be allowed to go without molestation; he was accordingly admitted, whereupon he seized Bessus and again withdrew, sending off a messenger to ask Alexander how he wished to be brought into his presence. Alexander replied that he must be stripped of his clothes and led in a dog-collar and made to stand on the right of the road along which he and his army would pass. The order was obeyed, and when Alexander saw him there, he stopped his chariot and asked him why he had treated Darius, his king, kinsman, and benefactor, so shamefully, first seizing him, then hurrying him off in chains, and finally murdering him. Bessus answered that the decision to do what he had done was not his alone: everyone close to Darius at that time had shared in it, and their object was to win Alexander’s favour and so save their lives. At this Alexander ordered him to be scourged; and at every lash a crier was to repeat the words of reproach he had himself used as he asked the reason for his treachery. After this humiliating punishment he was sent away to Bactra to be executed.

The foregoing account of the fate of Bessus is Ptolemy’s. Aristobulus states that he was brought along, on Ptolemy’s behalf, and handed over to Alexander by Spitamenes and Dataphernes. He confirms the details of the stripping and the dog-collar.

Many of Alexander’s horses had died of exhaustion in the long climb over the Caucasus and during the marches to and from the Oxus; he therefore brought his cavalry units up to strength with fresh horses taken from the neighbouring country, and then marched for Marakanda,
the royal city of Sogdiana,
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moving on thence to the Tanais. Like the Oxus, this river, too (according to Aristobulus the natives call it the Orexartes) rises in the Indian Caucasus and flows into the Caspian Sea;
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it can hardly be the Tanais which the historian Herodotus describes as the eighth of the Scythian rivers, having its source in a great lake and flowing into a greater, called Maeotis: this other Tanais is regarded by some as the boundary between Asia and Europe, on the supposition that from this corner of the Black Sea Lake Maeotis and the river flowing into it actually divide Asia from Europe in the same way as the straits between Gadeira and the nomad Libyans divide Libya from Europe – and in the same way, presumably, as Libya is divided from the rest of Asia by the Nile.
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It was on this river (call it Tanais, or Jaxartes) that a party of Macedonians foraging for supplies was cut up by natives. After their attack the tribesmen, who were some 30,000 in number, withdrew to a position in the hills, where the ground was not only excessively broken but as steep as a cliff on every side. None the less Alexander, with his most mobile troops, moved to the assault. Again and again the Macedonians struggled for a foothold on the precipitous ascent, but without success: the missiles of the natives drove them back. Many were wounded, including Alexander himself, who was shot through the leg
with an arrow and had the fibula broken. But despite every obstacle he at length took the place; some of the enemy were killed by his troops, and many others leapt to death over the edge of the cliffs. Of their 30,000 not more than 8,000 escaped with their lives.

It was his intention to found a city on the Tanais and to name it after himself. The site, he considered, was a good one; a settlement there would be likely to increase in size and importance, and would also serve both as an excellent base for a possible future invasion of Scythia and as a defensive position against raiding tribes from across the river. Without doubt both its numbers and the splendour of its name would one day turn the new settlement into a great city.
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Meanwhile, however, the native tribes along the Tanais took the offensive: they seized and killed the Macedonian garrisons in their towns and began to look to their safety
by strengthening their own defences.
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They were joined in this hostile move by most of the people of Sogdiana, who were incited to it by the party which had arrested Bessus, and these, in their turn, drew into the movement some of the Bactrians as well. The reason for it may have been simply fear of Alexander; on the other hand, they may have justified the movement by the fact that Alexander had issued an order for the leading men of that country to meet for a conference at Zariaspa, the capital – an order which might well conceal some sinister purpose.
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The report of the revolt led to immediate counter-measures; each section of infantry was ordered to prepare a definite number of scaling-ladders, and Alexander himself at once moved forward to Gaza, the nearest of the native settlements to his own position – there were, according to report, seven of these towns in which the natives had shut themselves up. At the same time he sent Craterus to Cyropolis, the largest of the seven and now occupied by the greatest number of natives. His instructions were to take up a position close to the town, surround it with a ditch and stockade, and then assemble such siege engines as might suit his purpose, in order to concentrate the defenders’ attention upon himself and his troops, and thus prevent them from sending assistance to their friends elsewhere.

Arrived at Gaza, Alexander ordered an immediate assault with scaling-ladders on every side of the town’s defences, which consisted of an earthen wall of no great height; as the infantry moved forward, the slingers, archers, and javelin-throwers poured their missiles into
the defenders on the wall and at the same time the catapults went into action. Under the storm of missiles the wall was soon cleared; the ladders were fixed and the Macedonians were up in a moment. All males in the town were killed, by Alexander’s orders; the women and children were treated as prizes of war, and carried off with anything else of value. Then, without delay, Alexander proceeded to the next settlement, took it the same day and in the same manner, and dealt with the inhabitants with the same severity. Thence he went on to the third, and on the day following took this, too, at the first assault.

While the infantry was engaged in these operations, the cavalry was dispatched to the next two towns with orders to take strict measures to prevent any of the people there from getting away; for it was likely enough that, when they learned of the fall of the neighbouring towns and of Alexander’s impending approach, they would scatter in flight and pursuit might be impossible. Alexander’s guess was right, and the dispatch of the cavalry came in the nick of time; for the men in the two settlements which had not yet fallen, as soon as they saw the smoke rising from the settlement nearest to them and got direct news of its capture from a few survivors, in a confused and desperate attempt to get out in time, ran straight into the cordon of mounted troops and were nearly all killed.

Five of the seven towns were thus taken in two days, and their women and children sold into slavery. Alexander then moved on to the largest of the seven, Cyropolis. This place had been founded by Cyrus, and it was defended by a loftier wall than the other towns; moreover the natives who had shut themselves up in it were more numerous, and the best fighters of the district, so its capture presented the Macedonians with a much tougher problem. Alexander’s first move was to order up the siege engines,
intending to batter the defences and force an entrance through the breaches, as and wherever they were made; but he soon observed something which induced him to change his tactics. A stream ran through the town, but there was water in it only in winter; now it was dry, and in each of its several channels, at the points where they emerged, its bed was below the base of the surrounding wall, leaving just room enough for men to crawl through and so get into the town. Alexander, therefore, while the enemy’s attention was engaged by the siege engines and the attempted assault within their sector, ordered the Guards, the archers, the Agrianes, and his personal guard to hold themselves in readiness, and himself, with a few men only, crept unobserved by the dried-up water-course, under the wall, into the town. Once inside he broke open the nearest gates and admitted the rest of the troops without difficulty.

The enemy saw that the town was already taken; none the less they turned to fight and fell furiously upon Alexander’s men. Alexander himself received a violent blow from a stone upon his head and neck; Craterus was wounded by an arrow, and many other officers were hurt. But in spite of strong opposition they cleared the centre of the town, while at the same time the assault on the outer defences was equally successful; the defenders were all driven off and the wall was taken without further resistance.

The enemy force in this town amounted to about 15,000 fighting men; of these, in the first phase of the operations about 8,000 were killed. The rest took refuge in the central fortress. Alexander stationed troops all round the fortress, and kept a close watch on the fugitives. After one day they surrendered for lack of water.

The seventh town was taken without trouble. In this
case, however, accounts differ: Ptolemy says they surrendered; Aristobulus that the place was stormed and everyone in it massacred. Ptolemy also states that Alexander distributed the prisoners among the various units of his army with orders that they should be kept bound and under constant supervision all the time he should remain in that part of the country; not one, in fact, who had taken part in the revolt was to be allowed his liberty.

About this time a force of Asian Scythians arrived at the Tanais. Most of them had heard that some of the tribes beyond the river had declared their hostility to Alexander and intended to join in an attack upon the Macedonians in the event of a serious rising. A report also came in that Spitamenes was blockading the troops which had been left behind in the fortress of Marakanda. To meet this situation, Andromachus, Menedemus, and Caranus were dispatched with a force consisting of sixty Companions, 800 of Caranus’ mercenaries, and some 1,500 mercenary infantry. Pharnuches the interpreter was attached to the troops: he was a Lycian, thoroughly familiar with the language of this part of the country, and had often shown a skilful touch in dealing with the natives.

Alexander spent twenty days on the work of fortifying the site of his proposed new town and arranging for the settlement there of any Greek mercenaries and neighbouring tribesmen who expressed a wish to avail themselves of the opportunity, and also of a number of Macedonians no longer fit for active service.
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To mark the occasion, after his customary religious observances he held games, with athletic and equestrian contests.

Meanwhile the Scythians made no move to leave the Tanais. The river was not broad at that point; they could be seen shooting arrows into the water, and heard calling
out, in their barbarous way, insulting remarks to Alexander and boasting that he would never dare to lay a finger upon men like them – or, if he did, that he would soon find out the difference between Scythians and Asiatic savages. To Alexander such an exhibition was most annoying, so he proposed to cross the river and deal with them as they deserved. The skin floats were being prepared for the crossing when he found that the omens, at the preliminary sacrifice, were against him. In spite of his vexation, he nevertheless made the best of it and abandoned the enterprise. The Scythians, however, continuing their insufferable behaviour, he sacrificed again; but this time, too, Aristander the seer declared that the omens portended danger. Thereupon Alexander replied that it was better to face the worst of perils than for the conqueror of nearly all Asia to make himself ridiculous to a pack of Scythians – as Darius, the father of Xerxes, had done long ago.
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None the less, Aristander refused to misinterpret the divine prediction merely because Alexander wished it otherwise.
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When all the skin floats were ready and the army in full equipment drawn up on the river-bank, the catapults, at the word of command, opened up on the Scythians who were riding along the edge of the water on the further side. Some of them were hit; one was pierced through both shield and breastplate and fell dead from his horse. The Scythians were taken completely aback by the long range of the catapults, and that, together with the loss of a good man, induced them to withdraw a short distance from the river, whereupon Alexander, seeing their consternation, ordered the trumpets to sound and himself led
the way over the water, followed by his men. First to be put ashore were the archers and slingers, who were then ordered to open up on the enemy to prevent them from closing on the main infantry units before the mounted troops were all safely over; then, as soon as every man was across and the army massed on the river-bank, a regiment of mercenaries and four squadrons of lancers were ordered forward to lead the attack. The Scythians met the challenge; their numbers were for the moment superior; they made circles round the small attacking force, shooting as they rode, and then galloped off to a safe distance. At this Alexander ordered an advance by a mixed force consisting of the cavalry together with the archers, the Agrianes, and the other light troops under Balacrus, and, when they were almost within striking distance, gave the word for three regiments of the Companions and all the mounted javelin-men to charge, while he himself at the head of the remaining cavalry came on at the gallop with his squadrons in column.
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This effectually put a stop to the enemy’s circling movements; the Macedonian cavalry, with the light troops mixed with it in close support, was now right on top of them, and it was no longer possible for them to repeat their former manœuvre without the certainty of destruction. Indeed, from this moment they were well and truly beaten; in their attempt to get away, about 1,000 were killed, including Satraces, one of their commanders, and some 150 were made prisoner.

The rapid pursuit, in the great heat, was exhausting; every man suffered acutely from thirst, and Alexander
himself, as he rode, was forced to drink whatever water he could find. Unfortunately it was not pure, and gave him a severe attack of dysentery. This proved the salvation of some, at any rate, of the Scythians; for had not Alexander had this trouble, I do not think a single one of them would have escaped with his life.

Alexander did, in fact, become very seriously ill, and was carried back to camp – so Aristander was a true prophet after all.

Not long after this Alexander was visited by an embassy from the Scythian King. Its purpose was to offer an explanation of what had occurred and to make it clear that the recent incident was merely a casual raid by a pack of brigands and in no sense the deliberate policy of the Scythian State. The King, moreover, was willing to carry out such instructions as Alexander might give him. Alexander returned a polite answer, for the situation was an awkward one: clearly it was his duty to continue the campaign if he distrusted the protestations of the King; but, at the same time, the moment was not propitious for doing so.

The Macedonian garrison,
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beset in the fortress at Marakanda, in reply to an attempted assault by Spitamenes made a successful sortie, killing a number of the enemy without loss to themselves; they then resumed their position in the fortress. Then, when it was reported to Spitamenes that the troops which Alexander had dispatched to the town were already near, he abandoned his siege and withdrew to the capital of the district. Pharnuches and the officers with him, pressing on with all speed with the intention of getting him right out of the country, followed his withdrawal towards the frontier of Sogdiana, and in the course of the pursuit came to blows with the Nomad Scythians. This wholly unpremeditated
action had serious consequences: for Spitamenes, having now an accession to his force of some 600 Scythian mounted men, was emboldened by this unexpected assistance to stand and take the offensive. He took up a position on level ground near the Scythian desert, then, at the approach of the Macedonians, with whom he had no intention of risking a close engagement, he dispatched his cavalry to gallop round the Macedonian infantry formations, discharging their arrows as they rode. Pharnuches’ men attempted to charge, but to no purpose; the enemy, on their swifter horses, were out of range in a moment. Their horses, moreover, were fresh, while those of Andromachus’ men were in poor condition from long, forced marches and inadequate feeding. The Macedonians tried now to stand their ground, now to withdraw; but all to no effect: in either case the weight of the Scythian cavalry was too much for them. Many were wounded, some killed, until finally the officers formed the men into a square and withdrew to the river Polytimetus. Near the river there was a little wood, which would give some cover against the enemy’s arrows and at the same time enable them to make better use of their own infantry.

Caranus, who was in command of the cavalry, without a word to Andromachus of his intention, attempted to cross the river to get his men and horses into safety; the infantry without orders promptly followed suit, scrambling down the steep bank into the water in a panic-stricken and disorderly rabble. The Scythians soon turned this fatal error to their own advantage: galloping up from all directions, they plunged into the stream; some rode hard on the heels of the Macedonians already across and trying to get away; others confronted the fugitives in mid-stream and dragged them down; or flung themselves upon those not yet in the water, while all the time from
the flanks showers of arrows were poured in. The Macedonians were helpless, and all who survived took refuge on a small island in the river; but this did not save them, for Spitamenes’ cavalry and the Scythians surrounded the island and shot them down to a man. The few prisoners taken were promptly butchered.