The Project Gutenberg eBook ofThe Anabasis of AlexanderThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: The Anabasis of AlexanderAuthor: ArrianTranslator: Edward James ChinnockRelease date: September 27, 2014 [eBook #46976]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Stephen Rowland, Turgut Dincerand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from imagesgenerously made available by The Internet Archive)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANABASIS OF ALEXANDER ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: The Anabasis of AlexanderAuthor: ArrianTranslator: Edward James ChinnockRelease date: September 27, 2014 [eBook #46976]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Stephen Rowland, Turgut Dincerand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from imagesgenerously made available by The Internet Archive)
Title: The Anabasis of Alexander
Author: ArrianTranslator: Edward James Chinnock
Author: Arrian
Translator: Edward James Chinnock
Release date: September 27, 2014 [eBook #46976]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Stephen Rowland, Turgut Dincerand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from imagesgenerously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANABASIS OF ALEXANDER ***
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
THEANABASIS OF ALEXANDER.
OR,
The History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH A COMMENTARY,FROM THE GREEK OF ARRIAN THE NICOMEDIAN,BYE. J. CHINNOCK, M.A., LL.B., LONDON,Rector of Dumfries Academy.
London:
HODDER AND STOUGHTON,27, PATERNOSTER ROW.MDCCCLXXXIV.
Butler & Tanner,The Selwood Printing Works,Frome, and London.
WhenI began this Translation, more than two years ago, I had no intention of publishing it; but as the work progressed, it occurred to me that Arrian is an Author deserving of more attention from the English-speaking races than he has yet received. No edition of his works has, so far as I am aware, ever appeared in England, though on the Continent many have been published. In the following Translation I have tried to give as literal a rendering of the Greek text as I could without transgressing the idioms of our own language. My theory of the duty of a Translator is, to give theipsissima verbaof his Author as nearly as possible, and not put into his mouth words which he never used, under the mistaken notion of improving his diction or his way of stating his case. It is a comparatively easy thing to give a paraphrase of a foreign work, presenting the general drift of the original; but no one, unless he has himself tried it, can understand the difficulty of translating a classical Author correctly without omission or mutilation.
In the Commentary which I have compiled, continual reference has been made to the other extant authorities on the history of Alexander, such as Diodorus, Plutarch, Curtius, Justin, and Aelian; so that I think I may safelyassert that, taking the Translation and the Notes together, the book forms a complete history of Alexander’s reign. Much geographical and other material has also been gathered from Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, and Ammianus; and the allusions to the places which are also mentioned in the Old Testament are given from the Hebrew.
As Arrian lived in the second century of the present era, and nearly five hundred years after Demosthenes, it is not to be expected that he wrote classical Greek. There are, however, at least a dozen valuable Greek authors of this century whose works are still extant, and of these it is a safe statement to make, that Arrian is the best of them all, with the single exception of Lucian. I have noticed as many of his deviations from Attic Greek constructions as I thought suitable to a work of this kind. A complete index of Proper Names has been added, and the quantities of the vowels marked for the aid of the English Reader. In the multiplicity of references which I have put into the Notes, I should be sanguine if I imagined that no errors will be found; but if such occur, I must plead as an excuse the pressure of work which a teacher in a large school experiences, leaving him very little energy for literary labour.
E. J. C.
DUMFRIES,December, 1883.
Life and Writings of Arrian
Arrian’s Preface
I. Death of Philip and Accession of Alexander.—His Wars with the Thracians
II. Battle with the Triballians
III. Alexander at the Danube and in the Country of the Getae
IV. Alexander destroys the City of the Getae.—The Ambassadors of the Celts
V. Revolt of Clitus and Glaucias
VI. Defeat of Clitus and Glaucias
VII. Revolt of Thebes (September,B.C.335)
VIII. Fall of Thebes
IX. Destruction of Thebes
X. Alexander’s Dealings with Athens
XI. Alexander crosses the Hellespont and visits Troy
XII. Alexander at the Tomb of Achilles.—Memnon’s advice Rejected by the Persian Generals
XIII. Battle of the Granicus (B.C. 334)
XIV. Arrangement of the Hostile Armies
XV. Description of the Battle of the Granicus
XVI. Defeat of the Persians.—Loss on Both Sides
XVII. Alexander in Sardis and Ephesus
XVIII. Alexander marches to Miletus and Occupies the Island of Lade
XIX. Siege and Capture of Miletus
XX. Siege of Halicarnassus.—Abortive Attack on Myndus
viiiXXI. Siege of Halicarnassus
XXII. Siege of Halicarnassus
XXIII. Destruction of Halicarnassus.—Ada, Queen of Caria
XXIV. Alexander in Lycia and Pamphylia
XXV. Treason of Alexander, Son of Aëropus
XXVI. Alexander in Pamphylia.—Capture of Aspendus and Side
XXVII. Alexander in Phrygia and Pisidia
XXVIII. Operations in Pisidia
XXIX. Alexander in Phrygia
I. Capture of Mitylene by the Persians.—Death of Memnon
II. The Persians capture Tenedus.—They are Defeated at Sea
III. Alexander at Gordium
IV. Conquest of Cappadocia.—Alexander’s Illness at Tarsus
V. Alexander at the Tomb of Sardanapalus.—Proceedings in Cilicia
VI. Alexander advances to Myriandrus.—Darius Marches against him
VII. Darius at Issus.—Alexander’s Speech to his Army
VIII. Arrangement of the Hostile Armies
IX. Alexander changes the Disposition of his Forces
X. Battle of Issus
XI. Defeat and Flight of Darius
XII. Kind Treatment of Darius’s Family
XIII. Flight of Macedonian Deserters into Egypt.—Proceedings of Agis, King of Sparta.—Alexander occupies Phoenicia
XIV. Darius’s Letter, and Alexander’s Reply
XV. Alexander’s Treatment of the Captured Greek Ambassadors.—Submission of Byblus and Sidon
XVI. The Worship of Hercules in Tyre.—The Tyrians refuse to admit Alexander
XVII. Speech of Alexander to his Officers
XVIII. Siege of Tyre.—Construction of a Mole from the Mainland to the Island
XIX. The Siege of Tyre
XX. Tyre Besieged by Sea as well as Land
ixXXI. Siege of Tyre
XXII. Siege of Tyre.—Naval Defeat of the Tyrians
XXIII. Siege of Tyre
XXIV. Capture of Tyre
XXV. The Offers of Darius rejected.—Batis, Governor of Gaza, refuses to Submit
XXVI. Siege of Gaza
XXVII. Capture of Gaza
I. Conquest of Egypt.—Foundation of Alexandria
II. Foundation of Alexandria.—Events in the Aegean
III. Alexander visits the Temple of Ammon
IV. The Oasis of Ammon
V. Settlement of the Affairs of Egypt
VI. March into Syria.—Alexander’s Kindness to Harpalus and his other early Adherents
VII. Passage of the Euphrates and Tigris
VIII. Description of Darius’s Army at Arbela
IX. Alexander’s Tactics.—His Speech to the Officers
X. Rejection of Parmenio’s Advice
XI. Tactics of the Opposing Generals
XII. Alexander’s Tactics
XIII. The Battle of Arbela
XIV. Battle of Arbela.—Flight of Darius
XV. Defeat of the Persians and Pursuit of Darius
XVI. Escape of Darius into Media.—March of Alexander to Babylon and Susa
XVII. Subjugation of the Uxians
XVIII. Defeat of Ariobarzanes and Capture of Persepolis
XIX. Darius pursued into Media and Parthia
XX. March through the Caspian Gates
XXI. Darius is Assassinated by Bessus
XXII. Reflections on the Fate of Darius
XXIII. Expedition into Hyrcania
XXIV. Expedition against the Mardians
XXV. March to Bactra.—Bessus aided by Satibarzanes
XXVI. Philotas and Parmenio put to Death
XXVII. Treatment of Amyntas.—The Ariaspians
xXXVIII. Alexander crosses the Hindu-Koosh
XXIX. Conquest of Bactria, and Pursuit of Bessus across the Oxus
XXX. Capture of Bessus.—Exploits in Sogdiana
I. Rebellion of the Sogdianians
II. Capture of Five Cities in Two Days
III. Storming of Cyropolis.—Revolt of the Scythians
IV. Defeat of the Scythians beyond the Tanais
V. Spitamenes destroys a Macedonian Detachment
VI. Spitamenes driven into the Desert
VII. Treatment of Bessus
VIII. The Murder of Clitus
IX. Alexander’s grief for Clitus
X. Dispute between Callisthenes and Anaxarchus
XI. Callisthenes Opposes the Proposal to honour Alexander by Prostration
XII. Callisthenes refuses to Prostrate himself
XIII. Conspiracy of the Pages
XIV. Execution of Callisthenes and Hermolaüs
XV. Alliance with the Scythians and Chorasmians
XVI. Subjugation of Sogdiana.—Revolt of Spitamenes
XVII. Defeat and Death of Spitamenes
XVIII. Oxyartes Besieged in the Sogdian Rock
XIX. Alexander Captures the Rock and Marries Roxana
XX. Magnanimous Treatment of the Family of Darius
XXI. Capture of the Rock of Chorienes
XXII. Alexander reaches the River Cabul, and Receives the Homage of Taxiles
XXIII. Battles with the Aspasians
XXIV. Operations against the Aspasians
XXV. Defeat of the Aspasians.—The Assacenians and Guraeans Attacked
XXVI. Siege of Massaga
XXVII. Sieges of Massaga and Ora
XXVIII. Capture of Bazira.—Advance to the Rock of Aornus
XXIX. Siege of Aornus
xiXXX. Capture of Aornus.—Arrival at the Indus
I. Alexander at Nysa
II. Alexander at Nysa
III. Incredulity of Eratosthenes.—Passage of the Indus
IV. Digression about India
V. Mountains and Rivers of Asia
VI. General Description of India
VII. Method of Bridging Rivers
VIII. March from the Indus to the Hydaspes
IX. Porus obstructs Alexander’s Passage
X. Alexander and Porus at the Hydaspes
XI. Alexander’s Stratagem to get across
XII. Passage of the Hydaspes
XIII. Passage of the Hydaspes
XIV. The Battle at the Hydaspes
XV. Arrangements of Porus
XVI. Alexander’s Tactics
XVII. Defeat of Porus
XVIII. Losses of the Combatants.—Porus Surrenders
XIX. Alliance with Porus.—Death of Bucephalas
XX. Conquest of the Glausians.—Embassy from Abisares.—Passage of the Acesines
XXI. Advance beyond the Hydraotes
XXII. Invasion of the Land of the Cathaeans
XXIII. Assault upon Sangala
XXIV. Capture of Sangala
XXV. The Army refuses to Advance.—Alexander’s Speech to the Officers
XXVI. Alexander’s Speech (continued)
XXVII. The Answer of Coenus
XXVIII. Alexander resolves to Return
XXIX. Alexander recrosses the Hydraotes and Acesines
I. Preparations for a Voyage down the Indus
II. Voyage down the Hydaspes
III. Voyage down the Hydaspes (continued)
IV. Voyage down the Hydaspes into the Acesines
V. Voyage down the Acesines
xiiVI. Campaign against the Mallians
VII. Campaign against the Mallians (continued)
VIII. Defeat of the Mallians at the river Hydraotes
IX. Storming of the Mallian Stronghold
X. Alexander dangerously Wounded
XI. Alexander Wounded
XII. Anxiety of the Soldiers about Alexander
XIII. Joy of the Soldiers at Alexander’s Recovery
XIV. Voyage down the Hydraotes and Acesines into the Indus
XV. Voyage down the Indus to the Land of Musicanus
XVI. Campaign against Oxycanus and Sambus
XVII. Musicanus Executed.—Capture of Patala
XVIII. Voyage down the Indus
XIX. Voyage down the Indus into the Sea
XX. Exploration of the Mouths of the Indus
XXI. Campaign against the Oritians
XXII. March through the Desert of Gadrosia
XXIII. March through the Desert of Gadrosia
XXIV. March through Gadrosia
XXV. Sufferings of the Army
XXVI. Alexander’s Magnanimous Conduct
XXVII. March through Carmania.—Punishment of Viceroys
XXVIII. Alexander in Carmania
XXIX. Alexander in Persis.—Tomb of Cyrus Repaired
XXX. Peucestas appointed Viceroy of Persis
I. Alexander’s Plans.—The Indian Philosophers
II. Alexander’s Dealings with the Indian Sages
III. Self-sacrifice of the Indian Calanus
IV. Marriages between Macedonians and Persians
V. The Soldiers Rewarded
VI. An Army of Asiatics Trained under the Macedonian Discipline
VII. Navigation of the Tigres
VIII. The Macedonians Offended at Alexander
IX. Alexander’s Speech
X. Alexander’s Speech (continued)
xiiiXI. Reconciliation between Alexander and his Army
XII. Ten Thousand Macedonians sent Home with Craterus.—Disputes between Antipater and Olympias
XIII. The Nisaean Plain.—The Amazons
XIV. Death of Hephaestion
XV. Subjugation of the Cossaeans.—Embassies from Distant Nations
XVI. Exploration of the Caspian.—The Chaldaean Soothsayers
XVII. The Advice of the Chaldees rejected
XVIII. Predictions of Alexander’s Death
XIX. Embassies from Greece.—Fleet prepared for Invading Arabia
XX. Description of Arabia.—Voyage of Nearchus
XXI. Description of the Euphrates and the Pallacopas
XXII. An Omen of Alexander’s Approaching Death
XXIII. The Army Recruited from the Persians.—Hephaestion’s Memory Honoured
XXIV. Another Omen of Alexander’s Death
XXV. Alexander Seized with Fever
XXVI. Alexander’s Death
XXVII. Rumour that Alexander was Poisoned
XXVIII. Character of Alexander
XXIX. Apology for Alexander’s Errors
XXX. Eulogy of Alexander
Index of Proper Names
Allwe know of Arrian is derived from the notice of him in theBibliothecaof Photius, who was Patriarch of Constantinople in the ninth century, and from a few incidental references in his own writings. We learn from Suidas that Dion Cassius wrote a biography of Arrian; but this work is not extant. Flavius Arrianus was born near the end of the first century of the Christian era, at Nicomedia, the capital of Bithynia. He became a pupil of the famous Stoic philosopher Epictetus, and afterwards went to Athens, where he received the surname of the “younger Xenophon,” from the fact that he occupied the same relation to Epictetus as Xenophon did to Socrates.1Not only was he called Xenophon by others, but he calls himself so inCynegeticus(v. 6); and inPeriplus(xii. 5; xxv. 1), he distinguishes Xenophon by the additionthe elder. Lucian (Alexander, 56) calls Arrian simplyXenophon. During the stay of the emperor Hadrian at Athens,A.D.126, Arrian gained his friendship. He accompanied his patron to Rome, where he received the Roman citizenship. In consequence of this, he assumed the name of Flavius.2In the same way the Jewish historian, Josephus, had been allowed by Vespasian and Titus to bear the imperial name Flavius.3
Photius says, that Arrian had a distinguished career in Rome, being entrusted with various political offices, and at last reaching the supreme dignity of consul underAntoninus Pius.4Previous to this he was appointed (A.D.132) by Hadrian, Governor of Cappadocia, which province was soon after invaded by the Alani, or Massagetae, whom he defeated and expelled.5When Marcus Aurelius came to the throne, Arrian withdrew into private life and returned to his native city, Nicomedia. Here, according to Photius, he was appointed priest to Demeter and Persephone. He died in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
The earlier literary efforts of Arrian were philosophical. After the expulsion of the philosophers from Rome, by Domitian, Epictetus delivered his lectures at Nicopolis, in Epirus, where it is probable that Arrian was his pupil.
I. These lectures were published by Arrian, under the title ofDiscourses of Epictetus, in eight books, the first four only of which have come down to us. He tells us himself in the introduction to this work, that he strove as far as possible to preserve the very words of his teacher as mementoes of his method of reasoning and diction. Gellius (xix. 1) speaks of a fifth book of these Discourses.
II. He also compiledThe Enchiridion of Epictetus, an abstract of the philosophy of Epictetus, which is still extant. This manual of the Stoic moral philosophy was very popular, both among Pagans and Christians, for many centuries.
III. Another work by Arrian, in twelve books, distinct from the above, is mentioned by Photius under the title of “Ὁμιλίαι Ἐπικτήτου”, orFriendly Conversations with Epictetus. Of this only a few fragments survive.
IV. Another lost work of Arrian on the life and death of Epictetus is mentioned by Simplicius in the beginning of his Commentary on the Enchiridion.
V. Besides editing these philosophical works, Arrianwrote many original books. By far the most important of these is theAnabasis of Alexander, or the History of Alexander the Great’s Campaigns. This is one of the most authentic and accurate of historical works. Though inspired with admiration for his hero, the author evinces impartiality and freedom from hero-worship. He exhibits great literary acuteness in the choice of his authorities and in sifting evidence. The two chief sources from which he drew his narrative were the histories written by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, and Aristobulus, son of Aristobulus, both of whom were officers in Alexander’s army. Other authorities quoted by Arrian himself were:—Eratosthenes, Megasthenes, Nearchus, Aristus, and Asclepiades. He also made use of Alexander’s letters, which he mentions five times;6only once, however, quoting the exact words of the writer. The last authority which he mentions, is theRoyal Diarykept by Eumenes, of Cardia, the private secretary of Philip as well as of Alexander, and by the historian Diodotus, of Erythrae. It is used by Arrian only once,7as it is by Plutarch.8
VI. The work namedIndica, is a description of India, and was usually united in manuscripts with the Anabasis, as an eighth book. Though it may be looked upon as a supplement to the Anabasis, Arrian often refers in the one work to the other.9From this we may infer that the author wished theIndicato be considered a distinct book from the Anabasis; and from the remark in Anab. v. 1, it is clear that it was composed after the Anabasis. This book is written in the Ionic dialect, like the History of Herodotus and the Indica of Ctesias. The latter untrustworthy book Arrian wished to supplantby his own narrative, principally based on the works of Megasthenes and Nearchus.
VII. Photius mentions among Arrian’s historical works:—The Events after Alexander, in ten books, which gives the history of Alexander’s successors. Photius (cod. 92) has preserved many extracts from this work.
VIII.Bithynicain eight books, a work often quoted by Eustathius in his commentaries to the Iliad and to Dionysius Periegetes. In regard to the contents of this book, Photius (cod. 93) says:—“The Bithynica commences from the mythical events of history and comes down as far as the death of the last Nicomedes, who at his death bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans, who had never been ruled by a king after the expulsion of Tarquin.”
IX.Parthica, in seventeen books. See Photius (cod. 58).
X.History of the Alani. See Photius (cod. 93). Only fragments of this and theParthicaremain.
XI. Besides the large works, we learn from Photius (cod. 93) that Arrian wrote the biographies of the Corinthian Timoleon and of the Syracusan Dion. Lucian (Alex. 2), also states that he wrote the life of Tilliborus, the notorious robber of Asia Minor.
XII. A valuable geographical work by Arrian has come down to us, called “Περίπλους πόντου Εὐξείνου,” a description of a voyage round the coasts of the Euxine. This naval expedition was executed by him as Governor of Cappadocia. The Alani, or, Albani of the East, a tribe related to the Massagetae, were threatening to invade his province, and he made this voyage with a view of fortifying the most important strategic points on the coast. From section 26 of the Periplus we find that this voyage must have taken place about the year 131 or 132A.D.; for the death of King Cotys II., noticedin that passage as just dead, is proved by Böckh’s investigations to have occurred in 131A.D.Two other geographical works,The Periplus of the Red SeaandThe Periplus of the Euxine, formerly ascribed to Arrian, are proved to belong to a later date.
XIII. A work onTactics, composed 137A.D.In many parts this book agrees nearly verbally with the larger work of Aelian on the same subject; but Leo Tacticus (vii. 85) expressly mentions the two works as distinct.
XIV.An Array of Battle against the Alani, is a fragment discovered in the seventeenth century in the Description of his Battles with the Alani, who invaded his province, probably 137A.D., as Arrian had previously feared.10
XV. A small work by Arrian on the Chase, forms a supplement to Xenophon’s book on the same subject. It is entitledCynegeticus of Arrian or the second Xenophon the Athenian.
The best editions of the Anabasis are the following:—Theeditio princepsby Trincavelli, Venice, 1535; Gerbel, Strassburg, 1539; Henri Estienne, 1575; N. Blancardus, Amsterdam, 1668; J. Gronovius, Leyden, 1704; G. Raphelius, Amsterdam, 1757; A. C. Borkeck, Lemgovia, 1792; F. Schmieder, Leipzig, 1798; Tauchnitz edition, Leipzig, 1818; J. O. Ellendt, Königsberg, 1832; C. W. Krüger, Berlin, 1835; F. Dübner, Paris, 1846; K. Abicht, Leipzig, 1871.
I haveadmitted into my narrative as strictly authentic all the statements relating to Alexander and Philip which Ptolemy, son of Lagus,11and Aristobulus, son of Aristobulus,12agree in making; and from those statements which differ I have selected that which appears to me the7more credible and at the same time the more deserving of record. Different authors have given different accounts of Alexander’s life; and there is no one about whom more have written, or more at variance with each other. But in my opinion the narratives of Ptolemy and Aristobulus are more worthy of credit than the rest; Aristobulus, because he served under king Alexander in his expedition, and Ptolemy, not only because he accompanied Alexander in his expedition, but also because he was himself a king afterwards, and falsification of facts would have been more disgraceful to him than to any other man. Moreover, they are both more worthy of credit, because they compiled their histories after Alexander’s death, when neither compulsion was used nor reward offered them to write anything different from what really occurred. Some statements made by other writers I have incorporated in my narrative, because they seemed to me worthy of mention and not altogether improbable; but I have given them merely as reports of Alexander’s proceedings. And if any man wonders why, after so many other men have written of Alexander, the compilation of this history came into my mind, after perusing13the narratives of all the rest, let him read this of mine, and then wonder (if he can).
THE ANABASIS OF ALEXANDER.
Death of Philip and Accession of Alexander.—His Wars with the Thracians.
Itis said that Philip died14when Pythodemus was archon at Athens,15and that his son Alexander,16being then9about twenty years of age, marched into Peloponnesus17as soon as he had secured the regal power. There he assembled all the Greeks who were within the limits of Peloponnesus,18and asked from them the supreme command of the expedition against the Persians, an office which they had already conferred upon Philip. He received the honour which he asked from all except the Lacedaemonians,19who replied that it was an hereditary custom of theirs, not to follow others but to lead them. The Athenians also attempted to bring about some political change; but they were so alarmed at the very approach of Alexander, that they conceded to him even more ample public honours than those which had been bestowed upon Philip.20He then returned into Macedonia and busied himself in preparing for the expedition into Asia.
However, at the approach of spring (B.C.335), he marched towards Thrace, into the lands of the Triballians and Illyrians,21because he ascertained that these nations were meditating a change of policy; and at the same time, as they were lying on his frontier, he thought it inexpedient, when he was about to start on a campaign so far away from his own land, to leave them behind himwithout being entirely subjugated. Setting out then from Amphipolis, he invaded the land of the people who were called independent Thracians,22keeping the city of Philippi and mount Orbelus on the left. Crossing the river Nessus,23they say he arrived at mount Haemus24on the tenth day. Here, along the defiles up the ascent to the mountain, he was met by many of the traders equipped with arms, as well as by the independent Thracians, who had made preparations to check the further advance of his expedition by seizing the summit of the Haemus, along which was the route for the passage of his army. They had collected their waggons, and placed them in front of them, not only using them as a rampart from which they might defend themselves, in case they should be forced back, but also intending to let them loose upon the phalanx of the Macedonians, where the mountain was most precipitous, if they tried to ascend. They had come to the conclusion25that the denser the phalanx was with which the waggons rushing down came into collision, the more easily would they scatter it by the violence of their fall upon it.
But Alexander formed a plan by which he might cross the mountain with the least danger possible; and since he was resolved to run all risks, knowing that there were no means of passing elsewhere, he ordered the heavy-armed soldiers, as soon as the waggons began to rush down the declivity, to open their ranks, and directed that those whom the road was sufficiently wide to permitto do so should stand apart, so that the waggons might roll through the gap; but that those who were hemmed in on all sides should either stoop down together or even fall flat on the ground, and lock their shields compactly together, so that the waggons rushing down upon them, and in all probability by their very impetus leaping over them, might pass on without injuring them. And it turned out just as Alexander had conjectured and exhorted. For some of the men made gaps in the phalanx, and others locked their shields together. The waggons rolled over the shields without doing much injury, not a single man being killed under them. Then the Macedonians regained their courage, inasmuch as the waggons, which they had excessively dreaded, had inflicted no damage upon them. With a loud cry they assaulted the Thracians. Alexander ordered his archers to march from the right wing in front of the rest of the phalanx, because there the passage was easier, and to shoot at the Thracians where they advanced. He himself took his own guard, the shield-bearing infantry and the Agrianians,26and led them to the left. Then the archers shot at the Thracians who sallied forward, and repulsed them; and the phalanx, coming to close fighting, easily drove away from their position men who were light-armed and badly equipped barbarians. The consequence was, they no longer waited to receive Alexander marching against them from the left, but casting away their arms they fled down the mountain as each man best could. About 1,500 of them were killed; but only a few were taken prisoners on account of their swiftness of foot and acquaintance with the country. However, all the women who were accompanying them were captured, as were also their children and all their booty.