ALRZANDP.R III. 



AI.KXANDKH III. 



Ill 



was rewarded with the liUe of 

 thootsge of wbwh is the meet 

 Md out to the la* under the c 

 As the winter wa* approaching, 

 of having to eeooor another 1 



familie* in Macedonia, oo cooditt. 

 with the muforeem* 

 detachment oft 



of rariag 



dottta. A 



Oarla ; but Haliearoasras, 

 U event of this campaign, 

 of Mwnnon, bat wa* taken, 

 ander bad DO apprehension 

 my during UiU sissnn, he 

 spend the winter with their 

 r returning at the beginning 

 were to be levied in Maee- 

 rlei of the army, which had 

 reek*, WM allowed under 

 er* in the pUius of Lydia, 

 t of Lyoia, From Pbawlii 

 oast to Painphylia, took the 

 ng hi* way through tho 



ben grrally increased by the Asi 

 Parowaio to Uke up their winter 

 Abxander bimwlf marched along U 

 b* cboM U>* road along thi* danger 

 towns of Perga, Side, tod Aspondu*, 



mountains of PWdfa, which were inhabited by"harbarou* tribes, into 

 Phrygia, be pitched hi* camp near Oordium, on the river Sangarius. 

 Here he dexterously availed himself of a prophecy which in the eyes 

 of tbo credulous made him appear as the man called by the Deity u 

 rule over Asia. The acrorolia of Gordium contained the Gordian 

 knot by which the yoke and collars of the horses were fastened to the 

 pole of the chariot. Tho sovereignty of Asia was promised to him 

 who should be able to untie this complicated knot. After vainly 

 attempting to untie the knot, Alexander relieved himself from his 

 difficulty by cutting it, according to one account ; but the particulars 

 of the story vary. It was considered however that he had fulfilled 

 tho oracle, and the general opinion was confirmed by a storm of 

 thunder and lightning. 



In tho spring of the year B.C. 338, the various detachments 

 assembled at GorJium. Together with those who returned from 

 their visit to their homes, there came from Macedonia and Greece 

 3000 foot, 300 horse, and 200 ThessalUns, and ISO allies from Elis. 

 Alexander led his army along the southern foot of the Paphlagouian 

 Mountains to Ancyra, received the assurance of the submission of the 

 Paphlagonians, and crossing the river Halys entered Cappodocia. 

 Satisfied with making himself master of the south-western part of 

 thu province, be directed his march southward to the Cilician Gates, 

 or one of the mountain panes which led over Taurus from Cappadocia 

 into Cilicia, and proceeded as far as Tarsus on the Cydnus. Here his 

 life wa* endangered by a fever which attacked him cither in conse- 

 quence of his great exertions, or, according to other accounts, in 

 consequence of having bathed in the cold water of the river Cydnus ; 

 but the skill of bis physician Philip, an Acarnanian, soon restored 

 him to health. The possession of Cilicia was of the greatest import- 

 ance to him on account of the communication with Asia Minor. 

 While therefore Parmenio occupied tho Syrian Gates or pass in the 

 south-eastern corner of Cilicia, Alexander compelled the western parts 

 of tho country to submission. About the time that bis conquests in 

 thu part were completed, he received intelligence of king Darius 

 having a si am bled an immense force near the Syrian town of Sochi. 

 The Persian king had now lost the ablest msn in hit service. Mem- 

 non, who after the taking of Halicarnaaius had fled to Cos, and with 

 bis powerful fleet had gained possession of nearly the whole of the 

 <Kgrn, died at the moment when he was on the point of sailing to ! 

 Euocca ; a movement by which Alexander would perhaps have been 

 compelled to give up for the present all thoughts of Eastern conquests. i 

 Darius had levied all the force* that his extensive empire could fur- , 

 nisli, hoping to crush the invaders by his numerical superiority. , 

 Though be posoeased no military talent, he commanded his own army, ' 

 which U said to have consisted of 00,000 or 600,000 men, among 



dus in Syria. Darius left his favourable position in tbo wide plain of 

 Sochi, contrary to the advice of Amyntas, a Greek deserter, and 

 entered tho narrow plain of Issus, east of the little river Pinarus. 

 By this movement he was in the rear of Alexander's army, who had 

 left behind him at Issus those who were unfit for further K. 

 Darius had probably been led to this unfortunate step by tho U-li.-f 

 that the long stay of Alexander in Cilicia was the result of fear. 

 The Macedonians at Issus foil into the hands of the Persians, and 

 were treated cruelly. Darius now hastened to attack Alexander, 

 apprehending that be might make his escape; but Alexander, without 

 waiting for the approach of Darius, returned by the same road by 

 which he had come. The armies met in tho narrow and uneven plain 

 of the river Pinarus a position most unfavourable to the unv. 

 mtsocs of the Persians. The contest began at day-break, in the 

 autumn of the year B.C. 833. Notwithstanding the groat resistance of 

 the enemy, especially of tho 30,000 Greek mercenaries, Alexander, 

 towards the end of the day, gained a complete victory. The number 

 of the slain on the part of the Persians was prodigious ; the loss of 

 the Macedonians is stated to have been very small As soon as 

 Darius saw bis left wing routed he took to flight, and was followed by 

 the whole army. The Fenian king escaped across tho Euphrates by 

 the ford at Thapsacus. His chariot, cloak, shield, and bow were after- 

 wards found in a narrow defile through which he bad fled; hU 

 mother, Sisygambis, his wife Stutira, and her children, fell into the 

 hnnds of Alexander, who treated them with the utmost respect and 

 delicacy. The booty which Alexander made after this victory was 

 very great, but yet was insignificant compared with the treasures 

 which Parmenio found at Damascus, whither they had bean carried by 

 the Persians before they left the plain of .Sochi. 



The Persian army was now dispersed, the Greek mercenaries had 

 fled, and Asia was thrown open to the invader. For the present 

 Alexander did not think it necessary to penetrate into the interior : 

 ho wished first to make himself complete master of tho coasts of the 

 Mediterranean. He therefore advanced into Phoenicia, where all the 

 towns opened their gates. Tyre alone, which was situated on an island 

 about half a mile from the main land, and was strongly fortified by 

 lofty walls, for some time checked his progress, and it was not till after 

 the lapse of seven mouths (about August of the year B.c. 332) that he 

 succeeded in taking the city by constructing a causeway to connect 

 the island with the continent, and by tho use of a fleet which had been 

 furnished him by other Phoenician towns and by Cyprus. The cause- 

 way of Alexander still remains, and Tyre is now part of the main land. 

 The obstinacy of the Tynans, the immense exertion and expense which 

 their resistance rendered necessary, and the cruelty with wlu'ch they 

 had treated the Macedonians who full into their hands, were followed 

 by the most fearful revenge : 8000 Tyrious were put to death, and all 

 the rest of the population sold into slavery ; the highest magistrates 

 alone and some Carthaginian ambassadors were spared, who hod taken 

 refuge iu the temple of Hercules. The city itself was not destroyed, 

 but received a new population consisting of Phoenicians and Cypn.m* ; 

 and Alexander, who knew the importance of the place, encouraged 

 the revival of its commerce and prosperity. 



During the siege of Tyre, Darius had sent to Alexander with pro- 

 posals of peace, but the humiliation of the Persian king only convinced 

 Alexander of his weakness. All the proposals of Darius were rejected 

 with the declaration that the Persian king must petition and app.- u- 

 in person if he wished to ask for favour. During the siego of Tyre, 

 Alexander had also mode excursions with separate detachments of his 

 army against other towns of Syria and some Arab tribes about the 



I iom s Mosaic found it Pompeii, rappowd to rcprcicnt the Battle of !. 



Own wtre about 80,000 Greek mercenaries. Alexander I southern foot of Lebanon. In the autumn he proceeded with his army 

 from Tanu* aloof the Bey of IMUS to the town of Myrian- | southward along the coast of Palestine, and, according to Josephus, he 



