ALE 



Statim, th; captive queen of Darius : and this event de- 

 tained him, till he had viiitcd Syligajiibis, admiiiiiltrcd fuit- 

 aHc coiifolation, and penormoJ li-.c funeral ohfequics of the 

 dii.-c:i!"ed queen in tlie niofi; i'plendid and magnificent manner. 

 D-.'.rii'!, tlioiif;h his mindharbuurtd fufpicions oi'n diflionour- 

 able kind, that were eqiiiilly iinjiiH, was mucli gratified by 

 tlie tokens of rtfpoA which Alexander li;'.d rendered to lus 

 queen and family, and renewed propofitioiis of peace; On a 

 Former occafion,' during the fiego of Tyre, he had made very 

 advantageous propof:il?, whieli Parmeiiio willied him to ac- 

 cept ; declaring, that he would agree to them if he were 

 Alexander. " And fo would I," replied Alexander, " were 

 I Parmenio." Darius now offered him all the pro- 

 \Hi\ces between the Euphrates and the Hellefpont : but 

 Alexander had more extenfive views in his career of glory 

 and ambition. Darius prepared for battle, and pitched his 

 camp near a village called Gaugamela, in a plain at fomc dif- 

 tancefrom Arbela. Alexander, at the fight of his formida- 

 ble army, confultcd foothfayer?, offered up viftims to Fear, 

 and joined in prayers addrcfTcd to Jupiter, Minerva, and 

 Viftory. Thefe ceremonies being ended, he went to bed, 

 and flept foundly through the whole night. Parmenio 

 awaked him in the morning, and exprefling his furprife that 

 he fliould be able to fletp fo calmly, jufl as he was going to 

 fight a battle in which his whole fortune was at ftake : 

 Alexander addrefled him — " Kow could it be poffible for us 

 not to be calm, lince the enemy is coming to deliver himfclf 

 into our hands I" The army of Darius confifted of 6oo,oco 

 foot, and 40,000 horfe ; fonie fay of upwards of a milUion of 

 men: bu^ that of Alexander of no more than 40,000 foot, 

 and 7 or 8000 horfe. The Perfians were totally routed : 

 Parmenio, who was in great danger, was refcued by Alex- 

 ander in perfon ; and they both joined in the purfuit of Da- 

 rius, and, pafiing the river Lycus, marched to Babylon, 

 which was inftantly delivered by Mazseus, the governor, into 

 his hands. According to Arrian, the Perlianson this occa- 

 fion loll 300,000 men, befides thofe who were taken pri- 

 foners ; but the lofs of Alexander did not amount to more 

 than 1200 men. Such was the illue of this battle of Arbela, 

 fought in Oftober, B.C. 331, which decided the fate of 

 Aiia. 



From Babylon Alexander marched towards Sufa, where 

 he found treafures of various kinds, and of great value. 

 Here he left Darius's mother and children ; and having re- 

 duced the Uxii, whofe counti-y- lay near Sufa, and extended 

 to the frontiers of Perfia, he forced his way through the Per- 

 fian ftraits, and arrived at Perfepolis. Having deftroyedthe 

 royal palace, to which he and his companions in the feafon 

 of debauch and phrenfy, a;:d at the requeft of Thais the 

 courtezan, and Ptolemy's miftrefs, fct fire, and plundered 

 the city, he purfued Darius firft to Ecbatana, the capital of 

 Media, and then as far as Rhages, a city one day's journey 

 from the Cafpian ftraits. But his progrefs was interrupted 

 by the news of the death of this ill-fated and unhappy mo- 

 narch, who was murdered by a confpiracy of his own fub- 

 jcc\s. Having fettled the governinent of Parthia, he reduced 

 Hyrcania, difperfed the Mardi, took pofTeffion of Zadra- 

 carta, the capital of Hyrcania, where for 15 days he cele- 

 brated folemn games, and offered magnificent facrificesto the 

 gods of Greece, and then entered Aria, and reduced the 

 whole province to fubmiffion. 



The relaxed difcipline and unreflrained luxury which the 

 manners of the Perfians produced in an army flufhed with 

 fucccfs, terminated in faction and difcontcnt, and even in a 

 confpiracy againft the life of Alexander. Philotas, the fon 

 of Parmenio, was forced by torture to confefs his guilt, and 

 punilbed with death ; and his condemnation was foon foi- 



A L E 



lowed by the afTafTination of the father, at the age of 70 

 y;ars, and after a life faithfully anil zealoufly devoted to tjae 

 fervice of his prince. The death of both Parmenio and Phi- 

 lotas, upon a fufpicion of guilt, and without any dirert 

 proof, alienated the affedions of the army from Alexander, 

 and produced fuch a degree of diffatisfadion and difguft, 

 tiiat he fepnrated thofe who were difpofed to ledition Irom 

 others, and proceeded without further deljy to a6lion. Hav- 

 ing paffed through Drangania, Aiachofu, and the country 

 of the Arimafpi, all which fubmitted to his arms, he arrived 

 at a part of Mount Caucafue, called Paropamifus, where his 

 army endured much toil and hardlhip ; and where Beifus, 

 whom he was purfuing, had laid wafte the country, in order 

 to deprive him of provifions and forage. This Beifus was a 

 principal agent in procuring tlie death of Darius, and he had 

 afTumed the imperial purple, under the title of Artaxerxes. 

 Alexander having found an opening that led into Media, di- 

 refted a city to be built there, which he called Alexandria ; 

 and he alfo founded feveral other towns in its vicinity. 

 From hence he penetrated into Baftria, and took Aornos 

 and Bafli-a, the two ilrongeft. cities of the country : he then 

 paffed the river Oxus in purfuit of Beflus, who, although 

 deferted by 7 or 8000 Baftrl.uis, had withdrawn with a icvt 

 adherents over this river to Nautacus, a city ol Sogdiana. 

 Vv'hen Alexander arrived at a fmall city inhabited by the 

 Bkanchid.'e, he was guilty of an ac\ of favage cruelty, 

 which fixed an indelible llain on his memory. The fad:, 

 though omitted by Arrian, is related by Curtius (lib. vii. 

 c. 5. torn. ii. p. J20. Ed. Snakenb.) and referred to by 

 Strabo (lib. xiv. torn. ii. p. 787.). Here Beffus, defpoiledof 

 all the enfigns of royalty, and flripped even of his garments, 

 was brought in chains to Alexander ; who, having ordered 

 his nofe and ears to be cut off, delivered him up to Oxatres, 

 the brother of Darius, by whom he was fent to Ecbatana, 

 where he fuffered a cruel death : fomefay that he was cruci- 

 fied. Plutarch relates, that being faftened by his hmbs to 

 trees which were bent together, he was torn afunder by their 

 elaftic force, when they were allowed to return to their na- 

 tural pofition. 



Alexander purfued his march to Maracanda^ the capital of 

 Sogdiana, known by the modem name of Samarcand, and 

 by long and dangerous ftages advanced to the river laxartes, 

 erroneouHy called by Arrian, Curtius, and others, Tanais. 

 On the fide of this river he was furprifed by the barbarians, 

 who, rudiing fuddenly from their lurking holes in the moun- 

 tains, and fighting with bows and flings, killed many of the 

 Macedonians, and took others prifoners. The king himfelf 

 was wounded in the conflld ; but the barbarians were at 

 length overpowered and defeated with great flaughter. Soon 

 after this tranfadion he formed a treaty with the Abian Scy- 

 thians, who, from the time of Cyrus, had lived in freedom 

 and independence, and who were dlilinguiflied by the equa- 

 lity and liberty that fubfifted among them, and by their 

 love of poverty and jullice. Whilft he was forming a plan 

 for building a city on the river laxartes, in order to curb the 

 nations he had already conquered, and thofe he intended to 

 fubdue, he was diverted from the execution of his dcfign by 

 the revolt of the Sogdians and Badrians ; and, dirediag his 

 arms againft their combined forces, he took and dellroyed in 

 a few days feven of their cities. The capture of Cyropolis, 

 which was one cf them, and which was the greateft and moil 

 populous of the whole country, was vigoroufly refifted by 

 the inhabitants ; but it was at length taken, and razed to the 

 very foundations. In thefe different fieges the enemy are 

 faid to have loft above 120,000 men; and in one of them 

 Alexander, as well as Craterus and many of his principal of- 

 ficers, were wounded. Ke then returned to tire laxartes, 



marked 



