3§ A R B E L A. 
together made up a million: arid Judin gives us exactly 
half Diodorus’s number. 
Upon receiving notice of thevaft ftrength of the enemy, 
Alexander cxprefled neither furprife nor apprehenfion; 
but, having commanded a halt, he encamped four days, 
to give his men reft and refrefhment. His camp being for¬ 
tified by a good entrenchment, he left in it the fick. and 
infirm, together with all the baggage; and, on the even¬ 
ing of the fourth day, prepared to march againft the ene¬ 
my with the effective part of his army, which was faid to 
eonfift of 40,000 infantry and 7000 horfe, unincumbered 
with any thing but their provifions and armour. The 
march was undertaken at the fecond watch of the night, 
that the Macedonians, by joining battle in the morning, 
might enjoy the important advantage of having an entire 
day before them, to reap the full fruits of their expected 
victory. About half wjty between the hoftile camps, fome 
eminences intercepted the view of either army. Having 
afcended the rifing ground, Alexander firft beheld the 
Perfian army drawn up in battle array, and perhaps more 
fkilfully marfhalled than he had reafon to apprehend. 
Their appearance, at lead, immediately determined him to 
change his firft resolution. He again commanded a halt, 
l'ummoned a council of war; and, different meafures be¬ 
ing propofed, acceded to the (ingle opinion of Parmenio, 
who advifed that the foot fhould remain ftationary until a 
detachment of horfe had explored the field of battle, and 
carefully examined the difpofiti'on of the enemy. Alex¬ 
ander, whofe conduct was equalled by his courage, and 
both furpaffed by his activity, performed thofe important 
duties in perfon at the head of his light horfe and royal 
cohort. Having returned with unexampled celerity, he 
again aftembled his captains, and encouraged them by a 
fhcrt fpeech. Their ardour correfponded with his own ; 
and the foldiers, confident of vi&ory, were commanded 
to take reft and refrelhment. 
Meanwhile Darius, perceiving the enemy’s approach, 
kept his men prepared for a&ion. Notwithftanding the 
great length of the plain, he was obliged to contract his 
front, and form in two lines, each of which was extremely 
deep. According to the Perfian cuftom, the king occu¬ 
pied the centre of the firft line, furround&d by the princes 
of the blood and the great officers of his court, and de¬ 
fended by his horfe and foot guards, amounting to 15,000 
chofen men. Thefe fplendid troops, who feemed fitter for 
parade than battle, were flanked on either fide by the 
Greek mercenaries and other warlike battalions, carefully 
feletled from the whole army. The right wing confided 
of the Medes, Parthians, Hyrcanians, and Sacae; the left 
was chiefly occupied by the Badlrians, Perfians, and Car- 
dufians. The various nations compofing this immenfe hoft 
were differently armed, with fwords, fpears, clubs, and 
hatchets; while the horfe and foot of each divifion were 
promifcuoufly blended, rather from the refult of accident 
than by the direction of defign. The armed chariots fronted 
the firft line, whofe centre was farther defended by the 
elephants. Chofen fquadrons of Scythian, Badtrian, and- 
Cappadocian, cavalry, advanced before either wing, pre¬ 
pared to bring on the adtion, or after it began to attack 
the enemy in flank and rear. The unexpedted approach 
of Alexander within fight of his tents prevented Darius 
from fortifying the wide extent of his camp ; and, as he 
dreaded a nodturnal affault from enemies who often veiled 
their defigns in darknefs, he commanded his men to re- 
.inain all night under arms. This unufual meafure, the 
gloomy filence, the longand anxious expedition, together 
with the fatigue of a reftlefs night, difcouraged the whole 
army, but infpired double terror into thofe who had wit- 
tiefled the miferable difafters on the banks of the Granicus 
and the Ifl'us. 
At day-break Alexander difpofed his troops in a manner 
fuggefted by the fuperior numbers and deep order of the 
enemy. His main body confided in two heavy-armed pha¬ 
lanxes, each amounting to above 1 6,000 men. Of thefe 
ihe greater part formed into one line j behind which he 
placed the heavy-armed men, reinforced by his targeteers, 
with orders, that when the out-fpreading wings of the ene¬ 
my prepared to attack the flanks and rear of his firft line, 
the fecond fhould immediately wheel to receive them. The 
cavalry and light infantry were fo difpofed on the wings, 
that, while one part refilled the fhock of the Perfians in 
front, another, by only facing to the right or left, might 
take them in flank. Skilful archers and darters were poll¬ 
ed at proper intervals, as affording the bed defence againft 
the armed chariots, which (as Alexander well knew) muff 
immediately become ufelefs whenever their conduftors or 
horfes were wounded. 
Having thus arranged the feveral parts, Alexander with 
equal judgment led the whole in an oblique direction to¬ 
wards the enemy’s left; a manoeuvre which enabled the 
Macedonians to avoid contending at once with fuperior 
numbers. When his advanced battalions, notwithftand¬ 
ing their nearnefs to the enemy, (till ftretched towards the 
right, Darius alfo extended his left, till, fearing that by 
continuing this movement his men fhould be drawn gra¬ 
dually off the plain, he commanded the Scythian fquad¬ 
rons to advance, and prevent the farther extenfion of the 
hoftile line. Alexander immediately detached a body of 
horfe to oppofe them. An equeftrian combat enfued, in 
which both parties were reinforced, and the Perfians finally 
repelled. The armed chariots then iffued forth with im¬ 
petuous violence; but their appearance only was formi¬ 
dable ; for the precautions taken by Alexander rendered 
their affault harmlefs. Darius next moved his main body, 
but with fo little order, that the horfe, mixed with the 
infantry, advanced, and left a vacuity in the line, which, 
his generals wanted time or vigilance to fupply. Alex¬ 
ander feized the decifive moment, and penetrated into the 
void with a wedge of fquadrons. He was followed by the 
neareft feelions of the phalanx, who rufhed forward with 
loud fhouts, as if they had already purfued the enemy. In- 
this part of the field, the victory was not long doubtful : 
after a feeble refiftance the Perfians gave way; and the ptt- 
fillanimous Darius was foremoft in the flight. 
The battle, however, was not yet decided. The more 
remote divifions of the phalanx, upon receiving intelli¬ 
gence that the left wing, commanded by Parmenio, was 
in danger, had not immediately followed Alexander. A 
vacant fpace was thus left in the Macedonian line, through 
which fome fquadrons of Perfian and Indian horfe pene¬ 
trated with celerity, and advanced to the hoftile camp. 
It was then that Alexander derived fignal and well-earned 
advantages from his judicious order of battle. The hea¬ 
vy-armed troops and targeteers, which he had fkilfully 
ported behind the phalanx, fpeedily faced about, advan¬ 
ced with a rapid ftep, and attacked the enemy’s cavalry,, 
already entangled among the baggage. The enemy, thus 
furprifed, were deftroyed or put to flight. Meanwhile, 
the danger of his left wing recalled Alexander from the 
purfuit of Darius, In advancing againft the enemy’s right,- 
he was-met by the Parthian, Indian, and Perfian, horfe, 
who maintained a fliarp conflict. Sixty of the Companions 
fell; Heplueftion, Ccenus, and Menidas, were wounded. 
Having at length diffipated this cloud of cavalry, Alexan¬ 
der prepared to attack the foot in that wing. But the 
bufinefs was already effected, chiefly by the Theffalian 
horfe ; and nothing remained to be done, but to purfue the 
fugitives, and to render the victory as decifive as poffible. 
According to the leaf! extravagant accounts, with the 
lofs of 500 men he deftroyed 40,000 of the Perfian army, 
who never thenceforth afferribled in fufficient numbers to 
difpute his dominion in the Eaft. The invaluable pro¬ 
vinces of Babylonia, Sufiana, and Perfis,. with their refpeef- 
ive capitals of Babylon,. Sufa, and Perfepolis, formed the 
prize of his fkill and valour. The geld and filver found 
in thofe cities amounted to thirty millions fterling; the 
jewels and other precious fpoil, belonging to Darius, fuf- 
ficed, according to Plutarch, to load 20,000 mules and 5000 
camels. The confequences of this viftory the reader will 
find narrated under the article Persia. 
AR'BERG,- 
