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  However, the Persians failed to capture this great city. A smaller Persian

  squadron of ten Phoenician ships under the command of Datames sailed in

  the opposite direction towards the Cyclades and lowered anchors by the

  shore of the island of Siphnos. On receiving news of this the Macedonian

  Proteas sailed with 15 ships from Chalcis in Euboea and attacked the

  68 Arr., An. , 2.1.3-5; Diod., 17.29.2-4, 17.31.3-4; Plu., Alex. , 18.5; Curt., 3.2.21.

  Wilcken 1967, pp. 96-97; Lane Fox 1973, pp. 153-154; Bosworth 1980, pp. 112-

  113, 181; Briant 1996, pp. 851-852.

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  enemy, capturing eight ships. This is the only recorded Macedonian

  victory at this stage of the sea war.69

  Despite this setback, Pharnabazus with his fleet of 100 ships retook the

  island of Siphnos, having previously also captured Andros. Although

  Curtius Rufus states that these events happened after the Battle of Issus,

  the general chronology seems to indicate a lower chronology. The Battle

  of Issus took place in late autumn, when the sailing season was already

  finished, and therefore it is highly unlikely that major sea operations

  happened soon afterwards. In the spring of 332, on the other hand, the

  Persian fleet was already seriously depleted. It is therefore most likely

  Pharnabazus’ actions in the Cyclades occurred in the early autumn of 333.

  The weak island poleis had no option but to surrender to Pharnabazus, but

  that there was anti-Persian feeling among the inhabitants is indicated by

  the sources mentioning the installation of garrisons. Such garrisons were

  not needed against the Macedonian fleet, which was too weak to make

  longer excursions beyond its base. The islanders were also forced to remit

  tributes, but this was not enough to pay for the fleet as big as this Memnon

  had in 334. The sources record ever smaller numbers of Persian ships

  engaged in successive sea operations: in the spring of 334 there were 400

  at Miletus, the following spring Memnon had 300 at his disposal, whereas

  in the autumn of that same year Pharnabazus had 100 in the Cyclades. The

  other Persian fleet, commanded by Autophradates and operating near the

  Hellespont, was so weak that a Greek fleet on the Macedonian side was

  able to defeat it. Athens alone supplied the Macedonian fleet with 100

  triremes, thus Persian supremacy at sea was steadily being whittled

  away.70

  A widely held opinion that Miletus was recaptured by the Persians is

  most probably wrong as the only evidence for it is an amended passage in

  Curtius Rufus. As the dominant sea power on this stretch of the Asia

  Minor coast, the Persians under Pharnabazus’ command were able to exact

  payments from Miletus and, no doubt, from other seaport towns that relied

  on sea trade as an important part of their economy, but nothing more. The

  financial problems at Miletus that resulted from these forced payments are

  evident in the fact in 332/331 the expensive office of the eponymous

  Stephanephoros was given to the god Apollo. Whenever a deity was

  appointed to this office, the temple treasury covered the costs, but this only

  69 Arr., An. , 2.2; Curt., 3.3.1; Polyaen., 7.27.2; Plu., mor. , 339f. Atkinson 1980, pp.114-117; Bosworth 1980, pp. 183-184; Bosworth 1988, p. 53; Seibert 1985, pp.

  59-60; Debord 1999, p. 460.

  70 Curt., 4.1.36-37; [D.], 17.20. Atkinson 1980, pp. 288-290; Seibert 1985, p. 60;

  Bosworth 1988, p. 53; Debord 1999, p. 461.

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  happened when the economic situation was so bad that no mortal was able

  to bear the financial burden of holding the state’s most prestigious office.71

  Memnon’s death dashed Darius III’s hopes of stopping Alexander’s

  invasion by the traditional means of attacking the enemy from behind, i.e.

  by employing diversionary tactics in Greece. Diodorus and, in a

  rhetorically modified version, also Curtius Rufus relate a conference

  between the Great King and a circle of notables concerning future plans

  for the war held at Babylon, which was the nearest Persian capital to the

  actual fighting. Most of the Persian advisors were in favour of the king

  personally leading the army, which in Persian history was something that

  happened very rarely, in exceptional cases. The Athenian Charidemus,

  who had fled from Alexander to the Persian court, was of a different

  opinion and suggested that Darius III should keep far away from the

  fighting while an army of hundred thousand troops, a third of which Greek

  mercenaries, would march to confront Alexander. The Athenian himself

  could command such an army. Darius was initially inclined in favour of

  this more sober suggestion. However, the Persian notables did not like this

  idea at all. Genuinely or just in the fervour of debate, they even accused

  the Athenian of intending to treacherously hand over the Achaemenid

  Empire to the Macedonian king. Charidemus had not had time to learn

  Persian customs and assuming this to be a political debate like the ones he

  knew from democratic Greece responded in a shockingly free manner: he

  questioned the Persians’ courage. Unfortunately this insulted the Great

  King, who by touching the Athenian’s belt sentenced him to death. The

  sentence was immediately executed. Thus Darius III lost yet another brave

  and competent Greek general, this time as consequence of a cultural

  misunderstanding, and now he had no other option than to lead his army

  himself.72

  Alexander most probably stayed in Gordium until early summer

  (June/July) 333 to allow his troops to rest after the arduous autumn and

  winter campaigns and to wait for news from Greece and the Aegean Sea.

  There he received envoys from Greece and Asia Minor. His authority was

  put to the test when he ordered the tyrant of Heraclea Pontica, Dionysius,

  to receive back those who had been banished by his father, Clearchus, and

  restore democracy to his state. Unfortunately, Macedonian authority did

  not stretch that far north and so the tyrant was able to ignore Alexander

  with impunity. Soon after the Gordian knot incident (two days later

  according to Arrian) Alexander and his army set off on the Royal Road in

  a northeast direction. The first major city they encountered on this new

  71 Curt., 4.5.13, 4.1.37; Milet i.3.122.iiI 83. Debord 1999, pp. 462-463.

  72 Diod., 17.30; Curt., 3.2.10-19. Atkinson 1980, pp. 108-114.

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  campaign was Ancyra, situated some 100 km from Gordium. It was there

  that he was met by envoys from Paphlagonia, a land that was part of

  Hellespontine Phrygia but which for much of the 4th century was ruled

  only indirectly by the Persian satrap; his deputy was a local monarch who

  was always eager to show his independence. It is possible, as Curtius

  Rufus writes, that Alexander launched a short campaign to subjugate

  Paphlagonia. The country remained part of Hellespontine Phrygia and was

  put under the authority of Alexander’s appointed satrap, Calas. That this

  rule was weak or perhaps only nominal is reflected in the fact that no

  tribute was imposed. Hostages were taken to ensure loyal
ty, but the next

  year Paphlagonia returned to the Persian side.73

  The next objective of the Macedonian invasion was Cappadocia; or

  rather so-called Great Cappadocia for Pontic Cappadocia on the Black Sea

  coast may have been a separate satrapy which remained always outside

  Macedonian control. Ariarathes, this country’s king or perhaps satrap, not

  only acquired at that time independence but even managed to gradually

  expand his domain. The royal dynasty he founded was to rule Cappadocia

  for the next three centuries. On account of its central location and

  intensive Iranian colonisation, Great Cappadocia was strategically

  important to anyone who wished to rule over Asia Minor. The sources

  report no battles in this region. After occupying this province Alexander

  appointed an oriental noble as satrap, most probably a local Cappadocian.

  His real name is now impossible to identify as the ancient authors call him

  either Sabictas (Arrian) or Abistamenes (Curtius Rufus).74

  It was in Cappadocia that Alexander learned of Memnon’s death and it

  was presumably soon after receiving this news that he decided to cross the

  river Halys, which on more than one occasion in history delineated an

  important border for the territorial aspirations of great powers. If that was

  the case, Alexander’s next objective must have been Mazaca – the

  residence of the satrap of Cappadocia. After that he led his army through

  Tyana and over the Taurus Mountains to Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. In

  face of this sudden turn of events the country’s satrap, Arsames, tried to

  apply the scorched earth policy that had once been suggested by Memnon.

  Curtius Rufus criticises Arsames for not deciding to defend the Cilician

  Gates (today called Gülek Bogazi), the 1,050 metre high pass and Tarsus

  73 Arr., An. , 2.4.1; Curt., 3.1.22-24; Plu., Alex. , 18.5; Memnon, FGrH, 434 F4.1.

  Burstein 1976, pp. 73-74; Atkinson 1980, pp. 96-97; Bosworth 1980, p. 188;

  Seibert 1985, pp. 62-63; Debord 1999, pp. 301, 455.

  74 Arr., An. , 2.4.2; Str., 12.4.1; Curt., 3.4.1. Bosworth 1980, p. 189; Atkinson 1980,

  pp. 135-136; Seibert 1985, p. 63; Jacobs 1994, pp. 140-144; Heckel 2006, p. 44.

  On Pontic Cappadocia see: Briant 1996, p. 761; Sartre 2003, p. 15.

  From Abydus to Alexandria

  157

  river valley that joins the Anatolian Highlands with the Cilician lowlands,

  from what was in Alexander’s day called the Camp of Cyrus (today

  Pozanti) to Tarsus. However, the Cilician Gates could be easily bypassed

  and even a determined defence could not have stopped Alexander’s army.

  On the other hand, the version of events given by Curtius Rufus was based

  on an anonymous eyewitness’s account and is therefore more credible than

  Arrian’s glorifying tale of Alexander personally leading a select unit of

  soldiers against the Persian guards. However, Arsames scorched earth

  tactics that devastated some of the land beyond the Gates also proved

  ineffective. The inhabitants of Tarsus, who were terrified by Arsames’

  plans to burn their city, warned Alexander of what the satrap was doing.

  The king immediately dispatched Parmenion with the cavalry and the

  fastest marching troops to save the city. They covered the 55 km distance

  from the Cilician Gates to Tarsus in a short enough space of time

  (according to Justin in one day) to save the city. Arsames next joined up

  with Darius III’s army.75

  Alexander reached Tarsus at the end of summer, after a short but tiring

  campaign in central Anatolia. His stay there could well have marked the

  end of his spectacular career, not because of any wounds incurred in

  fighting the Persians but because of an illness. Aristobulus is of the

  opinion that the king was simply exhausted. However, another source (one

  the ancient authors do not identify) claims it was consequence of his

  bathing in the river Cydnus, which flowed through Tarsus. Probably the

  original and most plausible version was that Alexander bathed in water

  that was too cold. Aristobulus, however, would not have wished to say

  Alexander imprudently immersed himself in icy-cold water in summer and

  therefore preferred to explain that the illness was a result of exhaustion.

  The water of the Kydnos River, like that of other rivers flowing from the

  snow covered mountains of Taurus, is extremely cold. Much later, on 10th

  June 1190, it was as consequence of bathing in one of them (Calycadnus

  also known as Saleph and today as Göksu) that Emperor Frederick

  Barbarossa, who had been leading an up to that moment victorious Third

  Crusade, lost his life. Alexander’s dip in the Cydnus resulted in

  convulsions, a high fever and insomnia. Such symptoms are usually

  associated with pneumonia. The only physician in the camp to agree to try

  and cure him was Philip of Acarnania, who prepared for the king a potent

  medicine, according to Arrian a purgative. The ancient authors add greater

  drama to the situation by relating a letter from Parmenion warning the king

  against this very physician, who had allegedly been given 1,000 talents by

  75 Plu., Alex. , 18.5; Arr., An. , 2.4.3-6; Curt., 3.4.1-15; Just., 11.8.2; It. Alex. , 26-27.

  Bosworth 1980, pp. 189-190; Seibert 1985, pp. 63-64.

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  Darius III to poison Alexander. As always, Alexander is said to have

  ignored the advice of his most important commander, drunk the potion

  prepared by the accused physician and then given him the letter to read.

  The physician swore he was innocent and promised that the king’s health

  would improve. Indeed, after some time Alexander’s condition got better

  and eventually he recovered his health. One can assume that this was

  thanks to Alexander’s extraordinarily powerful constitution, which was

  able to overcome the disease and not succumb to Philip’s of Acarnania

  medicine. Even if some of its more dramatic elements were merely

  invented by the ancient authors, Alexander’s serious illness was a fact and

  it explains why he remained at Tarsus until the end of September 333.76

  It was presumably during Alexander’s illness, when there was a

  serious danger of him dying and therefore of Macedonian control of

  Cilicia and the whole of Asia Minor collapsing in chaos, that Harpalus

  made his first escape. As a member of the ruling family in Elimeia and a

  relative of one of Philip II’s wives, Harpalus had been one of Alexander’s

  hetairoi when he was just the heir to the throne. Along with the

  successor’s other companions he was banished from Macedonia by Philip

  II for his involvement in the Pixodarus affair but returned when Alexander

  ascended the throne. On account of a physical disability Harpalus was

  unable to serve in the Macedonian army but Alexander rewarded his

  loyalty by appointing him the state’s treasurer. An evidently emotionally

  weak Harpalus was unable to withstand the tense atmosphere during

  Alexander’s illness and on the whispered advice of a mysterious figure

  called Tauriscus he absconded to Greece. There he spent most of his time

  in Magara. Almost two years later, in 331, he returned to Alexander and

  was quickly re
appointed to his previously held position.77

  4. The battle of Issus

  Before he had fully returned to health, Alexander ordered the resumption

  of the Cilician campaign and sent east his top commander Parmenion,

  leading the Corinthian League army, Greek and Thracian mercenaries and

  the Thessalian cavalry. Their objective was to secure a pass in the Amanus

  Mountains between Cilicia and Syria. The Macedonian commander

  76 Arr., An. , 2.4.7-11; Diod., 17.31.4-6; Curt., 3.5-6; Plu., Alex. , 19; Luc., Dom. , 1; Ps.-Callisth., 1.41 (rec. b); Fragmentum Sabbaiticum, FGrH, 151 F1.6; POxy.

  1798 (= FGrH, 148), fr. 44; V. Max., 3.8, ext.6; Just., 11.8; It. Alex. , 28-30.

  Wilcken 1967, p. 98; Schachermeyr 1973, p. 202; Lane Fox 1973, pp. 161-162;

  Green 1974, pp. 220-221; Bosworth 1980, pp. 190-192; Salazar 2000, pp. 190-192.

  77 Arr., An. , 3.6.7. Bosworth 1988, p. 57; Heckel 1992, pp. 213-217.

  From Abydus to Alexandria

  159

  occupied eastern Cilicia including the city of Issus, in the vicinity of which

  the first battle between Darius III and Alexander was to be fought.

  Unfortunately, the fairly vague descriptions in the sources do not allow us

  to establish for certain which of the two passes Parmenion was heading for:

  the Pillars of Jonah (Merkes Su) or the more distant Syrian Gates (Belen

  Pass). If we accept Plutarch’s suggestion that the Macedonian strategy at

  the time was to shift the war into Syria, it seems more probable that

  Parmenion secured the latter of these two passes. Next this expeditionary

  force returned west to meet up with Alexander’s army.78

  By about mid October 333 Alexander had fully recovered his health

  and the first thing he did was to take a daylong journey to the south west

  of Tarsus to the city of Anchialos. Here was what in Antiquity was called

  the Tomb of Sardanapalus, but it may have also been a monument to the

  Assyrian King Sancherib’s victory over a rebellious Cilicia. Sardanapalus

  was a legendary figure whose name was derived from that of the last great