Alexander
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retreat, but flight, pure and simple. Darius, first with a few of his personal retainers, and then
gradually joined by about 4,000 Persians and mercenaries, pressed on to Thapsacus and then to the
Euphrates. The surviving Persian cavalrymen made their way to Cappadocia, where they tried and
failed to recapture Phrygia for the Persian cause. Another group, led by Macedonians or Greeks who
had deserted to Darius, fled into the hills with 8,000 mercenaries. Finally, other mercenaries
probably sailed to Crete, where they were hired by the Spartan king Agis to help him prosecute his
war against the Macedonians and their allies there.
The news of Alexander’s victory at Issos shattered the morale of the Persian fleet around Chios; by
the early spring of 332 it ceased to exist as a significant fighting force. The Aegean coast was freed
from Persian rule. As had been the case on the mainland of Asia Minor, democracies were
established by the Macedonians.
THE FRUITS OF VICTORY
Despite the intelligence failure that had put the Macedonians in a vulnerable position south and east of
the Persian army, Alexander’s careful logistical preparations, movement and positioning of forces,
and heroic leadership on the battlefield at Issos had made the difference between victory and defeat.
Nor should the contribution of the Thessalian cavalrymen be overlooked. If the Persian cavalry had
broken through their lines, it might well have been Alexander who was depicted fleeing from the
battle on a “Darius Mosaic.” As it was, however, Parmenio’s indomitable Thessalians had held, and
Alexander now had an opportunity to taste the fruits of victory.
Although the Persians had sent most of their baggage to Damascus (which Parmenio soon
captured), in the Persian camp the Macedonians found that Darius’ mother, his wife, his infant son,
and two of his daughters, as well as 3,000 talents, had been left behind. There also was a great wealth
of possessions, which the Macedonian soldiers plundered with great enthusiasm.
After visiting the wounded on the day after the battle, Alexander gave a splendid military funeral to
the dead before the whole army. He also buried those Persians who had distinguished themselves by
their courage. Sacrifices to the gods for the victory followed. Balacrus was made governor of Cilicia,
and Polyperchon was promoted to command the battalion of Ptolemy, son of Seleucus, who had been
killed during the battle.
His duties to man and gods discharged, Alexander prepared to relax. Darius’ bath and dining tent
had been reserved for his use. When Alexander entered the bath he saw that the basins, the pitchers,
the tubs themselves, and the caskets were made of gold and elaborately wrought. The whole room
was also marvelously fragrant with spices and perfumes. Passing from this bath into a spacious and
lofty tent, he observed the magnificence of the dining couches, the tables, and the banquet that had
been set out for him. Taking it all in, Alexander turned to his companions and remarked, “This, so it
seems, is what it means to be king.” This victor did not yet belong to the spoils.
On that same night, hearing the voices of Darius’ mother, wife, and children as they mourned
Darius’ death, Alexander sent the officer Leonnatus to tell the royal ladies that Darius was alive and
that they were to retain all of their marks, ceremonies, and titles of royalty.
Another story was reported about the aftermath of the battle. The next day, we are told, when
Alexander and Hephaestion visited the tent of the Persian royal women, Darius’ mother, Sisygambis,
immediately prostrated herself before Hephaestion, supposing the taller of the two visitors to be the
king. When one of her attendants silently pointed to the shorter Alexander, Alexander simply
remarked that Sisygambis’ error was of no account, for Hephaestion was an Alexander, too—a
protector of men. Arrian comments, “If it really happened, I cannot but admire Alexander both for
treating these women with such compassion and for showing such respect and confidence towards his
friend.”
The Persian royal women who fell into Alexander’s hands after the battle at Issos were indeed
treated with great deference throughout the rest of the campaign. Although Alexander refused to
ransom these women back to Darius, he later referred to Sisygambis as his mother, and when Stateira,
Darius’ wife, died in 331, she was given a royal funeral.
CHAPTER 8
Master of Sieges
DARIUS’ FIRST OVERTURE
Leaving Cilicia and northern (lowland) Syria in the hands of Balacrus and Menon, Alexander
marched on to northern Phoenicia, where Straton, crown prince of the island city of Aradus,
surrendered it. Alexander then proceeded to Marathus, where he received envoys with a verbal
request and a letter from Darius.
The letter accused Philip of unprovoked aggression, claimed that he, Darius, had taken the field in
defense of his own country and ancestral home, and asserted that the battle of Issos had been decided
as some god—not, presumably, Ahuramazda—had willed it. Darius then requested the return of his
wife, his mother, and his children in exchange for friendship and alliance.
In reply, Alexander cited the Persians’ invasion of Macedonia and Greece: he had invaded Asia
because he wished to punish Persia for this act, just as had been proclaimed at the pan-Hellenic
congress in Corinth. He accused Darius of hiring assassins to kill Philip; of murdering the legitimate
Persian king, Arses, with Bagoas’ help; of illegally seizing the throne; and of supplying money to the
Greeks, money that only the Lacedaemonians were willing to accept. This explained their
unwillingness to join their fellow Greeks on the campaign.
But, Alexander’s letter went on, only when Darius’ agents corrupted Alexander’s friends and tried
to wreck the peace he had established in Greece did Alexander take the field against Darius. Now,
with Zeus’ help, he was master of Darius’ country. Therefore Darius should come to Alexander as he
would to the lord of all Asia.
Darius could come and ask for his mother, his wife and his children, and anything else. He would
give Darius his family and anything else Darius could persuade Alexander to give him. But, in future
communications, Darius should address Alexander as the king of all Asia and should not write to
Alexander as an equal. Everything Darius possessed now belonged to Alexander; if Darius wanted
anything, he should address Alexander properly, or Alexander would take steps to deal with him as a
criminal. If, on the other hand, Darius wanted to dispute the throne, he should stand and fight for it and
not run away. Wherever Darius might hide, Darius should be sure that Alexander would seek him out.
Alexander’s letter echoed the justifications for the war declared at Corinth, but also advanced a
new claim: Darius was a usurper. If it had not been clear before, it was now: Alexander was, in his
own view, the rightful king of all Asia. He had no intention of negotiating with Darius on an equal
basis, and he was not interested in alliance. In such haughty terms was Darius’ first peace overture
rejected.
Setting aside the rhetoric and posturing of both kings, however, we should consider their real
positions. Alexander now held all the money and goods Darius had left behind at Issos and Damas
cus,
as well as Darius’ mother, wife, and children, and many other noble ladies. He commanded the
superb Macedonian army, which was very largely intact. He also now ruled a large part of what had
been the western half of the Persian empire.
Darius, on the other hand, led the shattered remnants of his army. Huge quantities of money and
bullion remained untouched in the Persian capital of Persepolis, the accumulation of decades of
tribute from the empire. He still ruled the Persian heartland and the eastern part of the empire, which
stretched, in terms of effective political control, nearly to the Indus River. To replenish his resources
he now could draw from Persia proper and from the eastern provinces.
Although he had suffered a terrible defeat, Darius had some reasons for optimism, which may be
why his overture to Alexander was not completely conciliatory. Moreover, Alexander’s decision to
march farther south along the Phoenician coast, rather than to pursue Darius at once to the east, gave
the Persian king a two-year breathing period during which he could build up and train a new army to
meet his nemesis on a field of battle that suited him.
Alexander’s decision not to pursue Darius into Persia immediately to administer a deathblow to his
demoralized force has been debated. But to follow Darius deep into Persia while Persian allies or
neutral parties were left unconquered behind him along the eastern Mediterranean coast invited a
strategically dangerous war on two fronts. In broad terms, Alexander and his generals appreciated
their strategic situation far better at the time than do most of their modern critics. If Alexander
intended to become the king of all Asia, he needed to conquer all of Persia’s western possessions
first. Then, and only then, would it be safe to strike at the heart of Persia.
THE SIEGE OF TYRE
Thus, heading farther south, Alexander received the surrenders of Byblos and Sidon, deposing the
pro-Persian king of the latter, Straton II, and appointing Abdalonymus in his place. From Tyre, a
delegation of envoys drawn from some of the city’s noblest families, among them the son of the king,
Azemilcus, came out to meet Alexander and told him that the government had decided to obey any
instructions Alexander might give them.
Yet when Alexander told the envoys that he wished to enter the town and offer sacrifice to
Herakles, they balked. This request would have involved Alexander sacrificing at the state temple of
the chief city god, Melqart, whom Alexander identified with his divine ancestor Herakles. Such a
sacrifice, to be performed perhaps in February 332, would have coincided with the main yearly
festival of Melqart. If the Tyrians allowed Alexander to make his sacrifice at the festival in the
temple, it would have signified their acceptance of Alexander’s sovereignty.
The Tyrians were willing to let Alexander sacrifice on the mainland, in the old city of Tyre, but not
in the island sanctuary, to which they denied access to Alexander and the Persians alike. In effect, this
was a declaration of neutrality. Diodorus claims that in reality the Tyrians simply wanted to draw
Alexander into a protracted siege, to give Darius more time for his military preparations.
Whatever the Tyrians’ motives, Alexander certainly was not inclined to accept declarations of
neutrality. He was not about to leave a neutral city at his rear as he advanced upon Egypt, particularly
one with access to the sea and what remained of the Persian fleet.
The stage was therefore set for one of the most famous sieges in history. It would drag on for seven
months and would cost the Macedonians dearly. In the end, however, the Tyrians paid far more.
Alexander’s plan to take the formidable Phoenician city was encouraged by a sign from heaven
given to him on the night he persuaded his friends and officers that Tyre must be captured. On that
night he dreamed that when he approached the city’s walls his kinsman Herakles greeted him and
invited him in. Alexander’s soothsayer Aristander interpreted the dream in the following way: Tyre
would be taken, but with much labor, because effort characterized all that Herakles himself had
achieved.
Aristander was a true prophet. But like most successful prophets, his prophecies were educated
guesses based upon perceived facts. In this case, the essential fact was that Tyre was (in part) an
island city, situated about half a mile offshore, defended by strong, lofty walls. In addition, the Tyrian
fleet was very strong. Taking the city would be a formidable labor indeed, even for a descendant of
the great Herakles.
In fact, just to get into position to lay siege, Alexander had to construct an enormous mole, about
200 feet wide, from Old Tyre on the mainland to the island city. As the Macedonians worked on the
part of the mole near the city walls, Tyrian naval raiders attacked them at various points along the
mole by sea. To counter such attacks the Macedonians built two towers on the mole. On these towers
they mounted artillery, which the Macedonians used to keep the Tyrians away from those who were
working to complete the enormous pier.
In response, the Tyrians filled a cattle boat with pitch, sulfur, and other flammable materials and
sailed it into the towers. Once the towers were ablaze, the Tyrians swarmed out from behind their city
walls and destroyed the siege engines.
Undaunted, Alexander ordered the construction of a wider mole starting from the mainland, to give
space for more towers, and new siege engines. It was at this point that fleets from Cyprus and other
Phoenician cities joined Alexander’s forces, now that the Persian naval initiative in the Aegean had
lost momentum. These reinforcements proved to be crucial to the outcome of the siege. They allowed
Alexander to gain control of the sea around the city as the Macedonians worked on the new
construction.
While the larger mole was being constructed, Alexander led a raid against the Arabians who lived
in the area of Mount Antilibanus. The story of the raid helps to explain why Alexander was so
beloved of his friends and soldiers.
Alexander’s old Acarnanian tutor, Lysimachus, had accompanied him. When the raiding party
reached the mountains, they dismounted and marched ahead on foot. Lysimachus, worn out and weary,
could not keep up and was in danger of being left behind. Alexander, however, would not abandon
him even as a cold night fell, leaving him with only a few other followers in a rough region, with the
scattered fires of the enemy nearby.
Wishing to cheer the Macedonians amid their perplexities, Alexander stole away to the nearest
campfire, dispatched the two enemy soldiers sitting around it with his knife, and brought back a
firebrand to Lysimachus and the rest. He started a great fire, frightening away some of the enemy and
routing others who approached. The rest of the night was then spent without further peril. Long before
elite modern army units adopted the motto, Alexander personally lived by the maxim of no man left
behind.
On his return from the raid, Alexander found that Cleander had brought 4,000 Greek mercenaries to
reinforce the army. Alexander then successfully blockaded Tyre by sea, breaking up and driving back
into the harbor what remained of the Tyrian fleet. Now he could bring his artillery into action, both
from the better-
protected mole (which was now completed) and from ships. Although Tyre’s walls
were more than 150 feet high in places and strongly constructed of cemented stone blocks, the
artillery eventually destroyed a considerable length of the wall.
While triremes attacked Tyre’s harbor and other vessels cruised around the city, getting as close as
possible, Alexander and an officer named Admetus then brought up two ships loaded with guards and
heavy infantry to one of the points weakened by the artillery barrage. In the initial assault on the wall
Admetus was killed, but Alexander gained control of a section of the battlement and then pressed on
toward the royal quarters.
While Alexander’s new Phoenician allies seized the southern harbor, the Cypriots sailed into the
undefended northern harbor. Most of the Tyrians who were defending the wall fled to the shrine of
Agenor, the city’s founder, where they were immediately set upon by Alexander and the
Macedonians. The vast majority of the defenders were slain at the shrine, and the fugitives were
pursued.
Other sources also provide additional details and anecdotes designed to convey the various moods
of besiegers and besieged during the siege. Diodorus, for instance, recounts the marvelous story of the
Tyrian man who told everyone that Apollo had appeared to him and informed him that he, Apollo,
would leave the city, which led to the man nearly being stoned, but also to the Tyrians tying the image
of Apollo to its base with gold cords to prevent the god from deserting the city.
Reviewing the siege of Tyre, some have argued that it reveals the essential brutality of Alexander’s
campaign. That is indisputable: it was prosecuted vigorously, and when the Macedonians finally
entered the inner city of Tyre, they went about their business with savage ferocity. At least 8,000
Tyrians were killed. Alexander had some 2,000 crucified later along the beach as a warning to others
who might think about resisting a descendant of Herakles. Another 30,000, perhaps the women and
children, were sold into slavery, excluding the king Azemilcus, the dignitaries of the city, and some
visitors from Carthage who had come to their mother city to pay honor to Melqart/Herakles according