Darius rode in his chariot, Alexander on horseback. Both were defended by elite troops, regardless of their lives; for if their king were lost they did not wish to be saved, nor could they be. Each man thought it glorious to meet death before the eyes of his king. Yet those experienced the greatest danger whom their men were most resolutely defending; for every man was seeking for himself the glory of slaying a king.
Now, whether it was an optical illusion or a reality, those who were around Alexander believed that they saw a little above the king’s head an eagle quietly flying, not terrified by the clash of arms, not by the groans of the dying, and for a long time it appeared around Alexander’s horse, seeming rather to float in the air than to fly. Certain it is that the seer Aristander, clad in a white robe and displaying a laurel wreath in his right hand, kept pointing out a bird to the soldiers, who were intent upon fighting, as a sure omen of victory. As a result, immense eagerness and confidence roused to battle those who shortly before were in terror, and especially so after Darius’ charioteer, who sat in front of the king himself and guided his horses, was run through by a spear. And neither the Persians nor the Macedonians had any [29] doubt that the king himself had been slain. Therefore the courtiers and guards of Darius with mournful wailing and a medley of shouts and groans threw into confusion almost the entire line of those who were still fighting on equal terms. And the left wing had abandoned the chariot for headlong flight, and the close ranks on the right received it into the midst of their array.
[30] It is said that Darius, drawn scimitar in hand, hesitated whether to avoid the disgrace of flight by an honourable death; but standing as he was high in his chariot, he blushed to abandon the battle-line of his subjects, who were not yet all leaving the field, and while he wavered between hope and despair, the Persians gradually gave ground and opened their ranks. Alexander, having changed his horse — for he had tired out several — was stabbing at the faces of those who stood their ground, the backs of those who fled. And already it had ceased to be a battle and become a massacre, when Darius also turned his chariot to flee. The victor was close upon the backs of the fugitives, but the cloud of dust which rose to the sky had made it impossible to see; therefore they wandered as if in the darkness of night, ever and anon coming together at the sound of a familiar voice or in response to a signal. Yet they made out the noise of the reins by which the horses which drew the chariot were constantly lashed; these were the only traces of the fleeing king that they had.
At in laevo Macedonum cornu — Parmenio, sicut ante est dictum, tuebatur — longe alia fortuna utriusque partis res gerebatur. Mazaeus cum omni suorum equitatu vehementer invectus urguebat Macedonum [p. 101] alas. [2] Iamque abundans multitudine aciem circumvehi coeperat, cum Parmenio equites nuntiare iubet Alexandro, in quo discrimine ipsi essent: ni mature subveniretur, non posse sisti fugam. [3] Iam multum viae praeceperat rex inminens fugientium tergis, cum a Parmenione tristis nuntius venit. Refrenare equos iussi, qui vehebantur, agmenque constitit frendente Alexandro, eripi sibi victoriam e manibus et Dareum felicius fugere quam se sequi. [4] Interim ad Mazaeum superati regis fama pervenerat: itaque, quamquam validior erat, tamen fortuna partium territus perculsis languidius instabat. Parmenio ignorabat quidem causam sua sponte pugnae remissae, sed occasione vincendi strenue est usus. Thessalos equites ad se vocari iubet: [5] ‘Ecquid videtis,’ inquit, ‘istos, qui ferociter modo instabant, pedem referre subito pavore perterritos? Nimirum nobis quoque regis nostri fortuna vicit. [6] Omnia Persarum caede strata sunt. Quid cessatis? an ne fugientibus quidem pares estis?’ Vera dicere videbatur, et spes languentis quoque erexerat: subditis calcaribus prorupere in hostem. Et illi iam non sensim, sed citato gradu recedebant, nec quicquam fugae, nisi quod nondum terga verterant, deerat. Parmenio tamen ignarus, quaenam in dextro cornu fortuna regis esset, repressit suos. [7] Mazaeus dato pugnae spatio non recto itinere, sed maiore et ob id tutiore circuitu [p. 102] Tigrin superat et Babylona cum reliquiis devicti exercitus intrat. [8] Dareus paucis fugae comitibus ad Lycum amnem contenderat : quo traiecto dubitavit, an solveret pontem. Quippe hostem iam adfore nuntiabatur. Sed tot milia suorum, quae nondum ad amnem pervenerant, ponte rescisso videbat hostis praedam fore. [9] Abeuntem, cum intactum sineret pontem, dixisse constat malle se sequentibus iter dare quam auferre fugientibus. Ipse ingens spatium fuga emensus media fere nocte Arbela pervenit. [10] Quis tot ludibria fortunae, ducum, agminum caedem multiplicem, devictorum fugam, clades nunc singulorum, nunc universorum, aut animo adsequi queat aut oratione conplecti? [11] Propemodum saeculi res in unum illum diem, pro! fortuna cumulavit. Alii, qua brevissimum patebat iter, alii devios saltus et ignotas sequentibus calles petebant. Eques pedesque confusi sine duce, armatis inermes, integris debiles inplicabantur. [12] Deinde misericordia in metum versa, qui sequi non poterant, inter mutuos gemitus deserebantur. Sitis praecipue fatigatos et saucios perurebat, passimque omnibus rivis prostraverant corpora praeterfluentem aquam hianti ore captantes. [13] Quam cum avide turbidam hausissent, tendebantur extemplo praecordia premente limo resolutisque et torpentibus membris, cum supervenisset hostis, no vis vulneribus excitabantur. [14] Quidam occupatis proximis rivis deverterant longius, [p. 103] ut, quidquid occulti humoris usquam manaret, exciperent, nec ulla adeo avia et sicca lacuna erat, ut vestigantium sitim falleret. [15] E proximis vero itineri vicis ululatus senum feminarumque exaudiebantur barbaro ritu Dareum adhuc regem clamantium. [16] Alexander, ut supra dictum est, inhibito suorum impetu ad Lycum amnem pervenerat, ubi ingens multitudo fugientium oneraverat pontem, et plerique, cum hostis urgeret, in flumen se praecipitaverant gravesque armis et proelio ac fuga defetigati gurgitibus hauriebantur. [17] Iamque non pons modo fugientes, sed ne amnis quidem capiebat agmina sua inprovide subinde cumulantis: quippe ubi intravit animos pavor, id solum metuunt, quod primum formidare coeperunt. [18] Alexander instantibus suis, ne inpune abeuntem hostem intermitteret sequi, hebetia esse tela et manus fatigatas tantoque cursu corpora exhausta et praeceps in noctem diei tempus causatus est, [19] re vera de laevo cornu, quod adhuc in acie stare credebat, sollicitus reverti ad ferendam opem suis statuit. Iamque signa converterat, cum equites a Parmenione missi illius quoque partis victoriam nuntiant. [20] Sed nullum hoc die maius periculum adiit quam, dum copias reducit in castra. Pauci eum et inconpositi sequebantur ovantes victoria — quippe omnes hostes aut in fugam effusos [p. 104] aut in acie cecidisse credebant — [21] : cum repente ex adverso apparuit agmen equitum, qui primo inhibuere cursum, deinde Macedonum paucitate conspecta turmas in obvios concitaverunt. [22] Ante signa rex ibat dissimulato magis periculo quam spreto. [23] Nec demit ei perpetua in dubiis rebus felicitas. Namque praefectum equitatus avidum certaminis et ob id ipsum incautius in se ruentem hasta transfixit: quo ex equo lapso proximum ac dein plures eodem telo confodit. [24] Invasere turbatos amici quoque. Nec Persae inulti cadebant: quippe non universae acies quam hae tumultuariae manus vehementius iniere certamen. [25] Tandem barbari, cum obscura luce tutior fuga videretur esse quam pugna, dispersis agminibus abiere. Rex extraordinario periculo defunctus incolumis suos reduxit in castra. [26] Cecidere Persarum, quorum numerum victores finire potuerunt, milia XL, Macedonum minus quam CCC desiderati sunt. [27] Ceterum hanc victoriam rex maiore ex parte virtuti quam fortunae suae debuit: [28] animo, non, ut antea, loco vicit. Nam et aciem peritissime instruxit et promptissime ipse pugnavit et magno consilio iacturam sarcinarum inpedimentorumque contempsit, cum in ipsa acie summae rei videret esse discrimen, [29] dubioque adhuc pugnae eventu pro victore se gessit. Perculsos deinde hostis ut fudit, fugientes, quod in illo ardore animi vix credi potest, prudentius quam avidius persecutas est. [30] Nam si parte exercitus adhuc in acie stante instare cedentibus perseverasset, [p. 105] aut culpa sua victus esset aut aliena virtute vicisset. Iam si multitudinem equitum occurrentium extimuisset, victori aut foede fugiendum aut miserabiliter cadendum fuit. [31] Ne duces quidem copiarum sua laude fraudandi sunt. Quippe vulnera, quae quisque excepit, indicia virtutis sunt: [32] Hephaestionis brachium hasta ictum est, Perdicca et Coenos et Menidas s
agittis prope occisi. [33] Et, si vere aestimare Macedonas, qui tunc erant, volumus, fatebimur et regem talibus ministris et illos tanto rege fuisse dignissimos.
XVI. But on the left wing of the Macedonians — Parmenion as was said before, was in chargeof it — the fortune of the battle was far different on both sides. Mazaeus, who had furiously charged it with the entire cavalry force of his countrymen, was pressing hard upon the flanks of the Macedonians. And already with his superior numbers he had begun to encircle their line, when Parmenion sent horsemen with orders to report to Alexander in what danger they themselves were; unless he was speedily aided, he could no longer hold his men from flight. The king, following hard upon the backs of the fugitives, had already advanced a long way, when the dismal news came from Parmenion. The riders were ordered to rein in their horses, and the army came to a stop, while Alexander gnashed his teeth with rage that the victory was being snatched from his hands and that Darius was more fortunate in his flight than he in his pursuit. Meanwhile the report of his king’s defeat had come to Mazaeus; therefore, although he was the stronger, yet alarmed by the ill-fortune of his side, he began to press less vigorously upon the terror-stricken Macedonians.
Parmenion naturally did not understand the reason for the voluntary slacking of the attack, but he promptly took advantage of the chance for victory. He ordered the Thessalian cavalry to be summoned to him and said: “Do you see that those who just now were fiercely pressing on are giving ground, badly frightened by some sudden cause of fear? No doubt the fortune of our king has won victory also for us. The Persians have all met defeat and carnage. Why do you hold back? are you not a match even for runaways?” He seemed to speak truly, and hope had aroused even the laggards; applying the spurs, they rushed upon the foe. And they gave way, no longer gradually, but at heightened speed, and were to all intent on flight, save that they had not yet turned their backs. Yet Parmenion, being as yet unaware what the king’s fortune had been on the right wing, held back his men. Mazaeus, although given opportunity for battle, crossed the Tigris, not in a direct course but in a longer and hence safer detour, and entered Babylon with the survivors of the defeated army.
Darius with a few companions of his flight had hastened to the river Lycus; after crossing it he hesitated whether to break down the bridge. For it was announced that the enemy would soon be there. But he saw that so many thousands of his men, who had not yet reached the river, would fall prey to the enemy if the bridge were destroyed. As he went away, leaving the bridge intact, he is reliably reported to have said that he preferred to give a passage to his pursuers rather than take one away from those who were in flight. He himself, having covered a great distance in his flight, arrived in Arbela at about midnight.
Who would be able to comprehend in thought, or express in words, so many of fortune’s mockeries — the great slaughter of leaders and their forces, the flight of the vanquished, the disasters, now to individuals and now to all in general? Alas! Fortune piled up the events of almost a generation in that one day.
Some took the shortest way that offered, others sought remote woods and paths unknown to their pursuers. Horse and foot in confusion were intermingled, without a leader, the unarmed with the armed, the unhurt with the weak. Then pity gave place to fear, and those who could not follow were abandoned to their fate amid mutual laments. Burning thirst tormented especially the wearied and the wounded, and they threw themselves down everywhere at all the brooks, and open-mouthed caught the water that flowed by. Since they had eagerly drunk of it when it was turbid, at once their bellies were so painfully distended by the weight of the mud, that their limbs were weakened and numbed, and when the enemy came up they were aroused by fresh wounds. Some, finding the nearest streams occupied, had turned farther aside, to get whatever hidden water trickled anywhere, and there was no pool so remote or so dry as to elude the thirst of the searchers. And from the villages nearest to the road the shrieks of old men and women could be heard, who in the barbarian manner were still calling on Darius as their king.
Alexander, having checked the onset of his men, as was said before, had come to the river Lycus, where the vast number of fugitives had loaded the bridge, and many, when hard pressed by the enemy, had thrown themselves into the river and, weighed down by their arms and exhausted by fighting and by flight, had been swallowed up in the flood. And finally, to say nothing of the bridge, not even the river could contain the fugitives, who blindly continued to pile troop upon troop; for when panic has entered men’s minds, they fear only what they first began to dread. Alexander, urged by his men not to cease pursuing those who were making good their escape, pleaded in excuse that their weapons were blunted, their arms wearied, and their bodies exhausted by so much running, and that the time of day was close upon nightfall; but actually being anxious about the left wing, which he believed to be still standing in line of battle, he resolved to turn back and give aid to his men.
And he had already turned about, when horsemen sent by Parmenion reported the victory of that part of the army also. But no greater peril did the king encounter on that day than while he was leading his forces back to the camp. He was followed only by a disorderly handful, exulting in their victory — for they believed that all the enemy had been completely put to flight or had fallen in battle — when on a sudden a troop of cavalry appeared before them, who at first checked their course, then, seeing the small number of the Macedonians, drove their squadrons against them. The king was marching at the head of his men, making light of the danger rather than scorning it. And in fact his constant good fortune in times of danger did not fail him. For when the leader of the horsemen rushed upon him, eager for battle and for that reason incautious, the king ran him through with his spear; and when he fell from his horse, Alexander killed the next man and then several others with the same weapon. His friends also attacked the disorganized enemy. But the Persians did not fall unavenged, for the entire armies did not enter battle more furiously than these irregular troops. At length the barbarians, when the dim light made flight seem safer than fighting, withdrew in scattered groups. The king, safe and sound after being quit of extraordinary danger, led his men back to camp.
There fell of the Persians, so far as the victors could determine the number, 40,000”; of the Macedonians less than 300 were lost. Moreover, the king owed this victory in greater part to his merit than to his fortune; he won it by his genius, not, as before, by the advantage of the ground. For he drew up his line of battle with the utmost skill, he personally fought most valiantly, and with great good judgement he scorned the loss of packs and baggage, since he saw that the issue of ultimate success depended upon his line of battle, and while the result of the fight was still in doubt, he conducted himself as a victor.
Then, when he had routed the panic-stricken foe he pursued them in their flight with greater prudence than over-eagerness, a thing which can hardly be believed in a man of such fiery spirit. For if, while a part of his army was still engaged in battle, he had persisted in pressing after them as they gave way, he would either have been defeated through his own fault, or he would have owed his victory to another’s valour. Finally, if he had yielded to fear of the large force of cavalry which fell upon him he would have been forced, in the hour of victory, either to flee in disgrace or to perish miserably.
The leaders of his forces too must not be cheated of their meed of glory; in fact the wounds which each man suffered are proofs of their valour; Hephaestion was struck in the arm by a spear, Perdiccas and Coenus and Menidas were all but slain with arrows.
And if we wish justly to estimate the Macedonians of that day, we shall admit that their king was fully worthy of such subordinates, and they of so great a king.
BOOK V.
Quae interim ductu imperioque Alexandri vel in Graecis vel Illyriis ac Thraecia gesta sunt, si suis quaeque temporibus reddere voluero, interrumpendae sunt res Asiae, [2] quas utique ad fugam mortemque Darei universas in conspectum dari et, sicut inter se cohaere
nt, ita opere ipso coniungi haud paulo aptius videri potest. Igitur, quae proelio apud Arbela coniuncta sunt, ordiar dicere. [3] Dareus media fere nocte Arbela pervenerat, [4] eodemque magnae partis amicorum eius ac militum fugam fortuna conpulerat. Quibus convocatis exponit haud dubitare se, quin Alexander celeberrimas urbes agrosque omni copia rerum abundantes petiturus esset: [p. 107] praedam opimam paratamque ipsum et milites eius spectare. [5] Id suis rebus tali in statu saluti fore: quippe se deserta cum expedita manu petiturum. Ultima regni sui adhuc intacta esse: inde bello vires haud aegre reparaturum. [6] Occuparet sane gazam avidissima gens et ex longa fame satiaret se auro, mox futura praedae sibi: usu didicisse pretiosam supellectilem pelicesque et spadonum agmina nihil aliud fuisse quam onera et inpedimenta. Eadem trahentem Alexandrum, quibus rebus antea vicisset, inferiorem fore. [7] Plena omnibus desperationis videbatur oratio: quippe Babylona, urbem opulentissimam, dedi cernentibus: iam Susa, iam cetera ornamenta regni, causam belli, victorem occupaturum. [8] At illе docere pergit non speciosa dictu, sed usu necessaria in rebus adversis sequenda esse: ferro geri bella, non auro, viris, non urbium tectis. Omnia sequi armatos: sic maiores suos perculsos in principio rerum celeriter pristinam reparasse fortunam. [9] Igitur sive confirmatis eorum animis sive imperium magis quam consilium sequentibus Mediae fines ingressus est. [10] Paulo post Alexandro Arbela traduntur regia supellectile ditique gaza repleta: mi milia talentum fuere, praeterea pretiosae vestes, totius, ut supra dictum est, exercitus opibus in illam sedem congestis. [11] Ingruentibus deinde morbis, quos odor cadaverum totis iacentium campis vulgaverat, maturius castra movit. [p. 108] Euntibus a parte laeva Arabia, odorum fertilitate nobilis regio: [12] campestre iter est in terra inter Tigrin et Euphraten iacenti tam uberi et pingui, ut a pastu repelli pecora dicantur, ne satietas perimat. Causa fertilitatis est humor, [13] qui ex utroque amne manat, toto fere solo propter venas aquarum resudante. Ipsi amnes ex Armeniae montibus profluunt ac magno deinde aquarum divortio iter, quod coeperunt, percurrunt: 11 milia et quingenta stadia emensi sunt, qui amplissimum intervallum circa Armeniae montes notaverunt. [14] Idem cum Mediam et Gordyaeorum terram secare coeperunt, paulatim in artius coeunt et, quo longius manant, hoc angustius inter se spatium terrae relinquunt. [15] Vicini maxime sunt in campis, quos incolae Mesopotamiam appellant: mediam nam que ab utroque latere cludunt. Tandem per Babyloniorum fines in Rubrum mare inrumpunt. [16] Alexander quartis castris ad Mennim urbem pervenit. Caverna ibi est, ex qua fons ingentem bituminis vim effundit, adeo ut satis constet Babylonios muros ingentis operis huius fontis bitumine interlitos esse. [17] Ceterum Babylona procedenti Alexandro Mazaeus, qui ex acie in eam urbem confugerat, cum adultis [p. 109] liberis supplex occurrit urbem seque dedens. Gratus adventus eras regi fuit: quippe magni operis obsidio futura erat tam munitae urbis. [18] Ad hoc vir inlustris et manu promptus famaque etiam proximo proelio Celebris et ceteros ad deditionem suo incitaturus exemplo videbatur. Igitur hunc quidem benigne cum liberis excipit: [19] ceterum quadrato agmine, quod ipse ducebat, velut in aciem irent, ingredi suos iubet. Magna pars Babyloniorum constiterat in muris avida cognoscendi novum regem, plures obviam egressi sunt. [20] Inter quos Bagophanes, arcis et regiae pecuniae custos, ne studio a Mazaeo vinceretur, totum iter floribus coronisque constraverat argenteis altaribus utroque latere disposais, quae non ture modo, sed omnibus odoribus cumulaverat. [21] Dona eum sequebantur greges pecorum equorumque, leones quoque et pardales caveis praeferebantur. [22] Magi deinde suo more carmen canentes, post hos Chaldaei Babyloniorumque non vates modo, sed etiam artifices cum fidibus sui generis ibant: laudes hi regum canere soliti, Chaldaei siderum motus et statas vices temporum ostendere. [23] Equites deinde Babylonii suo equorumque cultu ad luxuriam magis quam ad magnificentiam exacto ultimi ibant. Rex armatis stipatus oppidanorum turbam post ultimos [p. 110] pedites ire iussit: ipse cum curru urbem ac deinde regiam intravit. Postero die supellectilem Darei et omnem pecuniam recognovit. [24] Ceterum ipsius urbis pulchritudo ac vetustas non regis modo, sed etiam omnium oculos in semet haud inmerito convertit. Samiramis eam condiderat, non, ut plerique credidere, Belus, cuius regia ostenditur. [25] Murus instructus laterculo coctili bitumine interlito spatium XXX et duorum pedum in latitudinem amplectitur: [26] quadrigae inter se occurrentes sine periculo commeare dicuntur. Altitudo muri L cubitorum eminet spatio: turres denis pedibus quam murus altiores sunt. Totius operis ambitus CCCLXV stadia conplectitur: singulorum stadiorum structuram singulis diebus perfectam esse memoriae proditum est. [27] Aedificia non sunt admota muris, sed fere spatium iugeri unius absunt. Ac ne totam quidem urbem tectis occupaverunt — per LXXX stadia habitabatur — , nec omnia continua sunt, credo, quia tutius visum est pluribus locis spargi. [28] Cetera serunt coluntque, ut, si externa vis ingruat, obsessis alimenta ex ipsius urbis solo subministrentur. Euphrates interfluit magnaeque molis crepidinibus coercetur. Sed omnium operum magnitudinem circumveniunt cavernae ingentem in altitudinem pressae ad accipiendum impetum fluminis: quod ubi adpositae crepidinis fastigium excessit, urbis tecta corriperet, nisi essent specus lacusque, qui exciperent. [29] Coctili laterculo structi sunt, totum opus bitumine adstringitur. Pons lapideus flumini inpositus iungit [p. 111] urbem. Hic quoque inter mirabilia Orientis opera numeratus est. Quippe Euphrates altum limum vehit, quo penitus ad fundamenta iacienda egesto vix suffulciendo operi firmum reperiunt solum: [30] harenae autem subinde cumulatae et saxis, quis pons sustinetur, adnexae morantur amnem, qui retentus acrius, quam si libero cursu mearet, inliditur. [31] Arcem quoque ambitu XX stadia conplexam habent. XXX pedes in terram turrium fundamenta demissa sunt, ad LXXX summu munimenti fastigium pervenit. [32] Super arcem, vulgatum Graecorum fabulis miraculum, pensiles horti sunt, summam murorum altitudinem aequantes multarumque arborum umbra et proceritate amoeni. [33] Saxo pilae, quae totum onus sustinent, instructae sunt: super pilas lapide quadrato solum stratum est patiens terrae, quam altam iniciunt, et humoris, quo rigant terras: adeoque validas arbores sustinet moles, ut stipites earum VIII cubitorum spatium crassitudine aequent, in L pedum altitudinem emineant frugiferaeque sint, ut si terra sua alerentur. [34] Et, cum vetustas non opera solum manu facta, sed etiam ipsam naturam paulatim exedendo perimat, haec moles, quae tot arborum radicibus premitur tantique nemoris pondere onerata est, [p. 112] inviolata durat: quippe XX pedes lati parietes sustinent XI pedum intervallo distantes, ut procul visentibus silvae montibus suis inminere videantur. [35] Syriae regem Babylone regnantem hoc opus esse molitum memoriae proditum est, amore coniugis victum, quae desiderio nemorum silvarumque in campestribus locis virum conpulit amoenitatem naturae genere huius operis imitari. [36] Diutius in hac urbe quam usquam constitit rex, nec alio loco disciplinae militari magis nocuit. Nihil urbis eius corruptius moribus, nihil ad inritandas inliciendasque inmodicas cupiditates instructius. [37] Liberos coniugesque cum hospitibus stupro coire, modo pretium flagitii detur, parentes maritique patiuntur. Convivales ludi tota Perside regibus purpuratisque cordi sunt, Babylonii maxime in vinum et, quae ebrietatem sequuntur, [38] effusi sunt. Feminarum convivia ineuntium in principio modestus est habitus, dein summa quaeque amicula exuunt paulatimque pudorem profanant, ad ultimum — honos auribus habitus sit — ima corporum velamenta proiciunt. Nec meretricum hoc dedecus est, sed matronarum virginumque, apud quas comitas habetur vulgati corporis vilitas. [39] Inter haec flagitia exercitus ille domitor Asiae per XXIIII dies saginatus ad ea, quae sequebantur, discrimina haud dubie debilior futurus fuit, si hostem habuisset. [p. 113] Ceterum, quo minus damnum sentiret, identidem incremento renovabatur. [40] Namque Amyntas Andromeni ab Antipatro Macedonum peditum VI milia adduxit, [41] D praeterea eiusdem generis equites, cum his DC Thracas adiunctis peditibus suae gentis in milibus D, et ex Peloponneso mercennarius miles ad IIII milia advenerat cum trecentis octoginta equitibus. [42] Idem Amyntas adduxerat L principum Macedoniae liberos adultos ad custodiam corporis. Quippe inter epulas hi sunt regibus ministri idemque equos ineuntibus proelium admovent venantesque comitantur et vigiliarum vices ante cubiculi fores servant: magnorumque praefectorum et ducum haec incrementa sunt et rudimenta. [43] Igitur rex arci
Babylone Agathone praesidere iusso cum septingentis Macedonum trecentisque mercede conductis praetores, qui regioni Babyloniae ac Ciliciae praeessent, Meneta et Apollodorum relinquit. n milia his militum cum mille talentis data: utrique praeceptum, ut in supplementum milites legerent. [44] Mazaeum transfugam satrapea Babylone donat, Bagophanem, qui arcem tradiderat, se sequi iussit, Armenia Mithreni, Sardium proditori, data est. [45] Ex pecunia deinde Ba- [p. 114] bylone tradita Macedonum equitibus sesceni denarii tributi: peregrinus eques quingenos accepit, ducenos pedes domesticus, mercennurius duorum Stipendium mensum.
Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus Page 90