[12] If Alexander should order Nabarzanes to come to him, he would come without fear. He had no apprehension that so great a king would violate a pledge which he had given; the gods were not wont [13] to be deceived by a god. But if Nabarzanes should be thought unworthy of receiving a pledge, many places of exile were open to his flight; wherever a brave man has chosen his home, there is his native H land. Alexander did not hesitate to give a pledge, in the manner in which the Persians were wont to receive them, that if he should come, he would be unharmed.
Nevertheless Alexander went on with his army in square formation and in good order, sending scouts ahead from time to time, to reconnoitre the country.
[13] The light-armed troops led the march, the phalanx followed them, after the infantry was the baggage. Both the warlike race and the nature of their position, which was difficult of access, had put the king on his guard. For there is a continuous valley extending as far as the Caspian Sea, to which arms, so to speak, of that land jut forth; these, bending slightly in the middle, form a curve very like the moon with its horns standing out when that heavenly [17] body does not yet fill out its complete orb. The Cercetae and the Mossyni, and the Chalybes are on the left, and on the other side the fields of the Leucosyri and the Amazons; and it looks towards the latter where it slopes towards the north, to the [18] former when it is turned towards the west. The Caspian Sea, which is fresher than others, breeds serpents of huge size; the colours of the fish in it are very different from others. Some call it Caspian, others Hyrcanian; there are still others who think that the Maeotic pool empties into it, and they advance as evidence the water, because it is fresher than the other seas, since the water from the pool which has flowed into it tempers its saltness.
[19] Towards the north a great sea rushes upon the shore, drives its waves far, and like a rising tide forms a pool of great extent; but in another condition of the weather the sea retires into itself, and with the same force with which it poured in, it flows back and restores the land to its natural condition. And some have thought that this is not the Caspian Sea, but that the Ocean makes its way from India into Hyrcania, whose high land, as was said before, sinks into an uninterrupted valley.
[20] From here the king proceeded for twenty stadia by an almost impassable path, which a forest overhung, while torrents and floods delayed the march; yet since no enemy met them, they passed through, [21] and finally came to more cultivated places. Besides other supplies, of which the region then had an abundance, a huge amount of fruits is grown, and [22] the soil is very rich in producing grapes. A kind of tree winch is common there resembles an oak, the leaves of which are bedewed with a great deal of honey; but unless the natives gather it before sunrise, the sap is destroyed by even a moderate warmth.
[23] From there Alexander had advanced for thirty stadia, when Phrataphernes met him, surrendering himself and those who had fled after the death of Darius; having received them courteously, the king came to the town of Arvae. There Craterus and [24] Erigyius met him. They had brought Phradates, governor of the tribe of the Tapuri; he also was received under protection, and was an example to many in entrusting themselves to the king’s clemency.
[25] Then Alexander made Amminaspes satrap of Hyrcania; he had come to Philip as an exile during the reign of Ochus. Alexander also restored the tribe of the Tapuri to Phradates.
Hic vero palam cupiditates suas solvit continentiamque et moderationem, in altissima quaque fortuna eminentia bona, in superbiam ac lasciviam vertit. [2] Patrios mores disciplinamque Macedonum regum salubriter temperatam et civilem habitum velut leviora magnitudine sua ducens Persicae regiae par deorum potentiae fastigium aemulabatur : [3] iacere humi venerabundos ipsum paulatimque servilibus ministeriis tot victores gentium inbuere et capiti vis pares facere expetebat. [4] Itaque purpureum diadema distinctum albo, quale Dareus habuerat, capiti circumdedit vestemque Persicam sumpsit, ne omen quidem veritus, quod a victoris [p. 170] insignibus in devicti transiret habitum. [5] Et ille se quidem spolia Persarum gestare dicebat, sed cum illis quoque mores induerat, superbiamque habitus animi insolentia sequebatur. [6] Litteras quoque, quas in Europam mitteret, veteris anuli gemma obsignabat, iis, quas in Asiam scriberet, Darei anulus inprimebatur, ut adpareret unum animum duorum non capere fortunam. [7] Amicos vero et equites unaque principes militum, aspernantes quidem, sed recusare non ausos, Persicis ornaverat vestibus. [8] Pelices CCC et LXV, totidem quot Darei fuerant, regiam inplebant, quas spadonum greges et ipsi muliebria pati adsueti sequebantur. [9] Haec luxu et peregrinis infecta moribus veteres Philippi milites, rudis natio ad voluptates, palam aversabantur, [10] totisque castris unus omnium sensus ac sermo erat, plus amissum victoria quam bello esse quaesitum: cummaxime vinci ipsos deditos alienis moribus et externis. Quo tandem ore domos quasi in captivo habitu reversuros? Pudere iam sui regem: victis quam victoribus similiorem ex Macedoniae imperatore Darei Satrapen factum. [11] Ille non ignarus, et principes amicorum et exercitum graviter offendi, gratiam liberalitate donisque reparare temptabat. Sed, opinor, liberis pretium servitutis ingratum est. [12] Igitur, ne in seditionem res verteretur, [13] otium interpellandum erat bello, cuius materia opportune alebatur. Namque Bessus veste regia sumpta [p. 171] Artaxerxen appellari se iusserat Scythasque et ceteros Tanais accolas contrahebat. Haec Satibarzanes nuntiabat: quem receptum in fidem regioni, quam antea obtinuerat, praefecit. [14] Et cum grave spoliis apparatuque luxuriae agmen vix moveretur, suas primum, deinde totius exercitus sarcinas exceptis admodum necessariis conferri iussit in medium. [15] Planities spatiosa erat, in quam vehicula onusta perduxerant. Expectantibus cunctis, quid deinde esset imperaturus, iumenta iussit abduci suisque primum sarcinis face subdita ceteras incendi praecepit. [16] Plagrabant exurentibus dominis, quae ut intacta ex urbibus hostium raperent, saepe flammas restinxerant, nullo sanguinis pretium audente deflere, cum regias opes idem ignis exureret. [17] Brevi deinde ratio mitigavit dolorem, habilesque militiae et ad omnia parati laetabantur sarcinarum potius quam disciplinae fecisse iacturam. [18] Igitur Bactrianam regionem petebant. Sed Nicanor, Parmenionis filius, subita morte correptus magno desiderio sui adfecerat cunctos. [19] Rex ante omnis maestus cupiebat quidem subsistere funeri adfuturus, sed penuria commeatuum festinare cogebat: itaque Philotas cum duobus milibus et C relictus, ut iusta fratri persolveret, ipse contendit ad Bessum. [20] Iter facienti ei litterae adferuntur a finitimis satraparum, e quibus cognoscit Bessum quidem hostili animo occurrere cum exercitu, ceterum Satibarzanen, quem [p. 172] satrapeae Ariorum ipse praefecisset, defecisse ab eo. [21] Itaque quamquam Besso imminebat, tamen ad Satibarzanen opprimendum praeverti optimum ratus levem armaturam et equestres copias educit totaque nocte itinere strenue facto inprovisus hosti supervenit. [22] Cuius cognito adventu Satibarzanes cum duobus milibus equitum — nec plures subito contrahi poterant — Bactra perfugit, ceteri proximos montes occupaverunt. [23] Praerupta rupes est, qua spectat occidentem, eadem, qua vergit ad orientem, leniore summissa fastigio : multis arboribus obsita perennem habet fontem, ex quo large aquae manant. [24] Circuitus eius XXX et duo stadia conprehendit. In vertice herbidus campus: in hoc multitudinem inbellem considere iubent. Ipsi, qua rupes sedit, arborum truncos et saxa obmoliuntur. [25] XIII milia armata erant. In quorum obsidione Cratero relicto ipse Satibarzanen sequi festinat. At, quia longius abesse eum cognoverat, ad expugnandos eos, qui edita montium occupaverant, redit. [26] Ac primo repurgari iubet, quidquid ingredi possent, deinde, ut occurrebant in viae cotes praeruptaeque rupes, inritus labor videbatur obstante natura. [27] Ше, ut erat animi semper obluctantis difficultatibus, cum et progredi arduum et reverti periculosum esset, versabat se ad omnes cogitationes aliud atque aliud — ita ut fieri solet, ubi prima quaeque damnamus — subiciente animo. [28] Haesitanti, quod ratio non potuit, fortuna consilium subministravit. Vehemens favonius erat, et multam [p. 173] materiam ceciderat miles aditum per saxa molitus. Haec vapore torrida flamma arserat: [29] ergo adgeri alias arbores iubet et igni dari alimenta, celeriterque stipitibus cumulatis fastigium montis aequatum est. [30] Tunc undiqu
e ignis iniectus cuncta conprehendit. Flammam in ora hostium ventus ferebat, fumus ingens velut quadam nube absconderat caelum. [31] Sonabant incendio silvae, atque ea quoque, quae non incenderat miles, concepto igne proxima quaeque adurebant. Barbari suppliciorum ultimum, si qua intermoreretur ignis, effugere temptabant, sed, qua flamma dederat locum, hostis obstabat. [32] Varia igitur caede consumpti sunt: alii in medios ignis, alii petris praecipitavere se, quidam hostium manibus obtulerunt, pauci semustulati venere in potestatem. [33] Hinc ad Craterum, qui Artacana obsidebat, redit. Ille omnibus praeparatis regis expectabat adventum captae urbis titulo, sicut par erat, cedens. [34] Igitur Alexander turres admoveri iubet: ipsoque aspectu barbari territi e muris supinas manus tendentes orare coeperunt: iram in Satibarzanen, defectionis auctorem, reservaret, supplicibus semet dedentibus parceret. Rex data venia non obsidionem modo solvit, sed omnia sua incolis reddidit. [35] Ab hac urbe digresso supplementum novorum militum occurrit: Zoilus D equites ex Graecia adduxerat, III milia ex Illyrico Antipater miserat, Thessali equites C et XXX cum Philippo erant, ex Lydia II milia et sescenti, peregrinus miles, advenerant, CCC equites gentis eiusdem sequebantur. [36] Hаc manu adiecta adit Dran- [p. 174] gas: bellicosa natio est. Satrapes erat Barzaentes, sceleris in regem suum particeps Besso: is suppliciorum, quae meruerat, metu profugit in Indiam.
V. And already the king had entered the farthest part of Hyreania, when Artabazus, who, as we have said before, had been most faithful to Darius, met him with his own children and the relatives of Darius, [2] as well as with a small band of Greek soldiers. On his arrival the king offered him his right hand; for he had been a guest of Philip when he was in exile in the reign of Ochus, but the loyalty to his king, which he had maintained to the end, prevailed over the pledges [3] of guest-friendship. Being therefore affably greeted, he said: “May you for your part, king, I pray the gods, enjoy perpetual happiness; I, though in all other respects happy, am grieved by this alone, that because of hastening old age I cannot long enjoy [4] your kindness.” He was in his ninety-fifth year. Nine young men, all born of the same mother, accompanied their father; these Artabazus caused to take the king’s right hand, praying that they might live [5] so long as they might be helpful to Alexander. The king generally made a journey on foot; on that occasion he ordered horses to be brought for himself and Artabazus, in order that the aged man might not feel ashamed to ride a horse while the king himself went on foot.
[6] Then, after a camp had been pitched, the king ordered the Greeks whom Artabazus had brought to be called together; but they replied that unless a pledge of safety was given also to the Lacedaemonians and to the men of Sinopê, they would consider what step they ought to take. These had been sent as envoys of the Lacedaemonians to Darius, and after the defeat of that king had attached themselves to the Greeks who were serving as mercenaries with [8] the Persians. The king, having given them no pledges of protection nor promises, ordered them to come to him and to accept such fortune as he himself would give them. After long hesitation and many changes of mind, they finally promised that they [9] would come. But Démocrates, an Athenian, who had always been prominent in opposing the Macedonian power, despairing of pardon, fell upon his sword. All the rest, as they had decided, surrendered [10] at discretion to Alexander. They numbered 1500 soldiers, and besides these, ninety who had been sent as envoys to Darius. The soldiers were distributed as additions to the king’s troops, the rest were sent home except the Lacedaemonians whom he ordered to be held under guard.
[11] The Mardi were a race bordering on Hyrcania, a people of rude habits of life and accustomed to brigandage; they alone had neither sent envoys, nor seemed likely to be obedient to orders. Hence the king, piqued by the thought that one race might prevent him from having been “invincible,” having left the baggage with a guard, went on, accompanied [12] by a strong force. He had made the march by night, and at daybreak the enemy was in sight; it was rather a tumult than a battle. Dislodged from the hills of which they had taken possession, the barbarians fled, and the nearest villages, deserted by their inhabitants, [13] were taken. The interior parts of that region, however, could not be approached without greatly fatiguing the army; ranges of mountains, lofty forests, and impassable rocks shut them in, and such parts as are level the barbarians had obstructed by a novel kind of fortification. Trees are purposely planted close together; while their branches are still tender, they bend them down with their hands, twist them together, and again insert them in the earth; then, as if from another root, more vigorous trunks spring.
[15] They do not allow these to grow in the direction which Nature carries them, but they join them together, as if interlacing them. When they are clad in abundant foliage, they hide the ground; and so the secret snares, so to speak, of the branches [16] shut in the road by a continuous hedge. The only expedient was to cut an opening into the woods, but this too was a task of great difficulty. For the many knots had hardened the trunks, and the interlaced branches of the trees, like so many suspended festoons, by their tough interwoven shoots would bring to naught the strokes of the axe. The natives, however, being accustomed to crawl under the thickets like wild beasts, then also had entered the woods and from concealment were assailing their enemy with weapons. Alexander, tracing them to their lairs as hunters do, slew many of them, and finally ordered the soldiers to encircle the forest, and to rush in if they could find an opening anywhere; but in the unknown country many of them strayed and lost their way, and some were captured, among them the king’s horse — they called him Bucephalas — which Alexander valued more highly than all other animals. For he would not allow anyone else to sit upon his back, and when the king wished to mount him, he knelt down of its own accord to receive him, and seemed to know whom he was carrying. Therefore aroused with greater anger than was seemly and at the same time with grief, the king gave orders that the horse should be traced, and that proclamation should be made through an interpreter, that unless it should be returned, not a man would be left alive. Terrified by this threat, along with other gifts they brought the horse. But not even by this made milder, the king ordered the woods to be cut down and earth to be brought from the mountains and heaped upon the plain which was made impassable by the branches. And this work had already risen to a considerable height, when the barbarians, despairing of being able to hold the region which they had occupied, surrendered their nation. The king, after having received hostages, ordered them to submit to Phradates.
Then, four days later, the king returned to his permanent camp. From there he sent Artabazus home, after conferring on him double the honour which Darius had paid him. Now they had come to the city of Hyrcania in which the palace of Darius had been; there Nabarzanes, having received a safe [23] conduct, met him, bringing great gifts. Among these was Bagoas, a eunuch of remarkable beauty and in the very flower of boyhood, who had been loved by Darius and was afterwards to be loved by Alexander; and it was especially because of the boy’s entreaties that he was led to pardon Nabarzanes.
[24] There was, as was said before, neighbouring on Hyrcania, a race of Amazons, inhabiting the plains of [25] Themiscyra, about the river Thermodon. They had a queen, Thalestris, who ruled all who dwelt between the Caucasus mountains and the river Phasis. She, fired with a desire to visit the king, came forth from the boundaries of her kingdom, and when she was not far away sent messenger’s to give notice that a queen had come who was eager to meet him and to become acquainted with him. She was at once given permission [26] to come. Having ordered the rest of her escort to halt, she came forward attended by three hundred women, and as soon as the king was in sight, she herself leaped down from her horse, carrying two [27] lances in her right hand. The clothing of the Amazons does not wholly cover the body; for the left side is nude as far as the breast, then the other parts of the body are veiled. However, the fold of the robe, which they gather in a knot, does not [28] reach below the knee. One nipple is left untouched, and with it they nourish their female children; the right is seared, in order
that they may more easily stretch their bows and hurl their spears.
[29] With fearless expression Thalestris gazed at the king, carefully surveying his person, which did not by any means correspond to the fame of his exploits; for all the barbarians feel veneration for a majestic presence, and believe that only those are capable of great deeds whom nature has deigned to adorn with [30] extraordinary physical attractiveness. However, on being asked whether she wished to make any request, she did not hesitate to confess that she had come to share children with the king, being worthy that he should beget from her heirs to his kingdom; that she would retain any female offspring but would return [31] a male to his father. Alexander asked her whether she wished to serve in war with him; but she, giving as an excuse that she had left her realm without a guard, persisted in asking that he should not suffer [32] her to go away disappointed in her hope. The passion of the woman, being, as she was, more keen for love than the king, compelled him to remain there for a few days. Thirteen days were spent in satisfying her desire. Then she went to her kingdom, and the king to Parthienê.
Iam nonum diem stativa erant, cum externa vi non tutus modo rex, [2] sed invictus intestino facinore petebatur. Dymnus, modicae apud regem auctoritatis et gratiae, exoleti, cui Nicomacho erat nomen, amore flagrabat obsequio uni sibi dediti corporis vinctus. [3] Is, quod ex vultu quoque perspici poterat, similis attonito remotis arbitris cum iuvene secessit in templum arcana se [4] et silenda adferre praefatus suspensumque expectatione per mutuam caritatem et pignora utriusque animi rogat, ut adfirmet iureiurando, quae commisisset, silentio esse tecturum. [5] Et ille ratus nihil, quod etiam cum periurio detegendum foret, [6] indicaturum per praesentes deos iurat. Tum Dymnus aperit in tertium diem regi insidias conparatas seque eius consilii fortibus viris et inlustribus esse participem. [7] Quibus iuvenis auditis se vero fidem in parricidio dedisse constanter abnuit nec ulla religione, [8] ut scelus tegat, posse constringi. Dymnus et amore et metu amens dexteram exoleti conplexus et lacrimans orare primum, ut particeps consilii operisque fieret: [9] si id sustinere non posset, attamen ne proderet se, cuius erga ipsum benivolentiae praeter alia hoc quoque haberet fortissimum pignus, quod caput suum permisisset fidei adhuc inexpertae. [10] Ad ultimum aversari scelus perseverantem mortis metu terret: ab illo capite coniuratos pulcherrimum facinus incohaturos. [11] Alias deinde effeminatum et muliebriter [p. 175] timidum, alias proditorem amatoris appellans, nunc ingenua promittens, interdumque regnum quoque, [12] versabat animum tanto facinore procul abhorrentem. Strictum deinde gladium modo illius, modo suo admovens iugulo, supplex idem et infestus, expressit tandem, ut non solum silentium, sed etiam operam polliceretur. [13] Namque abunde constantis animi et dignus, qui pudicus esset, nihil ex pristina voluntate mutaverat, sed captum Dymni amore simulabat nihil recusare. [14] Sciscitari inde pergit, cum quibus tantae rei societatem inisset: plurimum referre, quales viri tam memorabili operi admoturi manus essent. [15] Ille et amore et scelere male sanus simul gratias agit, simul gratulatur, quod fortissimis iuvenum non dubitasset se adiungere, Demetrio, corporis custodi, Peucolao, Nicanori: adicit his Aphobetum, Iolaum, Theoxenum, Archepolim, Amyntam. [16] Ab hoc sermone dimissus Nicomochus ad fratrem — Cebalino erat nomen — quae acceperat, defert. Placet ipsum subsistere in tabernaculo, ne, si regiam 3о intrasset non adsuetus adire regem, coniurati proditos se esse resciscerent. [17] Ipse Cebalinus ante vestibulum regiae — neque enim propius aditus ei patebat — consistit opperiens aliquem ex prima cohorte [p. 176] [18] amicorum, a quo introduceretur ad regem. Forte ceteris dimissis unus Philotas, Parmenionis filius — incertum quam ob causam — substiterat in regia: huic Cebalinas ore confuso magnae perturbationis notas prae se ferens aperit, [19] quae ex fratre conpererat, et sine dilatione nuntiari regi iubet. Philotas conlaudato eo protinus intrat ad Alexandrum multoque invicem de aliis rebus sermone consumpto nihil eorum, quae ex Cebalino cognoverat, nuntiat. [20] Sub vesperam eum prodeuntem in vestibulo regiae excipit iuvenis, [21] an mandatum executus foret, requirens. Ille non vacasse sermoni suo regem causatus discessit. Postero die Cebalinus venienti in regiam praesto est intrantemque admonet pridie communicatae cum ipso rei. Ille curae sibi esse respondet: [22] ac ne tum quidem regi, quae audierat, aperit. Coeperat Cebalino esse suspectus: itaque non ultra interpellandum ratus nobili iuveni — Metron erat ei nomen — super armamentarium posito, quod scelus pararetur, indicat. [23] Ille Cebalino in armamentario abscondito protinus regi corpus forte curanti, [24] quid index detulisset, ostendit. Rex ad conprehendendum Dynmum missis satellitibus armamentarium intrat. Ibi Cebalinus gaudio elatus: ‘Habeo te,’ inquit, ‘incolumem ex inpiorum manibus ereptum.’ [25] Percontatus deinde Alexander, quae noscenda erant, ordine cuncta cognoscit. [26] Rursusque institit quaerere, quotus dies esset, ex quo Nicomachus ad eum detulisset indicium. Atque [p. 177] illo fatente iam tertium esse, existimans haud incorrupta fide tanto post deferre, quae audierat, vinciri eum iussit. [27] At ille clamitare coepit eodem temporis momento, quo audisset, ad Philotan decucurrisse: ab eo оpеriri conperta. [28] Rex identidem quaerens, an Philotan adisset, an institisset ei, ut pervenirent ad se, perseverante eo adfirmare, quae dixerat, manus ad caelum tendens manantibus lacrimis hanc sibi a carissimo quondam amicorum relatam gratiam querebatur. [29] Inter haec Dymnus haud ignaras, quam ob causam accerseretur a rege, gladio, quo forte erat cinctus, graviter se vulnerat occursuque satellitum inhibitus perfertur in regiam. [30] Quem intuens rex: ‘Quod,’ inquit, ‘in te, Dymne, tantum cogitavi nefas, ut tibi Macedonum regno dignior Philotas me quoque ipso videretur?’ Ilium iam defecerat vox: itaque edito gemitu vultuque a conspectu regis averso subinde conlapsus extinguitur. [31] Rex Philota venire in regiam iusso: ‘Cebalinus,’ inquit, ‘ultimum supplicium meritus, si in caput meum praeparatas insidias biduo texit: sed huius criminis Philotan reum substituit, ad quem protinus indicium detulisse se adfirmat. [32] Quo propiore gradu amicitiae me contingis, hoc maius est dissimulationis tuae facinus, et ego Cebalino magis quam Philotae id convenire [p. 178] fateor. Faventem habes iudicem, si, quod admitti non oportuit, saltem purgari potest.’ [33] Ad haec Philotas haud sane trepidus, si animus vultu aestimaretur, Cebalinum quidem scorti sermonem ad se detulisse, sed ipsum tam levi auctore nihil credidisse respondit, veritum, ne iurgium inter amatorem et exoletum non sine risu aliorum detulisset: [34] cum Dymnus semet interemerit, qualiacumque erant, non fuisse reticenda. Conplexusque regem orare coepit, ut praeteritam vitam potius quam culpam, [35] silentii tamen, non facti ullius, intueretur. Haud facile dixerim, credideritne ei rex an altius iram suppresserit: dexteram reconciliatae gratiae pignus obtulit et contemptum magis quam celatum indicium esse videri sibi dixit.
Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus Page 101