reft of the fpoils: Alexander, fon of Philip, with the Greeks (the Lacedæmonians excepted) gained thefe fpoils from the Barbarians, who inhabit Afia. A conduct of this kind argues a very uncommon and amiable greatnefs of foul in a conqueror, who generally cannot, without great reluctance, admit others to fhare in his glory. The greatest part of the gold and filver plate, the purple carpets, and other furniture of the Perfian luxury, he fent to his mother. SECT. IV. Alexander conquers the greatest part of Afia Minor. He falls fick of a mortal diftemper, occafioned by bathing in the river Sydnus. Philip the phyfician cures him in a few days. Alexander paffes the Straits of Cilicia. Darius advances at the fame time. The bold and free anfwer of Caridemus to that prince, which cofts him his life. Defcription of Darius's march. "THE HE fuccefs of the battle of the Granicus had all the happy confequences that could naturally be expected from it. Sardis, which was in a manner the bulwark of the Barbarian empire on the fide next the fea, furrendered to Alexander, who thereupon gave the citizens their liberty, and permitted them to live after their own laws. Four days after he arrived at Ephefus, carrying with him thofe who had been banished from thence for being his adherents, and restored its popular form of government. He affigned to the temple of Diana the tributes which were paid to the kings of Perfia. He offered a great number of facrifices to that goddefs; folemnifed her myfteries with the utmost pomp, and conducted the ceremony with his whole army drawn up in battle array. The Ephefians had begun to rebuild the temple of Diana, which had been burned the night of Alexander's birth, as was before obferved, and the work A. M. 3671. Ant. J. C. 333. Diod. 1. xvii. p. 503-511. Arrian. 1. i. p. 36-59. & l. ii. p. 60-66. Plut. in Alex. p. 673, 674. Q. Curt. I. iii. c. 1-3. Juftin. 1. xi. c. 7, 8. Strab. 1. xiv. p. 640. Solin. c. xl. work was now very forward. Dinocrates, a famous architect, who fuperintended this edifice, was employed by this king to build Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander offered to pay the Ephefians all the expences they had already been at, and to furnifh the remainder, provided they would infcribe the temple only with his name; for he was fond, or rather insatiable, of every kind of glory. The inhabitants of Ephesus not being willing to confent to it, and however afraid to refufe him that honour openly, had recourse to an artful flattery for an evafion. They told him, that it was inconfiftent for one god to erect monuments to another. Before he left Ephefus, the deputies of the cities of Trallis and Magnefia waited upon him with the keys of thofe places. He afterwards marched to Miletus, which city, flattered with the hopes of a fudden and powerful fupport, hut their gates against him: and indeed the Perfian fleet, which was very confiderable, made a fhow as if it would fuccour that city; but after having made feveral fruitless attempts to engage that of the enemy, it was forced to fail away. Meinnon had fhut himself up in this fortrefs, with a great number of his foldiers, who had efcaped from the battle, and was determined to make a good defence. Alexander, who would not lofe a moment's time, attacked it, and planted fcaling-ladders on all fides. The scalado was carried on with great vigour, and oppofed with no lefs intrepidity, though Alexander fent fresh troops to relieve one another without the leaft intermiffion; and this lafted feveral days. At last, finding his foldiers were every where repulfed, and that the city was provided with every thing for a long fiege, he planted all his machines against it, made a great number of breaches, and whenever thefe were attacked, a new fcalado was attempted. The befieged, after fuftaining all thefe efforts with prodigious bravery, capitulated, for fear of being taken by ftorm. Alexander treated all the Milefians with the utmost humanity, and fold all the foreigners who were found in it. The hiftorians do not make any mention of Memnon, but we may reasonably fuppofe that he marched out with the garrison. C 5 Alexander, x * Alexander, feeing that the enemy's fleet was failed away, refolved to lay up his own, the expence of it being too great, not to mention that he wanted money for things of greater importance. Some hiftorians are even of opinion, that as he was upon the point of coming to a battle with Darius, which was to determine the fate of the two empires, he was refolved to deprive his foldiers of all hopes of retreat, and to leave them no other refource than that of victory. He, therefore, retained fuch veffels only of his fleet, as were abfolutely neceffary for tranfporting the military engines, and a small number of other gallies. After poffeffing himself of Miletus, he marched into Caria, in order to lay fiege to Halicarnaffus. The city was of prodigious difficult accefs from its happy fituation, and had been strongly fortified. Befides, Memnon, the ableft as well as the most valiant of all Darius's com. manders, had got into it with a body of choice foldiers, with defign to fignalize his courage and fidelity for his fovereign. He accordingly made a very noble defence, in which he was feconded by Ephialtes, another general of great merit. Whatever could be expected from the moft intrepid bravery, and the most confummate knowledge in the fcience of war, was confpicuous on both fides on this occafion. After the befiegers had, with incredible labour, filled up part of the ditches, and brought their engines near the walls, they had the grief to fee their works demolished in an inftant, and their engines fet on fire, by the frequent vigorous fallies of the befieged. After beating down part of a wall with their battering-rams, they were aftonifhed to fee a new one behind it; which was fo fudden, that it feemed to rife out of the ground. The attack of thefe walls, which were built in a femi-circular form, deftroyed a prodigious number of men; because the befieged, from the top of the towers that were raised on the feveral fides, took the enemy in flank. It was evidently feen at this fiege, that the ftrongeft fortifications of a city are the valour and * A. M. 3671. Ant. J. C. 333. courage courage of its defenders. The fiege was held out fo long, and attended with fuch furprising difficulties, as would have difcouraged any warrior but an Alexander; yet his troops were animated by the view of dangers, and their patience was at laft fuccefsful. Memnon, finding it impoffible for him to hold out any longer, was forced to abandon the city. As the fea was open to him, after having put a ftrong garrifon into the citadel, which was well stored with provifion, he took with him the furviving inhabitants, with all their riches, and conveyed them into the island of Cos, which was not far from Halicarnaffus. Alexander did not think proper to befiege the citadel, it being of little importance after the city was deftroyed, which he demolifhed to the very foundations. He left it, after having encompassed it with ftrong walls, and left fome good troops in the country. After the death of Artemifia, queen of Caria, Idrieus her brother reigned in her ftead. The fceptre devolved upon Ada, fifter and wife of Idrieus, according to the cuftom of the country; but fhe was dethroned by Pexodorus, to whom fucceeded, by Darius's command, Orontobates, his fon-in-law. Ada, however, was still poffeffed of a fortrefs called Alinda, the keys of which The had carried to Alexander, the inftant fhe heard of his arrival in Caria, and had adopted him for her fon. The king was fo far from contemning this honour, that he left her the quiet poffeffion of her own city; and, after having taken Halicarnaffus, as he by that means was mafter of the whole country, he reftored the government of it to Ada. This lady, as a teftimony of the deep fenfe fhe had of the favours received from Alexander, fent him every day meats dreffed in the most exquifite manner; delicious pies of all forts, and the most excellent cooks of every kind. Alexander anfwered the queen on this occafion, "That all this train was of no fervice to him, for that he was poffeffed of much better cooks, whom * Leonidas wu puola gin his * Βελτιονας γαρ οψοποιες εχειν υπό τα παιδαγωγων Λεονίδι δεδόμενος αυτο προς μεν το αριςον ηυκτοπορίας, προς δε το δείπνον ολιγαρισίαν. "his governor had given him; one of whom prepared "him a good dinner, and that was by walking a great "deal in the morning very early; and the other pre"pared him an excellent fupper, and that was dining very moderately." Several kings of Afia Minor fubmitted voluntarily to Alexander. Mithridates king of Pontus was one of thefe, who afterwards adhered to this prince, and followed him in his expeditions. He was fon to Ariobarzanes, governor of Phrygia, and king of Pontus, of whom mention has been made elsewhere. z He is computed to be the fixteenth king from Artabazus, who is confidered as the founder of that kingdom, of which he was put in poffeffion by Darius, fon of Hyftafpes his father. The famous Mithridates, who fo long employed the Roman armies, was one of his fucceffors. a Alexander, before he went into winter-quarters, permitted all fuch of his foldiers, as had married that year, to return into Macedonia, there to spend the winter with their wives, upon condition that they would return in the fpring. He appointed three officers to march them thither and back again. This agrees exactly with the Jaw of Mofes; and, as we do not find that this law or custom was ufed by any other nation, it is very probable that Ariftotle had learned it from fome Jew, with whom he became acquainted in Afia; and that approving it as a very wife and just custom, he therefore had recommended it to his pupil, who remembered it on this occafion. The next year Alexander began the campaign very early. He had debated, whether it would be proper for him to march directly against Darius, or fhould first fubdue the reft of the maritime provinces. The latter opinion appeared the fafeft, fince he thereby would not be molefted by fuch nations as he fhould leave behind him. This progrefs was a little interrupted at first. Near Phafelis, a city fituated between Lycia and Pamphylia, is a defile along the fea-fhore, which is always b dry Florus, 1. iii, c. 5. Deut. xxiv. 5. b Strab.1. xiv. p. 666. |