Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus

by Quintus Curtius Rufus

  V. Therefore having entrusted the region of the Bactriani to Artabazus, he left there the packs and baggage with a garrison, and himself with a lightarmed force entered the desert places of the Sogdiani [2] leading his army by night. The scarcity of water, mentioned above, sets up a burning thirst through despair of finding it, before it does so by desire for drinking. For 400 stadia not even a drop of water [3] is to be found. The heat of the summer sun makes the sands hot, and when they began to glow, everything is burned as if by a continuous conflagration.

  Then too a mist, aroused by the excessive warmth of the ground, obscures the light, and the aspect of the plain is not unlike that of a vast and deep sea.”

  By night the march seemed endurable, since their bodies were relieved by the dew and by the early morning coolness. But with the very daylight the heat returns, and dryness consumes all their natural moisture; mouths and innermost vitals are [6] parched. As a result, first their courage and then their strength began to give out, they were [7] reluctant either to stand still or to go on. A few, advised by those who knew the region, had provided themselves with water beforehand; this for a time appeased their thirst, then, as the heat increased, the desire for water was kindled again. Therefore what wine and oil there was lavished upon all, and so great was the pleasure of drinking, that they [8] did not fear thirst for the future. Later, heavy from drinking greedily, they could not carry their arms nor march, and those seemed more fortunate who had had nothing to drink, since those who had were forced to get rid of by vomiting up what they had poured down without moderation.

  [9] The king, worried by such troubles, was surrounded by his friends, who begged him to remember that the greatness of his own courage was the sole remedy for [10] the weakness of the army; when two of those who had gone ahead to choose a place for a camp met them, bringing water in skins, in order to aid their sons who were in that same army and whom they [11] knew to be suffering severely from thirst. When they met Alexander, one of them opened one of the skins, filled a cup which he was carrying with him, and offered it to the king. He took it; then, having asked for whom he was bringing the water, he learned [12] that he was bringing it for his sons. Thereupon, returning the full cup, just as it had been offered to him, the king said: “I cannot endure to drink alone, and I cannot distribute so little among all; do you hasten and give to your children what you have brought for them.” [13] At length Alexander came to the river Oxus at about sunset. But the great part of the army had been unable to keep up with him; hence he ordered fires to be lighted on a high hill, in order that those who were following with difficulty might know that [14] they were not far from the camp, but that of those who were in the front of the army, after speedily refreshing themselves with food and drink, some should fill skins, others whatever other vessels could [15] hold water, and bring aid to his men. But those who had drunk too intemperately, had a choking fit and died, and the number of these was much greater [16] than the king had lost in any battle. But he, still wearing his cuirass and refreshed neither with food nor drink, stood on the road by which the army was coming, nor did he retire to refresh himself until the whole army had passed by, and he spent that whole [17] night without sleep in great trouble of mind. Nor was he more cheerful on the following day, because he had no boats, nor could a bridge be set up, since all the land around the river was bare and especially lacking in timber. Therefore he adopted the only [18] expedient that necessity had suggested; he distributed as many skins stuffed with straw as possible; lying upon these, they swam across the river, and those who had crossed first remained on guard until the rest had passed over. In this way he brought his whole army on the farther bank after five days.

  [19] And now he had decided to go on in pursuit of Bessus, when he learned what had happened in the country of the Sogdiani. Spitamenes was most [20] highly honoured by Bessus among all his friends, but treachery cannot be tamed by any services, a thing which nevertheless might have been less odious in his case, since it seemed that no wrong could be done by anyone to Bessus, the murderer of his king. A specious pretext for his crime was offered, namely, the avenging of Darius, but it was the fortune, not the evil [21] deed, of Bessus that he hated. For when he learned that Alexander had crossed the river Oxus, he enrolled Dataphernes and Catanes, in whom Bessus had the greatest confidence, as accomplices in the conspiracy which he had planned. They consented more promptly than they were asked, and taking with them eight very strong young men, they laid the [22] following snare. Spitamenes went to Bessus and in a private conference said that he had learned that Dataphernes and Catanes were plotting against him, in order to deliver him alive to Alexander; that he had anticipated their conspiracy and was holding them in fetters.

  [23] Bessus, under obligation for this great service, as he thought it, both thanked them and, eager to inflict punishment, ordered the two men to be brought [24] to him. They, with their arms voluntarily bound, were dragged in by the accomplices in the plot; Bessus, gazing fiercely at them, arose, evidently unable to refrain from laying hands upon them. Then they, laying aside pretence, surrounded him, and in spite of his vain attempts at resistance bound him, tearing from his head the royal tiara and rending the clothes which he had put on from the spoils of the murdered [25] king. Bessus, confessing that the gods had come as avengers of his crime, added that they had not been unfavourable to Darius, whom they thus avenged, but propitious to Alexander, since even his enemies [26] always aided his victory. Whether the populace would have rescued Bessus is uncertain, had not those who had bound him, by falsely saying that they had done so by order of Alexander,” terrified them while their minds were still wavering. The conspirators placed him on a horse and took him to be delivered to Alexander.

  [27] Meanwhile the king, having selected about 900 of those whose discharge was due, gave two talents to each of the cavalry and to each of the infantry 3000 denarii, and sent them home after exhorting them to beget children. To the rest he gave thanks, because they promised to render good service for the remainder of the war.

  [28] While the king was pursuing Bessus, they arrived at a little town. It was inhabited by the Branchidae; they had in former days migrated from Miletus by order of Xerxes, when he was returning from Greece, and had settled in that place, because to gratify Xerxes they had violated the temple which is [29] called the Didymeon. They had not ceased to follow the customs of their native land, but they were already bilingual, having gradually degenerated from their original language through the influence of a foreign tongue. Therefore they received Alexander with great joy and surrendered their city and themselves. He ordered the Milesians who were serving [30] with him to be called together. They cherished a hatred of long standing against the race of the Branchidae. Therefore the king allowed to those who had been betrayed free discretion as to the Branchidae, whether they preferred to remember [31] the injury or their common origin. Then, since their opinions varied, he made known to them that he himself would consider what was best to be done.

  On the following day when the Branchidae met him, he ordered them to come along with him, and when they had reached the city, he himself entered [32] the gate with a light-armed company; the phalanx he ordered to surround the walls of the town and at a given signal to pillage the city, which was a haunt of traitors, and to kill the inhabitants to a man.

  [33] The unarmed wretches were butchered everywhere, and the cruelty could not be checked either by community of language or by the draped olive branches and prayers of the suppliants. At last, in order that the walls might be thrown down, their foundations were undermined, so that no vestige of the city might [34] survive. As for their woods also and their sacred groves, they not only cut them down, but even pulled out the stumps, to the end that, since even the roots were burned out, nothing but a desert waste [35] and sterile ground might be left. If this had been designed against the actual authors of the treason, it would seem to have been a just vengeance and not cruelty; as it was, their descendants expiated th
e guilt of their forefathers, although they themselves had never seen Miletus, and so could not have betrayed it to Xerxes. — [36] Then Alexander advanced to the river Tanais. Thither Bessus was brought, not only bound, but stripped of all his clothing. Spitamenes held him with a chain placed about his neck, a sight as pleasing to the barbarians as to the Macedonians. Then Spitamenes said: “Avenging both you and Darius, my kings, I have brought you the slayer of his lord, captured in the manner of which he himself set the example. Would that Darius might open his eyes to behold the spectacle. Would that he might rise from the lower world, since he did not deserve such a [38] fate and merits this consolation.” Alexander, after having highly praised Spitamenes, turned to Bessus and said: “Of what wild beast did the frenzy enter your mind when you had the heart, first to bind, and then to kill the king who was your greatest benefactor? But the reward for this parricide you have [39] paid yourself by the false name of king.” Bessus, not daring to deny his crime, said that he had used the title of king in order that he might be able to hand over his nation to him; for if he had delayed, another would have seized the rule.

  [40] But Alexander ordered Oxathres, the brother of Darius, whom he had among his body-guard, to come nearer, and that Bessus be delivered to him, in order that, bound to a cross after his ears and his nose had been cut off, the barbarians might pierce him with arrows and so guard his body that not even the birds [41] could touch it. Oxathres answered that he would take care of the rest; he added that the birds could not be kept off by anyone else than Catanes, desiring to show the man’s remarkable skill; for he struck his mark with so sure an aim that he even brought down birds. Nowadays perhaps, when the use of arrows is frequent, such skill may seem less wonderful, but at that time it was a great wonder to those who saw it [43] and gained Catanes great repute. Gifts were given to all who had brought in Bessus. But Alexander postponed his execution, in order that he might be slain in that very place where he had killed Darius.

  Interea Macedones ad petendum pabulum inconposito agmine egressi a barbaris, qui de proximis montibus decurrerunt, opprimuntur pluresque capti sunt quam occisi: [2] barbari autem captivos prae se agentes rursus in montem recesserunt. XX milia latronum erant : fundis sagittisque pugnam invadunt. [3] Quos dum obsidet rex, inter promptissimos dimicans sagitta ictus est, quae in medio crure fixa reliquerat spiculum. [4] Illum quidem maesti et attoniti Macedones in castra referebant, sed nec barbaros fefellit subductus ex acie — quippe ex edito monte cuncta prospexerant — : [5] itaque postero die misere legatos ad regem. Quos ille protinus iussit admitti solutisque fasciis magnitudinem vulneris dissimulans crus barbaris ostendit. [6] Illi iussi considere adfirmant non Macedonas quam ipsos tristiores fuisse cognito vulnere ipsius : cuius si auctorem repperissent, dedituros fuisse: cum dis enim pugnare sacrilegos tantum. [7] Ceterum se gentem in fidem dedere superatos vulnere illius. Rex fide data et captivis receptis gentem in deditionem accepit. [8] Castris inde motis lectica militari ferebatur. Quam pro se quisque eques pedesque subire certabant: equites, cum quibus rex proelia inire solitus erat, sui muneris id esse censebant, pedites contra, cum saucios commilitones ipsi gestare adsuevissent, eripi sibi [p. 228] proprium officium tum potissimum, cum rex gestandus esset, querebantur. [9] Rex in tanto utriusque partis certamine et sibi difficilem et praeteritis gravem electionem futuram ratus invicem subire eos iussit. [10] Hinc quarto die ad urbem Maracanda perventum est: LXX stadia murus urbis amplectitur, arx alio cingitur muro. Mille praesidio urbis relictis proximos vicos depopulatur atque urit. [11] Legati deinde Abiorum Scytharum superveniunt, liberi, ex quo decesserat Cyrus, tum imperata facturi. Iustissimos barbarorum constabat: amis abstinebant nisi lacessiti, libertatis modico et aequali usu principibus humiliores pares fecerant. [12] Hos benigne adlocutus ad eos Scythas, qui Europam incolunt, Derdam quendam misit ex amicis, qui denuntiaret his, ne Tanain amnem regionis iniussu regis transirent. Eidem mandatum, ut contemplaretur locorum situm et illos quoque Scythas, qui super Bosphorum colunt, viseret. [13] Condendae urbi sedem super ripam Tanais elegerat, claustrum et iam perdomitorum et, quot deinde adire decreverat: sed consilium distulit Sogdianorum nuntiata defectio, quae Bactrianos quoque traxit. [14] milia equitum erant, quorum auctoritatem ceteri sequebantur. Alexander Spitamenen et Catanen, a quibus ei traditus erat Bessus, haud dubius, quin eorum opera a [p. 229] redigi possent in potestatem, coercendo qui novaverant res, iussit accersi. [15] At illi, defectionis, ad quam coercendam evocabantur, auctores, vulgaverant fama Bactrianos equites a rege omnes, ut occiderentur, accersi, idque imperatum ipsis non sustinuisse tamen exequi, ne inexpiabile in populares facinus admitterent. Non magis Alexandri saevitiam quam Bessi parricidium ferre potuisse. Itaque sua sponte iam motos metu poenae haud difficulter ad arma concitaverunt. [16] Alexander transfugarum defectione conperta Craterum obsidere Cyropolim iubet: ipse aliam urbem regionis eiusdem corona capit, signoque, ut puberes interficerentur, dato reliqui in praedam cessere victoris. Urbs diruta est, ut ceteri cladis eius exemplo continerentur. [17] Memaceni, valida gens, obsidionem non ut honestiorem modo, sed etiam ut tutiorem ferre decreverant: ad quorum pertinaciam mitigandam rex L equites praemisit, qui clementiam ipsius in deditos simulque inexorabilem animum in devictos ostenderent. [18] Illi nec de fide nec de dementia regis ipsos dubitare respondent equitesque tendere extra munimenta urbis iubent : hospitaliter deinde exceptos gravesque epulis et somno intempesta nocte adorti interfecerunt. [19] Alexander haud secus, quam par erat, motus urbem corona circumdedit, munitiorem, quam ut primo impetu capi posset. [p. 230] Itaque Meleagrum et Perdiccan in obsidionem iungit: [20] ipse ad Craterum pergit Cyropolim, ut ante dictum est, obsidentem. Statuerat autem parcere urbi conditae a Cyro : quippe non alium gentium illarum magis admiratus est quam hunc regem et Samiramin, quos et magnitudine animi et claritate rerum longe emicuisse credebat. [21] Ceterum pertinacia oppidanorum iram eius accendit: itaque captam urbem diripi iussit. Deleta ea Memacenis haud iniuria infestus ad Meleagrum et Perdiccam redit. [22] Sed non alia urbs fortius obsidionem tulit: quippe et militum promptissimi cecidere et ipse rex ad ultimum periculum venit. Namque cervix eius saxo ita icta est, ut oculis caligine offusa conlaberetur, ne mentis quidem compos: exercitus certe velut erepto iam eo ingemuit. [23] Sed invictus adversus ea, quae ceteros terrent, non dum percurato vulnere acrius obsidioni institit naturalem celeritatem ira concitante. Cuniculo ergo suffossa moenia ingens nudavere spatium, per quod inrupit, victorque urbem dirui iussit. [24] Hinc Menedemum cum tribus milibus peditum et DCCC equitibus ad urbem Maracanda misit. Spitamenes transfuga praesidio Macedonum inde deiecto muris urbis eius incluserat se non adeo oppidanis consilium [p. 231] defectionis adprobantibus: sequi tamen videbantur, quia prohibere non poterant. [25] Interim Alexander ad Tanain amnem redit et, quantum soli occupaverat castris, muro circumdedit: LX stadiorum urbis murus fuit. Hanc quoque urbem Alexandriam appellari iussit. [26] Opus tanta celeritate perfectum est, ut XVII die, quam munimenta excitata erant, tecta quoque urbis absolverentur. Ingens militum certamen inter ipsos fuerat, ut suum quisque munus — nam divisum erat — primus ostenderet. [27] Incolae novae urbi dati captivi, quos reddito pretio dominis liberavit: quorum posteri nunc quoque non apud eos tam longa aetate propter memoriam Alexandri exoleverunt.