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The next day, Darius summoned his Grand Vizier to the Apadana. The Grand Vizier performed the required proskynesis, rose from the floor, and then waited for his monarch’s recognition. As he waited, he studied the Great King’s features. Darius, sitting beneath the jewel-laden golden plane tree, was near godlike in the impression that he made. He was handsome by any culture’s standards, enormously tall and had sharp facial features. His face was covered with a thick, black beard. The royal barber had curled it into scores of tiny ringlets.
Even standing at two arm lengths, the beard’s smell overwhelmed the Vizier’s nostrils. He knew that its fragrance came from an exotic combination of rich unguents and expensive Persian perfumes. The powerful aroma wafting through the throne room signified the Great King’s exalted status and masked his foul breath. The Vizier saw that Darius seemed lost in afterlife reveries, as he watched him continue to gaze across the vastness of his throne room.
Still unacknowledged, the Vizier studied Darius’ clothing. It could only be described as exalted. The Great King wore a Median garment that was predominantly royal purple. His chest was covered with a shirt that had long sleeves down to his wrists. Layering this was a mantle. It was beautifully sewn with intricate and abstract images of Persian peacocks. Darius’ legs were covered to the ankle with multicolored, silken trousers. Precious jewels, gold, and silver were draped from nearly every part of his body. His enormous feet were booted and rested on a stool of pure gold. It had been created from gold nuggets provided as tribute to the Great King from India’s Indus River. No one else in the palace was allowed to dress so grandly. At last, Darius returned to earth and recognized his Grand Vizier. “What is my schedule for today?”
“Memnon of Rhodes is here, Great King,” the Vizier answered. “We didn’t expect him for two or three days, but he made a forced ride. He arrived late this morning. Do you wish to receive him now, or should I tell him to come back in the morning?”
Darius at first considered having his Greek mercenary general return the next day but thought better of it. He had read all the recent dispatches from Memnon and knew that he had been moderately successful in reversing the initial gains of the Macedonian expeditionary force. However, Memnon’s early arrival must have special meaning. “I’ll see him now. Stay here with us; I want you informed of the Greek’s actions.”
The Vizier summoned the guard and soon Memnon came into the throne room. He gave the required proskynesis to the Great King, lying prostrate on the blue, malachite floor. When Darius acknowledged the act of subservience, the Greek rose and addressed his royal patron.
“Honor and the blessings of the god Ahura Mazda to you, Great King,” he began by speaking through an Aramaic language court translator. “I am here to inform you of events in Macedon and relate what our sources tell us about Alexander’s intentions.”
“Has he returned to Pella yet?”
“By now, yes, Great King. He appears to have been successful against the barbarians surrounding Macedonia. We expect that his next move will be in central or southern Greece. Although Thessaly was pacified bloodlessly, your Athenian bribes are on the verge of causing the Greeks to rebel against the Macedonian garrisons. Alexander may be marching south as we speak.”
“Will the Athenians support the rebellions with anything more than words?” Darius asked sarcastically. “Or do they simply take my gold, without any armed resistance to the boy? I’ve already given them 300 gold talents. Are we influencing Athenian policy or just enriching Demosthenes?”
“We don’t know, Great King,” Memnon responded. “Demosthenes has taken Persian gold for years, without clear results. He plays his game of Greek politics. Athens is fomenting trouble in Thebes. She would like nothing more than to have her rivals destroy each other. She could then assume Greek leadership and resume her drive toward confederation.”
“I want regular reports on Alexander’s actions. When you return to Phrygia, direct our Greek agents to keep both of us informed about the Macedonians.
“What about General Parmenio? Has he driven any deeper into my territory?”
“The contest is nearly stalemated, Great King. Before you commissioned me to confront him, he had expanded the Macedonian bridgehead ever farther south. Most of the Greek colonies in Ionia had come over to him. When I retook Lampsacus, it forced Parmenio to retreat to a secure base at Abydos. The Macedonians hold it now. If Alexander secures his Greek mainland rear, that’s where his army will cross the narrows. We must stop them not far from that spot or they’ll gain a foothold.”
Darius became thoughtful, and then spoke. “Return and rally the satraps of Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia. They’re brave subjects, but they need knowledge of the Macedonians’ tactics. You spent ten years in Philip’s court with Artabazus. Teach them how to counter Parmenio’s moves.”
“I’ll focus my attention on Egypt while you stop the Macedonians. When Egypt is pacified, I’ll take the field with you. If Alexander joins his expeditionary force, I want the Macedonians eliminated within sight of the narrows. That will end the boy’s career.”
“It’s a good plan, Great King. It will be done. I beg to request that you consider a contingency plan, however. It may be necessary if we fail to stop their Bosporus crossing.”
The Vizier looked at his Great King and knew that he didn’t like what he was hearing. Both men had discussed many times what the king’s subjects were really saying when they asked for a fallback plan. It usually meant that they thought that their primary plan was going to fail. When a brilliant tactician like Memnon expressed such a concern, the Vizier knew that the Great King had better listen.
“What’s your point?”
“I don’t want to cast doubt on your forces in Phrygia, Great King. However, if the Macedonians are not halted, drastic measures will be necessary. Philip trained his army to be self-sufficient for only thirty days. After that, they must either have a victory, forage the land they hold, or retreat. There are no other choices for such a large force.”
Memnon let the gravity of his request sink in, and then he continued. “I have irrefutable evidence that Philip left Macedon deep in debt, nearly bankrupt. Their treasury has borrowed all that it can borrow. They will need a quick victory or be forced to retreat.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“If our forces can’t destroy them quickly, then we should have well reasoned plans to retreat, leaving their army only a devastated landscape. They might pursue us, but their food and supplies will run out quickly if we ravage Phrygia as we withdraw. Scorched earth gives no assistance to an invader.”
“You’re asking me to burn our own land?”
“Only if the invaders are not stopped initially, Great King,” Memnon answered defensively. “The plan is only a contingency, a last resort.”
“The satraps there will oppose anything like this. The region is rich in farmland. It’s covered with forests and game. I’ve hunted there myself. They won’t allow it!”
“I’m asking only that you give it consideration, Great King. It’s a remote possibility, but one that a prudent monarch must entertain. If the Macedonian phalanx and cavalry are allowed onto the broad plains of your empire, all will be lost. The stakes are enormous.”
The Vizier saw Darius grimace, wipe his face with his large hand, and stare into space as he absorbed what Memnon had told him.
At last Darius spoke. “I’ll consider your suggestion. However, I don’t intend to face the catastrophic situation you describe. Discuss it with the satraps when you return. I already know their reaction. Your proposal might cause them to prepare more carefully for the quick defeat of the Macedonians.”
“Leave me now. I’ll discuss these matters with my Susa generals, when I go there in ten days. My Grand Vizier has gold for you before you leave for your post. It’s yours. Give some of it as a present to your new wife, Barsine.”
Memnon gave the exit proskynesis and backed out of the Apadana, leavi
ng Darius alone with his Vizier. After a few, less consequential administrative matters were resolved, he dismissed the Vizier and left the throne room. All of this talk about the Macedonians had ruined his day.
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After a light meal, Darius walked to his harem. Still troubled, he decided that sex was a way to clear his mind for the challenges that lay ahead. He selected two pretty, young girls to satisfy him for the evening and walked to his private bedroom.
However, his thoughts were far from what was required to have good sex. He wondered where Alexander was now. He wondered if his plan to have him assassinated had any chance of success. These questions were so distracting that they prevented him having an erection, despite the best efforts of his harem girls. He sent them back, crestfallen, to their communal quarters and then went to his private bath. Boiling, hot water always helped him think more clearly than sex anyway.
Steaming in his enormous royal tub, Darius’ mind-clearing tactics began to work and Persia’s strategic situation slowly became clearer.
Perhaps Memnon’s scorched earth strategy would be necessary, he concluded at last. If Alexander couldn’t be defeated outright, Persian forces could starve him into retreat. Then he would personally lead several hundred thousand soldiers into Macedonia and Greece and devastate the invader’s territory. He only needed a few more months to settle Egypt, and then he would recall his formidable Phoenician navy and obliterate the diminutive king from Pella.
CHAPTER 5
ANDRAPODISMOS
“How many of our officers were killed?” Alexander asked Antipater.
The king, Hephaestion, and his regent, Antipater, were standing in a tight circle outside the palace peristyle courtyard in Pella. Alexander had learned long ago that the palace walls had eyes and ears. He would allow none of Demosthenes’ spies to learn what he intended to do next.
Beneath the trio’s feet was an enormous, sixteen-pointed Macedonian starburst, the national symbol that impressed anyone entering the royal palace. Several hundred thousand multicolored pebbles had been used to create the work. The project had taken a hundred artists and artisans over a year to complete.
“At least three, maybe as many as five. The garrison commander is one of them,” Antipater answered.
“Patronius,” the king said with a lowered head. “He was one of the best. He taught me how to hold a shield. His death will not go unavenged.”
Alexander walked away from the group as he laced his fingers through his wavy, auburn hair. His hands slipped to the back of his neck. His elbows met as the decision process continued. At last, he returned to his friends and issued a command. “Hephaestion, tell Philotas to prepare the army. We’ll leave in two days. It will be a forced march into Boeotia; our army will hit them before the Greeks can rally around the Thebans. I’ll punish them so that Greece will never forget; a severe example will be made of our former ally.”
“The siege engines will be necessary, Alexander,” Hephaestion said. “Thebes’ walls are thick.”
“We’ll take most of the army and its equipment. A small force will be left here to protect our rear. The Thracians and the Illyrians won’t be able to mount anything against us after the thrashing we gave them. I don’t intend to stay long in central Greece.”
Hephaestion left, leaving Alexander and Antipater standing in the starburst center. Alexander looked at Antipater and could tell that he was glad that they were alone. “Have you talked with Olympias, Alexander?” Antipater asked. “It’s becoming nearly impossible for me to perform my duties because of her meddling.”
“We’ve reached an understanding. If she oversteps her authority, she knows that I’ll banish her from the palace. We’ll discuss her behavior when I return.”
Alexander then changed the subject. “What’s happening with Philip’s burial site? Are the three tombs done?”
“The tombs are complete and earth is being brought in to build a tumulus. Only the top of Philip’s burial chamber remains uncovered. When you order it your father’s bones will be put in the main tomb, then it will be sealed. It will take months to bring in enough dirt to create the tumulus you want. What do you want buried with him?”
Alexander fell silent again and walked away from Antipater into the peristyle courtyard. He wanted to give Philip a respectable burial tumulus, if for no other reason than to elevate his own status. Earlier, he even had thoughts of building a pyramid. However, that would have to await Persia’s conquering. Raising the only pyramid in Greece would also support his court propaganda that he had nothing to do with his father’s assassination. He returned to his waiting regent.
“I want Cleopatra-Eurydice’s remains included, Antipater. Make sure her bones are washed, cleaned, and consecrated. Then have them placed in a solid gold larnax. Wrap them in that royal purple robe that she always wore, the one with gold flowers and leaves. Put the gold crown she wore when she married Philip inside the larnax. Then put her chest into a marble sarcophagus. But she’s to be put in the antechamber, apart from my father. I won’t have them buried together.”
“Philip’s remains are to occupy the main chamber. I’ve thought for some time about what he would like with him in his afterlife. Do you remember that gilded bow-and-arrow case that he got as a gift from the Scythians? He never used it, but he bragged about it all the time.”
Antipater nodded, but said nothing.
“Put the case in his chamber. I want his greaves there too. Wrap his bones in his royal cloak and then put his oak-leaf and acorn crown on top of the bundle. His bones must also be put inside a gold larnax. It must have the Macedonian starburst on its top. Then place the chest in a sarcophagus and seal both tombs. The slaves can then start hauling in the earth.”
“Do you want to dedicate the burial site before it’s sealed?”
“No. There isn’t time for that. I wouldn’t do it even if I had time. When the tumulus is finished, I may dedicate the temple on its summit. We must be done with Philip and go on. These actions will honor him enough.”
With that unpleasant task finished, the king dismissed Antipater and went to his bedchamber. Slaves dressed him in his commander-in-chief uniform and then left the palace.
Riding Bucephalas through the streets of Pella with his bodyguards, he wondered what type burial someone would give him if he should ever fall in battle. He quickly put it out of his mind, for he knew that the matter had already been taken care of by his mother. He was confident that his tomb would be far grander than Philip’s would. It might even surpass the great pyramids of Egypt.
Young King Alexander of Macedon was about to embark on a career of conquest that would make him worthy of such a monument.
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Alexander forced his massive army of retribution to march almost twenty-one hundred stadia in just two weeks. Remarkably, they made as much progress in difficult mountain terrain as they did on the broad plains of Thessaly. Not even Philip had been able to get such a physical response from his men.
The Macedonians slipped through the gates of Thermopylae before any word of their arrival in central Greece had preceded them. The huge force then halted at Oncestus, a mere 166 stadia from Thebes itself. Joining Alexander’s army were various contingents from other Boeotian cities, cities that had long-held ancient animosities against the tyrannical rule of Thebes. The pause at Oncestus was to give the Thebans a chance to reconsider their action and end the encirclement of the Macedonian garrison on the Cadmea.
Once they recovered from the shock of hearing that Alexander was at their doorstep, the Thebans became even more intransigent. Raiding parties were sent out from Thebes and they began to harass the advance scouts of Alexander’s forces.
Alexander sent scouts who demanded that the leaders of the rebellion surrender. The Thebans replied that King Alexander should turn over Philotas and Antipater to them.
Alexander, escalating the battle of words before surrounding the city, sent word that any citizen joining him and his allies woul
d be spared. Thebes’ leaders countered with a proclamation that any Greek wanting to join them and the Persian Great King in destroying Alexander should come to their city.
The battle of words and proclamations quickly became tedious to Macedon’s impetuous young king. Alexander ended the verbose posturing and moved his forces outside Thebes, surrounding it. The time for words was over.
The short battle that followed was a one-sided one, although the Thebans fought bravely for their polis. Led initially by Perdiccas, a section of their outer wall was breached and the Macedonians entered the city. Alexander led the hypaspists as other commanders led his phalanx units over the walls.
Soon, Thebes’ main gates were breached and the city where his father had been held hostage was burning. Six thousand Thebans were killed outright in wave after wave of Macedonian and allied attacks. Thirty thousand prisoners were captured and arrangements were made to have them held in a brutal camp outside the city gates.
The only question about the fate of Thebes was whether it was to suffer what the Greeks called andrapodismos, the complete elimination of a polis through razing and selling its inhabitants into lifelong slavery.
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Within days, Alexander, acting in his role as hegemon of the League of Corinth, called a hasty meeting of League members. As Philip had first done after Chaeronea and after he had done after he subdued the uprising in Thessaly only months ago, he convened a convocation in Corinth. Athens did not attend the meeting, nor did any of Thebes’ marginal supporters.
The king gave the states that had joined him against Thebes the choice of deciding the defeated city’s fate. The allies’ decision was predictable and to Alexander’s liking: Thebes was to suffer andrapodismos. Only the ancestral homes and lands of the great poet, Pindar, and a few other Macedonian supporters were spared. Within ten days, proud Thebes was nothing more than a pile of rubble.
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Athens was in panic. As the polis had done during Philip’s reign, she had chosen inaction and debate while a threatening conqueror marched about Greece doing what he wanted. Messages arrived informing the city leaders that Alexander demanded the surrender of ten of its leading citizens who had first opposed Philip and had been opposing his successor for the last months. Demosthenes was at the head of the surrender list.
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