University of Virginia Library Baan .W54 ot of Cyrus a il TT iLSepesesee ieee ereptrse settee ake eb Her ir esaseeee eerie - ort ee S —_ LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA — a aegg PRESENTED BY Mrs. L. W. Wickeserst a SE aan bp o> od | or = =e= ° ‘ or Rants eS : - TP ESI sty pt 2Ses Seeger eee eres eee = SS eatEte DAES OF CYRUS AND ALEXANDER 2 e e » ® @ e a) vf ® 5 ® ® NEW VORK: HUNT & EATON CINCINNATI: CRANSTON & STOWE Q - LOQE y a EE EER EY TESTERS ec aT Stoeger oeey aeRO EY Peg TEL STEELepeoratreeestettires a ET ea he oes Bests : fr HE PA etesety Syren ey 5 Rrtestiet ret eapeeth ight tp bret ot ? en ie epsteteeitee errant: sgt poset rap ators sagt! 3 se petetensterctater pesca ast Asap a b> soreCONG ENT TS" LIFEH oF CY Rws. CHAPTER I. SOURCES OF INFORMATION. Cyrus—Jewish writers—Isaiah— Daniel—Ezra—Greek writers— Herodotus—Ctesias Xenophon—Native Persie annalists—Dukiki—Ferdousi—The Shdh Nameh, or history of kings : : : : : Page 7 CHAPTER II. THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. Ancient Media—Physical features—Persia Proper—Susi- ana—Median history—Dejoces and Kai Kobad—Shraortes —Cyaxeres I.—Solar eclipse—Kai Kaoos—Astyages—The Persian tribes— Religion—Zoroaster—The Guebres and Par- sees ; : : ig CHAPTER. TE BIRTH AND EARLY CAREER OF CYRUS, Parentage cf Cyrus—Dreams of Astyages—Attempts the life of his grandson—Rescue of the child— Subsequent ad- ventures—Restored to his parents—Conspiracy against Asty- ages—Cyrus heads the Persians—Overthrow of Astyages — Relation of Ferdousi— Kai Khoosroo—X enophon—Medo- Persian empire founded—Daniel’s symbolic vision—Pasar- gadz built—Its site and remains : ‘ 36 CHAPTER IV. WAR WITH THE LYDIANS. Amlvitious views of Cyrus—Favorable circumstances—Me- dian and Persian costume—Weapons—lIsaiah and Xenophon —Situation of Sardis—Popularity of Crosus—Interview with Solon—Ambiguous oracle—Battle with the Persians— Retreat to Sardis—Surrender of the city— End of the Lydian kingdom—Fate of Croeesus— Treatment of the Asiatic Greeks —Fall of Priene—Magnesia on the Meander—Phocaza—Teos —Cnidus— Xanthus . ‘ : : . ‘ 3 52 1 Bid Biniitieaerea eget ergs strsee) ba Dissrintt EN Fish SER parr eM errs z Baeverest tisrttieneet seer CONTENTS. CHAPTER. Y; CONQUEST OF BABYLON. Babylonia— Death of Nebuchadnezzar—Snccessors— Structure of Babylon-—Extent—Edifices—Inhabitants—Lux- ury—Prophecies of Jeremiah—Feelings of the Jews—Ad- vance of Cyrus—Stratagem —Capture of the city—Relation of Daniel—Inscription on the wall—End of the Babyloniar. empire—Fulfillment of propheey—Name and actions of Cy rus—Confederates against Babylon—Operation on the Eu- phrates—Surprise of the capital—Porches burnt—Taken by Darius Hystaspes—Complete and final desolation of the CIEY aa: : ; d ; : : : i = aPager6 CHARTER Vi. ADMINISTRATION OF DANIEL. The prophets of the exile— Fortunes of Ezekiel and Daniel —Advancement of the latter—His retirement—Return to power—Its design—Persecution of Daniel—Laws of the Medes and Persians —Integrity and patriotism of the prophet —Death of Darius—Liberation of the Jews—Decree of Cy- rus—Inferences from it—Adoption of the Hebrew theology —TInfluence of his example—Return of the Jews under Zerub- babel—Rebuilding of the temple—Its completion—Death of Daniel—Tomb at Susa_ . : ‘ 118 CHAP -VIT. CAPITALS OF CYRUS. Migration of the Persian court—Ecbatana, the summer residence—Description of the city—Hamadan—Tomb of Esther and Mordecai— Winter residence of the court—Susa— Its wealth—The river Choaspes—Ruins at Sus— Desolation — Persepolitan monuments—Palace of Forty Pillars-—Sculp- tures—Royal procession of Cyrus—Probable design of the structure—Conduct of Alexander. : 144 CHAPTER VIII. DEATH OF CYRUS. Its date—His age—Conflicting accounts—Relation of He rodotus — Of Ctesias—Of Ferdousi—Of Xenophon—Proba- ble conclusion—Tomb at Pasargadee—Described by Arrian— Visited by Alexander—Rifled—Inscriptions—Conjecture of Morier and Porter—Succeeding monarchs of the Persian empire . e : ° 5 : : . : 161 MSs SER TASRS pa ;CONTENTS. LIRH OF ALHMXANDER. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION—MACEDONIA AND THE MONARCHY. Historians of Alexander—Prophetic reference to his career— Boundaries of Macedonia—Its capital—Principal cities—The population—The royal family—Philip, the father of Alexander— Pee DNMENR. oe ea ce eee eek oe ee a cate ee Page 189 CHAPTER II. EARLY LIFE OF ALEXANDER. (B. C. 356-336.) Fabulous lineage of Alexander—His birth—Early training—Leon- idas, his governor—Influence of the Homeric poems—Buceph- alus—Aristotle—Instruction of the philosopher—Proceedings of Philip—Alexander’s first battle~Projected invasion of Per- sia— Assassination of Philip............. ances detec ee CHAPTER ILE ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON. (B. C. 336-334.) Accession to the throne—Conduct of Demosthenes—Measures of Alexander—Appointed captain-general of the Greeks—Inter- view with Diogenes—Campaign on the Danube—Capture of Thebes—Fate of the city—Contemplated invasion of Persia— State of the Persian’ MDire. = «sien eine ons a sens mets eee cee CHAPTER IV. ALEXANDER IN LESSER ASIA. (B. C. 334-333.) Passage of the Hellespont—The Troad—Battle of the Granicus— March to Sardis—Ephesus—Temple of Diana— Miletus—Hali- carnassus—Winter quarters—Phaselis—Passage of Mount Oli- max—Gordium—Second campaign—Alexander at Tarsus—His ilIness—The Cydnus—Movements of Darius—The Amanian Gates—Battle of Issus.......--eeeeeeeeeeerees FR are 239 Srstaiteerass aster eed, bi a ks ities Thi Tr H pa Hey 7 pets ttt Tete cad rites Fatt Babet hy > s ve batt HPS sesertterete EME ea basi He Hi a tits a eis ait CHAPTER V. ALEXANDER IN PHG:NICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. (B. C. 333-331.) State of Phcenicia—General submission of the cities—Resistance of Tyre —Its siege and capture—Singular relation by Josephus— Siege of Gaza —Alexander in Egypt—Foundation of Alexandria —Journey to the temple of Jupiter Ammon—Route described— Adventure by the way—The oasis of Siwah—Temple of Am- nion—Fountait-of the Sums... ..c..seec.sestseisee. Page 266 CHAPTER VI. ALEXANDER IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, AND THE EASTERN PROVINCES. (B. C. 331-326.) Passage of the Euphrates and Tigris—Eclipse of the moon—Bat#le of Arbela—Occupation of the Persian capitals—Persepolis— Pursuit and death of Darius—Murder of Parmenio— Passage of the Hindoo Koosh-- Campaigns on the Oxus and Jaxartes— Death of Cleitus—Capture of the Sogdian rock — Hunting grounds of Bokhara—Changed character of the army...... 310 CHAPTER VII. ALEXANDER IN INDIA, AND HIS RETURN TO PERSIA. (B. C. 326-324.) Motives to the campaign—Ignorance of India—Passage of the Indus—The Punjab—Seasonal rains — Crossing of the Hydaspes —Encounter with Porus—Discontent of the troops—Return of the expedition—Descent of the Hydaspes—Adventures among the Malli—Descent of the Indus—Examination of the Delta— The Ichthyophagi—Sufferings of the army—Voyage of Near- chus—Alexander at Susa—His policy ............. ertace O15 CHAPTER VIII. LAST DAYS OF ALEXANDER. (B. C. 393.) Alexander at Babylon—His improvements and projects—His sud den death—Official diary of his illness—Scene of his decease- Interview with the soldiers—Burial at Alexandria—Persons | appearance of Alexander —His abilities, energy. and campaigns— lis claims to the title of Great—His moral character—Cuilt of his conquests —Designs of Providence—Successors of Alexan- der—Fulfillinent of prophecy—Mission of the apostle Paul. 383 BER SE RE eTTHE bhi h OF. 6 YS CHAPTER. 1. SOURCES OF INFORMATION. As the subverter of three of the most powerful monarchies of antiquity, the Median, Lydian, and Babylonian, and the founder of another, the Medo-Persian ; as the liberator of the Jews from their seventy years’ captivity, an instru- ment specially raised up and employed by Pro- vidence for the purpose, and announced as such by one of the Hebrew prophets upward of a century before his birth; as the cotemporary of Daniel and Ezekiel, present at the gates of Belshazzar’s capital when the former prophet interpreted the inscription of the monarch’s doom written by a supernatural power upon the wall of his palace; Cyrus, connected with these events and persons, is a character of no ordinary interest. With a single exception— that of the Messiah himself—he occupies a peda sth Hate MRL nea ere ea aun TREE RST ETRE PETS een atnis Soar PRSEES TSS BC SERE ST EE PCa ET8 LIFE OF CYRUS. larger space upon the page of inspired prophecy than any other individual; and, excluding that instance, we have no similar example of a per- sonage whose definite name was given to the world beforehand in a written document. ‘These particulars, together with the numerous victo-— ries achieved, the vast empire founded, the personal qualities of the conqueror, the pledge given him of the divine protection and assistance, and his presumed renunciation of the creed of his race for the doctrines of revealed religion, with which he was certainly acquainted, have contri- buted to fix attention upon Cyrus, to give celebrity to his name, and stimulate inquiry to the inves- tigation of his career. But in the whole range of antiquity we have scarcely a similar instance of one so known to fame, whose history is in- volved in so much obscurity. We know not the place of his birth, nor are the circumstances of his death beyond dispute ; and with reference to various details current concerning him, it is impossible to say how largely the fabulous blends with the authentic. The chief sources of information respecting this great prince may be summarily stated. The Jewish writers are the earliest authori- tics. Isaiah makes a distinct mention of Cyrus, but the record is a prophetic anticipation,LIFE OF CYRUS. 9 couched in very general terms, touching upon no particulars of private life. It celebrates his successful public career, the many nations sub- jugated by him, and especially the grand his- torical events in which he took part, or which he facilitated—the conquest of Babylon, the return of the Jewish exiles to their own land, and the rebuilding of their capital and temple —transactions in which Cyrus is pointedly pro- claimed to be the agent of the divine purposes, acting under the sanction and with the assist- ance of Heaven. Jehovah is introduced, in the first instance, merely announcing the appear- ance of a deliverer :— ‘“Who raised him up from the east, And seut victory on his path? Who gave him nations for a prize, And made him rule oyer kings ? Who caused that before his sword they were dust, Befcre his bow as driven stubble? He pursued them and went on safely, Even by the way that his feet had never trod. Who hath done this, and accomplished it? I, who call up generations from the beginnng— I, Jehovah, the first and with the last—I am He. Lands saw it and feared; The ends of the earth trembled.”—Isa. xli, 2-5. Subsequently, the name of the victor thus described is expressly mentioned :— SEE RESETS eee Re ET gE CTT ete ar a. re bttat ites s Starts ToETT() LIFE OF CYRUS. “T am He who saith to Cyrus, ‘My shepherd is he, and shall perform a] my pleasure.’ Even he shall say to Jerusalem, ‘ Thou shalt be built;’ And to the temple, ‘Thou shalt be founded.’ Thus speaks Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, Whom I hold by his right hand— Before whom I subdue nations, And ungird the loins of kings— Before whom I open gates, And to whom doors shall not be shut, I will go before thee, and level the heaps; Brazen gates I will burst, and iron bars I will sever, 1 will give thee deep-hidden riches, and secreted trea- sures, That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah! He who calleth thee by name, the God of Israel! For the sake of Jacob my servant, And of Israel my chosen, I called thee by thy name— Yea, I named thee, ere thou knewest me.” Isa. xliv, 28; xlv, 1-4, Such were the cheering statements which the prophet was inspired to circulate among his countrymen in the view of the approaching tempest of the Chaldee invasion, and by the announcement of which he enabled them, when the storm broke, to look beyond the gloomy waste of its ravages, and confidently anticipate the reversion of their lot. The era of Isaiah vlosed before B. C. 700; and Cyrus was on the threshold of his greatest success aboutLIFE OF CYRUS. i Lat B. C. 560; so that upward of a century and a half intervened between the delivery of the prediction and its full accomplishment. Daniel, who was in the first band of Hebrew captives sent to Babylon, then in early youth, as he survived through the whole period of the captivity, was the compeer and minister of Cyrus, and mentions him in the record of his- tory and prophecy which bears his name. We only learn, however, that he succeeded Darius in the new empire which rose upon the ruins of the Babylonian, and that, under both sove- reigns, the illustrious Jew, distinguished by the fallen dynasty, was continued in his office of grand vizier, or supreme head of the pashas, his last prophetic vision, on the banks of the Hiddekel, or Tigris, dating in the third regnal year of Cyrus. Ezra, who flourished immediately afterward, and conducted the affairs of the Jews unde1 several of the successors of Cyrus, relates thei history from the first year of that monarch to the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, a period of about ninety years. He gives the edict of Cyrus, authorizing the return of the people, a copy, probably, of the original docu- ment in the royal archives. He describes the Samaritan influence prejudicing the cause of sa Re SP ty PeSrs cachrr Cea RSer coe RaEseSS Fir sip Crane HR nC pega ete Tn Sey SSS SEEDS Tears Tal sort: ARe i anit a Heaps paiserceee sear acim rr ai 12 aad LIFE OF CYRUS. the Jews: and narrates the appeal made to the decree favorable to them, in the days of Darius Ifystaspes, who was ambitious to tread in the steps of his great predecessor, and proceeded, therefore, to carry out his views, upon the document which registered them being found in the “house of the rolls,” at Achmetha, answer- ing to a modern record office. These are the principal particulars, relative to the subject of these pages, to be gleaned from the sacred writings; but many references occur to the events and scenes associated with his name, which will be noticed in their place, as sources of valuable and interesting illustration. From the Greek writers we have a large mass of materials, but interspersed with fable, and, in many instances, conflicting. Herodotus, whose history dates within a century after the death of Cyrus, devotes the ereatest part of his first book to the record of his life and actions, which naturally fell within the scope of his work, “that the acts of man,” as he expresses it, “may not be forgotten through lapse of time, and that great and wonderful achievements, performed partly by Greeks and partly by barbarians, may not be without their fame.” His nearness to the time of the great Persian hero, his travels in the scenes of hisLIFE OF CYRUS. 13 renown and power, his obvious singleness and rectitude of purpose, together with the nume- rous confirmations which his veracity has re- ceived in modern times, are in favor of his narrative of Cyrus being received as tolerably authentic in its general outline; though, de- riving his information from traditionary remem- brances which speedily grow corrupt, the ficti- tious blends with the true. Herodotus appears to have visited Ecbatana, one of the capitals of the Persian empire, the summer residence of the court, and probably Susa, the royal abode in winter. He was certainly well acquainted with Babylon and its neighborhood. Referring to the navigation of the Euphrates, he speaks of the boats as the greatest curiosity he saw there, formed of willows, and covered exter- nally with skins. ‘The description calls up the fine elegy of the exile Jew, a composition of an earlier period, celebrating the sorrows of his countrymen by the rivers of Babylon, refusing to sing the Lord’s song at the bidding of the heathen, and hanging their harps upon the willows. After the lapse of three and twenty centuries, the traveler now sees upon the Euphrates light craft of construction identical with that which attracted the Greek historian, formed of the reeds and willows which growtitan SMART — Heil igs STs ease Spe SHEE 14 LIFE OF CYRUS. by its waters, thickly coated with bitumen, or incased with skins. Ctesias, a Greek physician, who flourished a little later, and long resided at the Persian court, where men of his profession were held in high consideration, compiled a history of the empire, which exists only in fragments, mainly pre- served by Photius, Diodorus Siculus, and Aslan. In his account of Cyrus, he differs from Hero- dotus in many circumstances of his life, but his well-known exaggerations in relation to the previous empire of Assyria deprive him of much title to confidence. Xenophon, about the same period, the writer of the well-known Cyropedia, has rather ex- hibited Cyrus in that work as the model of a good and virtuous ruler, according to his own ideas of what such a one should be, than upon the authority of any testimony. ‘The Cyro- peedia, therefore, has little weight as a history, but is more of a historico-political and ethical romance, of which the Telemachus of Fenelon is a kindred modern example. Aulus Gellius has a chapter headed, “ Whether Xenophon and Plato were rivals and enemies?” a question which he answers in the affirmative, citing, as one proof, the production of the Cyropedia, with a design to oppose the views on govern-ad LIFE OF CYRUS. lo ment advanced in the Republic of Plato. It is certain that Xenophon had no relish for the democracy of Athens, and preferred the mo- narchical constitution of Sparta, becoming a voluntary exile from his native city, until ex- patriated by a sentence of banishment. If we suppose, therefore, as is probable, that he wrote with the assigned object, his statements upon matters of fact are obviously open to exception, and a reason at once suggests itself for some representations of events more favorable to his hero, as to the manner of his death, in which he differs from Herodotus. At the same time, the Cyropzedia is valuable to a writer of the life of Cyrus, because containing some true pictures of the Persian manners and government. Such is the view which will be taken of this work in the following pages, though, it is right to add, that several writers of eminence, as Jahn, and especially Prideaux, prefer the authority of Xenophon to Herodotus. From native Persic annalists, the light that is shed upon the early history of the country, its kings and people, is very scanty and dubious. That national records existed in ancient times, commemorative of the fates and fortune of its dynasties, we learn from the Book of Esther, where reference is several times made to the eS SEES Ee Sea core escte ePRAR es ESP ES Ir ETRE otBPs pesssiiay perseesteniteeeea 16 LIFE OF CYRUS “books of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. All that the sovereign did or said appears to have been regarded as worthy of note, and hence a retinue of scribes formed part of his court, W hose office it was to register | his words and actions with those occurrences ELT EE bstL ted pista bras eaet aH ay in which royalty was eoncerned. Xerxes, at a review of his vast army, was attended by secretaries, who penned the answers W hich he received to his various questions as he rode along the ranks in his chariot. These docu- ments were deposited in the capitals of the empire, at Susa and Ecbatana, and are the archives referred to by Herodotus, Thucydides, and Ctesias, the latter of whom affirms that he made use of them in compiling his history.* Not a-serap of the original documents now remains. The five centuries of national subjec- tion, which followed the overthrow of the first Persian empire by Alexander, must have been largely fatal to their preservation, and the * Tt has been plausibly conjectured, that the omission of the divine name in the Book of Esther, in which it does not once occur—a most singular fact, considering its subject, and supposing it the original composition of a Jew—is due to the circumstance of its being comyiosed of literal extracts from the Persian annals which at once accounts for the peculiarity.LIFE OF CYRUS. ae fanatical zeal of the Moslem subverters of the second, further contributed to their destruction. Still some fragments of ancient Persian story escaped from the general wreck of its literature, which one of the Samanee princes, who estab- lished an independent authority in Khorassan, in the ninth century of the Christian era, col- lected together, and committed to the hands of Dukiki, the court poet, to versity. After pro- ducing a thousand couplets, Dukiki was assassi- nated by one of his slaves, and the work re- mained interrupted for a century, when it was resumed by Ferdousi, the Homer of Persia, at the command of Mahmoud of Ghizni. The re- sult of Ferdousi’s labors is the Shah Ndmeh, or History of Kings, recently made accessible to English readers by the Oriental Translation Society. It has become the pride and delight of modern Persians, their great national epic, the standard volume of the people, containing all the knowledge that could be obtained from the few native documents extant at the time of its production respecting their ancient kings, which Ferdousi presents in a dress due to an inventive genius and fertile imagination. There is great discrepancy between the Per- sic national records incorporated in the Shah Nameh, respecting the early history of the em- © ie ST r eSIEeSHTTARs aap te TEEy peat sets t Teter Sir ere tE Tee Tithe 2 UR TTDPebfeses ened by Lesest AEE AreIEHebeueentt eases ean at EES Pepe eer Seererererae rete re reaeteeeetstees et tet hate betepe oe! 18 LIFE OF CYRUS. pire, and the notices given us by the Greek writers, so that Bich sndsen remarks, that there is “nearly as much resemblance between the annals of England and Japan, as between the European and Asiatic relations of the same em- pire.” The first impression produced by a comparison of the two sources of information, in the instance before us, will certainly justity this strong assertion; but first impressions are not always the most correct; and, as Sir John Malcolm justly observes, “even in our own times, notwithstanding the multiplied facilities of intercourse, and the numerous channels through which information passes from land to land, still, if any one compare the history of a written country by a native, with the occasional notices of foreigners, many discrepancies will be found, and not a few apparent inconsistencies.” In- stead, therefore, of making the eastern, or the native Persic account of its ancient sovereign- ties give way to the western or the foreign Greek, . upon the plan of endeavoring to reconcile the writer just quoted has proceeded two, and . some success, having brought forward some striking points of conitach enemas them. Without deeming a case of identity es- tablished, yet still the accordance of the Kai Ixhoosroos, celebrated in the Shah Namen ofLIFE OF CYRUS. 19 at Fordousi, with the Cyrus of Grecian story, is sufficiently remarkable to merit attention in the ensuing sketch. Oo CHAPTER II. THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. As Cyrus was of mixed Median and Persian descent, it will be appropriate to preface his personal history with a notice of the people from whom he sprang, probably identical in language and religion, and near neighbors in geographical position. The tract of country, the Madia of the He- brews and Media of the Greeks, a name of un- certain derivation, embraced a large portion of the vast region included within the limits of modern Persia. It extended from the river Araxes, its northern boundary in the direction of Armenia, along the western and southern shores of the Caspian Sea, running southward toward Kuzistan, the ancient Susiana. This district, somewhat larger than the kingdom of Spain, was separated into two principal divi- sions, called Little and Great Media. The for- mer, or northern portion, is the Atropatene of HST Sane ary SETTER sea Agee! cass eo vas treba BaeEee tat Race an Riss Septet 20 LIFE OF CYRUS. the Greeks, a name which Wahl conjectures to have been formed from the aboriginal title of one of its provinces, that of Azerbijan, signify- ing “the land of the domain of fire,” referring either to the prevalence of fire-worship in the locality, or to its numerous springs of naphtha, many of which are in a state of constant igni- tion. Here, by the side of the great salt-lake of Urameah, three hundred miles in circumfer- ence, another of its remarkable physical fea- tures, tradition has fixed the birth-place of Zo- roaster; and within the period of authentic his- tory, Nazir u Dien, the first astronomer of his day, had his observatory. ‘The position of Little Media will at once be identified by the mention of the modern cities of Tazriz and Eri- van as situate within its bounds. Besides Azer- bijan, it included the present provinces of Ghi- Jan, Mazunderan the ancient Hyrcania, and Astrabad, lying along the shores of the Cas- pian. Great Media, the southern portion of the ancient kingdom, comprehended the modern Trak Adjemi, or Persian Irak, a province which now comprises some of tke finest cities of the country, Ispahan, Teheran, and Hamadan, the last the site of the once renowned Ecbatana. The district is intersected with mountain ranges, arms of the Ta irus, and interspersed with fer.LIFE OF CYRUS. Del vile vales and well-irrigated plains, over which is that clear azure sky so celebrated in poetic song, and the records of modern travel. These two portions of ancient Media are separated by high mountains, the chain of Koflan-ku, whose grand forms and stupendous altitude harmonize with the historic fame of the country, with the thought of its mighty empire, and the laws which, like these enduring ramparts, might not be changed. Persia, in modern geography, comprises the region noticed, with nearly all the countries lying between India, Tartary, Arabia, the Cas- pian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. But the Pa- ras of the Old Testament, the Persis of the Greeks and Romans, was a comparatively scanty portion of that space, though nearly as large as France, whose natural limits are now represented by the province of Fars. This is Persia proper, and the present is an obvious derivation from the ancient name, Paras, or Pharas, abbreviated into Phars, or Fars. The word Pars or Pares, in the Zend, or old Per- sian lang 1age, signifies “clear, bright, pure as ether.” and the particular region designated by it probably received the name from its gene- rally pure atmosphere, and clear, serene sky. he modern Fars is a district on the Persian ee ea rs sie gs i areata Sater og SpE Le Tt tessi Thiyrtaiae n i Pee ae sane siiihijeie 7H SESESSEIS HEEL ats Has Sea sit shal ees ENT heeded ace nee Ae PEED 22? LIFE OF CYRUS. PP Gulf, the coast line of which is a sandy flat, subject to excessive heat, but the interior coun- try consists of lofty heights divided by fruitful valleys and plains, where the climate is mode- rate and salubrious. A perpetual spring reigns upon the plain where the ruins of Persepolis attest the magnificence of the ancient capital ; and the Valley of Shiraz, celebrated in the songs of Hafiz for its rose-gardens and the “sweet bowers of Mosselah,” 3 the desolation which ages of anarchy have produced, bears witness of not having been unworthy the encomiums lavished upon its luxuriant verdure. Such were the respective territories originally occupied by the Medes and Herein Been en their domains and the Tigris lay Susiana, the Elam of Scripture, now represented by the provinee of Kuzistan, a satrapy which passed under the Assyrian and Babylonian vovern- ment, till incorporated in the empire of Cyrus, of which it became the capital centre. In the chronicle of nations, the Medes ante- date the Persians, having formed themselves into a powerful independent sovereignty, ac- quainted with the arts of civilized and social life, while the latter were a nomadic mountain race. Passing by the earlier periods of MedianLIFE GF CYRUS. OS story, over which hang the clouds of fable, we come to a less dark and intricate era, with the commencement of the Kaianian dynasty, about the year B. C. 710, when the relations of native writers preserved by Ferdousi admit of being compared with the pages of western annalists. After shaking off the Assyrian yoke to which they had been subject, and experiencing the evils of civil contention consequent upon being without a settled government, the Medes pro- ceeded to constitute themselves into a mona urchy, and elect a king. Dejoces was the person cho- sen, on account of his reputation for wisdom and justice, having in an assembly of the people addressed them personally, or through one of his partisans, as follows:—“Forasmuch as under the present system of things we cannot live in the country, let us set a king over us; so shall the country be well governed, and we ourselves shall follow our occupations without being ruined for the want of law.” This is the statement of Herodotus; and, in all probability, the first Median sovereign of his pages is the Kai Kobad of Ferdousi, the Arsaeus of Ctesias, and the Ar- phaxad of the apocryphal book of Judith. ‘The at first sight a start- difference or the names is really of little moment, con- ling difficulty sidering that several names in ancient, aS In SSE SHEP tues at 2h ERI EH24 LIFE OF CYRUS. modern times, belonged to the same individual, that sovereigns had an official title besides their proper personal denomination, and that names are largely corrupted in the hands of foreigners, and through the mutation to which all language is subject in its transmission from RRaaMuee mens hee age to age. The leading fact in the life of Dejoces, as given by Herodotus, his elevation to the throne, and the manner of it, has a remarkable parallel in Ferdousi’s account of Kai Kobad, whom he mentions as the first monarch of the Medes of Bu Litt ee et theKaianian dynasty. In an assembly of chief- tains, one of the principal leaders speaks as fol- lows :—“ Brave warriors! instructed by expe- rience, and tutored by dangers, I have brought together this army, and endeavored to render it formidable. But all hearts are discouraged from the want of a prince to preserve union. The national affairs are without a director; the army without a chief. How much better was our condition when Zoo occupied the throne! Let us choose, then, some person of royal ex- traction, and commit to him the functions of sovereignty. He will maintain order; for a kingdom cannot exist without a head. The priests have suggested for this high dignity a descendant of Feridoon, a man distinguished forLIE, OF; CYRUS. 95 his magnanimity, and for his love of justice.” The recommendation was approved, and the address was followed by the election of Kai Kobad—a correspondence of circumstances, which sanctions the presumption of his being the same person with the Dejoces of the Greek writers. ‘To this prince the foundation of the capital, Ecbatana, is attributed, and the adop- tion of that stately seclusion as the fit habitude of royalty, which afterward characterized the sovereigns of the Medo-Persian empire. According to Herodotus, after a reign of fifty-three years, Dejoces was succeeded by his son Phraortes, who extended the dominion of the Medes over the Persic tribes, but failed and perished upon turning his arms against the As- syrians, before the walls of Nineveh. His son and successor, Cyaxeres, amply re- venged his father’s death, taking Nineveh, sub- verting the Assyrian power, reducing its terri- tory to a Median province, with the assistance of his Babylonian allies, thus executing the judements denounced in the bold and magnifi- cent language of the Jewish prophets upon the proud empire which had tyrannized over their native land. But a few years later, the con federates of the Mede effected the conquest of Judea, inflicting direr calamities than had ever EET ire SSRIS SLE aaa Eaed ots cee oT Mrserietttete titsSEL LELSTERSLEESNES SERGI Peo EPSHeT bese af tebis' 26 LIFE OF CYRUS. om been suffered from Assyrian violence, realizing the picture of desolation which Jeremiah sur- vived to behold, and which he has drawn with the fidelity of a witness, the pathos of a patriot, and the orace of a poet :-— “How solitary doth she sit, the many-peopled city : She is become a widow, the great among the nations ; The queen among the provinces, how is she tributary ! Weeping—weeps she all the night: the tears are on her cheeks ; From among all her lovers, she hath no comforter , Her friends have all dealt treacherously; they are become her foes. A at 1e ways of Zion mourn; none come up to her feasts; ] 1 her gates are desolate ; and her priests do sigh ; O o LX Her virgins wail! herself she is in bitterness.”’ Tame tk, A remarkable occurrence is mentioned by Herodotus, as happening while Cyaxeres was extending his conquests toward the Halys, be- ing at war with the Lydians, a rival power in Asia Minor. During a battle between them and the Medes, the day was changed into noc- 1° turnal darkness, which put an end to the en- geageme a phenomenon, caused by a great solar eclipse, which the philosopher Thales is on to have predicted. According to the cal- tions of Bailly, the centre of the moon’sLIFE OF CYROGS 27 sl.adow passed in a right line over the north- east of Asia Minor, the scene of the war, on the morning of Sey tember 380th, B. C61.0.. Nhere IS 4 Str See analogous relation in Ferdousi, to the elect t Kobad, non le rading it Kai Kaoos, a suecessor of Kai his army in battle, was smitten with a sudden blindness, together with his troops, which had been foretold | ean. From yy a MAacl- this correspondence, Sir John Malcolm is led to identify the Cyaxeres of the Greek historian with the Kai Kaoos of the native annalist. Cyaxeres was succeeded upon the his son Astyag é emerged from obscurity, e throne by es, in whose reign the Persians ffeeted their indepen- dence, issued from their native hills pag the leadership of Cyrus, a grandson of the Median kine, and final on that of the Medo-Persian. ly s supplanted his empire with At the eve of this revolution, three powerful monarchies existed in Western Asia, and divided it between them. There was the Median, which extended around the southern shores of the Caspian, and from thence to the comprising of the Tigris, and the region yhrates, to the shores of the Mediterranean, and Egypt; and the Lydian, occu- I the frontiers of Persian Gulf a tract of country 0 the Babylonian, on the east bank west of the Eu- ie SEIT neiaSeTes vera cress BES EETi Tet eaeeeaag Sees tetNA POeGaeAESt As oaecblss Aeauasty FTE ithe ee aR estat stat kL ieee Hediste es Herre eee 160% pea oe Peay ssh gtiessthoti aba Toes Atte 23 LIFE OF CYRUS. pying Asia Minor from Sardis to the Halys. Each of these empires succumbed in turn to the rising power of the Persians, who succeeded, inder their first leader, in bringing the whole of their domains under one sceptre, forming the vastest single dominion that the world had yet seen. Previously they had been simply a high- land people, leading a nomadic life, divided into several septs, or tribes, of which Herodotus ex- pressly mentions ten. Four of these hordes were wandering shepherds. Three others fol- lowed the practice of agriculture. The remain- ing three constituted a noble class, the Pasar- gade being the principal, among whom the noblest family was the Archeemenides, the pa- ternal stock of Cyrus. Each tribe was governed internally by its own sheikh, but united with their countrymen under a general head for de- fensive and other common purposes, the usual acknowledgment of subjection to the supremacy of Media being paid by tribute, till, favored by circumstances, the clans confederated to throw off the yoke, accomplished their emancipation, and established ultimately their own sovereignty upon the ruins of every power from the Araxes to the Nile, from the deserts of Tartary to the confines of Greece. The Medes and Persians, sectional divisionsLIFE OF CYRUS. 29 of the same race of people, and closely allied in manners and language, though the former were more advanced in civilization than the latter, had also a kindred faith. Their old religion, probably a pure Theism, was corrupted by Sa- bianism, or the adoration of the great lights of heaven, the most natural form of idolatry, which appears to have prevailed at an early period in the regions round about the Euphrates, proba- bly the “fountain head of population to the post-diluvian world, the centre from which the various families of man diverged.” But as the sun sets at night, and the moon forsakes the heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars, are often obscured by an atmosphere charged with clouds, the element of fire, which might be kept per- petually burning, was selected to symbolize the Supreme Power, identified with the essence of light. All the elements—fire, earth, water, and the winds, but especially the first—were objects of veneration to the ancient Persians, who are stated by Herodotus to have had no statues, temples, or idols, but to have offered sacrifices on the tops of high mountains. ‘Their religious rites and ceremonies were regulated by a pow- erful sacerdotal class called the magi. Subse- quently the erection of unroofed structures and temples was introduced, to guard the sacred fire RISES SSPE ETS Seer EST Tet patter Ti staat THLEa a = —- rt = = : 30 LIFE OF CYRUS. from accidental extinction; one of the reforms of Zoroaster, which, as opposed to previous usage, was only established at the point of the sword. As the professed mission of this cele- brated sage was to restore the faith of his coun- trymen to its ancient purity, we may olance at the leading principles of his theological system, ‘Illustrative of those which obtained in a re- moter age, to which we shall have occasion to alvert as entering into the original creed of Cyrus. ' Following the account given by M. de Per- ron, as the most probable, Zoroaster, or Zerd- usht, was the contemporary of Cyrus for a con- siderable period, but made no figure until after his death. Born at Urumeah, by the lake of that name, the years of his childhood passed quietly in his native town, though an ample com- plement of extraordinary occurrences marked his youth, according to the relations of his dis- ciples, similar to those which appear in the his- tory of Lee ae Afterward, in profound retirement from human society, twenty years were passed in the solitudes of Mount Elburz, chiefly in a cave, where he declared himself to have been initiated into the will of the Supreme Being, receiving the instructions recorded 1n the Zend-Avesta, and the sacred fire fromLIFE OF CYRUS. Oo] heaven, as an evidence of his divine mission, Issuing at length from his seclusion, Zoroaster commenced his public career in Adjerbijan, erecting a fire-temple. He then removed to Balkh, on the Oxus, which became his princi- pal seat, and from thence visited the court of Darius Hystaspes, who became a convert and a zealous propagator of his views. Upon a religious war breaking out, Balkh was taken by the Tartars, its fire-temples were destroyed, and the priests massacred; but Darius hastened to the rescue, repelled the invaders, and restored the sacred edifices, about which period Zoroas- ter ended his days. The Zend-Avesta, or the “living word,” containing his religious ecde, is said to have consisted of twenty-one nosis, or books, of which only one has been preserved entire, and of the others but a few fragments. It is even uncertain whether these writings are the remains of their reputed author, though supposed to be authentic chronicles of his doc- trines. According to these records, Zoroaster taught the existence of a great first principle, or Su- preme Power, without begmning and without end. From this incomprehensible being two active powers proceeded, dividing between them the government of the universe. ‘The one, ihe SCOTT EERE PERT Shire tentort TTT} HiltiSt : : ¥ A = iS au PAMEPEREETER HEN) rdieseipieeate ieee eide sath bees Ae SLs seas aba seeheneaD Bae en a oo LIFE OF CYRUS. efficient agent of all that is good, and the power presiding over it, is termed Ormuzd Ehor Mez- dao—signifying “ great king,” to whom the epi- ? thets of “luminous,” and “ brilliant,’ are ap- plied. The other, co-existent and nearly co- equal with the former, termed Ahriman, the principle of all evil, is described as “enveloped in crime,” and “the source of misery.” Light is the symbol of the good spirit, and darkness of the evil. Ormuzd has six angels executing his will, and Ahriman six deeves counteracting their influence. Through the medium of the former, Zoroaster assumed to have received various revelations, authorizing his institutes. “ Protect my flocks and herds, O man of God!” said the holy Bahman, to whose charge was intrusted the animal creation ; “these I received from the Almighty; these I commit to you: let not the young be slain, nor those that are still useful.” “Servant of the Most High!” ex- claimed the dazzling Ardibehest, the genius of fire and light, “speak to the royal Gusthtasp (Darius) for me; say that to thee I have con- fided all fires. Ordain the Mobuds, the Dus- toors, and Herboods, (orders of priests,) to pre- serve them, and neither to extinguish them in the water nor in the earth. Bid them erect in every city a temple of fire, and celebrate, inAFE OF CYRUS. oo honor of that element, the feasts ordained by law. The brillianey of fire is from God; and what is more beautiful than that element? It requires only wood and odors. Let the young and the old give these, and their prayers shall be heard. I give it over to thee as I received it from God. Those who do not fulfill my words shall go to the infernal regions.” These are some of the leading principles of Zoroaster ; and as he professed to restore and reform the ancient faith of his countrymen, we may assume them to have been current in the main previous to his era, while referring to him the innovation of establishing fire-temples, in which the actual worship of the flame burning in them was speedily grafted upon the doctrine ot its heavenly derivation. ‘The dogma of the two potent spirits of good and evil, an endeavor to account for their mixture in the world, had an existence prior to his date, and seems to be pointed at in a magnificent piece of Hebrew theology referring to Cyrus, revealing the ex- istence of good and evil, under the control uo: the one God. Happy is it for us in modern times that we are not left to the guidance of our own imaginations in matters of religion, or surrendered to follow the vague, wild, and un- authorized speculations of our fellow-men! The © PURSES ESTE Ey EEL ose Ser Teepe aoe STA tine gseysts!IBAESSEST gee MME Pe aGHE FANS ahaa? a Ereateee) sieieaeaetes Sieyied EP Mt Sah LecereeeeaeinEs aoa! Ran GRD Sete 34 LIFE OF CYRUS. aneient world “by wisdom knew not God ;” and aided only by human oracles, we should have been equal strangers to the truth respect- ing the divine nature, providence, and will. These topics are now clearly illustrated by the word of revelation, which “ belongs unto us and to our children for ever,” and has been merci- fully given to save us from the errors, and de- liver from the guilt, under which so many of our race have been eoncluded. Jt was the boast of one of old that he was a Greck, not a barba- rian, and a citizen of Athens, the eve of Greece. So there is ample matter for gratitude in the fact that we belong to the modern era of hu- man history, and are favored with the light of inspiration, instead of being immersed in the moral darkness which has ever attended the unagsisted mind of man. Yet may the thought be entertained in truth and soberness, of the final verdict of the Most High being more fa- vorable to Persians and Medes, apart altoge ther from the knowledge of revealed truth, than to ourselves, should the greater advantages en- joyed by us not be properly improved. The territory of the Medes and Persians now presents a mournful contrast with its former state—that of cities, towns, villages, and noble structures, sunk in ruin, and hasten-LIFE OF CYRUS. So ing to decay, and of cultivated fields reduced to solitary wastes; but while these changes have occurred through political vicissitudes, the stormy passage of Greek, Roman, and Mohammedan invaders over its soil, the manners and customs of the modern race are faithful transcripts, in miany respects, of those of the early occupiers, and their ancient religion has still its professors in the scattered and miserable hordes of Gue- bres, a name derived from the Arabic Ka fir, signifying an “unbeliever.” Upon the con- quest of the country by the proud and unspar- ing followers of Mohammed, while the majority of the conquered embraced the creed of their masters, some fled into India, where they still exist under the name of Parsees; but a rem- nant of the fire-worshipers clung to the faith of their ancestors upon their native soil, which has perpetuated itself to the present day. By Shan Abbas the presence and worship of these sectaries were tolerated even at Ispahan; by the Afghan victor also, Mahmoud, they were patronized; and in the last century, Guebre pilgrims openly resorted to the naphtha pits of Baku, as one of the most sacred sites of their venerated element, the eternal fire. But con- tempt and ill-usage have since largely thinned their numbers, either by inducing an adoption ease eed tease ct eaeae pe eapere gs RE eetese Setar an it Ha Prete ss se set eit 3h Eres te st $retPa mY Ss = x 3 y Uhigsah rine seeeaea pero o6 LIFE: OF CYRUS of the Koran. or of emigration to join their brethren, the Parsees, of India; and the few remaining descendants of the disciples of Zoro- aster have forgotten his name, and lead an exist- PLE eas aibeeteeeisistetodes: tie n ence as prec arious and despised as that of a Jew in a Moslem capital. CHAPTER III. BIRTH AND EARLY CAREER OF CYRUS. THE year before that which witnessed the among W hom was their second band of Jews king Jehoiakim with the prophet Ezekiel, B. C. 599—traveling to the Euphrates as captives, 10 the train of the victorious troops of Babylon, is fixed upon by Prideaux as the era of the birth of Cyrus. This may be regarded as a close approximation to the date of the event. His father was Cambyses, a chieftain belonging to the principal of the Persian clans. His mother was Mandane, daughter of Astyages, king ot the Medes, already mentioned as the sovereign in whose reign that people lost the pre-eminence. The reason of the alliance of a Median princess with a Persian chieftain, an inferior in station, is referred by Herodotus to the alarm occasioned to her father by a dream, which was interpretedLIP! OF CYRUS or De ud by the magi to portend danger to the empire, and the predominance of the female over the male line of his descendants. To prevent this issue, he refused his daughter in marriage to any of the powerful Median nobles, and chose an alliance for her witha comparatively obscure family. But another dream troubled Astyages soon after the marriage of Mandane, which was in- terpreted to mean that her future child would supplant him upon the throne. The narrative of subsequent events, given by Herodotus, derived from legendary sources, is evidently largely fictitious, yet as the importance attached to dreams was a universal feature of ancient life, as the story is in harmony with the san- guinary habits of eastern monarchs, and as similar romantic incidents appear in the pages of Ferdousi, we may suppose the relation to have some basis in truth. ‘To prevent the dis- astrous issue to himself, predicted by the magi, we are told that Astyages resolved upon the destruction of the expected child, recalied the mother to his court, and, upon the birth of Cyrus, delivered him over to his minister, Harpagus, with orders to put him to death. Consenting, of course, to the will of an arbitrary monarch, but not liking to be its executioner, Harpagus perry ethers sh estat teas tess ess techie OTH peneve = sf) rt & = = Uh utthies seed Pere Gtr Ease eiseste Cee ste So aE Hythe tated! Pe Tee hs LIFE OF CYRUS. C o gave the boy into the hands of a shepherd, who etirsoei his occupation in the mountains of Media, bordering on the Euxine, abounding with forests, the haunt of savage animals ; and directed him to expose the infant in one of the most unfrequented spots, that his destruction might be sure and speedy. Instead of fulfilling his mission, the shepherd, won by the solicita- tions of his humane wife, adopted the child as his own, and brought him up in his humble dwelling. After the lapse of some years, his existence was discovered by Astyages, with the manner of his preservation; and, though pre- vailed upon to desist from his intention of de- stroying his grandson, then a youth, revenged himself upon Harpagus for his neglect by put- ting his son to death. Cyrus, transferred to the care of his legiti- mate parents, was received with tenderness and transport, and the remarkable circumstances of his preservation nourished in the minds of his family and of the Persians the idea that he had been snatched from destruction for some import- ant purpose favorable to them. He grew up, excelling in strength and gracefulness of person, trained in the hardy exercises common to his countrymen, whose good will was conciliated by his amenity and accomplishments. Mean-LIFE OF CYRUS. 39 while Harpagus, who had continued in office at the Median court, had not forgotten the injury he had received from his master in the death ot his son, and, intent upon revenge, contem- plated a revolution to dethrone him. The alien- ation of many of the nobles from Astyages, on account of his cruelty, favored the enterprise, together with the impatience of the Persians under the Median yoke, and the advantages of Cyrus as a popular leader. To excite the latter to revolt, and the former to treachery, in the consequent war, were the means adopted by the minister for the accomplishment of his purpose. “Son of Camb yses,” addressing himself by letter to Cyrus, “ Heaven evidently favors you, or you never could have risen thus to fortune. in several points, the histor ‘y of Kai Ly Such is the relation of Herodotus, mee ae Khoosroc as given by Ferdousi, corresponds, but with a shitting of the scene by poetic license from Me- dia into Tartary. His father, the son of Kai Kaoos, being compelled to flee from his native country by lk intrigues of the court, found refuse in the capital of the Tartar monarch Afrasiab, whose daughter he married, Lut by whom he was afterward slain. His son, Kai Khoosroo, was doomed likewise to destruction, lest, upon obtaining manhood, he should avenge the death of his sire. But the humanity of the minister, Peeran-Weeseh, interposed to frustrate the cruel intention of the king, and he preserved the child he was ordered to dispatch, commit- ting the infant for the purpose to the care of a shepherd, whom he diosa with the means of giving him an education suited to his rank. Afrasiab, ultimately aware of his existence, was prevailed upon to desist from his violent designs, and the young ao ffecting his escape to the court of his paternal erandfather, Kai Kaoos, succeeded him upon oo Persian cae His first act was to make war upon his maternal grandsire, Afrasiab, whose armies in the subse- et eee Tn SearFrieeapbesstes soy sbeabsstaat LSEsPMPE Ee TEMMaaLIS 15 (oar sf12} beats THRE ee eae ebaaadr eee EL Meee a eaentes itr i ses ste Heli Heateneter ae artess rns eo Ppietatesr at seat tert re ceantcetgcasanieececsent 42 LIFE OF CYRUS. quent struggle were commanded by the virtuous minister Peeran-Weeseh, who had been the in- strument of his preservation. ‘The minister was defeated and slain. and eventually the victorious Kai Khoosroo obtained possession of the terri- tories of the Tartar sovereign. The remarkable coincidence in the substance of the narratives of Herodotus and Ferdousi, sanctions the sur- mise that they refer to the same person, and that the relations may be regarded as tradition- ary records of historical events. * It is utterly incredible,” says Sir W. Jones, “that two differ- ent princes of Persia should each have been born in a foreign and hostile territory ; should each have been doomed to death in his infancy by his maternal grandfather; should each have been saved by the remorse of his destined murderer ; should each, after a similar education among herdsmen, as the son of a herdsman, have found means to revisit his paternal dominion, and having delivered it, after a long and triumphant war, from a tyrant who had invaded it, should have restored it to the summit of power and maenificence.” The preceding circumstances are omitted by Xenophon. Nothing is said of the revolt of Cyrus; but he is represented as chosen to be the military leader of the Medes on account ofAFE OF CYRUS. 43 his fitness for the office, and quietly gains pos- session of the supreme power. The explanation, no doubt, is, that the rebellion of Cyrus against his grandfather is suppressed, as an occurrence presenting him in an unfavorable point of view, which was contrary to the design of Xenophon —that of exhibiting in him the pattern of a virtuous and perfect ruler. I’rom the period of his deposition, about B. C. 060, Astyages appears to have been detained in captivity through the remainder of his life; but was in no other instance treated with seve- rity. The Persians were now lords of the as- cendant; but though at the head of his country- men, and of the conquered Medes, Cyrus did not assume the nominal sovereignty until a subsequent era. The next in succession, the son of the deposed king, and his own uncle, Cyaxeres II., the Darius of the Book of Daniel, ascended the throne, and became the first mo- narch of the Medo-Persian empire. His ne- phew contented himself with playing the part of a successful general, prosecuting further con- quests, building up the mighty kingdom over which he at length formally ruled; and while appearing the second in command, being the real master, “by that ascendency,” says Hales, “which great souls have always over little ones.” SSCCYRUS. 44 LIFE OF One of the visions of Daniel emblematically represents this political revolution, at the era of which, the prophet was a resident in a region closely adjoiming the scene of the decisive battle which established the Persian influence: “ And LT saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when L I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the River of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold! there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last—And I heard a man’s voice be- tween the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.—The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.” The horn, as the symbol of sovereign power, was common to the eastern nations in the ear- liest ages, derived from its formidable use as an instrument of aggression, or defense, by animals armed with it, or from the distinction it gives to their appearance. ‘The metaphor occurs largely in the poetry of the Hebrews, and of the orientals in general; and the literal wear- ing of a horn, at present, as a part of the head- dress of the Syrian women, may be traced toLIFE OF CYRUS. 4d the idea of consequence anciently attached to it, thuugh now lost sight of, and regarded simply as a matter of ornament, in the same manner as the warrior’s plume has become an article of female decoration. The two horns of the ram in the vision, one appearing later, and rising higher, than the other, symbolize the junction of the Medes and Persians in the con- stitution of the new empire, the latter people having an ascendant influence over the former, and being posterior to them in national exist- ence. “J saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but me did according to his will, and became great.” ‘The direction in which the tide of conquest flowed, under Cyrus and his immediate successors, was westward to the ALgean Sea, northward beyond Armenia, southward into Egypt, and, though not alluded to, eastward into India. Upon the spot where he conquered the Medes, and laid the foundation of his power over western Asia, Cyrus built Pasargade, in commemoration of his victory, a city which rapidly rose into consequence, became the storehouse of his treasures, and the principal residence of the magi, or the officers of religion,Tess Rees STApea i tersndoiey kee a 46 LIFE OF CYRUS. who here established their colleges. In this lace, it was long the custom of his successors, on their accession to the throne, to be solemnly invested with the insignia of goyernment, on which occasion, attended by the priests and nobles, they offered sacrifice on the summit of an adjoining eminence. Here, also, Cyrus built a tomb to receive, ultimately, his own remains, a royal usage in ancient times, of which the mighty pyramids of Egypt are the enduring monuments, in relation to the early sovereigns of that country. The ingenuity of geographers has long been exercised upon the endeavor to determine the particular site of this city; but it still remains in the class of vexed questions. Some writers suppose Pasargade and Persepolis to be differ- ent names for the same place, and regard the latter word as the Greek translation of the former; others conclude Persepolis to be an amplification of the original plan of the more ancient Pasargade; while a host of learned authorities contend for their entire distinctness. The weight of evidence preponderates in favor of the latter opinion, for the historian of the life of Alexander, in tracing his progress through the East, speaks of his marching from the one place to the other. Accordingly, several modern tra-LIFE OF CYRUS. 47 4 velers, Morier and Sir R. K. Porter, lave been disposed to regard the Plain of Mourgaub, be- tween forty and fifty miles north-east of Perse- polis, where there are considerable remains, as the site of the city built to commemorate the battle which determined the fate of the Median monarchy, and the elevation of Cyrus. Pasargadz is expressly fixed by Strabo in the vicinity of the river Kour, or Cyrus; and the Plain of Mourgaub is finely watered with springs and rivulets, mingling their tribute in a broader stream, one of the upper branches of the Kour, which descends into the great Plain of Persepolis, now bearing the name under which the author of Lalla Rookh has celebrated the scenic beauty of its banks :— “ There’s a bower of roses by Bund-emir’s stream, And the nightingale sings round it all the day Jong.” Among the ancient remains on the plain, there are those of an elevated terrace or platform of hewn stones, raised nearly to a level with the summit of a rocky hill against which it is built. This has now the name of Zakht-i-Sulieman, the seat or throne of Solomon; the natives of western Asia in general ascribing almost every extraordinary place of whose real founders they are ignorant to the great Jewish king, the fame of whose power and wisdom was firmly = mh erupt ab BEE SLEE TSHR LATA PR to itesELS Caeb Stet # i Hianiiititieees Pave e its SES a fader SoREREnTs eH gstec sous nae sco PN thet aeseees yee 13 LIFE OF CYRIL ° lodged in the oriental mind through the cap- tivities of the people of his nation. ‘The ma- terials of the platform are of white marble, which must have been brought from a consi- derable distance, none being in the neighbor- hood. a dark lime-stone composing the adjacent rock. ‘The blocks have been put together with exquisite nicety, carefully clamped, and beau- tifully chiseled. Jfrom its being completely commanded by adjoining heights, and easily accessible on all sides, Porter deems the idea of the building having been a fortress untena- ble; and, conceiving it to be a genuine relic of Pasargadz, the sacred city where the Medo- Persian sovereigns were inaugurated with reli- gious rites, “Why,” he asks, “may we not consider this immense platform, evidently raised to enlarge that of the hill, as the spot on which the altar, priests, and royal party, stood?” Ouseley adopts a nearly similar view, that of the terrace having been prepared to accommo- date the royal pavilion, when the monarch ap- peared in state before his subjects, at a review of troops, or at the religious festivals. “ When it is considered,” he remarks, “that Cyrus was a warrior, accustomed to live in camps; that it is still the custom in this country to desert, during the hexts of summer, the walled town forLIFE OF CYRUS. the tented plain; and that the throne of the present shah is not citadel set up In movable pavilion, it will appear no improbable supposition that the original design of the Lakht-i-Sulieman was to serve as a stage or platform for the pavilion which inclosed the royal throne.” Upon the Plain of Mourgaub, Sir R. K. Porter found another singular relic of antiquity, the fragment of an edifice, consisting of an iso- lated square column, formed of a single block, a bas-relief occupying nearly the whole of ene side, surmounted with an inscription in the arrow-head character. This name is civen to those marks which have been found stan ped on the bricks of Babylon, and cut upon the pile monuments at Persep ee s, alluding to their shape. Lhe sculpture exhibited the profile figure of a man, clothed in a iotedortt tnd robe to the foot, ornamented with a border of roses, executed with the most delicate precision. From a close cap on the head two horns branched—-the ori- ental type of regal strength, reviving the recol- lection of the two-horned victorious animal of the prophetic vision. A series of wings, the feathers exquisitely chiseled, appear issuing from the shoulders of the figure, some bending upward, reaching far above the head, and others 4Site MEET ihe Ceres 83 mer eee tH Ha eee ratty - ive A geastet bes D9 LIFE OF CYRUS. a » v\ downward, nearly touching the teet. W hat this sculpture was intended to represent, it 1s natural to conjecture; but impossible to decide. Heeren, and other authorities, suppose the winged figures common upon old Persie monuments, as at Nakt- shi-Roustam and Persepolis, to be meant to re-. present the good genii of particular personages ; and from the peculiar attributes of the figure im question, the multiple wings, the long and richly decorated robe, the ample horns, together with the right hand uplifted and open, as if in the act of benediction, Sir R. K. Porter was led to think that, in this instance, a superior spirit, the tutelary genius of the country in general, was intended. He was particularly struck with the resemblance of the figure to the descriptions of the cherubim and seraphim in the Old Testa- ment, especially as given by the prophet Isaiah, “Fach one had six wings; with twain he cover- ed his face, with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.” A glance at his copy will vindicate the idea from being purely ima- ginative ; and without inferring anything, it is not uninteresting to reflect that we have every reason to believe, that the prophecies of Isaiah found their way to the founder of Pasargade, at a subsequent era, as immediately referring toLIFE OF CYRUS. Sf himself, through the medium of his minister, the prophet Daniel. There are other ancient remains on the plain known to the present inhabitants of Moureaub, a considerable hamlet, as the court of the Deevs, or evil geni; Masjed Madre-i-Sulieman, the tomb of the mother of Solomon; and Zindan-i- Sulieman, Solomon’s prison, the latter bearing a general resemblance in dimensions, structure, and ornament, to an undoubted fire temple at Naktshi-Roustam, and considered to have been an edifice of that class. A uniform inscription appears upon most of the ruins in the cuneiform, or arrow-head character, which Professor Grote- fend, of Hanover, one of the most successful decipherers of those mysterious characters, pro- poses to read :— ‘Dominus Cyrus, rex orbis rector.”’ Cyrus, lord, king, ruler of the world! Could this translation be depended upon, the question respecting the site of Pasargadze might be considered decisively settled, though apart from this evidence, the remains on the Plain of Mourgaub are so antique, and agree so well with the indications of position afforded by Arrian, Strabo, and Pliny, as to leave little doubt upon the point, that here Cyrus fought EPPS RCE eer sor Stshapeses tide rir Tee teeta tei EATTEN MT POFSTISAEFEAENT Cs eset dale] rirTCSTenOREPEREETPereeNT aeEeeDsPevsacees cose ab satsitcs seoeeEa eT eel BH SIE Secaaeiagpodats 52 LIFE OF CYRUS. So and conquered, founded the city which memo- rialized his triumph, established the magi, and to which he was accustomed afterward to resort at the religious festivals, though it appears never to have become one of the capitals of the empire. CHAPTER IV. WAR WITH THE LYDIANS. WitH truth and eloquence it has been ob- served of most of the conspicuous personages of antiquity, that their mighty names remain now only as small points emerging a little above an ocean under which their actions are buried; but we can just descry, by the dying glimmer of ancient history, that ocean to have been one of blood! The remark applies to a considerable extent to Cyrus, who, though fa- vorably contrasting with many of the potentates of olden time, and not without some personal respect for the just and clement, seems to have early determined to admit of no foreign com- petitor, but to found a universal monarchy, only to be arrived at through the infliction of human suffering, and a prodigious sacrifice of life. Cir- cumstances were propitious to this ambitiousLIFE OF CYRUS. design, The Babylonian sceptre, which Nebu chadnezzar had wielded with a vigorous arm, had fallen into the grasp of effeminate succes- sors, the slaves of vice and pleasure, and the people had become equally voluptuous and un- warlike. The only power competent to main- tain a struggle with the new candidates for em- pire, with any probability of success, was the Lydian; but the enormous wealth amassed by the monarchs of Sardis, and a long career un- marked with disaster, had contributed to render them vain and incautious through confidence in their own invincibleness. On the contrary, the mountaineers of Persia were exactly fitted to become a conquering people. Unacquainted with luxuries, thev were free from the tempta- tions to self-indulgencey and its enervating ef- fects: nor had intercourse with the more polished Medes been sufficiently intimate, and of such long standing, to have as yet corrupted their primitive simplicity. They were accus- tomed to hard toil, a homely dress, and spare diet; trained from early childhood to the use of horses and arms; and now, under the direc- tion of a bold, active, and successful leader, they were precisely adapted to go forth from con- quering to conquer, among the more civilized, but less hardy races of western Asia. ES SSSR EPS OSTEEEER STE ape eteTHIET eres BLSEEPOPERaDEEeeeOa crear venoissstedsosbAlsg Sat itesee Monee OO PeRLES STL sa Scfic} Per euehpttes Eset bad Esp Reo PEST a4 HIP OF CYRUS. The Persian costume, in contrast with the Median, is exhibited by the sculptured ruins of Persepolis, a city the origin of which is com- pletely lost, but considered, on good grounds, te go back to the era when Cyrus had firmly es- tablished his power over the East. Upon the side of the double staircase, two hundred and twelve feet in length, which forms the superb approach to the Palace of Forty Pillars, human figures are represented in procession, the alter- nate ones agreeing with each other in attire. A fluted tiara for the head, and long flowing drapery for the person, with ear-rings and brace- lets, marking an advanced social state, are evi- dently Median fashions, for Cyrus recommended to his countrymen ta aglopt the robe after their example, when a respite from war admitted of attention being directed to civil affairs. The habit of the other alternate figures is strikingly different. consisting of a plain, round-topped cap, resembling the Phrygian bonnet, and ae, close-fitting tunic, reaching down to the knees bound round the body with a strap. This, from its simplicity and plainness, may be feaioatik as the genuine Persian dress, before an acquaintance with other nations, and the possession of power, had engendered a luxuri- ous taste. Some of the figures appear in mili-LIFE OF CYRUS. 55 tary costume, their arms consisting of a spear, a bow, and quiver, depending from the left shoulder, with a shield on the left arm, in the form of a Beeotian buckler. Nothing in the shape of a long sword appears. This agrees with the account given by Herodotus of the weapons of the Persians, who mentions only the poniard in addition, when describing the troops of Xerxes.. “They are armed,” he states, “with large bows and arrows, the shafts of which are reeds. ‘They carry a short spear, and for defense use a shield denominated gerra ; beneath it is the quiver, and on their right side is a dagger hung from a belt.” In harmony with the sculptures of Persepo- lis, and the statements of profane history, are the representations of inspired prophecy. ‘Sharpen the arrows, seize the shields, Jehovah hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes ; For against Babylon is his purpose to destroy it. The vengeance of Jehovah is this, Even the vengeance of his temple.’’—Jer. li, 11. % This is the language of the prophet Jeremiah, referring generally to the Medes and Persians, who followed the same mode of warfare. ‘The employment of the plural phrase expressly in- dicates this; the “kings of the Medes,” meaning FUSE aS asESetoE SSRIS CoRR Ser SSE EST + 25th birpgayoe sti tsitt Oeibatsttsestititers these sects setA aeons o6 LIFE OF CYRUS. Cyrus and his uncle Cyaxeres, the one the military, and the other the civil, head of the Medo-Persian monarchy. The former people alone are mentioned, as having precedence in the denomination of the empire, and as being alone known to the Jews in the time of the prophet. Again, he states :— ‘ populace shared. In direct refer- ence to the revolution which ensued on that night, the prophet Isaiah remarks, “ Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth ;” personifications of the sun and moon: “their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle.” This seems to be an allusion to what may very naturally be pre- sumed to have followed upon the conquest of the city, the removal of the idols from their shrines, to be carried in procession as captives at ee Sits osetiaLIFE OF CYRUS. GQ by the victorious Persians, as a sion of their own trizmph, and contempt for graven images, subsequently demolished and conveyed away as spoil, on account of the precious metal of which they were composed. In thus connecting the event of Belshazzar’s death with the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, we follow. the natural interpretation of the re- cord in the Book of Daniel, in harmony with Herodotus and Xenophon. But without vio- lating any of these authorities, some writers separate the two events by an interval of twenty years. ‘Lhe sacred history says nothing of the death of the monarch being accomplished by a foreign hand, amid the tumult of war, or of the capture of the capital being the immediate se- quence of the impious feast; but simply men- tions the accession of Darius to the throne. Accordingly, to obviate some historical and chronological difficulties, Hales identifies the Belshazzar of Scripture with Neriglassar, at whose death, through the conspiracy of his nobles, the awful scene of the writing on the wall was enacted, when, nine months afterward, his son Laborosorachod dying, and the dynasty becoming extinct, the kingdom came peaceably to Darius or Cyaxeres, a relative, in the natural order of succession. The viceroy of Babyler eHagteteleiaeriasengiorest ogeeet ESR RE uaa Tse PRES titi at rh100 LIFE OF CYRUS. under him, Labynetus, or Nabonadius, revolt- ing, and proclaiming his independence, then Cyrus marched with his vast army against the city, and accomplished its reduction in the man- ner described, the rebellious viceroy, a tempo- rary king, being slain on the night of its capture. It is of no importance whether we embrace this view, or the one previously given. Both involve the same leading incidents; nor is the one, perhaps, better supported than the other by historical testimony, which, as far as it refers to this era, in point of dates and names, is an intricate labyrinth. Owing to the importance of the subject, a succinct statement may now be made of the fulfillment of ancient prophecy by Cyrus person- ally, and by that chain of events of which his conquest of Babylon was the first link. 1. His existence, name, and principal actions, were announced by the prophet Isaiah, together with his consecration by Providence to execute provoked retributions. The announcement ante- dated his birth by more than a century. “Tam he, who saith to Cyrus. My shepherd is he, and shall perform all my plea- sure??? As an instance of coincidence simply—for the comparison is ancient and common—it may beLIFE OF CYRUS. 101 mentioned, that Cyrus is represented by Xeno- phon, comparing kings, and himself in par- ticular, to shepherds, bound to provide for the welfare of the cities and people subject Jo their rule. He is then described as the “ anointed,” whose “right hand” Jehovah would strengthen to “subdue nations,’ and besides his native subjects, and their neighbors the Medes, the overthrow of the Lydian and Babylonian pow- ers brought under his sway the various races from the Indus to the Mediterranean, from the Euxine to the Arabian-desert. To convey an idea of this extent of territory, Xenophon speaks of its extremities being difficult to inhabit, some from excess of heat, and others from excess of cold, some from a scarcity of water, and others from too great abundance. ‘“‘T will give thee deep-hidden riches, and secreted treasures.” The statement refers to the treasuries of Asiatic princes, for which the most secret places were selected. The amount of wealth accumu- lated from them by Cyrus in the course of his ronquests must have been immense, and is so represented by several ancient writers; for besides the riches of Croesus, which came into his hands with the possession of Sardis, the other spoils of Asia are rated by Pliny at 34,000 So rir iast ins Tae erin see Pts102 LIFE OF CYRUS. pounds weight of gold, and 500,000 talents of silver, with the cup of Semiramis, and other precious vessels, property estimated as upward of one hundred millions sterling. Cyrus is further represented under the image of “a ravenous bird from the east,’ or a swift eagle, as the passage might be rendered, with which description the situation of Persia proper, his military activity, and his royal ensign, accord. Xenophon states that the ensign was a golden eagle on the top of a lance, which was the royal standard in his.time, conspicuously dis- played to denote the position of the monarch in the camp. 2. The prophetic record mentions the various composition of the force led to the attack of Babylon. It specifies the names of several of the confederated nations, with the general direc- tion from which the army proceeded. “A tu- multuous noise of the kingdoms of nations ga- thered together ;’—“ Go up, O Elam ; besiege, O Media ;’—“ Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz ;” “an assembly of great nations from the north country ;” “a people from the north, even a ereat nation, and many kings from the extremi- ties of the earth;” are some of the passages in question. Elam, or Susiana, a province of Babylon, had been acquired by Cyrus, as hasLIFE OF CYRUS. 105 been stated, probably through the revolt of the vicerey Abradates. Ararat and Minni denote Armenia in general, divided into various pro- vinees, of which these were the principal, tribu- tary to the Persian leader. Ashkenaz is proba- bly the Ascanius of Homer, a part of Phrygia sonquered in the Lydian war, from whence, in connection with some adjoining districts, Xeno- phon reports that forty thousand cavalry ad- vanced to the assault on Babylon. The direc- tion of the march of the army, from the “north country,’ accurately states the relative position of the invading host. 3. Prophecy repeatedly alludes to that re- markable operation upon the Euphrates by which Babylon was taken. In striking connec- tion with the name and achievements of Cyrus, Jehovah is thas represented as unfolding his purpose by him :— ‘¢ Who saith to the deep, ‘Be thou wasted ;’ Isa. xdiv,; 27. And, ‘I will make dry thy rivers.’ Again, the fact is referred to, with an allusion to the sea-like character of the Ixuphrates in the flood season :— ‘¢ Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will plead thy cause, And I will avenge thy wrongs, HBR RETRO StS Sra Seis UTES Eset Seren Sete ters cect nteeeis tite sages ted stPepibettitigiitt 104 LIFE OF CYRUS. And I will drain her sea, And I will make her springs dry.””—Jer. h, 36. «© A sword (shall be) upon her waters, and they shall be dried up.’’—l, 38. The hand of Providence in the event is dis- tinctly marked by the writer of the Apocalypse in a passage where it is introduced as a sym- bolic circumstance :—“ And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Kuphra- tes, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be pre- pared.” 4. The fall of Babylon on a night of festivity, with the surprise of the inhabitants, and other circumstances of its capture, are specially indi- cated on the prophetic page. ‘In their heat I will supply them with drink, And I will make them drink, that they may exult, And may sleep an everlasting sleep, And never wake again, saith Jehovah.”—Jer h, 39. “And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, Her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men - And they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, And not awake again, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts.”,—lhi, d7@. Herodotus justly observes that, if the Babylo- nians had been aware beforehand of the inten- tion of Cyrus, or had learned it while in course sr ess ois.1005 of execution, they might not only have saved themselves but destroyed their enemies, for the river being lined with walls, and communicat- ing with the city by gates, had the latter been closed and the ramparts manned while the Per- sians were advancing along the bed of the stream, their destruction would have been cer- tain and easy. But in the hour of thoughtless abandonment to pleasure they had neglected securing themselves on the side of the river, apprehending no danger from that quarter; and, according to the remarkable announce- ment, “the gates shall not be shut,” the Per- sians found them open to admit their passaze from the Euphrates into the city. The inhabit- ants were thus unexpectedly startled from their dreams of delight by the presence of their foes, masters of the capital, just as prophecy had in- dicated :— ‘“‘ Courier shall run to meet courier, And messenger to meet messenger, To acquaint the king of Babylon, That his city is taken from end to ena: And the passages are surprised, And the porches they have burned with fire, Ana the men of war are stricken with terror.”’ Jer, He oi oe This, as Blayney remarks, is a very natural SPT RHR RHG Toa neni teu Ee EEE AT Tee Tn aa sbeferedessecostiogssscesy epetesedsten poor EaEsgans ric iibaiids Pet eine recat ree titi tt106 LIFE OF CYRUS. description of what may be supposed to happen on a city being taken by surprise in the middle of the night, for as fast as the alarm spread people would be posting away with the tidings from all parts to the head quarters; and owing to the vast extent of the city, Herodotus tells us, from information obtained from some of the inhabitants, that the extreme parts of it were taken some time before those who lived in the 9? AOC entre knew of the attack. ‘The “passag surprised, no doubt, mean the streets ead from the river, the gates of which were left open; and the “porches” burned, may be ex- plained by a passage in Xenophon. He re- ports a speech of Cyrus to his soldiers previous to their setting forth, which, though an inven- tion of his own, may have been suggested by what really occurred. Cyrus is made to state to his troops, that possibly some of them might be afraid of being annoyed, as they passed along the streets, by missiles cast upon them from the tops of the houses. To obviate this, they are directed to fire the porches or vestibules of the dwellings, which, being made of wood of the palm-tree, and coated with bituminous matter, would be readily combustible. By this means attention would be diverted from themselves, and the citizens have no option, but to endeavor estes arrears SRE: fet oaieeeLIFE OF CYRUS. 107 to extin.zuish the flames, or to quit their homes, or perish in them. 5. Prophecy expatiates largely upon the hu- miliation and miseries to be endured by the Babylonians, after a term of the greatest pros- perity and self-indulgence. The term was com- pleted when Cyrus conquered the city, and then commenced the predicted reverses. ‘¢Come down, and sit in the dust, QO virgin daughter of Babylon ! Sit on the ground, Throneless, O daughter of the Chaldeans! ’ Thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.’ Isa. xluih. A ‘‘'These two things shall come to thee, In a moment, in one day, Loss of children and widowhood, They shall come upon thee im their perfection.” mea, 9. However leniently Cyrus dealt with the people upon submission to his rule, contenting himself with ordering a general disarmament, imposing a tribute to meet the expenses of the govern- ment, and the maintenance of a garrison, an in- surrection in the subsequent reign of Darius Hystaspes brought upon them, in one day, “loss of children and widowhood.” Shut up within their walls, and scantily provided for a siege,108 LIFE OF CYRUS. each of the unhappy citizens, in order to econo- mize their stores, selected from his wives the one he preferred, and a single maid-servant, while all the rest, men and children, fathers and mothers, and even infants, were strangled. Upon acquiring possession of the place by a stratagem, Darius ordered three thousand of the principal citizens to be crucified; reduced the height of the walls; and from that time, in consequence of a diminished population, and of being abandoned as a court residence, Baby- lon rapidly sunk into comparative insignifi- cance. 6. The complete and final desolation of the city is declared by prophecy in the strongest forms of expression. ‘¢ And Babylon shall become heaps, A habitation of dragons, An object of astonishment and hissing, Without an inhabitant.” Jer. 1537. “Her cities are become a desolation, A land of drought and a wilderness ; No man shall dwell in them, Neither shall a son of man pass through them.” li AS. A prospect of returning importance and glory dawned in the days of Alexander, who de- signed to re-edify the proud capital of Nebu-LIFE OF CYRUS. 109 chadnezzar, and make it the head af his own empire. But the decree had gone forth con- signing the site to desolateness, as far as human occupancy is concerned, and was not to be re- versed. ‘The Macedonian conqueror breathed his last upon the spot, and none of his successors revived the scheme. On the contrary, Babylon underwent a process of extensive mutilation at their hands, its materials contributing to the foundation of other cities. Two splendid capi- tals, long since themselves reduced to dust, were largely indebted to them in their construc- tion; Seleucia, built by Seleucus Nicator, on the Tigris; and Ctesiphon, which eclipsed it, founded by the Parthians on the opposite bank of the river. Besides these, several towns, at a more modern era, under the dynasty of the ca- lifs, rose out of the pillage of Babylon. “ That the fragments of one city,” says Sir R. K. Porter, “should travel so far to build or repair the breaches of another, on the first view of the subject, appeared unlikely to myself; but, on traversing the country, between the approxi- mating shores of the two rivers, and observing all the facilities of water-carriage from one side to the other, I could no longer be incredulous, particularly when scarce a day passed without my seeing people digging the mounds of Babv- $j SIRF R egrttan rents eeatstst tier tihey se POE SEE TS RSP ERS tits red etts gst bhube! jess tery est110 LIFE OF CYRUS. lon for bricks, which they carried to the verge of the Euphrates, and thence conveyed in boats to wherever they might be wanted.” Throvgh this spoliation, carried on for a course of ages, and the corroding hand of time, Babylon ceased to exist except in name. In the time of Strabo, the age of the Roman em- peror Augustus, it had become so far disman- tled that he applies to it what a comic poet said of Megalopolis, “the great city is a great desert.” Pliny, a little later, speaks of it as “dead ;” and Pausanias, a few years afterward, said: “Of Babylon, a greater city than which the sun did not formerly behold. all that now re- mains is the temple of Belus, and the walls of the city.” Jerome, writing in the fourth cen tury, states that it was then quite in ruins, and that the walls served only for an inclosure of game for the Persian kings’ hunting. After this era we have scarcely a reference worth notice to Babylon until recent times, when, in every jot and tittle, the accomplishment of pro- phecy appears complete. Sir John Mandeville, who traveled over Asia in the year 1322, states: “ Babylone is in the grete desertes of Arabye, upon the waye as men gon towarde the kyne- dome of Caldee. But it is fulle longe sithe ony man durste neyhe to the toune; for it is alleLIFE OF CYRUS. li J deserte and fulle of dragons and e rete serpentes, and fulle dyverse veneymouse bestas alle abouten.” An English merchant, Eldred. in 1083, journeying from Bir to Bagdad, speaks of passing “the old m ighty city of Babylon, many ruins whereof are easily to be seen by day- heht.” Rauwolf, a German physician and tra- veler, in the year 1574, says: “By a smal] village on the Euphrates is the site of eld Baby- lon, a day and a half’s journey from Baedad. The lands about it are so dry and desolate that one may justly doubt the fertility of it, and the greatness of this city, if the vast ruins still to be seen did not banish all he There are still standing some arches of a bridge over the river, which is here half a mile broad, and exceeding deep. ‘The arches are built of bricks, and wonderfully compacte A quarter of a mile beneath the Ses _ a plain, are the fallen ruins of a castle, and beyond that, the ruins of the tower of Babel, half a German mile in compass, which is now a receptacle of serpents and venomous creatures. All that travel over these plains will find a vast number of the ruins of very ancient, great, and lofty buildings, arched towers, and other such hke struetures, of wonderful architecture.” With- in the last century the locality has beer Ses scaecetesd asatessHiaga rade stapisaes if Sess SETHE eest Een rit ts Bporrsserre bE Ta EPS Bre titytro repeatedly and most carefully examined and LIFE OF CYRUS. described. The spot occupied by the millions of ancient Babylon has now for ages been without the permanent occupation of man, in harmony with inspired prediction, and without a human resi- dent, excepting the “ wayfaringman,” the enter- prising traveler, “tarrying for a night.” It exhibits, however, the traces of a former popu- Jation, not, as commonly imagined, by a few isolated ruins, but by a vast succession of mounds of rubbish, the vestiges of buildings, and the remains of walls covering an extensive surface of country, clearly denoting an immense host to have once been aggregated on it, espe- cially considering the contributions made to other cities. Some remarkable localities may still be identified. The Birs Nimrod, or the tower of Nimrod, has been unquestionably shown to be a remain of the ancient temple of Belus, an enormous mass of brick-work, occupy- ing a mound about half a mile round, remarka- ble for its utter loneliness. It corresponds with the ancient temple in its dimerisions, as given by Heredotus and in form, for three of the eight stories which it originally had can still be made cut. Another striking ruin, bearing the nameLIGE OF CYEUS. tia of Al Kasr, or the palace, may be deemed, on good grounds, to represent the great fortified residence of the last Babylonian kings. Every vestige shows it to have been a building of the I'he bricks are of the finest descrip- fine eae en- » os .cy —aqwW f; ‘ a} jatar T 2c ‘ are fragments of alabaster vessels, tattle ] ee s ware, marble, and polished variegated tiles, 4° Sed 7 aa Cd ey ay Absa ace my ‘ 17 . y o 7 while, notwithstanding depredation seems to have been carried on to the greatest extent, the store of material remaining is immense “The thought is impressive to the European ie that here is the site of that vast pile, and remnant of it, from the battlements of which Nebuchadnezzar es in pride upon the city whieh he had built as a witness of his power— in one of the Ee of which Belshazzar held high festival, on the night when the supernatu- interpreted by Daniel, revealed the ro ral writing doom of his empire, and Cyrus mastered his cavital; while, at present, in place of the archi- tectural glory then extant, nothing appears but a suecession of confused ruinous masses, and, instead of a swarming capital, there is a plain, abandoned to the cry of the bittern, and the melancholy hooting of the owl. Nothing is more accurate than the corres- ) O He ssitttss seer Saas114 LIFE OF CYRUS. pondence of present circumstances in this case vith the prophetic delineation of them upward of two thousand five hundred years ago. « And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Go- morrah. It shall never be inhabited, Neither dwelt in from generation to generation. The Arabian shall not pitch tent there, Nor shepherds make their fold there ; Wild beasts of the desert shall he there ; Owls shall fill their houses ; Ostriches shall dwell there ; And satyrs shall dance there. Jackals shall howl in their palaces, And wild dogs in their pleasant places.” fsa. xin: TO=22. Three lions were quietly basking on the heights of the Birs Nimrod when Porter approached it, and, scarcely intimidated by the cries of the Arabs, slowly descended into the plain. “Most of the sites,’ says another traveler, “were pierced with holes and caverns, the retreats of ‘doleful creatures.’ We observed jackals, anc were apprised of the presence of lions, hyenas, poreupines, lizards, bats, owls, and other fierce or gloomy animals, in the caves and cavities of these desolations.” The soil, composed of the grit and debris of the desolated city, has noLIFE OF CYRUS. He principle of fertility ; and hence the Arab shep- herd, who pitches his tent where pastures may be found, has no inducement to visit a region of barrenness. Anciently, the whole country between the as and ‘Tigris, constituting Babylonia Proper, was of unexampled fertility. Herodo- tus dae it as being, of all countries that had come under his observation, the most fruit- fulin corn, never producing less than two hun- dred fold. He speaks of the great size of the 2ars of wheat and barley, of the immense height of the millet, and of ig care bestowed upon the cultivation of the palm. But it was predicted that the territory thus flourishing should be- come waste, that the “sower should be cut off, and him that handleth re sickle in harvest time ;” a consummation which has long been most distinctly realized. It was not natural to Babylonia to be suena productive, but rather the reverse, owing to the flatness of the country, with ities long droughts and intense heats of summer. Its fertility was induced | a careful system of artificial irrigation, nite ized by a sagacious monarch, and conducted by an industrious people. The entire district was traversed by magnificent canals, dividing it into sections, and bringing the water of the rivers sleesPetisatarstsies Hebi seerst tthe a7) G Hie aE orisha gestae ea ete pc oeae ne Trp eet tet Pe SST esp orreEEEt ESTs is et Pen een Tee Chaise raseiyitcs Sei pris tar sysezeeetsSpirsh reece snes ee eaet 116 LIFE OF CYRUS. vithin reach of every part of it. The nomes of the principal of these canals are mentioned by various writers, and their vestiges are open {o observation at present. But, as upon this eigantic scheme of artificial irrigation the pro- ductive power of the soil depended, so, in con- ener of its abandonment, has the countr ssumed the character of a naked desert, is oe sower and reaper been cut off from its sur- face. It must be evident to every candid ex- aminer of the preceding correspondences, that Hebrew prophecy is just what it assumes to be, not a series of happy conjectures, but a divine revelation of the future, the fulfillment of which is an irresistible argument in favor of Scripture truth. In closing the chapter, it will not be out of place to remark, that the melancholy fate of this eapital, together with that of other cities of the ancient world mentioned in the Serip- tures, is there recorded under an aspect preg- nant with salutary instruction and solemn warn- ing to communities and individuals of the pre- sent era. ‘The human historian too frequently overlooks the true cause and real agent of such catastrophies, giving, as the only explanation, the weakness which luxury induces in national character, and the superior energy of an ambi- pT ESE SS a SpeeLIFE OF CYRUS. 137 tious aggressor. but inspired wisdom recog- nizes the rule of almighty Providence in these events, and pronounces them his judgmenis, provoked by great general wickedness, in the execution of which the successful warrior is only vlaying a secondary part. This is the heht in which we are enjoined by the “faithful and true Witness” to contemplate the ruins of Babyion, Nineveh, and Tyre, and the fallen estate of the once favored Jerusalem. The legitimate and important imference is, that all “nations, lan- suaces, and people,” now, are under the law of God, either as written in his word, or upon the human heart, and that recklessness of it cannot be practiced with impunity. What is true of a particular ageregate of mankind, is true also of each of its members, and both are under ob- ligation, from the desolations made in the earth, to beware of that impious abuse of the divine forbearance :—“ Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” ese el er BTC ESL Ere en es EST THEE TES se Peat Carer TELIFE OF CYRUS. CHAPTER VI. ADMINISTRATION OF DANIEL. Tue two prophets of the Hebrew exile ¢x- perienced very different fortunes during the captivity of the nation. Ezekiel, of the sacer- dotal race, commenced his prophetic career af- ter his deportation, while residing at some place near the river Chebar, on the banks of which he saw his visions, and where a colony of his countrymen was stationed. This river enters Euphrates about two hundred miles to the north of Babylon. Its water is celebrated by Pliny for its pleasant flavor near its source. Its width is so considerable that Julian, in his fatal east- ern expedition, was obliged to cross it with his army on a bridge of boats. Its banks are de- scribed by Ammianus as fertile and flourishing, to which the name of a town or district refers, one of the scenes of the prophet’s residence, “Tel-abib,” signifying “the hill of corn-ears,” “by the river of Chebar.” Here Ezekiel lived in comparative obscurity, hearing of the fame and prosperity of his brother exile, Daniel, whom he mentions in his writings, but not sharing in any worldly advancement himself, nor surviving to return to his native soil.Lig The es tomb or the prophet is shown a few miles to the sotith-east of the ruins of Babylon, and is much f vane e by the Jews, a considera- ble body of whom have always been found in this region from the ~~ of the captivity. Assum- ing the truth of this site, Ezekiel may be sup- posed to have died during a temporary visit to the metropolis; but the tradition that assigns his remains to this particular spot is of no value, except as a memorial of his existence in the land of his bondage. Daniel, the most remarkable of the Hebrew race of his time, was far more fortunate, and presents us with the unique case of a prophet enjoying a high degree of worldly prosperity, and being invested with political power. As < member of the first band of captives transported from Judea, consisting principally of influential nae amilies, we may suppose him to have been then a youth of noble birth, if not, according to the tradition of his people, a scion of the royal house. Selected on account of his personal advantages to be a page of the palace of the king of Baby- lon, he was taught the “tongue of the Chal- deans,” probably a refined dialect of the na- tional language used by the higher rank: In odeth times, at Constantinople, the pages of the seraglio have been commonly captive boysiZ0 LIFE OF CYRUS. of remarkable beauty, carefully mstrueted in the language of the court, which differs from the rustic dialects. It has been a frequent oc- currence, that youths of this class have risen, through merit, or adventitious circumstances, to occupy the post of pashas, or military com- manders, or grand vizier; and thus Daniel rose to an influential place in the empire under Nebuchadnezzar, in consequence of that super- natural wisdom of which the relation and significancy of the monarch’s dream afforded such striking evidence. The king made him “a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” He thus -became an important public officer, and was necessarily known by the station he occupied, not only to the subjects of his imperial master, but to the adjoining nations. It has been thought somewhat remarkal le, that Daniel, who had figured so conspicuously at the court of Babylon, should not be person- ally known to Belshazzar before the fatal ban- quet, when again he signalized his divine in- spiration. We infer this to have been the case, from the monarch’s interrogation upon his appearance in the festal hall :—“Art thou that SSEneEETONNENES tags Tish ated peat g bys s attDaniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Jidah, whom - kine, my father, brought out of Jewry?’ Sir John Chardin conjectures, in explanation, that, having been appointed to preside ovér the “ magicians, at and soothsayers,” as well as to conduct a civil office, his deprivation of both might naturally follow upon the death of Nebuchadnezzar, jus st as at the present, when a Persian kine dies, his astrologers and physicians are banished from court, the former for not having Danie Ak and the latter for not having prevented, his death. This very satisfactorily explains Belshazzar’s jonorance of the person of Daniel, who had given up his public employments, and retired into private life, eight years before his accession to the throne. [t also accounts for the know: ledge of him possessed by the queen, at whose suggestion the prophet was sent for to interpret the eae the queen-mother Nitocris being intended, who, as the wite of Evil-Merodach, lsat of the kingdom during the temporary « madness of his father, scimeidenictti had en- joyed ample opportunities of becoming acquaint- ed with the character and merits of Dest The remarkable facts which had occurred respecting the illustrious Jew at the courts of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, as matters ot arepey 5 7s HSER Toleinstesitzngsesesd lebeaeses e a portesy ste H ESeTSSE Tere SE: BST SEST Ea ft222 Lift OF CYRUS. public notoriety, would readily find their way to the ear of the new masters of the empire, and mark him out as one entitled to peculiar con- sideration. But, independent of this, it was a natural stroke of state policy to reinstate him in his office. It might go far to conciliate the inhabitants of the capital, and reconcile them to a compulsory yoke, to commit the administra- tion of their affairs into the hands of a public functionary whom their greatest monarch had thus delighted to honor, and who had no na- tional connection with their conquerors. E mad. Phrace and Illyria, Thessaly and all Greece, either } ai f s a el 45 in x : acknowledged his authority, or silently acquiesced in his predominince. de Si, j ate seis A aie a toe The phalanx originally denominated a large and well-appointed body of troops im the Grecian armies. But Philip seems to have constituted a corps of definite strength under this title, subject {to an improved system of tactics and disemline, 5c x J 4 4 tes dey To and armed in a more formidable manner. Hence the phal: winx became pé sculiarly associated with Macedonia, and with his own name as its In- ° 4 ventor, though he only introduced it into his200 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GRIAT. kingdom, and originated a more perfect organi- zation of it. It consisted in his time of sixteen ranks of three hundred and seventy-five men each, amounting to six thousand heavy-armed infantry. But different numbers were adopted in the divis- ion at different periods. We read of the quad- ruple phalanx, a mass of eighteen thousand men, which gives four thousand five hundred men for the single phalanx; but Alexander distributed the former body into six brigades of three thou- sand each. The corps was generally arranged in the shape of an oblong rectangle; but as occasion required, it could be thrown into the form of a hollow or solid square, a rhombus or lozenge, a triangle, or the are of a circle. The defensive armor of the phalangite soldier consisted of a helmet, a breast-plate of quilted linen, and the aspis, or long shield, which covered nearly the whole front of the person. His offensive weap- ons were the sword, and the celebrated sarissa, or spear, from eighteen to twenty-four feet long. When couched, the spear of a front rank man projected from fourteen to twenty feet in advance of him; that of a second rank man projected from eleven to seventeen feet in advance of the first line; and so on to the sixth rank. The front soldier had consequently the points of five spears, pesides his own, in advance of him on each side.EARLY LIFE. 201 The hinder ranks, too, pressing against the fore- most, increased their impetus in charging the enemy, or resisting an attack. Thus, in the wars of Alexander, whenever the loosely arrayed chiv- alry of Persia came to close action, it was scat- tered as dust before the wind by the dense order of the phalanx. Heavy armed cavalry formed the wings of the Macedonian army, and operated with the main body. Light troops occupied the rear, or the intervals between the phalanges, being used chiefly for skirmishing and pursuit; while squadrons of cavalry and infantry constituted a royal body-guard, to which the peculiar epithet of comrades or companions was applied. The sons of the best families in the kingdom com- posed the horsemen of the guard. CHAPTER IE EARLY LIFE OF ALEXANDER, ALEXANDER IIJ., commonly styled the Great, was the son of Philip IL., king of Macedon, who claimed descent from Hercules; and of Olympias his wife, a daughter of the royal house of Epirus, whose presumed lineage connected her with Achilles. This fabled genealogy associated him iS > sear902 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. by both lines. with Jupiter, t the head of tha Grecian mythology. An origin so illustrious in the esteem of a pagan populace was a carefully cherished sentiment. The flattery of courtiers strenethened it in the mind of the prince when he rose to power; and the policy of the con- queror contributed to give currency to the legend, as auxiliary to conquest. But it exerted an in- fluence upon his character as pernicious as it was decided. It produced that exaggerated idea of personal importance, which led him often to treat ight the opinions, interests, and nghts of others ; it rendered him arbitrary in disposition, self-willed to rashness, and intensely selfish. It generated, too, unbounded ambition as its natural fruit. In the third year of his reign, Philip, on the same day that he took the city of Potidea, re- ceived intelligence of three gratifymg events—the defeat of the Illyrians by his general oe ee the success of his horses at the Olympic Games, and the birth of bis son Alexander. The latter was born at Pella, B. C. 856. Hence Juvenal styles him the “ Pelleean youth ;” while, the city being in the district of Emathia, Milton has cele- 17 brated him as the “ereat Emathian conqueror, gs the most distinguished province of Macedonia being often put for the whole country. At that era, Greece was in the zenith of her literary glory. se COEARLY LIF, but had passed that of her political power. It was the ag3 of Plato and Aristotle, of Aischines and Demosthenes. Of the philosophers, Plato is supposed to have been on intimate terms with Philip ite physician at his court, and his celebrated son ; while the father of Aristotle was a faver- was soon afterward in undoubted connection with it. Of the orators, Aischines was a partisan of the Macedonian monarch at Athens; and Demos- thenes, his bitter and unrelenting enemy. In sub- sequent years, when the conquests of Alexander had spread the terror of his arms through the East, the superstitious noticed the striking coinci- dence, that on the night of his birth the stately temple of Diana at Ephesus had been destroyed by fire. This was the work of an incendiary, who intended by the deed to immortalize his name; and it seemed as though the general spohation of Asia had been typified by the con- flagration of one of its proudest structures. The infant prince was committed to the charge of a lady, named Lannice, as nurse, under the general superintendence of her mother Hellanice. He became strongly attached to his fister-parent, treated ier in after years with the highest consid oO *S eration, and the members of her family also shared his regard. Her two sons became his confidential! eo 2 pr E e ‘ fe £ friends, and were officers of his army, both uf90+ LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, them falling by his side in battle; while her brother Cleitus, who saved his life at the Grani- cus, received the most flattering honors, and was lamented with unbounded grief, after falling a victim to Alexander’s unbridled passions. That ereat care was bestowed upon the physical educa- tion of the boy, may be inferred from the remark- able capacity to endure fatigue exemplified by him in his subsequent career; and also from the fact, that the Greeks in general paid strict atten- tion to the proper training of the body in early lite. Habits of luxury and effeminacy were oS ded against; while exercise in the open air ight clothing, cold bathing, and temperate diet were rigidly enforced. This regimen was directly adapted to render the frame robust and agile; and to its adoption may, to a great extent, be as- eribed that combination of strength and beauty, muscular energy, and graceful contour, so remark- ably developed in the Greek form. As the child grew up, Leonidas, one of his mother’s ation: was appointed his governor. This noble, a man of austere character and frugal habits, imposed a simple mode of life upon his pupil; he was also probably enabled by his re- lationship to enforce that obedience to it which an alien would have failed to secure. His disci- pline seems to have been severe even to hardship.EARLY LIFE, 205 Aiexander retained a vivid recollection of it when arrived at man’s estate, but reflected upon his early training without reproaching its author. On one occasion, when a table crowded with Asiatic luxuries was spread before him, he remarked that Leonidas had stimulated his appetite differently, by appointing a night’s march to give zest to his breakfast, and a scanty breakfast to season his supper. Upon observing him, at a sacrifice, throw into the censer more frankincense than seemed needful, Leonidas thus admonished him: “ Wait,” said he, ‘until you are master of the at and wMere spices grow; you may then be liberal with your incense; in the mean time use what Alexander remem- you have more sparingly. bered the circumstance when victory delivered into his hands the spoil of Asia, its spices and aromatics, a large supply of which he playfully forwarded to Leonidas, with the message, ‘‘I have sent you frankincense and myrrh in abundance, so hereafter be more liberal to the gods.” Under this Spartan-like governor, an individual of another stamp, Lysimachus, an Acarnanian, officiated as preceptor to the prince. Although 3 as tutor he did not, perhaps, fail to impart some useful knowledge, he is said to have recommend- ed himself to his charge by the objectionable method of fiattermg his vanity and inflaming his206 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ambition. He would expatiate upon his presumed descent, from Achilles, upon the tale of Troy, and the deeds of the Homeric heroes. Aristotle af- terward fostered in a similar manner the military propensities of the youth. He caused a beauti- ful copy of the poems of Homer to be accurately transcribed for his use; and the influence of Alexander’s early instructors appeared in after life in a passionate attachment to the Iliad and Odyssey, and in that predominating love of con- quest which a blind admiration of them was cal- culated to inspire. They were his constant com- panions on the march and in the camp. At night they were laid under his pillow with his sword; and when a casket of extraordinary splendor, found among the treasures of Darius, came into his possession, it was set apart to re- ceive the copy of the poems prepared by his philosophic teacher. Endowed with great native energy of character, provided with the best assistants, and trained with care, it is quite credible that at a comparatively early period the prince was preéminent in all the accomplishments of his age, hardy and active in his habits, an adept in manly and athletic sports, excelling in horsemanship, skilled in music, mili- tary exercises, and the use of arms; while that s pirit of enterprise and genius for command wereHARLY LIFE. oO7 ad I § developed, which so remarkably distin ivuished his manhood. When an Athenian embassy, at the head of which were Demosthenes and Aéschines, visited the court of Philip at ei the father proud of the boy, then about eleven years old r, 2 caused him to play on the nie an recite verses, or declaim in dialogue with a youthful companion, for the gratification of his guests. But Philip is said to have embraced him with tears of joy, bid- ding him seek a kingdom more worthy of him than Macedonia, on the oceasion of a celebrated action of his boyhood, the reducing to subjection, by address and courage, an apparently unman- my ageable Thessalian steed. This was the renown- oO sd Bucephalus, one of the large, powerful, and spirited horses for which Thessaly was famed, which afterward bore Alexander through many of his campaigns, and was his favorite charger un the field of battle. The animal was so prized by his owner, that upon being captured by some Uxian bandits, a war of extirpation was pro- claimed against the whole tribe unless they re- stored him, which was accordingly done. Bu- cephalus is reported to have died in the Punjab, in the battle with Porus, not of wounds, but old age, heat, and exertion. His master founded a city near the scene of the action, named Buceph. ala, in honour of the steed. The site of this place Ff rd prlidtiait preg rata petttiest S208 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. the late Sir A. Burnes thought he identified, at a mound, crowned with a village, on the banks of the Jhelum, the ancient Hydaspes. When thirteen years of age, Alexander was comunitted to the care of Aristotle, the most cele- brated philosopher of antiquity, and seems to have remained in almost constant association with him for about three years. They probably spent most of their time at Stagira, the native place of the Peripatetic sage, which Philip had restored at his request, laying out a kind of Lyceum, with shaded walks and stone seats, on ground belong- ing to a temple of the nymphs, arrangements suited to his locomotive plan of delivering in- struction. The Lyceum at Athens, opened as his school after Plato’s death, was a house near the temple of Apollo Lycius, whence its name, at- tached to which was a garden with walks, where he taught his pupils. His lecture in the morn- ing, on the abstruser parts of philosophy, was to a select class, and called the morning walk; that in the evening, called the evening walk, was on a popular topic, addressed to a more promiscuous eroup. Aristotle’s restless genius and vast ac- quirements must have had a powerful influence upon the ardent and aspiring mind of the prince ; but we are quite unable to appreciate it, for want of the requisite data. Yet it is not an unreason-BARUY LIVE. 209 able supposition, that a passion to exploie the limits of the world, combine d, as a distinct mo- tive, with the love of conquest, to determine the subsequent career of Alexander. Aristotle, also, perhaps laid the foundations of that intimate ac- quaintance with the political and geographical state of the territories invaded, the mutual jeal- ousies of oriental satra ips, and the limited authority of the nominal sove reign over them, which was af- terward manifested by the co mnqueror. Thus Aris- totle might, in the language ne Milton, be the man “Who bred Great Alexander to subdue the world.” But if we may depend upon the genuineness of a letter which has been current from very early times, the philosopher proposed to his royal charge more recondite themes than the investi- gation of nature, and the politics of nations. The epistle to whi te we have referred was addressed to him by Alexander, complainiz 1g of the publi- cation of one _ his treatises, which invaded the monopoly of knowledge enjoyed by his hearers :— ‘* ALEXANDER TO ARISTOTLE. * HEALTH. © ¥ ote did wrong in publishing those branches of science hitherto not to be acquired except from oral instruction. In what shall I excel others, if 14LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. the more profound knowledge I gained from you be communicated to all? For my part, I would rather surpass the majority of mankind in the d sublimer branches of learning, than in extent of power and dominion.—Farewell !” This letter illustrates the mingling of com- mendable and evil qualities in the temperament of the writer. He was ardently desirous of knowl- edge, yet not so much for its own sake, as for the personal distinction it confefred, avowedly seek- ing and es it for selfish purposes. ‘The a abilities and kindness of Aristotle won fot him the reverence and attachment of his pupil, who was accustomed to say that he loved him no less than his father; though he had httle per- sonal intercourse with Nie after he had entered upon the duties of public life, and none whatever subsequent to his leaving the shores of eae In one respect the scholar rose above his master, his native sagacity triumphing over the prejudices of education. The philosopher held in all its ex- travagance the opinion current among the Greeks respecting their natural preéminence as a race, He regarded, indeed, the distinction between them and the rest of mankind as somewhat com- parable to that between man oe brute, the master and his chattels. From: this proud dogma the revolting inference was ae that the lawBARLY: LIBR: Q1 4 of nature justified and sanctioned the reduction of barbarians to a state of slavery ; and the future lord of millions was accordingly taught to treat the Greeks as his subjects, denying to other na- tions the rights of men. But Alexander acted in direct opposition to the teaching, either from an intelligent apprehension of its falsity, or a convic- tion of its impolicy; and he bie after con- quest, not to degrade the conquered, but to attach them to himself and to better forms of govern- ment by a conciliatory course, at the same time endeavoring to elevate their character by intro- ducing an advanced civilization. Whatever bene- fit he derived from the instructions of the Stagi- rite, it was certainly, judging from the results, of an intellectual rather than of a moral kind. He did not learn to submit his passions to his judg- ment, to control appetite, restrain resentment, and direct attention to objects commended by their intrinsic worth. The victor of nearly the whole of the then known globe lived in chains to the evil principles of his nature, and died an early victim to the bondage. We know not what pre- cise religious opinions were instilled into his mind ; whether or not the philosopher directed his thoughts above the gods and goddesses of popu- lar superstition to his own dim conceptions of a supreme and universal Deity; but no trace what-712 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ever of the sentiment is discoverable in the con- duct of his riper years. On the contrary, a poly- theism of the most latitudinarian kind was mani- fested by Alexander, who paid equal respect to the forms of worship established in different countries, however discordant they might be. Hence the humblest of the youth of a Christian country, though having no tuition but what is furnished by the Sunday school, is in far more favorable circumstances, inasmuch as he has that Scriptural instruction which reveals the true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, and has ac- cess to that blessed volume which teaches him his position as a sinner, and proclaims the neces- sity of that faith in the blood of atonement which, when applied by the Holy Spirit, tranquillizes the conscience, sanctifies the soul, purifies the life, prepares for a happy death, and secures a blessed eternity. During the education of his son, Philip had been gradually developing those aggressive de- signs, and making those acquisitions from his neighbors, which provoked the jealousy of Athens, as well as the other states of Greece, and ulti- mately led to an appeal to arms. They produced also those orations from Demosthenes, called Phil- ippics—a word which has been naturalized in the Latin, and most of the languages of modernEARLY LIFE. 2 Europe, as a concise term to express indignant invectives. The first of these remarkable speeches was delivered while Alexander was a mere child, and for a period of fourteen years the orator and statesman untiringly devoted his eloquence and diplomatic skill to rouse his countr ymen to com- bined resistance, and check the progress of the aspiring monarch. But instead of acting in con- cert, the republican states were in fruit collis 10n with each other; most of them: were torn with violent ice besides having a party friendly to the Macedonian power. Under these circumstances, Philip’s military skill and subtile policy combined with the disunion of his oppo- nents to secure his triumph. Having reduced Thessaly almost to the condition of a dependent provinee, and conquered the tripartite Chalcidian peninsula, he mastered the Phocians, and_pro- cured to himself and his successor a cession of their place in the Amphictyonie Council.* This Was a most important step, for it involved a formal recognition of his Hellenic character; and the peo- ple over whom he ruled be ing identified with him- self, it amounted to an act of naturalization, for This was an assembly of deputies, with jurisdic- tion cver the national religion and social ¢ disputes, which met at Delphi in the spring, and at Anthela near Thermopylz in the autumn. te Ea ig re i749 ee Petree Parana fastenersO44 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. them, the Macedonians being henceforth entitled to rank as pure Greeks. It was the ultimate object of Philip’s ambition to head an attack upon the Persian empire, as general of a great Greek con- tederacy, for which purpose he sought to acquire an ascendant influence over all Greece, and sub- jugate the country lying between his territories and the Hellespont, the narrow channel conven- ient for the passage from Europe into Asia. The project of such a national war was popular in itself, and had often been mooted at Athens; but, aware that the aggrandizement of Philip would be fatal to their own independence, the Athenians were anxious to curb their powerful neighbor, and entered into an alhance with Per- sia to effect that object. Alexander having completed his sixteenth year, Philp appomted him regent of the kingdom, while he went upon an expedition into Thrace, and prosecuted the siege of Byzantium. The public life of Alexander now commenced, but n_ event of importance occurred till, after an ill- observed nominal peace, war broke out between Macedonia and Athens. Early in the year B. C )¢ Q« 338, Philip marched southward through Thessaly and seized Elatea, a town which commanded the passage from Thermopylee into the plains of Pho- cis and Boeotia. On an evening of the month ofSat ESS ia EARLY LIFE. ALO June, a messenger arrived at Athens with intolli- gence of this event. The tumult and consterna- tion of the city during the night, we learn from the sr reat orator of the time, who addressed the populace the next day, and carried a decree in favor of an alliance with Thebes against the com- mon enemy. Their united army, with other allies, met the Macedonians under Philip and Prince Alexander in the plain of Cheronea. A temple by the side of a small tributary of the river Cephisus long marked the encampment of the con fod erated Greeks on the banks of the main stream, was believed, * while a venerable oak, some centuries afterward, to have overshadowed the tent of Alexander. He was now eighteen, cay and commanded one wing of the army, some ex- perienced generals being stationed at his side. The triumph of the Macedonians was complete in the ensuing engagement. A thousand Athe- nians fell on the field, and two thousand were taken prisoners. Demosthenes, the leader of the war party, bore arms in the battle, and escaped in the general flight, throwing away his shield to secure greater speed. Such an action was deemed ee the most disgraceful proof of cowardice; and un- der a sense of military dishonor, as well as of political failure, he withdrew for a time from pub- lic notice. Greece now lay prostrate at the foot.LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. of the conqueror; but after chastising Thebes, it suited his purpose to proceed with generous clemency, especially toward Athens, in order to lead those who could no longer impede his de- signs against Persia, to coéperate zealously in an invasion. Ina congress held at Corinth, attended by deputies from all the states, with the excep- tion of Sparta, it was resolved to attack the colos- sal but disjointed empire; and the king of Mace- donia was appointed generalissimo of the Greek forces, to carry the resolution into effect. But dissensions in his own family, which proved fatal to himself, reserved the enterprise for a higher o genius and an abler hand. Attracted by the beauty of Cleopatra, the niece of one of his generals, Philip, who had be- fore adopted the oriental practice of polygamy, sought her hand, and celebrated his marriage* with riotous festivities. His wife, Olympias, a woman of impetuous passions, did not tamely submit to the indignity, and Alexander espoused the cause of his mother. A quarrel arose be- tween the father and the son at the nuptial ban- quet; and as the king stumbled in his intoxica- tion, the prince tauntingly observed, “See tho man who would pass over from Kurope to Asia, upset in crossing from one couch to another.” Olympias finally withdrew from the kingdomHARLY: LIFE. ae ‘ ‘ to Epirus, and Alexander retired into [lyria, Though both returned, it was to cherish resent- ment under the mask of reconciliation. Tha wife burned with impatience to be revenged upon her husband and her rival: the son, alarmed by unfounded suspicions of being excluded from the succession, intrigued to maintain his position: Meanwhile Philip, busy with his projected expe- dition into Asia, consulted the Delphic oracle on the event of the enterprise, and is said to have received the ambiguous answer, “ Crowned is the victim, the altar is ready, the stroke is impend- ’* If the anecdote be true, we must view the ing. oracle as a party to a wide-spread conspiracy against him, considering the event which speedily followed the delivery of the response. While celebrating a festival at Algse, the ancient capital of Macedonia, a youth of rank rushed upon the king, and inflicted a mortal wound with a Celtie sword. Pausanias, the assassin, was dispatched by the royal body-guard while endeavoring to escape. He might have been instigated to the foul crime by personal resentment, but the gravest suspicions rested upon others as being accom- i plices, There is no sufficient reason to accuse Alexander; and the majority of modern histori- ans acquit him, though Niebuhr inclines to a conviction of his guilt. Olympias was on betterLES LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. grounds suspected, and undoubtedly rejoiced at the event. Persons in the Greek states, and Persians, were supposed to be implicated, from their anxiety to get rid of a political foe; but the inotives of the murderer, and the extent of the plot, were never ascertained. Philip fell late in the autumn of the year B.C. 386. His self: indulgence, if not the cause of his violent death, led to his fate being unlamented, and even re- garded with exultation by some of his nearest connections. In after years, when the troops of Alexander, on their return from India, mutinied on the banks of the Tigris, he subdued the revolt by an ad- dress containing a just tribute to the memory of his father as an able ruler. The speech which Arrian has put into his mouth, is a fine example of rhetoric, and may represent in substance what passed upon the occasion. From a lofty stand, surrounded by his principal officers, he thus spoke to the mutineers: “T have no intention, Macedo- nians, to dissuade you trom returning home; you have my full leave to go your own way; but I wish to remind you of the change in your circum. stances, of your obligations to my family, and of the manner in which you now propose to repay them. I begin, as in duty bound, with my father Philip. At his accession, you were povEARLY LIEE. 219 erty-stricken wanderers, mostly clad in skins, herding your scanty flocks on the bare hills, and fichting rudely in their defense against the LIlyri- ans, Tribalh, and Thracians. Under him you ex- changed your garbs of skin for cloaks of cloth. He led you from the hills to the plains, taught you to withstand the barbarians on equal ground, and to rely for safety on personal valor, not on mountain fastnesses. He assembled you in cities, and civilized you by useful laws and institutions. He raised you from a state of slavery and depend- ence to be the masters of the barbanans by whom you had so long been despoiled and plun- dered. He added Thrace to your empire, occu- pied the most advantageous situations on the sea-shore, thus securing the blessings of com- merce, and enabling you to convert the produce of the mines to the best advantage. Under him you became the leaders of the Thessalians, of whom previously you entertained a deadly terror. By the humiliation of the Phocians, he opened a broad and easy entrance into Greece, which be- fore could be reached only by one narrow and difficult pass. By the victory at Cheronea, where, young as I was, I shared in the danger, he humbled the Athenians and Thebans, the eternal plotters against the peace of Macedonia, and converted you from being the tributaries of eeeA LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Athens and the vassals of Thebes, to be the lord- protectors of both states. He then entered the Peloponnesus, arranged its affairs, and was de: clared captain-general of the Greeks against Per- sia. This appointment was no less honorable to himself in particular, than to the Macedonians in general. ‘These are my father’s works: great, if estimated intrinsically—trifling, if compared with the benefits conferred by me.” CHAPTER IIL ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON. (B. C. 836-884.) SuDDENLY called to the throne under the most mournful circumstances, Alexander found himself in a difficult and dangerous position. Intelligence of the removal of the formidable Philip was re- ceived with the greatest exultation by the .anti- Macedonian party im the Grecian states, and in- stant measures were adopted to profit by an Op- portunity apparently favorable to their regaining the ascendency. [emosthenes ostentatiously pro- claimed his joy. Though his daughter had then lately died, he put off his mourning, in violation of national usage, appeared in public crownedKING OF MACEDON. Zoe with flowers, wore a robe of white, and exhibited other tokens of festive rejoicing. He was the first in Athens publicly to announce the event, and he pretended to have received information of it from the tutelar genius of the city. From this cir- cumstance, those who take a severe view of the orator’s character, conclude that he was actually privy to the murder, and boldly ventured upon the announcement of it when the time arrived for the accomplishment of the deed. But it seems more probable that tidings of the assassination were instantly forwarded to him by some politi- cal ally, on whose messenger he enjoined secresy, and then resorted to the trick of a supernatural revelation, to impress strongly upon the Athent- ans the importance of the event, and its friendly aspect toward the assertion of their independence. If this be a correct view of the case, he has been justly punished for the imposture, by having had the grave imputation attached to his memory of being an accessory to the homicide. All Greece was speedily in a ferment; and while Demosthenes ' disgraced himself by moving that religious honors should be paid to the memory of the assassin, he was unremitting in his efforts to induce his coun- trymen to assume an attitude of defiance, repre- senting the youthful Alexander as a person from 1 mm : ] eel whom they had nothing to apprehend. irihu- oR : 124 Es Hi Se ‘rg HEREOY s ™m Ar + mY n YDwW ea] 222 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, tary barbarian tribes participated in the genera movement for freedom—the Illyrians on the western border of Macedonia, the Thracians in the district toward the Hellespont, and the Tri- ballians on the north of the Balkan. The new monarch was but twenty years old when he came to the throne under such threat- 1 ' ening circumstances ; but he proved himself equal to the crisis—gitted with the talents necessary to maintain his position—and soon triumphed over every danger by the prudence, promptitude, and energy of his measures. Previous to celebrating the obsequies of his father, he told the Macedo- nians, that though the name was changed, they would find that the king remained. His first care was to secure himself at home. For this purpose, his early friends and companions in some tolhes, Ptolemy, Nearchus, and Harpalus, names prominent in his subsequent history, were not made objects of enviable notoriety—a common error with youthful sovereigns. They were not, however, forgotten by Alexander. The old min- isters were continued in office; Antipater at the head of the civil, and Parmenio of the military administration. The former had been selected by Philip, after his victory at Cheeronea, to con- duet to Athens the bones of the Athenians who had fallen in the battle; and assured of his vigi-vow! KING OF MACEDON paar ant attention to state affairs, he once invited his guests at a convivial party to carouse, saying, ‘“ All is safe, for Antipater is awake.” Parmenio had enjoyed an equa! measure of confidence ; for in allusion to the nuimerous Soca’ which t jealousy of the democratic states placed at t y observ- o head of their armies, Phili Ip sarcasticall ed, “ Fortunate Ather Mans, in possessing so many 1S gene alg; while I have never seen one but Par- An} ) it 20 an TA Co ] oy VAPTIRAC £ } La. FAX meno. n retaining the services of these two eminent men, instead of raising his persona iriends to distinguished offices, the merit of Alex- ander is enhanced by the consideration, that in the recent family dissensions they had acted with the father against the son. His next he act was to stifle in the germ the spirit of disaffection abroad, and secure fur him- (Nn self the position acquired by £ hilip—the political and military leadership of the Grecian repu.ilics. r ° : ge 1 yah LIE Proceeding southward in person, at the head of : ce an lmMposing force, the states of Thessaly readily fecdivied him as the chief of their confederacy, and placed their troops and revenues at his db: posal. Assembling the An iphictyonic Council at rm La . werkt All at hair eantan sisal that body voted him their captain- = | a 4] x general, an honor enjoyed by his father. He then } : } aR Dye oS gale ae advanced by rapid marches into Boeotia ; discon- ‘ _ ; t 4 Oa es NXT a » 4 eerted his foes by the alacrity of his movements 5 v ¥294 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. am aw and overawed the hostile temper of Thebes and Athens, by showing himself fully prepared to put down open opposition. The Athenians, alarmed by his approach, hastened to conciliate him by an embassy, of which Demosthenes himself was a member, though he left it on the route, either apprehending personal danger on account of his intrigues, or overcome with mortification. Alex- ander now proposed to call a general congress of the states, in order to have his authority ratified in the most ample manner. It met accordingly at Corinth, and the youthful king was appointed to succeed his father as head of all Greece, for the prosecution of the war with Persia. The Spartans alone refused to sanction the arrangement, say- ing, with impotent pride, “that their national in- heritance was not to follow, but to lead.” While he was at Corinth, the celebrated imterview took place between Alexander and Diogenes. The cynic signalized his contempt for the habits of civilized life by selecting a tub for his usual resi- dence, or more correctly, one of the great clay pots in which the ancients kept their wine. In this absurd dwelling, under the walls of the Co- rinthian gymnasium, he was visited by the aspir- ing monarch, and being questioned respecting his wants and wishes, made to the king’s offer of | oO service this striking reply: tt Be sO good as to edKING OF MACEDON, GOR a he stand from between me and thesun.” The inde pendence of the remark struck Alexander, har- monizing as it did with his own disposition, and he observed to his officers, “ Were I not Alexan- der, I should wish to be Diogenes.” But there was nothing worthy of respect in the motives of tiie cynical philosopher. Pride lay at the root of his scornful indifference to the ordinary conven- iences of hfe, and his practical rejection of Alex- ander’s proffered aid; for personal vanity may be as strongly present in ascetic observances as in luxurious ostentation. His relations with Greece being settled for the present, Alexander spent the winter following his accession to the throne in Macedonia; but in the spring of B. C. 335, he left the kingdom to con- trol the barbarous tribes on the northern frontier, who had assumed a threatening attitude. This was his first regular campaign. The army march- ed from Pella to Amphipolis, and thence to the soutnern foot of the modern Balkan, where the mountaineers appeared in arms to dispute the passage of its defiles. They were strongly posted on the summit of a steep acclivity, guarded by i front was protected precipices on each side; their by a line of wagons, which served as a rampart ; while they were also ready to be rolled down, so as to break the phalanx as it advanced up the 15726 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. height. But, anticipating the design, Alexander provided against it. On seeing the machines put in motion, the phalanx opened its ranks, where the ground admitted of the operation, and where it was impracticable, the soldiers lay down under the shelter of their interlinked shields; thus the wagons either passed harmlessly through the spaces suddenly opened to admit them, or with little injury rolled over the bodies of the troops defended by a solid brazen canopy. The ma- neuvre completely succeeding, the soldiers speed- ily mastered the pass, which seems to have been the one now traversed by the main road from Adrianople to the Danube. Leaving the moun- tain range, the army defeated the Triballians, or Bulgarians, in the great plain stretching between the Balkan and the river; and the right bank of the vast stream was gained below the present aD town of Widdin, probably not far from its mouth. Here Alexander met his fleet, which had been sent from Byzantium through the Euxine to join him. The Danube, toward its confluence with the sea, forms several islands, one of which, then called Peucé, was occupied by the enemy, and was unsuccessfully attacked. But Alexander crossed the great water-barrier to the left bank, and advanced into the land of the Gets, or Goths, speedily returning to the home side of the river,eS ana ee ee eee KING OF MACEDON. 4 bo oO 27 content with the achievement of having passed it. Tidings of his invasion being spread far and wide by the wandering tribes, some Celta are reported to have come to his camp, to seek alli- ance or to gratify curiosity. On being asked what they feared most in the world, the reply was given, significant of a proud indifference to danger, “ Lest the sky should fall.” Having forced submission upon his wild north- ern neighbors, Alexander directed his attention to the Ilyrians on his western border, who were in movement against him. They were quickly re- duced to subjection; but scarcely had this been accomplished, when alarming news from Greece ealled for his presence in the south. The Persian power, aware of the hostile combination that had been tormed, threatening Asia with invasion, lavished its treasures upon the parties in the Greek states unfriendly to the Macedonian yoke, in order to dissolve the confederacy, and avert from itself the impending blow. Demosthenes cold oO was the chief agent in the transaction, and ¢ as usual was employed with effect upon the un- quiet and malcontent spirits. Alexander’s distant campaign favored an insurrection. Regular com- munication with him ceased when he crossed the Balkan, and no tidings being heard for some time, a report of his death sprang up. It was zealously999 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GKEAT. so el propagated by those who wished it to be true, and used with success for the purpose of stimula- ting a revolt. In Thebes, which had a Macedo- nian garrison in the Cadmeia, a revolution took place; two officers, unaware of the danger, were surprised and massacred in the streets, and siege was straightway laid to the citadel. Athens sympa- thized with the movement, and promised to sus- tain it: Elis'followed the example; but news of Alexander’s approach effectually dissipated the illusion of his death, and suspended the opera- tions of the auxiliaries, while the Tnebans were lett to their fate. In seven days, the king made a rapid march from Illyria, through the heart of Macedonia, and appeared in Thessaly ; in six days more he was in Beeotia; and before the revolters heard of his having effected the passage of 'Ther- mopylee, he was at Onchestus, m their immediate neighborhood. The popular leaders, conscious of being too deeply implicated to be forgiven, determined on resistance, and the inhabitants, deluded by. their representations, trusted to the strength of their walls for security against attack. On approaching the city, Alexander had his own garrison, still holding the citadel, to codper- ate with him, yet its fortifications appeared likely to render a long siege inevitable. He fixed his camp on the road to Athens, to cut off communi-Heege rift series ts tt f ou KING OF MACEDON. LEG) cation with it and the disaffected cities in the south. But, contrary to his own expectations and those of the citizens, Thebes was not destined to endure a lengthened investment. It fell by a sudden and inadvertent assault. A skirmish, commenced without orders | by one of his officers, brought on a general engagement, in which the Blistans were signally defeated. Flying in con- fusion to the nearest gates, they could not effect an entrance before the vanguard of the Macedo- nians came up in the pursuit. The conquerors broke in with the conquered ; the main body of the besieging army sustained the efforts of the van; the besieged made a last stand in the market-place; and, after a desperate conflict, Alexander was master of the place. Indiserimin- Gees ee nea ate slaughter and wholesale rapine for a time followed the triumph; six thousand of the in- habitants perished, and thirty thousand became prisoners, the victors losing little more than five hundred of their number. The Macedonians were not the parties guity of the butchery. Beeotians and Phocians, the countrymen and near neighbors of the Thebans, were numerous in the victorious army ; they had been deeply wronged by Thebes in the day of her prosperity ; and the oppressor was now compelled to drink to the dregs the bitter cup she had unrelentinglyISO) LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. extended to others. The infliction of injury is ne justification of retaliation ; vengeance has been forbidden to man by the precepts of the gospel 5 but that insolent exercise of power which provokes exasperation, and stimulates revenge, rightly finds a place on the page of history, as essential to a true picture of events, and fraught with whole- some counsel to mankind to cultivate amicable relations with each other. The fallen city was reserved for a still more terrible fate, and as it was inflicted in obedience to a decree of the Greeks themselves, specially summoned to deliberate upon the case, it must be accepted as conclusive evidence of the public odium in which the community was held. It was Thebes that betrayed the cause of national freedom, by actively aiding the Persians in their invasion under Xerxes. The old offense had not been forgotten, nor had the sentence of extermia- tion, incurred by the treachery, been revoked. It was Thebes that, in the Peloponnesian war, constrained the Lacedzemonians to slay the Plate- ans In cold blood on their surrender, and reduce their women to slavery and their town to ashes. It was Thebes that, at the close of the same war, when Athens was captured, vehemently but vainly urged its total destruction; the conquering Lace- dzemonians refusing “to put out one of the eyesna Stig KING OF MACEDON. De &! of Greece.” Adjoining towns had been merci- lessly visited with fire and sword for disputing the political supremacy of the Thebans. But the hour of retribution had come: and upon the fate of the city being referred by Alexander to a council of his Greek confeder ates, the iniquity of the fathers was severely visited upon the children. It was resolved that the citadel should be lef{ standing to be occupied by Macedonian soldiers : that the city should be leveled to the ground and the territory forfeited to the allies, except the ground belonging to the temples; while men women, and children were to be sold as slaves by public auction. The severity of this decree was mitigated by auiioladadiies exceptions, and a liberal construction was put upon the exceptive clauses. All priests and priestesses were ex- empted ; all, likewise, who had not participated in the revolt; and if,in the case of a family, fidelity could be shown on behalf of a single member of it, this circumstance purchased im- munity for the rest. The dwelling and descend- ants of Pindar, the great Theban poet, were expressly saved from the general ruin, at the instance of Alexander. He “Bade spare The house of Pindarus, when temple and tower Went to the ground.” afi Baer pr HE itet! 4.OS LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. we iid With these exceptions, the decree was exec ated, and the materials of the proud buildings of Thebes contributed to reconstruct on various sites those which had been ravaged by its citizens. The capture and condemnation of the city struck with terror the foes of Alexander through- out the peninsula, and humiliating apologies were offered by the states implicated in the recent transactions to avert his displeasure. He was disposed to be content with the terrible example made: it was sufficient of itself to overawe com- pier ely the most disaffected ; and policy dictated the display of magnanimity, as directly calculated to re the impression produced by the work of retribution. The Athenians had just reasons to dread the resentment of the conqueror. They were celebrating the Eleusinian mysteries when fugitiv es from Thebes announced to them its fall. Instantly suspending the rites, they returned in consternation to the city, and all hands were em- ployed in conveying movable property within the walls. An embassy was then dispatched to appease the king, who limited himself to the moderate demand of having his inveterate enemy, Demosthenes, and some others, surrendered tc him. Even this requirement was relinquished ; for Alexander found himself in a position to ex- press superiority by a clement course, and wasKING OF MACEDON. vas moreover anxious to settle the affairs of Greece, in order to direct attention to the attack on Persia. On his return to Macedonia, festivals at Atgee, the primitive capital, and at Dium, celebrated his re- markable success—the campaign on the Danube and among the Illyrian mountains, with the irruption into Greece, having been accomplished in the spring summer, and autumn of a single year, It will now be convenient to glance at the his- tory and state of the Persian empire, on the verge of the struggle with Alexander, which issued jn its final overthrow. The congress of the states at Corinth, which decided upon war with Persia, has not unaptly been styled a diet of the western deliberating on the destruction of the eastern world. But if Eu- rope took the initiative in the tremendous conflict which now ensued, the example of aggression commenced originally with Asia. Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, extended his rule over the Greek colonies in the Lesser Asia, and accepted the waters of the Aigean Sea for the western limit of hisdominion. But the second in succession from him, Darius Hystaspis, sought to pass the boundary, sending heralds into Greece, to demand of every city earth and water in token of subjection, and forwarding a vast army to en- force submission, which met a signal overthrowDer LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. on the narrow plain of Marathon. The third monarch, Xerxes, conducted in person a stil] mightier armament across the Hellespont, through Thessaly to Delphi and Athens, marking his path with devastation, though eventually retreating precipitately, after the greater part of his force had been destroyed in the country he had hoped to subdue. Greece, although triumphant over these attacks, suffered dreadfully by them. A remembrance of the injuries inflicted struck its roots deeply into the national mind. A oeneral persuasion sprang out of it that a quarrel remain- ed to be settled with Persia, and compensation to be secured for destructive, thouoh unsuccessful in- ) 5 roads, by an avenging return of aggression. Af- ter the campaion of the ten thousand Greek mer- cenaries in the service of the younger Cyrus, against his brother Artaxerxes Mnemon, it ceased to be a point invested with any degree of doubt that the Asiatic power must yield to the Kurope- an, in the event of a well-contrived, combined at- tack: being made upon it. That a small band of men, led to the unknown lands of the Euphrates, and there suddenly left without a leader and with- out a cause, in the very heart of oriental popula- tions, should be able to fight its way through be- leaguering hosts, and find it without chart or compass over the Armenian mountains, reachingKING OF MACEDON, Zoo the settlements of their countrymen after a year of peril—such a feat—the story of Xenophon’s Anabasis—afforded decisive proof of the immense superiority of the Greek to the Asiatic character, and the real impotence of the great eastern des- potism. A conviction of this kind seems to have been felt at the court of Persia: for thenceforth recourse was had to intrigues and bribes, loans of money and arms to the Greek states in aid of their internal quarrels, with a view to ward off from itself a combined and deadly blow. All great empires founded by force alone, com- prising far remote countries and different nations, are radically weak. Their feebleness is developed whenever the spirit of the founder ceases to ani- mate the supreme government, and the central authority establishes no claim to the respect or obedience of distant provinces by the display of a decided superiority in energy, character, and Improving institutions. These elements of disso- lution strongly marked the Persian monarchy. Its subjects consisted of various nationalities, dif: fering in manners, languages, laws, customs, and interests. A race of incapable sovereigns filled the throne, and the personal influence obtained by their more vigorous predecessors, and which had kept sogether the incongruous mass, was no longer brought to bear upon the empire. A principle of Rae CEs s Tet epee Ht236 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GRMHAT. cohesion being wanting, the discordant materials required only to be touched by a bold hand, to fall to pieces. Millions might swell the royal armies, but they were composed of doubtful or lukewarm adherents, ready to renounce their al- legiance, and acknowledge any chieftain whose arms were crowned with success, even in a single instance. The Persian provincial governors, also, owing to the remoteness of their commands, and the inability of the court to control them, were very loosely connected with it, and conducted themselves more like mdependent than subordt- nate officers. It was a common persuasion, and has been since in the East, that services are only due to the sovereign while successful. A decided defeat was, therefore, interpreted as signifying that by right the royal authority passed away from the { losing to the triumphant party. Even the sem- blance of a reverse has in modern times led to a real one, and a change of government. Mahmoud, of Ghizni, gained the battle which made him conqueror of India, owing to the elephant of his opponent becoming restive, and bearing him away from the field. These considerations illustrate the real weakness of Persia, and explain the marvel- ous rapidity of Alexander’s conquests—a single victory carrying with it the allegiance of entire nations, and their satraps.KING OF MACEDON. bo 2 he id A gleam of prosperity visited the Persian em- pire shortly before the events commenced which Jed to its downfall. During the closing reion of Artaxerxes Ochus, its authority in Egypt and Asia Minor was reéstublished after revolts by the abil- ities of the eunuch Bagoas, and two Greek soldiers of fortune, the brothers Mentor and Memnon, natives of Rhodes. Ochus perished the year alter the battle of Cheronea, poisoned by his eunuch-minister. The diadem was given to his younger son Arses, who speedily shared the same fate, and received it from the same hands. Darius Codomannus was then raised to the throne, about the period that Alexander ascended that of Mace- don. His military experience was considerable , his valor had been tried; he had conducted pru- dently the civil administration of Armenia; and being of mild and equitable disposition, there seemed to be the prospect of a prosperous reion, instead of one marked with the greatest calami- ties and reverses. Bagoas, the all-powerful min- ister, died soon after his accession, and is said to have been compelled to drink a poisoned draughi which he had prepared for the sovereign. The Greek, Mentor, intrusted with a satrapy including the whole western coast of Asia Minor, likewise died, and was succeeded in that government by his brother Memnon, who alone showed energy aE938 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. and discretion in the strife that was then impend- ing. Such was the posture of affairs in the Per- sian monarchy when active preparations were going on in Europe to attack it. The ostensible object of the war was to liberate the Greeks of Asia from its yoke; but long familiarized to it, they showed little anxiety to have a change of masters, while success was problematical. Its real object was the personal distinction of Alex- ander, and aggrandizement at the expense of those who were considered natural enemies. In- stead of the Asiatic Greeks. being auxiliaries, or at, least remaining neuter, they offered the only formidable opposition which the Macedonians had to encounter; and Alexander had to cut his way through thousands of them, before he passed through the defiles of the Taurus into the proper oriental world.IN THE LESSER ASIA, CHAPTER IV. ALEXANDER IN THE LESSER ASIA. (B. 0. 884-833,) LEAVING a competent force to secure the tran- quillity of his own kingdom, Alexander marched for the invasion of Asia early in the spring of the years Bb: C. 834... His army consisted of about thirty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, Parmenio commanded the phalanx under the im- mediate eye of the king: his son Philotas had © charge of the cavalry; and another son, Nicanor, led the hypaspists, a band of infantry more lightly armed than the phalangite soldiers. The other leading officers were Ptolemy, Erygius Calas, and Cassander. Proceeding from Pella to Am- phipohs, and thence along the coast of Thrace, the troops reached in twenty days the margin of the Hellespont. No attempt was made to dis- pute their passage across it, either because the Persian court had not been thoroughly aroused to a sense of ils danger, or had been anticipated in its preparations by the alacrity of the invader, From Sestos, on the European si le of the chan- nel, a hundred and sixty sail, with many trans. ports, conducted the army to Abydos, nearly op-oO 240 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. posite, on the Asiatic shore. The sites of em- barkation and landing are closely contiguous to the present inner castles of the Dardanelles. The strait is here scarcely two miles wide, and has consequently a stream-like aspect, a powerful and constant current adding to the resemblance. Hence Xerxes characterized it as only a salt river. Moving in a reverse direction to Alexandria, that monarch effected the passage at this point by a double bridge of boats; and it was at the same spot, in the modern age, that the Turks poured over from Asia into Europe. With his own hand Alexander steered the ves- sel which conveyed him from his own dominions, never to return to them again. Libations were poured to the waves in the mid-channel; and on reaching the Asian coast, he apparently took formal possession of it, by hurling his spear into the ground before he leaped upon the strand. Landing in the Troad, and no enemy appearing to claim attention, he left the camp to examine the renowned site of the struggle commemorated in the Iliad. This is a level peninsular tract in- closed by the sea and the heights of Mount Ida. Simple curiosity was not the actuating motive, but a desire to honor the memory of departed heroes; the vain imagination being also enter- tained, that the success of lis own expeditionIN THE LESSER ASIA. OA} ae might be promoted by paying respect to the martial prowess of his ancestors. Under these impressions, the plain watered by the Homeric streams, the Simois and Scamander, was doubt: less trod with enthusiastic feelings. The village sup- posed to occupy the site of the ancient city of Priam was visited ; the altar was shown which the cre- dulity of the inhabitants held to be identical with she one at which the Trojan king was slain by Neoptolemus; and suspending his own armor as a votive offering in the temple of Minerva, it was replaced by some of the arms which hung there, said to have been worn by the warriors of an- tiquity. But the greatest reverence was reserved for the barrows or tumuli on the ridge of the Sigeean promontory artificial mounds of ancient date, still existing, and traditionally regarded as the tombs of Achilles and Patroclus. On rejoining the army a north-easterly direc- tion was followed, skirting the coast of the Hellespont, and passing by the cities of Percote and Lampsacus. The latter town was then so infamous for the vices of its inhabitants that the invader proposed to destroy it. But the doom was averted by the address of a native, the phi- losopher Anaximenes. Sent at the head of an embassy to implore the mercy of Alexander, and nearing him declare, in anticipation of the object 16 Sra FH Raita AHN en i trie Tite PET PR EC rae tees tance He942 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. of the mission, that he would not comply with the request, the embassador took him at his word, rejoining, “JT have come to beseech you to destroy Lampsacus.” ‘The place was consequently spared, and has a representative on the spot at present under the slightly altered name of Lamsaki. The route of the troops was now determined by intel- ligence respecting the Persian forces, who were reported by the prodromi, or scouts, to be muster- ing beyond the Granicus and the eastern high- lands of Ida. Spithridates, the satrap of Lydia and Ionia; Arsites, who governed the Helles- pontine province ; and Memnon, the Greek com- mander of the sea-coast, an officer of great mill- tary skill and experience, were the chief authori- ties in the invaded district. An army was hastily collected to defend it, superior in numbers to the Macedonian, but deficient in regular infantry, and far inferior in discipline, arms, and determination. Memnon, in a council of war, advocated avoiding a battle. He proposed to harass the advancing enemy with incessant attacks of cavalry, as well as to deprive him of shelter by destroying the towns, and to cut off provisions by consuming the harvest, and ravaging the whole country along his line of march. Although this mode of defense might not have been successful in the issue, it would have immensely augmented theIN THE LESSER ASIA, 243 difficulty of conquest. But, influenced by that jealousy of foreigners, and presumptuous confi- dence in their own prowess, which have ever dis- tinguished the orientals, the Persian generals re- jected the advice, and resolved to contest the passage of the Granicus. This stream has no natural importance com- parable to its historical celebrity. .It descends from the slopes of Mount Ida into the Propontis, the modern Sea of Marmora, and is altogether insignificant, except in spring, when the melted snows of the upland region convert it into a deep and rapid torrent. It was thus swollen when made the scene of the first conflict in this memo- rable struggle for the dominion of Asia. As the main body of the Macedonians approached its western margin, the Persians were seen strongly posted on the opposite side. The bank rose somewhat steep and high from the edoe of the water, forming a very defensible position, but it was most disadvantageously held by its occupants. ‘nstead of lining the stream with infantry, whose spears might have been employed with effect in resisting its passage, the heavy-armed troops were placed in the rear, and the cavalry posted in front, with slight darts for their principal weapons. Having surveyed the ground, and as- certained a spot where the river was fordable, inna SUH trsPpetTtsipsata see Paes hte eaten irene RRR nitrate ba244 IFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. t Alexander formed his order of battle, and com- manded the immediate advance of the army. He committed the care of the left wing to Par- menio, reserving to himself that of the nght, which was to make the principal attack. Con- spicuous, owing to the splendor of his equipments, and the respectful deference paid him, the Per- sians readily recognized the king, and immedi- ately strengthened with fresh masses that part of their force in direct opposition to him. Par- menio advised delay, deeming the attempt to force the passage a hazardous experiment under existing circumstances, and thinking it not im- probable that, by avoiding precipitation, an op- portunity might be secured to cross unopposed. But Alexander, after passing the Hellespont in triumph, would not allow the Granicus to bring him to a pause; and, conceiving it of far more importance to his ulterior plans to make a power- ful impression by force at the outset, than to gain an advantage by stratagem, the caution of the general was overruled. After an interval of silence, the soldiers entered the stream to the sound of trumpets, and moved in a slanting direction across its bed, raising tri- umphant peans. On approaching the further bank, a shower of darts, with a furious charge of the Persian horse, threw the foremest into confu-IN THE LESSER. ASTA, 245 sion; and the advantage of the ground being completely against hea, they were compelled to retire. But Alexander speedily came up to min- gle in the strife, and his personal bravery, second- ed by that of the COpABOR guard, quickly changed the aspect of affairs, clearing the shore of its each and enabling a con fonaee force to land. On equal ground, the cool courage and compact masses of the phalanx readily bore down all opposition. Rank recoiled upon rank, till general disorder seized the loosely arranged bands, and all were put to flight except the Greek mer- cenaries, who remained at their post, either to be cut to pieces or taken prisoners. The king’s life Was at one moment in imminent danger, he be- ing successively assailed by several chiefs emi- nence. Mithridates he unhorsed with his spear } Rheesaces shared the same fate, after inflicting a blow upon him, which struck off a part of his plume and helmet. Scarcely had this antagonist been overcome, when Spithridates, from behind, raised his cimeter for a stroke, the effect of which might have been deadly, had it been permitted to descend. Alexander was saved by Cleitus, the brother of lis nurse, Lanicé, aig ee the blow, severing with his saber the satrap’s right the battle, the victor empleyed himself in funeral honors for arm from his body. After gaining y oS SHR Etna Tat inn erase unin wu bitty946 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. the dead. The wounded received personal visits, and were treated with extraordinary care. Privi- leges were granted to distinguished soldiers; and three hundred suits of Persian armor were sent to Athens, to be placed in the temple of Minerva, with the inscription, ‘‘ From Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks, excepting the Lacede- monians, these trophies taken from the barbarians of Asia.” The exceptive clause refers to the re- fusal of Sparta to acknowledge him as captain- general of Greece, and aid his warhke purposes. It was intended to be a stigma, but might be more justly deemed an honor. Regarding the country as now his own, Alexander strictly charged the troops to abstain from plunder, and treat the Asiatics as fellow-subjects. No change was made in the government of the Hellespontine province, except that a Macedonian was appointed to administer its affairs in the place of the Persi:u satrap. The same taxes were to be paid by the inhabitants; and Dascylium, a rich city on the Propontis, was continued as the capital. The battle of the Granicus, probably fought in the month of May, involved the separation of the Lesser Asia from the empire of Darius. Num: bers of the Perso-Greek cities only required the signal instance of success now given to tender their allesiance to Alexander; while the temperaIN THE LESSER ASIA. DAT, ment of the Eastern population proper to the dis- trict, disposed them to a prompt and cheerful recognition of the conqueror, a victory being superstitiously interpreted as the verdict of su: perior powers in favour of political change. Hence, with few exceptions, his further progress through the country to the Syrian gates was little more than the march of an acknowledged master, changing the executive officer of each province as possession was taken of it. Retracing his steps to the Troad, he proceeded southerly by Adra- myttium, Pergamus, and Thyatira, to Sardis, the army encamping by the river Hermus, at a short distance from the city. Its keys were immediately surrendered by the governor, with those of the fortress, one of the strongest places in Asia Minor. The edifice crowned the summit of a lofty hill, and overlooked on one side a perpendicular preci- pice, being of difficult access in other directions. Here had stood, before the days of Cyrus, the royal palace of the Lydian kings; and going up to the citadel, Alexander proposed to erect on the site a temple to Jupiter Olympius; while, to in- gratiate himself with the people, he proclaimed the restoration of their ancient laws, and the abolition of whatever restrictions had been im- posed by the Persians. Leaving a garrison in the fortress, the Mace peheeesl et ie = Ge Rr parieiet RE ene itt Hee ivaniagsscagesnent aed WRgITHE AE port} BH HEN Inn ratte ritGREAT. ALEXANDER THE donians crossed a heights of Mount Tmolus, and descended the Cay ster to Ephe- sus, a distance of tes seventy miles, accom- ee the march in four days. The inhabit- as in the case of most of the other Greek divided into two es of note at this era, were and democratic. hostile factions, an ohgarchical Each had been stimulated to the greatest excesses by political exasperation, but, supported by the Persian authorities, the aristocratic party had gained predominance, abusing its tri- um ph by oppression. On the approach of Alex- popul ar leaders revived, ander, the hopes of the nanee in conse- naturally expecting quence of the alliance formed by their foes. They not disappointed. He formally restored democracy, but interposed his authority to secure the amicable transfer of political power, and pre- fi. £6, ex ‘pression of reve ngeful feeling. The Eph os ans were at this period en gaged in reba Ing upon a more magnificent scale the temple of Tiana, which had been destroyed by fire on the might of his birth. \lexander ordered the tribute paid to the Persian government to be devoted to this object, and afterward offered to defray the whole expense himself, on condition of having his own name inscribed upon it as founder and dedi- Too blindly attached to their idol to ac-PRE tins Bsr eh ita tas F it ati eeseory Es tes Hig 7 tt Z e \)) Yi) Ane Vy My.IN THE LESSER ASIA. 251 Or cept of the proposal, yet too prudent to appear in direct opposition to the king, the people minis- tered to his vanity, while refusing to gratify it in the particular way he requested, alleging “that it did not. become one god to dedicate a temple to another.” But his picture wielding a thunderbolt was placed in it. This was the work of the cele- brated painter Apelles, who accompanied him into Asia, and who was paid twenty talents of gold for the portrait. Its admirable execution gave occasion to the saying, that of two Alexan- ders, the one, the son of Philip, was invincible, the other, he of Apelles, inimitable. The temple was in all its glory in the first Christian age, when the apostle of the Gentiles visited the city, and the populace vainly endeavored to arrest his mis- sion with the ery, “Great is Diana of the Ephe- sians.” An ancient author describes it as stand- ing at the head of the port, shining like a meteor. But in few spots has time wrought niore signal changes. The name of the goddess has now no local remembrance, and no trace remains of the pomp of her heathen worship. The site where thousands congregated has long been abandoned to a few wretched peasants, and the water-fowl of the Cayster. The port of the city is a morass. The city, too, blessed with the light of the gospel, but eventually unfaithful to it, has vanished, leav- cee tate TT Tit fi ttth Hl GuoHHnnninrbnet Este n in TR Fearn hegre tisieay reat Seip Tee Tae tet atBoe LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ing only a few of its foundations behind—a strik- ing proof that the threatening im the Revelation of St. John was not denounced in vain: ‘I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” 26%. 1 On passing farther to the south, Alexander en- countered opposition at Miletus, the capital Tonia, seated at the mouth of the Mzeander; but it was soon compelled to surrender, while the inland towns of the province quietly submitted. The only formidable struggle was maintained at Halicarnassus, the capital of Caria, a maritime city of great strength. It was held by Memnon, © the scle Jeader of note on the Persian side who survived the battle of the Granicus, and whom Darius had appointed, on hearing of that event, to the unlimited command of the Lesser Asia. The place was guarded toward the sea by two island forts, and protected on the land side by strong wails, with an exterior ditch, broad and oe Memnon had here concentrated his whole disposable force, and collected abundance of pro- vislons aoe its support. After repeated attacks by the besiegers, which proved more fatal to them than the action of the Granicus, the city became no longer tenable. It was therefore abandoned by its defenders, who set fire to its dwellings, and 7 retired by night to the island of Cos. Memnon,N THE LESSER ASTA. 253 at after this period, employed himself in maritime warfare, being furnished with a Persian fleet for the purpose ; but after capturing several of the Greek islands, he died in the following year, the cause of his master sustaining an irreparable loss by his decease. Halicarnassus, of celebrity as the birthplace of Herodotus, and once the residence of the Carian kings, contained within its walls the splendid tomb erected by Queen Artemisia for her husband Mausolus, which has given to all magnificent sepulchers the name of mausoleums. The city was razed to the ground by the con- queror, and its site is occupied by the modern Boodroom. The western provinces being 1ow be caar and the summer drawing to a close, Alexander an- nounced to the army, that all who were newly narried when the expedition commenced, both officers and soldiers, might return home if they chose to spend the winter with their brides, di- recting them to meet him in the spring with as many fresh troops as could be levied. The pro- posal being eagerly accepted, three bridegroom- generals took charge of the party. This was an extremely politic proceeding. It strengthened the attachment of the soldiers to the king, as an evidence of kind feeling. It could not weaken the army to any great extent, as the persons ted en Tah tees te SOE arses rereerst i eperter eegemeeeeeta tay TAMA PTET ESE EET RR oe ee ST Pe ere TPT hee tt apr gHO54 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. eligible must have been comparatively few. It contributed in the issue to increase it, the reports given in person by the returned troops respecting the success and liberality of their leader, promot- ing fresh supplies of men and money. Parmenio, at the same time, with the greater part of the cavalry, was sent to take up winter quarters at Sardis. While making these arrangements, Alex- ander had no thought of remaining himself in- active. From Caria he marched along the south coast of Lycia, occasionally diverging into the in- terior, and waiting for a season at Phaselis, as it was now probably mid-winter. This rich city manifested its wealth, and its desire of his pro- tection against some marauding mountaineers, by golden crown. It occupied a 5 small peninsula, with Mount Solyma in the back- the present of a ground. The peninsula has been largely wasted by the uncontrolled action of the sea; the entire region has long since lost its signs of opulence ; the city is gone; and little remains to identify its site, save the stupendous mountain, its bold summit rising as an insulated peak to a majestic height. While reposing at this place, Alexander received information of a conspiracy against his life—rendered abortive by its discovery—in which Darius and one of his own officers at Sardis were implicated.IN THE LESSER ASIA. 2a 5 A little to the north of Phaselis, a ridge of mountains, one of the offshoots of the grand range of Taurus, so closely approaches the sea that the waves play or dash against its cragey sides in hours of calm or storm. It anciently bore the name of Climax, or the Ladder, alluding to the regular gradation with which the heights rise one above another as they recede from the shore. In ordinary circumstances, there was no passage along the beach; but when the wind blew strongly from the land, causing a retirement of the waters, it might be traversed, though the enterprise was perilous. Availing himself of a favorable breeze, Alexander pursued this course on marching from Phaselis, in order to avoid a tedious and fatiguing progress across the adjoin- ing ridge. The adventure was safely conducted ; but it was a rash experiment. The soldiers had to march a whole day up to the middle in water; and had an adverse gale arisen, the victor at the Granicus would never have seen another battle- field. Entering the province of Pamphylia, a1} receiving the submission of its coast towns, the army then struck inland, and crossed the Taurus, subduing the Pisidian highlanders, who had maintained a wild independence against the whole power of Persia. The entire Macedonian force re- united at Gordium, the ancient capital of Phrygia, BARRED eat REE ths Spies est htrs cir its sapetiny ters PASH RTE ETT tie TH Terese tes cesses Boraratuanetect.2s?256 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 11 centrally seated on the banks of the Sanga rius, and perhaps on that account he as the place of rendezvous. Parmenio, with his contingent, there rejomed Alexander; the bride- grooms returned thither from their winter sojourn at home, bringing additional soldiers; and with the cutting of the famous Gordian knot, the first campaign in Asia terminated. This knot united some venerated relics preserved in the citadel; and, according to the legend, an oracle had de- clared that the sovereignty of Asia should belong to whoever should untie it. Alexander is said to have cut it with his sword, unwilling to be foiled, yet perceiving the hopelessness of legitimately C2 2 fulfilling the condition. In every part of Europe, for two thousand years, the phrase of “cutting the Gordian knot” has been appiied to the con- duet of those who, incapable of overcoming a difficulty by fair means, evade, or violently break through it. The second campaign in Asia, that of the year B. C. 833, commenced with the great provinces of Paphlagonia and Cappadocia transferring their allegiance to the invader, upon which he rapidly _ marched through the Pylee Cilicia, one of the defiles or passes of the Taurus, leading into the Cilician plains. Advancing upon Tarsus, its Per- sian governor hastily. retreated eastward on hisIX THE LESSER ASIA. 257 approach. This place, afterward connected with the names of Cicero, Ceesar, and Mark Antony, but more distinguished as the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, who described himself on a memo- rable occasion as a “ Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cili- cla, a citizen of no mean city,” narrowly escaped acquiring historic celebrity as the scene of Alex- ander’s death. The river Cydnus, which now winds to the east of the modern town, flowed through the middle of the ancient capital. In the plains, the heat of summer is fiercely felt along its banks, while the cold and snow of winter still mark its sources on the Tauric highlands. Henee, as in the instance of similar mountain streams, till the warm season has sufficiently advanced, it descends with a temperature in striking contrast with that of the atmosphere at the lower level. It was in these circumstances that Alexander, tempted by its limpid appearance, imprudently bathed, while oppressed with heat, and overcome with fatigue. The consequence was a violent and protracted fever, which for a time threatened to be fatal. But youth, with a naturally strong constitution and careful attendance, promoted re- covery from the shock. The incident is related of this illness, that one of the physicians, Philip, an Acarnanian, presented a particular medicine to his patient, just after a rumor had been commu- We arr ie PEn RTS Sn SHRP ET Teint ite ten si oats bis ait ER reeset Sates Se: MESES TET TT ana SPreaeTeMeeTisr uri ec hes Sess Soeaeay Betaiitt258 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. nicated to the king that it was a poisoned draught, which the bribes of Darius had induced him to prepare. The physician stood high in the esteem of his master, and Alexander refused to surrender his mind to the suspicion. He took the medicine, and was relieved by it, thus vindicating the repu- tation of his friend, and exhibiting an mstance of high-minded confidence, which has often been the theme of panegyrists, and a subject for painters. The waters of the Cydnus are said to have proved fatal to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, during the Crusades; but no property belongs to them, save what is common to rivers which in a short course descend from very elevated uplands into warm plains. Modern travelers have sustained no inconvenience from repeating the act of Alex- ander, avoiding its incautiousness. ‘ We found the water,” says Captain Beaufort, “undoubtedly cold, but no more so than that of other rivers which carry down the mountam snow of Mount Taurus; and we bathed in it without feeling any pernicious effects.” Captain Kinnair, who also bathed in the stream, bears the same _ testi- mony. Upon his recovery, Alexander marched to the Cilician coast to secure the maritime cities, while Parmenio was sent forward to master the moun- tain passes leading into Syria. Intelligence re—— zt: eae ee eee ed Sates hl a ene tate epaliademaltiendaeee CARE 7 3 1] TEnOnT ERE IN THE LESSER ASTA. 259 pecting the movements of Darius brought the prospect of a decisive conflict near, which became an all-absorbing object. The great king had crossed the Euphrates, with the cumbrous a Tay common to the potentates of the East on their expeditions. It consisted of his household and court, the royal treasure borne on mules and cam- ae HiSoiTRen ieati eT Gi " 5p STELETRUSESTEEETIS TERE ET EEE DETTE ES PE Te PECEH ESprP TRrReTE Hv OHRaEA SESE LATE TEES Mipaanee ATT Penis Fob iies Gacteae per eset eer ang St act a els, the households of the principal officers, the Magian priesthood, the fighting men of a great variety of nations, and the camp followers; the gross number amounting to six hundred thousand, according to the estimate of Arrian. The soldiery included a corps proudly styled the Immortals, ten thousand strong, conspicuous by their costly attire; another body of fifteen thousand, called the royal kinsmen, consisted of those who con- sidered themselves allied by blood to the royal house; and there was a formidable band of mer- cenary Greeks, who consented for pay to fight against their countrymen, with many volunteers from southern Greece, politically opposed to Mace- donian supremacy. The desert lying between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, traversed by the vast host, was converted into a scene of luxury and magnificence. There were music oirls, chaplet weavers, cooks, perfumers, and the like. A crystal image of the sun, worshiped by the Persians, surmounted the pavilion of the monarch, pistetr ist oeesas tire ty cpsets- tetas teas psthtersarr rash ty2960 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. while tle sacred fire which symbolized the lumi- nary was borne on silver altars in a procession of priests. Darius was warned of the uselessness of this show as a means of repelling the invasion of his empire. A refugee from Athens is said to have told him that it would be of no avail against the terrible energy of Alexander's followers; that, intent upon securing the substantial excellence of their weapons, with the hardihood and diseipline essential to an efficient use of them, they would despise his splendidly dressed troops; and the advice was given, that instead of parading his treasures, he should expend them in obtaining good soldiers, if gold and silver could indeed pro- cure them. Instead of profiting by these sugges- tions, it was deemed an intolerable presumption to have offered them, and, in‘a transport of pas- sion, Darius ordered the unfortunate counselor to be put to death. The idea had full possession of his mind, that he had only to appear in_ person at the head of his mighty armament, to secure the defeat of a numerically inferior opponent. Though the experience of former ages was against such a conclusion, it may be doubtful whether Darius had any knowledge of the humbling les- son received by his ancestors at Marathon, Sala- mis, and Platea. It has ever been the policy of oriental states to bury defeats as far as possibleIN THE LESSER ‘ASTA. 261 ‘n Oblivion, and to chronicle only the events that are flattering to the pride of royality. The plains of Cilicia are separated from those of Syria by a branch of the Taurus, anciently known as Mount Amanus, which closely ap- proaches the Mediterranean at the Gulf of Issus, the modern Bay of Iskenderoon. The principal pass through the range is near the coast, and was formerly called the maritime or lower Amanian gates, In contradistinction to another more inland and less frequented, styled the upper Amanian gates. On arriving within two days’ march of the eastern base of the mountains, Darius waited. Policy dictated that there he should have awaited the arrival of his antagonist, in a position where extensive plains afforded ample room for his principal arm, the cavalry, to maneuver, and the whole of his vast force to deploy. On the other hand, Alexander was unwilling to lose the ad- vantage which the confined valleys of Cilicia offered for the vigorous employment of his smaller foree. After some hesitation, he resolved to ad- vance, and give battle to the Persians wherever they might be found. Accordingly, proceeding through the maritime or lower Amanian gates, and taking possession of Issus, where some inva- lids of the army were left, he pushed on along the shore to another pass, called the Pyle Syre- RMR Inn ae ahtC Teno ett ty seriretttirsitens tinted tty SoH Settee rattseey setseer setagebel ott dbgebis setts eee262 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Cilicie, the gates of Syria and Cilicia, on the confines of the two districts. Having marched some miles further, the last mountain ndge alone remained to be surmounted which separated him from the valley of the Orontes. Here were the Pyle Syrie, or Syrian gates, now the pass of Beilan, the modern name being only perhaps a corruption of Pylan, the accusative form of Pyla. The advanced guard had probably occupied this defile, but the main body of the army was de- tained by a furious storm of wind and rain, when the surprising intelligence was received of the Persians being in its rear. Yielding to his own self-confidence, and to the flattering representations of his courtiers, Darius had broken up from his position, and marched in search of his foes, sending his treasures and heavy baggage to Damascus, but detaining the royal family about his person. He advanced northerly along the eastern base of Amanus, and crossed it to the westward by the upper Amanian gates, while Alexander had been moving in an inverse direction on the opposite side. Thus the Per- sians came unexpectedly upon the rear of the Macedonians, cut off their communication with Cilicia, and took possession of Issus, where the defenseless invalids were cruelly put to death. But this apparently favorable movement was theIN THE LESSER ASIA. eause of their signal overthrow. It placed them in a position in which their powerful cavalry could not act for want of space, while the ground ad- mitted of the compact phalanx operating with terrible effect. Scarcely crediting the intelligence he received, Alexander dispatched a galley along the Issic Gulf to reconnoiter. Itsoon returned to report that the standards of the vast oriental host were flying over hill and vale in the country behind him. Though completely taken by sur- prise, and perhaps at first seriously alarmed, he acted with customary resolution and promptitude. The soldiers were commanded to take refresh- ments preparatory to a march; the sudden ap- pearance of Darius from an unexpected quarter was explained as a circumstance in harmony with his own desires; the prospect of immediate battle was treated as the approach of a decisive victory ; the great prize of Asiatic dominion was expatiated upon to inflame the ardor of the troops; and after an evening meal, the army retraced its steps, gain- ing the Syro-Cilician gates about midnight. Hay- ing secured the pass, watches were stationed on the neighboring heights to guard against sur- prise, while the rest of the officers and men enjoyed a short repose. From an eminence as- eended by Alexander, he saw the narrow plain extending along the shore toward Issus dimly STINTS Ce ps dees ese erat teat eee earn eat aD fs etree eatrsts teen fed 4 osu acest rtEEaat its tates eg | ter tiga aetdaebe eee T RSES Bi wegrstreers cna stT traLIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. illumined by the smoldering early in motion. one of them, immensely numbers, reduced to a disorganized rabble in full the advance of his rival, dissipated that he scarill fly before Persian force included 30,000 Persian 7 60, 000 Cardaces, 10,000 Immortals, 15, itt roy al giving to P: The next morning both armies were camp-fires of his The sue ceeding sunset witnessed A strip of lowland, varying in breadth from one and a half to three miles, separates the moun- s of Amanus from the sea, through which a small river flows, formerly called the Pinarus, the Dek-chai. the night bank of the stream when superior to the other in Danus was ene: amped on l, and the supposition Was 30,000 Greek mercenaries. contracted field compelled him to group it im vehind each othe be in action § self, ee to oriental usage, was in the cen- ter of the front ranks, in a chariot of state, drawn by four horses abreast, richly caparisoned. ander, on his part, made careful riveclacetotil for the struggle, retaining the command of the right armenio the charge of the left. He ‘eommenced the action by leading the light eavairy to the shallow river, and furiously charg- , so that compara-IN THE LESSER ASIA. 265 Ing across it, heedless of the cloud of arrows which poured from the quivers of the Persians. Gaining the opposite bank, the personal intre pidity of the Macedonians, their hardihood and discipline, speedily broke the ranks of their oppo- nents, though the conflict was long and obsti- nately maintained. The station of Darius was a special object of attack, as well as of defense. Alexander mingled in the strife at this point; and a splendid mosaic discovered at Pompeii is thought to represent the encounter of the rival monarchs, But, either yielding to a sudden panic, or owing to his wounded horses becom- ing unmanageable, the lord of Asia quitted the field; and, as usual in an Eastern army, the fi 0 dispersion. The royal chariot was speedily de- serted by its alarmed occupant; his bow, shield, ight of the sovereign was the signal for general and robe of state, were hastily thrown aside; and mounting a fleet horse, he hurried through the upper Amanian gates, to place the Euphrates between himself and his adversary. The victors kept up the pursuit till the shades of evening gathered; the carnage was dreadful; the plun- der immense. Retracing his steps to the camp of the fugitive monarch, Alexander took posses- sion of his superb pavilion, and found the mother, wife, and daughters of Darius numbered among rE en ear ey easiest its Herre t trees Sr eH REE Si SHETTTTTSIn ERURS SUe cs . Pests tharterednseerssststelicesd le base Cu Eaa Ns Ppa Tay CTS SESS TT Seas266 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. his prisoners. They were treated with the re- spect due to their sex and rank. The wounded were duly cared for; the dead were buried with imposing solemnities; and commendation was publicly given to those of the living who had sig- nally distinguished themselves in the action. The battle of Issus was fought in October, B. C. 333; and by it the conquest of the Lesser Asia was not only completed, but the empire of Persia was shaken from the extremities to the center. CHAPTER V. ALEXANDER IN PHG:NICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. (B. C. 833-831.) InstEap of following the routed forces of Darius, the victor gave a temporary respite to the van- quished. Prudential motives led to this decision. An advance into the heart of the empire would have been dangerous, while the maritime powers on the eastern and southern shores of the Medi- terranean remained under its influence, or unde- cided as to their political course. By means of fleets they might become parties to a formidable combination with the hostile states of Greece, attack Macedonia, recover the countries won byIN PHCNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. G67 Alexander, and place him in perilous circum- stances, an enemy being in the rear as well as in front. He determined, therefore, to guard against this contingency, and deprive Persia of the oppor- tunity of operating against him by sea, before proceeding into the interior of continental Asia. Accordingly, sending a number of troops fot ward under Parmenio to seize the imperial treasure left at Damascus a mission which was successfully ac- complished—the main body of the army marched in the same general direction, but followed the coast line, on which the great Phoenician cities, with their numerous galleys, were seated. Pheenicia Proper extended along the coast of modern Syria from Aradus to Tyre, a length of about a hundred and twenty miles from north to south: but it comprised a very narrow strip of land, the breadth, perhaps, nowhere exceeding twenty miles. Though past its most prosperous age, the territory was studded with flourishing cities, for the most part well fortified, and occu- pying islands adjacent to the shore—a position which rendered them more secure, and which was suited to the habits of a maritime people. They were equally the abodes of industry, and widely celebrated for their arts, nanufactures, fleets, and commercial enterprise. The more im- portant had a section of the neighboring country ei ses reat e sy PREG rant tut iat pT arise ETS ey Senet ars +8 cis beige tach ObepeesTebeie Mise tered begets ete apse tts nts pein EreiMetrate srr r terete Th Teet ted o ysis TESTE263 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. under immediate control, with an imdependent form of civil government, which, though mo- narchical, was so strictly limited as to be almost republican. The stately Tyre was the dominant ity, the first in point of opulence, population, and power. But the greatest as well as the least had now become tributary to Persia; and while al- lowed to retain the administration of their own affairs, they had to furnish money, ships, and men, for the military expeditions of their common liege lord. It is probable that Tyre wielded some authority over the other towns, and used it op- pressively ; for they seem to have received Alex- ander as a deliverer, while resistance was offered by the leading city. Aradus, the Arpad of sacred history, on the north frontier, submitted at once, presenting a crown of gold to the great conqueror. This place was built on the modern island of Rouad, something less than a league from the shore, and commanded a dependency on the main land, now the site of Tartous. While he was at this point, two envoys appeared from Darius, the bearers of a letter to Alexander, which, though conveying no definite proposal, was evidently intended to open the way to peaceful negotiations. The writer complained of unpro- voked aggression, and of having been forced into oOo a war of self-defense. He admitted his own i]IN PHCNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 269 fortune hitherto in the struggle, yet assumed the style of an equal, requested the liberation of his family, and proposed the dispatch of an accredited minister to his court to treat of an amicable ar- rangement, The epistle elicited a reply which was, doubt- less, altogether different from the one expected. lt was sent by a special embassador, with strict orders to deliver it, abstaiming from oral com- Nee eee 66 xr it began, “ with- munication. ‘* Your ancestors, out any provocation, invaded Macedonia, and the rest of Greece, and inflicted serious injuries on us. I passed over into Asia in order to take vengeance , being elected captain-general of the Greeks, on the Persians. It was you who commenced the war.” After enumerating various acts In sup- port of this charge, the letter continues :—* I. therefore, warred on you, as you had evidently been the first to commence hostilities. Since I conquered first your generals and satraps, and lately yourself and army, and, by the gift of the gods, possess the country, I treat with particular attention those of your soldiers who fall not on the field of battle, but take refuge with me; and so far from their continuance with me being com- pulsory, they are willing to serve under my ban- ners. As I now, therefore, am master of all, Asia, come in person to me. If you have any fears for rparest tater err Pea tees HRT Fer Haste E Tn Ter Tet beet easton aed Sere TET: +f Paar ttt aT EIST TSC SH TG peteeriptssiryeiitere ho ber eaATO LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. your personal safety, send some friends to receive my phghted faith. On coming to me, ask for your mother, wife, and children, and whatever else you may wish, and receive them ; for every reasonable request shall be granted. Henceforth, if you have any communication to make, address me as the King of Asia, and pretend not to treat with me on equal terms, but petition me as the master of your fate; if not, I shall regard it as an insult, and take measures accordingly. If, how- ever, you still propose to dispute the sovereignty with me, do not fly, but stand your ground; as I will march and attack you wherever you may be.” This document is remarkable for its precise and outspoken tone. Without the shghtest cir- cumlocution, or attempt to disguise, in order to insnare, the purpose of the writer is unfolded, as well as the means to be employed in its accom- plishment. No trifling amount of time, trouble, anxiety, and paper would have been saved, had modern diplomatists been similarly candid in their dispatches. The example of the frontier town was imitated by Byblus; and further to the south, Sidon, the parent city of Pheenicia, received the invader with every demonstration of welcome, having recently been subject to grievous injury by the Persians. Even the commercial emporium of the ancientIN PHENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 9271 world, Tyre, deemed it prudent to conciliate the advancing Macedonian by a deputation of the principal citizens, the customary present of a golden crown, and a promise of obedience. This proffered submission seems to have been made with some reserve, and was not meant to imply complete subjection as to a conqueror or master. Alexander marked the conditional terms of the envoys; but without formally noticing it, he an- nounced his intention to enter the city, for the purpose of offering sacrifices to Melkart, its fabu- lous protecting deity; the name signifying “ the city king.” This deity was called by the Greeks the Tyrian Hercules, though entirely different from their own god of the same title, being iden- tical with the Moloch of Scripture, whose altars were occasionally familiar with human victims :— ‘Moloch, horrid king, besmear’d with blood Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears.” The proposition having been communicated by the envoys to their fellow-citizens, it compelled them to make an undisguised disclosure of their intentions. They replied by embassadors, that while anxious to consult the pleasure of their self- invited guest, they must decline to admit either Macedonian or Persian within their walls. The message offended the pride of Alexander, as it 7 tui st Re SHER SRS HIN HatHerremeenontiTr nn Sinn itt oust ren nein rIpbrrrs srabreeeet tits oa Tre gE ease et Ceres Sees oes Bry Pye hedege egetewTo LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. denied his absolute authority ; and dismissing the messengers with irritation, he resolved to effect his purpose by force of arms. The Tyrians must, of course, have anticipated this result, and have made up their minds for a struggle before deliver- ing their decision. The love of independence did not alone actuate them, for they were already tributary, but probably a calculating spirit of self: mterest was the more influential motive. The Persian empire was not yet overthrown: Alex- ander might fail in his ultimate purpose: and if the “merchant princes” succeeded in setting’ an example of successful opposition, advantages might be conceded to them, as an expression of gratitude and the reward of fidelity. The citizens had ground for encouragement. Their position was deemed impregnable, so long as the com- mand of the sea was maintained; and succor might be expected from Carthage, a flourishing and powerful colony, if any should be needed. Still, many were doubtful as to the issue; and, as 1s usual in times of strong excitement, supersti- tious impressions gained currency. Some dream- ed that Apollo, whose statue had been brought into the city, announced to them its intention of leaving it, as favoring the cause of the foe; and to prevent this, the senseless image was fastened to the altar of Melkart. On the other side, Alex-IN PHCENIOCIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 273 ander assured his army that, in dreams, he had received intimations of supernatural assistance, which might be depended upon, since the Tyrian Hercules was himself a party to them. Tyre was originally founded upon the main land, but gradually extended its buildings to a rocky islet, separated from it by a narrow arm of the sea. The island portion of the city rapidly gained importance, such sites being preferred by the Phoenician traders; and hence while the con- tinental part existed, the sacred writers frequently refer to the insular position of the place. Thus the prophet Isaiah, in unfolding the “burden of Tyre,” speaks of “the inhabitants of the isle.” Kzekiel, also, addresses the Prince of Tyrus as sitting ‘‘in the midst of the seas,” and represents the “renowned city” as inhabited by “ sea-faring men,” and as “strong in the sea.” Nearly two centuries and a half before the Macedonian pitch- ed his camp upon the shore, continental Tyre sustained a long and dreadful siege of thirteen years from Nebuchadnezzar. Though it does not appear to have been captured, yet the event in- duced the inhabitants to abandon the main land, leaving their houses, temples, and aqueducts, to decay. They henceforth confined themselves to the island, and amid the ruins of the original town, Alexander prepared to attack the insular 18 abietri te pias it PHN HSTPR EU ubsisitenr errr tue itt eee RITES sts teePer ets PRS Renee eres ETESrTETE eibStSTige tate teeeritiiegasesess tes ieee Probe iss fesgettr esos epannterrtr er Tinirare rh bret274 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. stronghold. Its position was strong by nature, and had been carefully fortified by art. Though not more than half a mile the strait was narrow yet a violent sea frequently rolled through wide it, and the water deepened to eighteen feet on the further side. High walls of hewn stone sur- rounded and protected the entire islet, which had copious springs In the interior, and could prucure supplies of stores and provisions by means of its own galleys. There were two harbors: une on the north, toward Sidon; the other on the south, toward Egypt, and the mouth of the latter could be closed by immense chains. The people were second to none in point of energy, intelligence, mechanical genius and skill in maritime warfare. Tyre was thus apparently secure from an enemy who contemplated an assault, unprovided with a single ship. The mode of attack adopted by Alexander was wholly unexpected by the Tyrians. His plan in- volved the construction of a causeway or pler from the main shore to the island, over which his troops might march with their engines, and as- sault the walls of the city. Abundant materials for such a work were at hand. Timber for the piles necessary to be driven was obtained from the forests of Lebanon, and the crumbling re- mains of continental Tyre supplied huge blocksIN PHGNICIA, PALESTINE, AID HGYPT., of stone and heaps of refuse for the embankment. The words of Ezekiel were literally accomplished in the execution of this design: “ They shall lay thy stones, and thy timber, and thy dust in the midst of the water.” No difficulty was at first experienzed in the undertaking. The water was shallow, and the workmen were at too great a clistanee to be annoyed in their operations by the besieged. But as the depth increased, the labor became severe, and very slow progress was made; while coming within reach of missiles from the city and its galleys, incessant attacks rendered the completion of the project apparently hope- less. The men had to ficht, as much as to toil For their protection, as well as to repel assailants I ; two wooden towers were erected near the extrem- ity of the mole, covered with hides, and sur- mounted with military engines. But by aid of a fire‘ship, the Tyrian fleet burned the towers, and demolished the entire work. This event tried the energy and perseverance of Alexander, only to illustrate the strength of those qualities. He immediately ordered the construction to be re- commenced, and upon a broader plan, for the purpose of having a greater number of defensive machines planted upon it. Convinced, also, of the necessity of employing a naval force, he collected one from the maritime cities which had tendered es beast ae 4 a peas ier EES Pras ittise certtarisestii tet ( £ neat PST METH PTH ntive recat reine itinerary tise tg: SSRaE Ester ce ess tetaleresd he geseee priser rsh s:276 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. their submission,—Aradus, Byblus, and Sidon. Vessels were also obtained from Cyprus, Rhodes, and the southern part of Asia Minor; while engi- neers and mechanists were obtained from far dis- tant quarters. Thus aided, the new causeway advanced rapidly, and the Tyrian fleet being kept at bay, it was carried forward to the island. The walls of the city were at once assailed by batter- ing-rams planted on the mound, and also on rafts and transports constructed to sustain them. They were defended by the inhabitants with desperate resolution. Burning combustibles and masses of stone were thrown upon the besiegers; red-hot iron balls were shot from fire-casting engines ; huge grappling-irons caught hold of numbers ; and heated sand was discharged, which, penetra- ting between the armor and the skin, inflicted in- tense pain. But a practicable breach having been made, the citizens were driven from their fortifications, and after an obstinate conflict in one of the public squares, Alexander became master of the place. The siege of Tyre lasted seven months, and probably terminated about midsummer, pres. It cost the conqueror a greater number of men than the pitched battles and skirmishes taken to- gether, which had been fought with the Persians. This loss, with the cruel treatment of some Mace-SNINY ° | = Se by & a bof ie cA é SSser Mew ass = mcr oe Re By vas CNG Ge Rertinestsrs Ts TyIN PHCENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGWPT. 279 dvnian prisoners, who were executed by the Tyr- lans in sight of their countrymen, inflamed the passions of the victors, and led to merciless re- tahation. The king was spared, along with some of his principal subjects, who had sought refuge in the temple of Melkart; the policy of respecting sanctuaries, and invoking the gods of every nation, being uniformly observed by Alex- ander. But eight thousand citizens perished in the first slaughter, and a far larger number, with their wives and children, were sold into slavery. The city itself was not destroyed, but survived to become a populous and flourishing site at the commencement of the Christian era. The apostle Paul touched at it on his way from Macedonia to Jerusalem, and found a number of believers, with whom he tarried a week. It was taken by the Saracens in the seventh century; recovered by the Crusaders in the twelfth; and made an archiepiscopal see, of which William of Tyre, an Englishman, the well-known historian, was the first archbishop. Mastered finally by the Turks, it rapidly sank into complete insignificance; and became, in the seventeenth century, according to inspired prediction, “like the top of a rock, a place to spread nets upon,” being a miserable vil- lage inhabited by a few fishermen. Modern Sur, the Arab name for Tyre, occupies a peninsula, brsrperys srabrstteststts rorapes practi eat PTET TTRIREeeree aera eR SHPaUr ES Eat rp persHeeTHTSTis PMESTTTTRee PRT CTT resi fant Steere pases2°80 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. accumulations of sand having converted the cause way of Alexander into an isthmus, more than a quarter of a mile in width. The ruins of an old shurch—some tottéring walls of ancient date, and towers that mark the time of the Crusaders—a white-domed mosque—a few unconnected houses jumbled together on the sea-washed rock and, rising above all, some waving palms, whose plumy tops seem to mourn over the surrounding desola- tion, are all the objects that now present them- selves to the traveler, on a spot once “glorious in the midst of the seas,” whose ‘“ merchants were princes, and whose traffickers were the honorable of the earth.”* Some time before the termination of the siege, a confidential eunuch, in attendance on the cap- tive Persian queen, effected his escape, and found means to reach her unfortunate husband. Darius eagerly inquired after her welfare, and being as- sured that she was treated with the distinction due to a royal personage, along with his other relatives, he raised his hands toward heaven, and exclaimed, ‘“‘O great God, who disposest of the affairs of kings among men, preserve to me the empire of the Persians and the Medes, as thou * For a full description of this mercantile emporium of antiquity, the reader is referred to ‘“ Tyre,’’ Youth’s Library, No. 553.IN PHENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 281 gavest it; but if it be thy will that I am to be no longer king of Asia, let Alexander, in preference to all others, succeed to my power.” Apparently encouraged by the report of the eunuch to re- new attempts to negotiate, another embassy was sent to the Macedonian camp with a definite pro- posal. Darius offered ten thousand talents for the ransom of his family, the cession of all the country westward of the Euphrates, and the hand of his daughter in marriage, on condition of last- ing peace and friendship. The answer returned was substantially the same as on the former oc- casion. The entire empire of the Persian mon- arch was demanded, with the absolute mastery of his person, family, and property. Darius, therefore, apphed himself to the task of making defensive preparations, convinced of the hopeless- ness of all attempts to etfect a compromise. A curious anecdote is related concerning this over- ture. When it was submitted to a council of officers, Parmenio unhesitatingly declared, that if he were Alexander he should accept it. “So would I,” rejoined the king, “if I were Parmenio.” Chis reply to the aged veteran, alike discreditable to the head and heart of the speaker, together with his whole conduct, illustrates the baneful in. fluence of success. It inflames ambition, instead of satisfying it. It strengthens pride, imperious- a rte ERT RRR eh BUSH TEs STH etit beperieeetrerTr oH irerirntttiien tou rset reer rey iterate TH SETH pare Sipe ers seat psteest atts renet ae ists pee Lye282 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ness, self-will, and hardness of heart. These re pulsive features, with others equally odious, be- come from henceforth increasingly prominent 1n the character of Alexander, abating our sympa- thy with the man, and interest in his fate, how- ever admiration may be excited by his skill, dar- ing, and magnificent designs. Egypt was the next object of attention to the invader. His march thither lay through Judea, the land of patriarchs, priests, and prophets, of inspired legislators, judges, and kings, whose names are recorded in sacred history. No notice occurs in holy writ of Alexander’s passage through it, as it took place in the interval between the historical periods of the Old Testament and of the New. But Josephus gives a remarkable relation, derived from a traditionary source, respecting’ a visit paid by the conqueror to Jerusalem. He states, that the Jews having refused supplies of provisions to the Macedonians during the siege of Tyre, they viewed with alarm the approach of Alexander to their metropolis, upon which, Jad- deus, the high-priest, ordered the people to ad- dress supplications to the Almighty to protect the nation, and deliver it from the impending danger. Jaddeus is said to have been directed in a vision to crown the city with garlands, to throw open the gates, to go forth to meet thePRATER HINA iE TaN satel V4 Te eG Tay peed} CRN ra WE SON ERR Stra C TOTO SCAG ASS Ae PE AAR (By oj) 5 as a De erate eT Rc GTS We Tuva KG Sy oY Ne WES LSA li tf Mp i SOR 4 pers crat reas sits tetera grees cy - it ieess Tor 4 = ah QZ}! NING os a NS \ » > yA! Coe pee ee ete sit takes sis GSTS 7 aes Oe booties THE JEWISH HIGH-PRIEST,Te tetiiiieetad zt is did Ti eaites att sat ies se aIN PHCNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 285 Macedonians, with all the priests in their sacer- dotal robes, and not to fear, as God would pro- vide for their defense. Rising from sleep, he com- municated the message to the people, and calmly awaited the arrival of the king. “On learning his approach to the city,” the historian proceeds to say, “ he went forth, attended by the priests and people, so as to give the pro- cession a sacred character, distinct from the habits of other nations. The spot where the meeting took place was at Sapha, or the Watch-Tower, so called because Jerusalem and the temple are thence visible. But the Phoenicians and Chal- deeans, who followed the king, and expected him in his anger to allow them to plunder the city, and put the high-priest to death with every spe- cies of torture, witnessed a far different scene. ‘For when Alexander, from a distance, saw the multitude in white garments, and the priests in front, with their variegated robes of white linen, and the chief priest in his hyacinthine dress, em- broidered with gold, and bearing on his head the cidaris, with its golden diadem, on which was in- scribed the name of God; he advanced alone, prostrated himself before the holy name, and was the first to salute the high-priest. But when the Jews, with one voice, had saluted and encircled | the king, the Syrian kings and the rest of his ahi Sthig tele testis saeealerest lot atest ER ce tHe STH Seifert HST HITRN PIHeSr Inge TEETH Fase St PRET SESE eee eee eet MR eRe eae bs Tea WIeTtseet tests tT prereset tikes st toh286 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. retinue began to doubt the soundness of his im- tellect. Parmenio then-ventured to draw near, and asked, ‘ Why he, before whom all prostrated themselves, paid that honor to the high-priest of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘I did not prostrate myself before him, but before the God with whose priesthood he has been honored. For while I was as yet at Dium, in Macedonia, I saw him in the same dress in my dreams. And as I was deliberating in what manner I should conquer Asia, he exhorted me not to hesitate, but to cross over with confidence, as he would be a guide to the expedition, and deliver the Persian empire into my hands. As, therefore, I have seen no other in a similar dress, as this spectacle reminds me of the vision in my sleep, and of the exhorta- tion, I conclude that my expedition was under- taken under Divine Providence, that I shall con- quer Darius, put an end to Persian domination, and succeed in all my plans.’ ““ After this explanation, Alexander took the high-priest by the right hand, and entered the city, while the priests ran along on both sides. He then went up to the temple, and sacrificed to God according to the directions of the high-priest, and highly honored both him and the other priests. Then the book of Daniel, and the prediction that a Greek was destined to overthrow the PersianIN PHENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 287 empire, were shown to him. From it he con- cluded that he was the person signified, and, being much delighted, dismissed the multitude.” This story is not mentioned by any Greek writer. Its truth has been warmly contested. Perhaps a conclusion in favor of receiving it as a highly embellished account of a real adventure is the best supported by evidence. It is scarcely conceivable that Alexander would pass by the city of the Jewish kmgs without appearing at its ~ rates, when his direct route was within a few Gg hours’ journey of them. The respect shown to the religion of the people, and the fiction of the dream, are in perfect harmony with his ordinary policy, and strongly sustain the credibility of the narrative. A somewhat parallel spectacle was ex- hibited in a later age, and might have been sug- gested by it, when Leo went out of Rome in full pontifical array, attended by his clergy, and im- pressed the superstitious mind of Attila in favor of the city. All Palestine unhesitatingly acknowledged the sovereignty of the Macedonian, with the single exception of Gaza, a town on the frontier of the desert, between Judea and Egy,t. It occupied. a high mound in the midst of a sandy waste, and was surrounded with strong and lofty walls. Batis, a eunuch, held it for the Persian monarch starease uaptreseetstass roti rstiers spot nsbestt iis arene actress UTE ETH Toei fUntET Teen EET Ten roar en Sere atest ered Cue teat eeu Te poses cet ste sts Ets? EES RETS PRE STS URET EES thE is ete ore tt SES+ 290 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Having taken a number of Arabs into pay, he de- fied the power of Alexander in the flush of con- quest, and arrested his progress for some months by a vigorous defense. The king received a se- vere wound in one of the assaults, a dart cast from a machine penetrating through shield and corslet into his shoulder. Impatient at bemg checked excited the besiegers to cruelty upon a breach being made in the walls, for the entire garrison was put to the sword in the final attack, while the women and children were sold as slaves. New inhabitants were introduced from the adjoining country, and the fortifications were strengthened. But “ baldness” was to come upon Gaza, the king to perish, and the place to be forsaken. These are terms of sacred prophecy, not more certainly stated than literally fulfilled. Modern Gaza is not upon the ancient site; and no scene can be more solitary and bald than the spot once o¢- eupied by the lordly city of the Philistines. Scarcely a shrub, plant, or blade of grass inter- rupts and relieves the perfect barrenness of the surface, or anything but the jackal stealing over it, with a few ruins half buried in the sand. In seven days after leaving Gaza, the army ‘eached Pelusium, the most easterly town of Koypt, after a march of about a hundred and seventy miles along the coast of the Mediter-IN PHQENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. bo 59 canean, through a desert which forms the natural boundary of the country. The fleet probably kept close to the shore carrying stores, as neitk er food nor fresh water could be obtained on the route. The ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs received unresistingly a new ruler in the person of Alexander, an event for which circumstances had long been gradually paving the way. Two centuries before his arrival, the Greeks had ob- tained permission to settle on the banks of the Nile, and they now formed an important section of the population. Ever since the conquest of the territory by Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, the natives had bent unwillingly to the yoke of their masters, had often renounced sub- jection, and required the presence of vast armies to enforce submission. They detested the Per- sians for their religious intolerance, which had been frequently exemplified in the desecration of temples, and exasperating insults offered to their gods. On the other hand, the Greeks conciliated favor by an accommodating spirit, readily holding the religious rites of the people in as much re- spect as theirown. While the disaffection of tha native Egyptians thus favored a revolution, the Persian forces were too scanty to offer opposition. They had been largely withdrawn to fight the battles of Darius. ‘The satrap fell at Issus. As 4 : sitet HEnHTIE I EMITTER Tn PRE ares este eee ee tit ete eae pass rore ciptrers soe iebesie tity reret sitet icati hs TEN ItStegeth Sideeee eraert ese sen prec ery790 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. the garrisons were not strong enough to guard the towns left in their charge, the icrimidaderd had no alternative but to yield up the fortified cities; and without a siege, a blow, or a struggle, the whole of Egypt acknowledged the authority of Alexander. Leaving Pelusium, the army marched up the country, with the Nile on the right hand, and the fleet ascended the river. The troops halted at Heliopolis, a sacred city of great celebrity, re- nowned for its temples, and not long before the temporary residence of Plato and Eudoxus. Its mounds, with a remarkable obelisk, are seen near the modern village of Matareeh. Close to this place, aoa, crossed the Nile to Memphis, where he met his fleet. This city, then the great capital of Lower Egypt, and in earlier ages of the whole country, stood on the left bank of the river, just above the apex of the Delta, a site euiaaes by the present eee of Metraheny. Here, as if to intimate to the Egyptians that their new ruler was simply ~castablicline the ancient mon- archy, he went in state to the temple of Apis, and sacrificed to the sacred bull, as the native kings had done at their coronations; while favor with the populace was courted by splendid games, musical displays, and other festivities. Embark- ing at this point, he sailed down the Canopic orIN PHENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT, 29] western branch of the river of the Delta; ated the lake , to survey that side and ona arsiele® of land which se par- Mareotis from the sea, the founda- tion of a city was projected on account of the maritime ady vantages of the site. Orders were immec diately given to carry the desi 1on into effect. Dinocrates , the architect employed in rebuilding the tem; tis of Diana at Ephesus Ww I ; as summoned to devise th 1e plan and superintend its execution. One main long street ran through tl 1e city from the Gate of ae Sea at the eastern extremity to the Necropolis at the western, and anotl 1er shorter main street crossed it at right angles, running nearly north from the Mareotiec Jake. rangement was adopted to secure the ventilation from the north winds. This ar- > benefit of Thus arose Alexandria, so named after its founder , wi ich has subsisted to this d: ay, and been nacuaR the intervening period shes commercial emporium of Egypt. It rapidly advanced to distinction under the Ptolemean successors of the conqueror, be- came second only to Rome itse If, contained within its circuit of fifteen miles a population of three hundred thousand free inhabitants, with an equal number of slaves, and was renowned for its mathe- maticians, ilove phidis, and library, even more than for the extent of its commerce, or the splen- dor of its monuments. The present walls, which a] = <2 eistpsttesesitarigars peers RH : Sos terpaR: TRIP ee Sea caro REBT eT TEST a Ba 2 3 : Sis TSTS TREES Bah299 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. are chiefly the work of the Arabs, include a large portion of old Alexandria, but not the whole of it. Vestiges of buildings—the granite obelisk of Thothmes III., removed from Heliopolis, and placed before one of the temples, now absurdly called Cleopatra’s Needle ; spacious cisterns, or vaulted chambers beneath the houses, to which the water of the Nile was conveyed ; and above all, the catacombs upon the coast, constructed im attest the grandeur the best style of Grecian art and extent of the ancient city. The founder of the projected city proceeded from its site on a remarkable and hazardous expe- dition into the heart of the Libyan desert, accom- panied by a detachment of his troops. Poliey of state, personal vanity, some curiosity, and a romantic love of adventure, led to this enterprise, the two former motives being doubtless the most influential. Every Egyptian king had styled himself ‘the son of the sun,” or of Ammon, the fabulous protecting divinity of the country, called Zeus Ammon by the Greeks, and J upiter Ammon by the Romans. Alexander appropriated the titles of the ancient sovereigns to himself, and im order to be acknowledged by the priesthood in the same relationship to the national god, and firmly establish his own authority, he undertook a visit to one of the most celebrated shrines, anos i Bieri iet Stitt ify EE son Hi Sere ari atest ithe ate pierre anytersriass it ei e 4 é te 4 4 a i ba i 3 ca fa 5 5 1 SSuetaae PTT Tene eee aes TIT) Esriviceapelelatesee irae: SeSelTisisIN PHNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 295 Aminonium, or oracle temple, situated in an ousis of the western desert. The worship of this divin- ity extended over a wide range of country—the whole of Egypt, a part of the north coast of Africa, and many parts of Greece and Asia Minor. Throughout this area, the sanctuary and oracle in the pathless wilderness were held in veneration; and missions had been common from remote times to obtain a response on the subject of wars, colonial establishments, or the result of any im- portant enterprise. Both Hercules and Perseus, conspicuous in the fabulous genealogy of Alexan- der, are legendarily reported to have penetrated the Libyan desert, and their descendant was anx- ious to emulate the deeds and fame of his ances- tors. Croesus, king of Lydia, once sent thither to ask advice as to whether he should undertake a Persian war; and Lysander of Sparta twice went in person upon a similar errand. The journey presented formidable difficalties, owing to the nature of the country, want of water, great heat, and the sands drifting in clouds before the wind. Cambyses, the second monarch of the Medo-Persian dynasty, attempted to reach the oasis of Ammon, starting from Thebes. He was at the head of a vast army, and contemplated a hostile purpose. But, after seven days’ journey, he perished in the desert with his troops, either SuNETE TERI CTT TbSMESPERS TTT Eben tet gi TE ET best nea aera aaa ee96 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. OX hon owing to an insufficient supply of water, or over whelmed by the moving sands. The oases are fertile spots in the sterile wilder- ness, occasioned by the presence of springs, which saturate the ground with moisture for some dis- tance around them, and in many cases give rise to small streams, which meander through dells and valleys till they are finally lost and absorbed in the soil. The tracts thus irrigated are clothed with vegetation, natural or cultivated, and resem- ble islands of verdure in a sea of sand. Besides being often beautiful in themselves, they. receive an additional charm from the contrast with the surrounding desolation, and offer to caravans and travelers a welcome supply of water, with an agreeable shade for halting furnished by clumps of palms, olive groves, and other trees. These green and fruitful spots in tl bare rock or sand, although generally small, are 1e tawny expanse of occasionally of considerable extent, and are the seats of a resident population. The Great Oasis of the Libyan desert, westward of Esneh on the Nile, consists of a chain of fertile tracts, extending about a hundred miles in length, and comprising many springs, villages, and ancient ruins, with plantations of olives, liquorice, grain, and fruits, The Little Oasis, to the north. has the same physical character. Still further acrth, and upIN PHNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 297 ward of three hundred miles yest of the Nile, immediately above Cairo, is the oasis of Siwah, of very inconsiderable size, but the most interest- ing of all, because incontestably proved to be identical with the oasis of Ammon visited by Alexander. Few Europeans have penetrated to this spot, owing to the natural difficulties of the route, and the marauding habits of the wander- ing Bedouins. But three of our countrymen— Mr. Brown, Mr. Hoskins, and Mr. St. John— accomplished the enterprise, the first in 1792, the last in 1847, both following the line of march pursued by the aspiring Macedonian. Starting from the western mouth of the Nile, an indirect route along the coast was adopted by Alexander, on the recommendation of his guides, as presenting fewer obstacles, and affording better forage for cattle. None of the ancient historians make any statement of the number of people he took with him, though they sometimes speak as if he was accompanied by an army. But this is a very improbable in itself, and contradicted by the fact, that no preparations were made for the jour- ney on an extensive scale, only camels and skins being taken sufficient to carry water for four days. The journey along the shore terminated at Parzetonium, a distance of about two hundred miles. No cities were encountered. The entire Peesstritr eters Dptst ts PRRs TH Ite i i Mast ieee TT HITTER a taisitin perenne tat Rete Ea TTS sii riareses see ta Ti puesta ess Tht tibet steea ent toe 298 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. region is described as deserted, but not waterless. At a subsequent period it supported numerous towns, founded as Greek colonies, and the orig- inally unproductive tract was rendered fertile by human industry. The cities gradually decayed, and were finally devastated by the Sassanid and the Saracens, after which the country returned to its primitive desolation, and has retained that as- pect. Mr. St. John speaks of meeting with na four-footed animal except a gazelle and a hare, either in going or returning, unless a few rats, a tortoise, a chameleon, and legions of lizards are reckoned. Birds were in abundance; numerous pigeons appeared chased by hawks, falcons, and kites; and white gulls occasionally scudded the surface of the waves. Pareetonium must have been not far from the eastern frontier of modern Tripoli. Its position has been identified with that of a place called Bareton by travelers, not indi- cated on the charts. It became a port of some consequence, for Mark Antony and Cleopatra landed at it as fugitives after the battle of Actium. At this point, the king, warric., and _ pilgrim. having taken in a supply of water, left the coast, and struck into the interior. His historians speak of a vast expanse of sand being traversed, the wind raising it up in clouds and columns, threatening the adventurers with destruction. ItIN PHCNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 299 Is not uncommon to see the loose particles driven along the surface by the breeze, like heht spray, or filling the whole atmosphere with a vast mist. But the plains in this part of the Libyan desert are table-lands, and have far more the appear- ance of a sea of stones than of sand. ‘There are also ridges of strangely contorted and perfectly naked rocks intersecting the country, passed by defiles of the most desolate and savage character. Marvels are reported of the journey of Alexander. some of which are easily resolved into natural in- cidents, while the rest are doubtless referable to misapprehended facts, which the distorted deserip- tion conceals. After four lays, the water in the skins was exhausted, and the horrors of thirst be- gan to be felt. But at this juncture a copious rain came on, and revived the despairing party— an event regarded as a manifest interposition of the gods. The occurrence is perfectly credible, however unusual in the desert: and a scanty shower descending so seasonably would naturally have its magnitude overstated. Afterward the guides became completely bewildered respecting the right direction, and the travelers wandered about uncertainly for some time, till delivered from a painful dilemma by two crows or ravens, che track being recovered by following their flight. This incident was likewise interpreted as a super- renter nT a i tibnE otabitn nr eieren Hite rieat ae sea nreestertterorenes Dott ticat PEHis thirst ress Shee tt Srrareeey300 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. natural interposition, nor is the apparently idie story a fiction. These birds are looked upon in the African desert as indicating the vicinity ore well, near which their roosting places are chosen, and routes are always determined by the position of the sites where water may be obtained. Two ravens encountered Belzoni as he was approach- ing a locality of this description. It is remarka- ble, that a spot on the line of Alexander’s march is at present called the Nugb el Ghrab, or the Pass of the Crow, which seems to commemorate his extrication from difficulties, and may possibly have been originated at the time by it, as the i a ‘ manent. More remarkable still is the fact, that the Bedouin guides of Mr. St. Jobn lost their way, and the party halted an entire night, fear- ful of losing it irrecoverably. While in a state names of places in the desert are generally per- 5 of suspense the next day, two crows were seen wheeling in the air, and then taking a south-west direction. The guides determined to follow the course indicated by the birds, and speedily fell in with a well-defined track. At present, the be- neyolent practice of marking the road for future travelers prevails to some extent in the Libyan desert. This is done by piles of stones at short intervals, raised by the industry of successive caravans. The Arabs are particular in rearingIN PHGNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. these monuments, and clearing away the accu- mulations of sand which otherwise would soon obscure them, regarding it as a sacred duty; but the aboriginal Berber race are said to view this usage with great dislike, preferrmg the wilder- ness in its primitive pathlessness. Fight days appear to have been consumed in the passage from the Mediterranean shore to the oasis of Ammon. The journey may be readily performed in four, but leisurely movements in the strange region might be deemed expedient, and the loss of the track created delay. The figure of the god called Ammon was Krioprosopic, or that of a man with the head and horns of a ram. Jewels and ornaments, the gifts of devo- tees, enriched the statue. It was carried about on great occasions by a train of eighty priests, followed by a procession of matrons and virgins singing his praises. Alexander, on his approach, seems to have been met by a procession of this kind, and forthwith conducted to the temple, where the chief priest delivered from the shrine oracular responses to his questions. He went alone into the innermost sanctuary, and did not reveal what passed, except by the general state- ment to his followers, that the answers were sat- ‘sfactory. Willing or unwilling, the presiding oriest had no alternative but to hail the master of eRe SEAT ERUTERETeTe errant rarener tated THis rears cesripbaetenitersietay Pains fits trbent verre iret ir itnet tases tse rt teste eee tees ae RES ore 4 3 prt pees tht sibs ssi8 Et302 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Egypt as the son of Ammon, and promise him the empire of the world—a service which the offerings of the royal traveler doubtless rendered sufficiently acceptable. We are not to suppose that Alexander was himself deceived. Among a people who worshiped and built temples to their kings, he deemed it politic to claim such honors by having his relationship to the national deity formally declared, while among his own friends he probably allowed his assumed divinity to be made the subject of many a joke. he Macedonian admired the locality, and the ancient writers are profuse in terms of admiration respecting its scenery. It was a green and shad- ed valley, surrounded by parched sand _ hills, irrigated by springs of fresh water, and clothed with plantations of olives, laurels, and palms, cul- tivated by a resident population. In other parts were salt lakes, and snowy tracts of fossil salt. The inhabitants traded with Heyptin the mineral, which from the name of the place was called salt of Ammonia. It was so highly valued as to be deemed a suitable present to kings and dignitaries, to whom it was sent in baskets; and even the monarchs of Persia had their table supplied with salt from this remote spot. The valley extends for sixteen or seventeen miles, nearly in an east and west direction; but the available land is con:IN PHG@NICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 303 fined to a district in the center, about five miles long by three or four broad. ‘The sterile and fertile grounds run into each other, rendering it difficult to determine where the one ends and the other begins. Fresh and salt waters also are closely contiguous, both at their source, and in their direction. From the top of Gebel-el-Monta, or the Mountain of the Dead, a hill honeycombed with catacombs, Mr. St. John obtained a splendid view of the whole oasis. ‘It is difficult,” he states, “to convey an idea of the pleasure I expe. rienced ir viewing the prospect that developed itself on all sides around me. It could searcely have possessed more elements of the beautiful The verdure, the lakes, and the arid hills may be “ound elsewhere, and be deemed to afford con- trasts sufficiently striking; but perhaps here alone are added in such close juxtaposition the glitter- ing desert and the snowy fields of salt, looking like vast glaciers just beginning to melt beneath that sultry chime. “Tn addition to this view, which may be ob- tained with little variety from almost any of the hills I have mentioned, many details of the scen- ery of the oasis are extremely pleasing. I never wish to enjoy prettier walks than some of those we took during our stay. There is generally a garden wall or a fence on either hand of the < yh a St era pected tesressasegheced iobeseoes a sf HGH RTTY BE bees Ft HinESTINEDM TTT rtm Hote stnt erie tetas ye i pra ttetey VUES CERES TTT Seg TT poehe Si tsibarses ty304 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Vv lanes, with pomegranate-trees bursting over it in redundant luxuriance, and hanging their rich tempting purple fruit within reach of the hand, or the deep-green fig-tree, or the apricot, or a huge ragged leaf of the banana, or the olive, or the vine. The spaces between these are not left idle, being carpeted with a spacious growth of bersim and lucerne that loads the air with its fragrance, and,is often checkered with spots of a eht that steals in through the branching canopy above. Sometimes a tiny brook shoots green hh its fleet waters along by the wayside, or lapses slowly with eddying surface, rustling gently be- tween grassy banks or babbling over a pebbly bed. Here and there a rude bridge of palm trunks is thrown across, but the glassy current frequently glides at will athwart the road. At one place there is a meadow ; at another, a copse ; but on all sides the date-trees fling up their col- umnar forms, and wave aloft their leaty capitals, Occasionally a huge blue crane sails by on flag- ging wing to alight on the margin of some neigh- boring pool; the hawk or the falcon soars or wheels far up in the air; the dove sinks fluttering on the bough; the quail starts up with its.short, strong, whirring flight; and sparrows, with nu- merous other small predatory birds, go sweeping across the fields.” In one respect the place dif-Cpe Pe eet eae IN PHCNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 305 fers from the ancient representations of it, which speak of its salubrious climate. Piaiwaeeot remit- tent fevers now infest the s spot, and annually visit all the oases in the summer and autumn, being caused by the neglect which allows the clean of stagnant fetid water that ought to be used up in irrigation. The temple of Ammon, after having borne the brunt of ages, IS represented by some majestic r re- mains on a slightly elevated platform of rock, the eenter of an open glade. On spun the site, a ruined gatew ay 1s seen standing imme- diately in front of the fragments of a chamber, Huge masses of calcareous stone lying in pictu- resque confusion, parts of the shafts of columns, capitals of alabaster, and other architectural mon- uments, cover the surface of the ground, and in- dicate the former existence of a considerable e pile of buildings upon the spot. The temple was in- closed by a wall of immense thickness, nearly four hundred feet from north to south 1, and more than three hundred feet from east to west, a con- siderable portion of which may be made out. A variety of chambers, probably the residences of the priests, with a central apartment or sanctuary, where the responses of the god were delivered in the midst of Druidical gloom, seem to have com- posed the interior, perhaps surrounded by an in 20 HT SRST ERASE TE REIT tT EET tse eens ETTES Tess eT Negi Hag tenet Haste sketglieestlehestee Sac epstedtauags Utettes teeyte SSEiaristeswsetristeee WILSTAEST Eee E ary HeRET ane hyPores eee LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. acy Geclosare. ‘The noni end or the sanctuary remains, and exhibits a peculiar construction. The side walls, though six feet in thickness, are formed of comparatively small blocks, while the roof consisted of immense masses, some of which are still aloft. They are literally beams of stone, twenty-seven feet in length, four in breadth and depth, stretching from side to side, and projecting a little beyond the walls, so as to form a kind of exterior cornice. Hierogly phies—processions of human figures with tablets above their heads, and representations of eagles or vultures, flying’ after aach other, on a ground interspersed with stars— appear on many of the blocks. These were originally painted blue and red, as traces of such colors still remain. Among the hieroglyphics, the camel occurs as a character, and a bird re- sembling the ostrich. There are also sculptured representations of a hideons-looking personage with ram’s horns, doubtless meant for the ram- faced Ammon. In the neighborhood of the temple, the an- cients commemorated the “ Fons Solis,” or Foun- tain of the Sun, which the Macedonians viewed with interest and veneration on account of the supposed diurnal change in the temperature of the water, from cold at noonday to heat at midnight. The following passage occurs in Lucretius :—IN PHCENICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGY PR. “A fount, ’tis rumor’d, near the temple purls Of Jove Ammonian, tepid through the night, And cold at noonday; and th’ astonish’d sage Stares at the fact, and deems the punctual sun Strides through the world’s vast center, as the shades Of midnight shroud us; and with gay reverse Maddens the well-spring: creed absurd and false.” Ovid makes a similar statement :— “Thy stream, O horn-crown’d Ammon! in the midst Chills us at noon, but warms at morn and eve.” Herodotus mentions further, that while the na- tives used the water to fertilize their gardens, this was only done at midday, the time of its greatest coolness. This celebrated fountain is a remark- ably deep and clear pool, of a slightly bitter taste, inclosed in ancient times with masonry, frag- ments of which still remain. It is probably a thermal spring. Modern visitors describe the sur- face as continually covered with bubbles, which rise from the bottom, and give to the pool the ap- pearance of being almost constantly in a state of effervescence. But the change of temperature assigned to it is apparent only, resulting from the strongly contrasted temperature of the ex- ternal air at noon and night. Amid the burning heat of midday, the water will feel cool to the hand, and be warm at night, when the atmos- phere is in an opposite condition. Though di- ay teeferir ene states pads eaashea tdiatiaieee lt STREETER pes Teen tt be bert Eonar pint sista Tete iteeesgs Lies ehepel sates sty bstererisiptreys set eeesTty arate ites saat cy pseeae est tibet sis C71 Mere et Ee eiteretitt808 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. vo vested of mysterious properties, the fountain is an object of singular beauty, and of no little interest, when we reflect that thousands of years ago princes and sages stood by its margin, gazing with wonder and veneration upon its suriace, The transparent water bubbles as gayly as ever, and reflects as brightly the splendor of the heav- ens, while time has impressed its changes upon everything buman once associated with it. Shat- tered and moss-grown masonry peeps out at the brink from a growth of reeds and rushes inter- twined with creeping plants; surrounding palms open ‘between them, long, majestic, and shady vistas, like the solemn aisles of a great cathedral ; while a rill emerges from the spring, and runs rippling toward the moldering temple of the un- shrined, dethroned, and nearly forgotten Ammon. Alexander probably returned to the Nile by a direct route through the desert. At Memphis, he received reinforcements from Greece, and em- bassadors from several of the states to congratu- late him on his success. Having reviewed the troops, he arranged the government of his new kingdom, and wisely retained the ancient division of the country into two nomarchies or chief judgeships; one comprising Upper, and the other Lower Egypt. To the office of chief judges, who were charged with the due administration of jus-IN PHGNICIA, PALESTINE, AND EGYPT. 3809 tice, and formed the highest civil rank known to the natives, he appointed two of their own num- ber, acting upon the principle of interfering as little as possible with the established usages of the land. At the same time, to maintain his own authority, garrisons under Greek generals were stationed at Memphis and Pelusium, the chief fortresses; but their commanders were ex- pressly enjoined to respect the ancient common law. The wonders of the hundred-gated Thebes did not tempt him to advance up the river, as in- formation was received that the entire military force of the Persian empire’ was rapidly collecting in the country beyond the Euphrates, with the view of risking another battle. In the spring of the year B.C. 331, Alexander accordingly return-_ ed to Tyre, and prepared for a final and decisive encounter with Darius. TE ett Pest csrreTeT pra pea tets METH Pete fabatiee eee PET TET i Pitta ester ee baprss Maxie steatias IMC epE bat Teri ieg rely ror eesae Tey areaLIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. CHAPTER YI. ALEXANDER IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, AND THE EASTERN PROVINCES. (B. C. 881-326.) Towarp the middle of the summer, B.C. 381, the grand attack upon the Persian empire com- menced. Marching to the Euphrates, the army erossed the river at Thapsacus, probably about the end of July. This point of the great stream, nearly due east of Aleppo, was the most ancient and frequented of the passages over it, bemg fordable in the season of low water. Xerxes, the younger Cyrus, Darius, Alexander, and Crassus, here successively conducted armies from bank to bank. Merchant caravans passed for ages in 2 more peaceful manner; and at the same place, during the modern epoch, hordes of Arabs, Tar- tars, and Turks, have poured across the boundary river; for the Euphrates may be said to form the dividing line between the eastern and western parts of the Old World. No attempt was made to dispute the passage with the invader, who had a bridge of boats constructed for his forces. Pleased with the site, he caused a city to be founded on the eastern bank, which received theIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. 31] name of Nicephorium. The miserable town of Racca now occupies the spot, once a flourishing place, the favorite residence of Haroun al Raschid. For nearly two months we have no information respecting the march of the troops, or of any events relating to them, except that a northerly course, through Mesopotamia, was pursued, the country in that direction being hilly, less exposed to the heat of summer than the southern plains, and abundantly supplied with the necessaries of life. Upon approaching the Tigris, some scouts were captured, from whom the intelligence was obtain- ed that Darius, at the head of a vast armament, was In motion on the opposite side. The tidings caused Alexander to hasten his march, in order to avoid a contested passage of the river; but no enemy appeared on arriving at it, for bold move- ments and military skill were alike qualities foreign to the Persian monarch. It was in the vicinity of old Mosul, a place now in ruins, but about twenty-five miles north of the present city of that name, that Alexander crossed the Tigns. Though unopposed, the pas- sage was effected with difficulty, owing to the rapidity of the stream, its steep banks, and obsta- cies in its bed. As the soldiers had to wade through the water, holding their arms and equi- pages above their heads, they were in great dan- a at SAT ER RSE G bt IPT IT an tiPnE st paisa pees Ts sortie Tea crt ene ste Ese tty RLS EET Tae STs ERTS ES har oe she eSoa 2 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. er of being swept away by the strength of the @ OD urrent. No fatal casualty occurred, but in many cases the men had to abandon their weapons and baggage to save themselves. A few days” rest recruited their vigor after a forced march, and re- stored discipline. During the interval, an almost total eclipse of the moon excited the apprehen- sions of the superstitious troops, who were unac- quainted witl the physical cause of the phenome- non. Having wandered to a far distance from home, explored pathless deserts, scaled rugged heights, and crossed dangerous rivers, their minds were predisposed to indulge misgivings, especially gole impended with a vast host of enemies. The waning of the as it was known that a mortal strug orb in the height of its splendor—the change from customary brightness to a murky and cop- per hue-—was connected with evil forebodings, as a manifestation of the displeasure of Heaven to men engaged in an enterprise of presumptuous daring. Even to minds informed by the hght of science, the spectacle is not merely one of curiosity and interest. ‘The temporary obscuration hum- bles the intellect that has predicted it, and awes the spirit by the grandeur and regularity of the movements which combine to produce the effect. Alexander was at no loss for soothsayers to inter- pret favorably the mysterious portent, and confiIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. dence revived at their verdict, that the moon being on the side of the Persians, her impaired luster intimated their defeat. The eclipse has been referred, by the calculations of astronomers, to the night of September 20th. If the Mace- donians triumphed in the ensuing conflict, the issue was far different upward of a century and a half later, when a lunar eclipse preceded the de- cisive battle of Pydna, which destroyed the inde- pendence of Macedonia, and reduced it to the condition of a Roman province. In the mean time, Darius, having collected the whole available force of the east to his banner, had been marching northward in the country on the eastern torder of the Tigris. Leaving his heavy baggage, the reserve, and the non-combat- ants at Arbela, he advanced to the river Lycus, now the Greater Zab, where five days were con- sumed in passing his vast host over the bridge. He then moved to the village of Gaugamela, or “the camel’s house,” so called trom the legend of a dromedary having been there maintained at the public expense, for saving by its speed the life of a Persian king, said to have been Darius Hys- taspis. The village cannot now be identified ; but it stood on the great plain between the moun- tains of Kourdistan, the Tigris, and the Zab, part of which was oceupied by ancient Nineveh, and mersitrrarera ites esti tit desires aitee ISLES TECHIE ERE east ene ete ee ne ane aeae3lt LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Is now overlooked by the mound of Nimrou|, the scene of Mr. Layard’s remarkable discoveries. This open ground was selected for the battle-field, in order that the numerous cavalry, scythed charicts, and elephants might operate freely ; for the defeat at Issus was attributed to the cramped position of the troops rather than to the superior prowess of their antagonists. Further to facilitate easy evolution and rapid movements, hillocks and other inequalities of the surface were carefully removed. The estimates given of the force are enormous exaggerations; but, after the yreatest conceivable reduction, there was doubt- a a less a sufficient number of fighting men encamped to trample the Macedonians to the dust, had the army possessed an efficient leader, and been in- spired with a common sentiment. There is no reason to impute deficiency of personal courage to the soldiers of Darius. They were the bravest warriors of Asia, consisting of hardy races gath- ered from the high valleys of Cabul, the plains of the Oxus, the provinces of the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf, the mountains of Armenia, and the jevels of Syria, with a formidable body of merce- nary Greeks. But they were strangers to each other in language and alien in habits, with enmi- ties subsisting between different hordes, and ne principle of attachment to a definite cause to give“YY wy, LU 4 Swi ite Uf: bb Afipstiy Vf a eS 0 SU > died EP eo Ir ors Ls oe v Ot ie eS = os BIRS NIMROUD (ancient Nineveh). creer TREE 5 rn th pri capastete tet) Sifts aa i 3 E oe : Pelesysrtytetearrad tee reese reeres ri tere ar] the te Sohe. Sor eeuas ++ myrepe 434an aul a if fr sess pe Ht i th ne HE i pi iiatetia2 by IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. ol them cohesion. They had been brought together by the influence of subordinate authorities rather than by deference to the sovereign; and thus formed a heterogeneous mass, ready to fall into confusion on the occurrence of any mischance and become completely disjomted by a well-di rected blow. A southern march of three days brought Alex- ander into the neighborhood of Darius, without his precise position being known, the country having been cleared of its inhabitants. But on the following day a reconnoitering squadron of the Persian cavalry was seen, and some prisoners taken, from whom certain intelligence was ob- tained that the grand encampment lay at no great distance. Alexander now halted, and de- voted four days to the task of preparing for bat- tle, by giving some repose to his soldiers, and forming an intrenched camp in which to leave the invalids and baggage during the engagement. The army consisted of forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry; a mere handful of men compared to the numbers they were about to op- pose. But while their circumstances In a distant land invigorated resolution, the ability of their chief inspired confidence, and his conduct had not yet in the slightest degree impaired affection. It was now the early part of October, and nearly BERT tag Aetist oat tf PERRET Ente Ee Litres nein MHI HET IETRRESET nT ner nee tr PRE sts Steer ITS Tee Terns} set tupss ies Eye t tiers esses eat Ti Ted318 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, two years had elapsed since the victory at Issus. Soon after midnight, on the fifth day of the halt, the army left the camp, expecting to reach the enemy as the morning broke. But the distance was greater than had been supposed, and the sun was high above the horizon, when from a gentle elevation the Macedonians caught sight of the Persians, presenting apparently interminable lines of troops and ranges of tents. The two armies were still about four miles from each other; but the voices and noises of the many nations in the opposite host were distinctly wafted in a general murmur through the distance by the autumnal breeze. Alexander deferred the contest, yielding to the advice of Parmenio, and explored as far as possible the intervening space, in order to ascer- tain if any concealed trenches and pits had been constructed. But he rejected the proposal of the general to attack by night, refusing to steal a victory, as he expressed it, and resolved to con- quer without guile. The action of the next day witnessed his most sanguine expectations of success amply realized. Particular details concerning it are somewhat voluminously given by the ancient writers, bué they are of little interest to the general reader The immense disproportion between the two armies proved no disadvantage to the less numer-IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. 319 yus, better disciplined, and more united body, though the victory was not gained without a severe struggle. It was mainly achieved by the phalanx, the companion cavalry, and the extraor- dinary vigor of the commander. Many divis- ions of the Persian host behaved with courage, and the mounted Asiatics made a strong resist- ance. But Darius seems to have acted without heart or hope, being the first to turn and fly, according to Arrian, and his flight was the signal for a general rout. The fugitives directed their course to the Zab, hotly pursued by the foe; and the bridge being speedily blocked up with num- bers, more perished in attempts to ford the river than fell by the sword of the victors. Alexander reached the stream the same evening, where he rested till midnight, and was early the day fol- lowing at Arbela, after which the battle received its name, as the nearest important place to the scene of action, though from forty to fifty miles distant. It was his earnest wish to capture the Persian monarch, but he was disappointed in this object. Darius had fled across the mountains 1n the direction of Ecbatana, escorted by a detach- ment of Bactrian cavalry, but the whole of his treasure and equipage fell into the hands of the conqueror. No local memorial exists at pres- ent of this important contest, unless a_ place MGT e us nTn tetera Batteteleastisitegabicestiebesten SHES Eiees peaibers neha reese ti320 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. called Beit Germa, or the house of bones, refers 10 it. The battle of Arbela marks an epoch in the history of Western Asia. It extinguished a dynasty, terminating the monarchy of the Medo- Persians. Though Darius was still alive, he was completely powerless, and practically dethroned ; for the fairest portion of his empire had either been wrested from him, or lay open for the in- vader to take possession of it. for the first time, also, European influence was established over a large section of the oriental world, and the door of knowledge respecting the countnes of the further east was unlocked to the nations west of the Hellespont. The same event forms an era in the life of Alexander, when his character began rapidly to deteriorate, and his conduct reflected the melancholy change. The accomplishment of early and long-cherished dreams of glory had a withering effect upon the better qualities of his nature. Generous forbearance suffered largely from the pride of success, while concern for the feelings and circumstances of those around him, the foundation of strong personal attachment, materially abated. On becoming great and powerful, he became capricious, tyrannical, and sruel ; his passions freely ; and was hurried by parox- abandoned self-control; gave the rein toIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. 39] OL ysms of temper into crimes which brought re- morse to his own mind in calmer moods, alienated friendship, and remain as blots upon his career, Led by policy and vanity to assume the state of an Asiatic sovereign, he copied the excesses and despotism of Eastern royalty. While adopting its public appearances, he contracted habits of gross dissipation. This change, like all other in- stances of moral declension, was not a sudden, but a gradual process, nor did his character become thoroughly corrupt; for even to the very last Alexander preserved traces of the moderation, self-denial, sense of justice, and elevation of senti- ment, which distinguished the commencement of his extraordinary life. From the scene of the decisive conflict, the vic- torious army marched southward to take posses- sion of its more important fruits, the wealthy capitals in the basin of the Euphrates and Tigris. The the approaching conqueror, and a long procession L gates of Babylon were thrown open to receive of the principal inhabitants advanced to oreet him with presents. They had never been well affected toward the Persians, who treated them as a subject people, and had maintained an oppressive government. Hence Babylonia, like Egypt, was prepared for a change of masters, -and the new ruler was welcomed in the city with . 4 OF L bm 1; PERLE Teetest tatrte trace 12 i 4 RS paT Hitter eet al ea Ps oH pyri spat reese crrrevere De stieae nea Pega ese MeT a Pett fobgteee TooeeeeM TT eT Tee eT ett eh mths pasts 3) sav peleea (estate teSh cin ts Baad sede sesSa22 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. streets strewed with flowers and smoking with ‘neense. Alexander contemplated reviving the ancient importance of the “ glory of kingdoms” by making it the capital of his empire, but was arrested by the hand of f death when commencing the project. Susa, a favorite seat of royalty, sub- mitted as a matter of necessity, and placed its treasures at his disposal. Some monuments be- ing found within its walls, which had been carried off as trophies from Greece, he ordered the brazen statues to be sent back to Athens, where they re- appeared upon their pedestals. Persia Proper, corresponding to the modern province of Fars, was next entered. The route, which was afterward followed by Tamerlane, jay along the valley of Ram HPermnuz, and through the difficult mountain pass of Kelat Suffeed, the “White Castle.” As the original seat of the Persian race, from which they emerged to be- come a conquering people, and regarded as a kind of sacred center to the empire, the inhabitants anticipated a wrathful visitation from Alexander, in revenge for the injuries which successive SOV- ereigns had inflicted upon Greece. They assem- bled, therefore, under the satrap to defend their but overcoming opposition, the invader passes } forced his way to Persepolis, where their antici- pations were verified. This city was viewed as.a Peeper iets 3 eit wi si48t BIER Eear TTA one tent eon RT rert ten rent ie SERS IPER ET Trey PUREE ESE bd = _ A wR ° my é = bd TR ei GB] 3 nm — se Pgs thadtetel piss res stedalssest labeseoes srery sibessts CYTS PTE TSE SREY Lhe Bie ee Mil ee W I y a YE) PH ALA AW hea] FS lina iy | Me SY I i+h sits iy ni iu * iat Hi it it i aIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. 325 the head or metropolis of the entire monarchy, even after the seat of government had been re- moved to Susa and Ecbatana. It was the place where the kings occasionally appeared in their greatest splendor, entertaining the grandees of the court on solemn festivals, as when ‘“ Ahasuerus made a feast unto all his princes and his ser- vants ;—when he“showed the riches of his glori- ous kingdom, and the honor of his excellent majesty, many days.” It was not only their grandest residence in life, but their home in death. The bodies of deceased monarchs were interred in the neighborhood; their robes and personal effects were preserved in sepulchral treasuries; and the chief members of their house- holds were expected to reside near their tombs. Thus representing the might and majesty of the empire, the overthrow of Persepolis was caleu- lated to be a visible token to the people that its power was no more, and that the star of a new dynasty had risen upon the nations of the Easi. Alexander, therefore, allowed his soldiers to plun- ler the city, while, after a triumphal feast in the royal palace, he consigned it with his own hand to the flames. If this outrage was committed, according to a common relation, in a moment of intoxication, it can scarcely be doubted that it was an act with which his mind had become familiar, Orttititti rasta ry : : Titer Rennie HIRT MiG RT Mere itt tt ToT trees STEHT Resi res LTE tie bh Sra Sreetts erste tyS20 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. viewing it as a measure of retributive justice for the sack of Athens by Xerxes. Monuments of the Persepolitan palace, composed of enormous blocks of marble, covered with enigmatical in- scriptions and symbolic figures, solitary in their situation and peculiar in their character, mark its site and proclaim its magnificence, rising above the deluge of years which has swept away almost every trace of Susa, Ecbatana, and Babylon. The reported movements of Darius drew Alex- ander from the south in the early part of the year 330. The unhappy sovereign had lingered at Ecbatana, the capital of Media, a residence of the royal race, whither he had fled for refuge. He still retained the name of king, had collected some faithful troops, was independent, but inse- eure. It is very improbable that he calculated upon again being able to raise an army for another battle. But the possibility of personal daring exposing his rival to some fatal mischance might be reckoned on, with the feasibleness of regaining his position, if prepared with a force to act in such an emergency. Should no such event occur, he must have expected speedy pursuit; in which case, his plan seems to have been to retire to one of the north-eastern provinces on the Oxus, securing his passage by a sufficient body-guard, and trusting for future safety to the remotenessIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETO. 327 of the region. Alexander, by rapid marches, entered Media in twelve days. Darius fled from the capital on hearing of his approach, and left the summer palace of his race to be oceupied by a new master. Following the course of the fugi- uve, Alexander pressed on to the ancient Rhage, in the neighborhood of the present Teheran, trav- elimg with such rapidity that horses and men were completely overcome with fatigue. After a halt of five days, he crossed the Elburz moun- one of the defiles leading through the range to that tains by the pass of the Caspian gates sea—and soon afterward learned that Darius had been arrested by the satraps who attended him, and was a prisoner in their hands. Bessus, the powerful satrap of Bactria, a dis- trict corresponding with the modern Bokhara, rom was the principal actor in the treacherous move- ment against the unfortunate monarch. The ob- ject of the confederates was to secure their own independence, either by his murder, or by deliver- ing him up to bis pursuer, as circumstances and interest might direct. Tidings of such intentions Cc increased the eagerness of Alexander to overtake the party, and rescue one of a line of kings from traitorous subjects and injurious treatment. He redoubled his exertions for successive days, placed himself at the head of a body of picked men ety TEST TREE CER ors eee ee ket reo328 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. capable of vigorous effort, and at last came up with the retreating band. His presence threw the conspirators into consternation. They wished their captive to leave the vehicle in which he was confined, mount on horseback, and fly with them. Upon his refusal, preferring to trust himself to an open enemy than accompany treacherous friends, a mortal blow was inflicted, and Alexander reached the chariot to find its occupant a corpse. “This,” says Arrian, “was the end of Darius, who, as a warrior, was singularly remiss and in- judicious. In other respects his character jis blameless; either because he was just by nature, or because he had no opportunity of displaying the contrary, as his accession and the Macedonian Invasion were simultaneous. It was not in his power, therefore, to oppress his subjects, as his danger was greater than theirs. His reign was one unbroken series of disasters. First occurred the defeat of his satraps in the eavalry engage- ment on the Granicus; then the loss of Atolia, Ionia, both Phrygias, Lydia, Caria, and the whole maritime coast as far as Cilicia; then his own defeat at Issus, followed by the capture of his mother, wife, and children, and by the loss of Pheenicia and all Egypt. At Arbela he was the first to commence a disgraceful flight, where he Jost an innumerable army, composed of barbari-APCs LN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. ee, thy ) ans of almost every race. henceforth he wan- dered from place to place asa fugitive in his own empire, until h e was at last miserably betraved by his own retinue, and loaded, king of kings as he was, with ignominy and chains. Finally, he ? © was treacherously assassinated by his friends, Such was the misfortune of Darius while living. After his death, he was buried with royal honors, his children were brought up and educated in the same manner as if their father had been still king, and the conqueror married his daughter. At his death he was about fiftv years old.” Having been army, Alexande rejoined by the main body of his ar had to dismiss his Greek aux- iliaries, whose term of service had expired. They 3 ¢ tee] E: ee naturally wishe l to return to their western homes, and were discharged with suitable rewards. Even some of the Ma and exploring eS appeal being m cedonlans seemed to have thought it high time to discontinue making forced marches strange countries. But upon an cule to their loyalty, they pledged v themselves to follow their king wherever he might lead them, and some of the Greek confederates were induced to remain. ‘The effective force of the army was, sand foot and t however, reduced to twenty thou- hree thousand horse. From this period, through the next four years, Alexander acted the part of a knight-errant seeking adven- ep riait peneecr renee TT PIT ent TBH esr ee TEE Rea Eater Peer penne Etat tet Tiptiris soos peeeerr iets areas eer ees apes bet set or)rr ete. 330 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. tures, far more than that of a general with a definite object in view. He traversed countries inhabited by bold and daring tribes, difficult by nature, seldom explored by travelers, and little known to geographers, some of which have never since been visited by an European force. Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana, and other distrcts, at present comprehended under the names of Khorasan, Bokhara, Turkestan, and Afghanistan, were over- run or entered; for, though conquest was spoken of, the inhabitants were simply overmatched whenever they ventured upon a struggle, and resumed their independent habits as soon as the invaders departed. “ Macedonia’s madman” is a title as truly applicable to Alexander through the whole of this part of his career, as when he fired the Persepolitan palace, or, intoxicated with wine, slew his friend Cleitus. It would be un- profitable to detail minutely his operations in regions quite unknown to the majority of read- ers, and many of the localities named in his campaigns have never been identified. A gen- eral idea of the movements of the army, with some leading incidents, is all that need be at- tempted. The remainder of the year, after che death of Darius, was chiefly spent in the countries border- ing the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, andIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. Bel m the northern parts of modern Khorassan, passing easterly within the limits of the present Afghan territory. Here a plain of extraordinary fertility by the side of a river was selected for the site of a colony, to be called Alexandria Ariorum. The city survives under the name of Herat, a place of commercial importance, conspicuously connected with the causes of the recent interference of the Brittish in Afghanistan. In this neighbor- hood an incident occurred which throws a dark shadow upon the character of Alexander. Phi- lotas, the son of his old and faithful general Par- menio, being arrested on a charge of treasonable conspiracy, was brought to trial before a number ¢ of his comrades, found guilty, and put to death ~ bv the spears of the jurors, The evidence was or ot a very questionable nature, chiefly founded up- on his own statements while under torture. But he had exasperated the king, who appeared against him as prosecutor, and seems to have been sacri- ficed quite as much to private resentment as to pubhe justice. Parmenio, the father, was at the time absent in Media, where he had been left with a strong detachment of the army. But he, too, was condemned, as implicated in the same charge; and without being heard, a messenger was at once dispatched, with an order command- ing a subordinate officer to dispatch the veteran. BPRS Heest sini reer rae eiel Seg ereTE IN Tea at PH EPSP Eat tae Tae beau ater ate Saree Sb atpesire ra tte pisiriry rarerS332 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. This was a mode adopted by the Persian kings in capital proceedings, as also by the Turkish sultans in modern times. The death-warrant of an individual was signed, and intrusted to a par- ticular person for execution, the time, place, and manner being left to his discretion. Mounted on a swift dromedary, the messenger crossed the Great Salt Desert of central Persia, and reached Ecbatana in eleven days. ‘The warrant was obey- ed by the officer to whom it was addressed; and Parmenio fell beneath his sword, while reading a letter which had been forged in his son’s name for the purpose of throwing him off his guard. The general was seventy years of age, almost the whole of which period had been spent in the ser- vice of the royal family of Macedon. Nothing is more improbable than that, after a long term of devoted loyality, he should have given the shght- est countenance to any plot against the life of his sovereign. All the known facts of the case tend to the inference that the son had been unfairly dealt with, and that the father was murdered from an apprehension of his just resentment. The barbarous iniquity of the transaction needs no comment. After a winter spent im Afghanistan, the army proceeded northward into ancient Bactria, in the spring of B. C. 3°9, crossing the lofty range ofrts Sekar, IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. mountains which divides the districts, and sepa- rates the waters flowing southward to the Indian Ocean from those which descend to the lakes of central Asia. This range, the Paropamisus of the ancients, and the Hindoo Koosh of the mod- erns, has peaks rising to the height of eighteen thousand feet above the sea, covered with ever- during snow. It appears to have been crossed not far from the present Cabul, probably by the route which Burnes followed from that city in 1831, and thus describes :—‘* We commenced the ascent from the pass of Hajeeguk, which was about a thousand feet above us, and twelve thou- sand four hundred feet from the sea. We took ur departure early in the morning of the 22d of May. The frozen snow bore our horses, and we reached the summit before the sun’s influence had softened it. The thermometer fell four degrees below the freezing point; the cold was very op- pressive, though we were clad in skins with the fur inside. I often blessed the good nawab of Cabul, who had forced a pelisse of otter skin up- on me that proved most useful. The passage was not achieved without adventure, for there was no road to guide us through the snow; and the sur- veyor, Mohammed Ali, along with his horse, went rolling down a declivity one after the other, for about thirty yards. This exhibition in front served ae J Sete Be tietes) este iret Se Ee Bre tty iris atete Dias rareeay rotate bese resa Tete Peri n Pneer oeeer eer at tet retest tt ithes Toes 6S EIS 3So4 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. to guide the rear to a better path. We were now about to commence the ascent of the pass of Kaloo, which is still a thousand feet higher than that of Hajeeguk; but our progress was again arrested by snow. We doubled it by passing round its shoulder, and took a side path through a valley, watered by a tributary of the Oxus, which led us to Bameean.” Alexander’s troops suffered severely from cold, snow, and fatigue on the journey; but still, in the simple language of Arrian, “he moved forward not a bit the less; with difficulty, indeed, through deep snow, and without provisions; but still he moved on.” No mention is made by his historian of Bameean, an immense city in the heart of the mountains, con- sisting of an apparently endless series of caves, excavated in the rocks on both sides of a valley, with two gigantic idols, a male and a female fig- ure, cut in alto-relievo on the face of a hill. Both the caves and images are mentioned by the his- torian of Tamerlane, and were probably construct- ed in the interval. The object of the expedition was to subdue Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, and the leading conspirator against Darius, who had assumed the royal name, and placed the tiara erect upon his liead—the symbol of sovereignty. The traitor fled in terror before his assailant, but so com-IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. 300 pletely laid waste the country, that on leaving the. mountains, Alexander found himself in a wilder- ness, instead of a land of plenty. He rapidly pursued the fugitive to the Oxus of the Greek writers, called the Jihoon by the older Asiatics, and the Amoo by the present inhabitants of its banks. This is the largest of the interior rivers of Asia, and the loftiest in its source of any known stream, descending from the high table-land of Chinese Tartary, and flowing through the desert of Turkestan to the Sea of Aral. Arrian speaks of it as entering the Caspian, from which an act- ual change of course since his time has been sur- mised, and travelers have anxiously looked out for the dry river bed. But the historian doubtless committed a geographical error. In other respects the notices of the stream agree with its present aspect. It was about six stadia in breadth at the point where Alexander reached it. The season would be the early summer, when the snow was melting in the mountains, and the river tolerably full. The current was rapid, and the water deep. Burnes, who saw it for the first time in June, and who was in the line of the conqueror’s route, de- scribes it as rolling in solitary grandeur, about eight hundred yards wide and twenty feet deep, the flow swift, and the water loaded with the soil of the highlands. The Macedonians lighted fires om naiiterrtrece nT MHI ab Sire eet eee ean sre g oad t seprae anata cssteaestye habeas336 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 4 © on some elevated ground, that the distressed in the rear might perceive they were not far from their comrades; and sand _ hillocks are still com- mon along its course, with outer banks, which limit the influence of the inundations. No boats or rafts being procurable, nor materials for con- structing them, the soldiers passed over by means of floats made of tent-skins stuffed with dry grass and revds. The hazardous operation was safely performed in five days. Burnes made the pas- sage in a singular manner, now common, but quite peculiar to the country. A pair of horses swam across, drawing a boat after them, to which they were yoked by a rope fixed to the hair of the mane. The description of the population of the river in remote ages—‘“ They excercised rob- bery and lived by spoil”—correctly pictures the present habits of the nomadic Turkoman tribes. Soon after passing the river, Bessus was be- trayed into the hands of his pursner, who ordered him to be scourged, mutilated, and sent into Per sia to be put to death by the relatives of Darius. The traitor deserved punishment, but Alexande: acted with disgraceful barbarity, which his own historian justly condemns. He had plainly im- bibed the spirit of oriental despotism, and his future conduct affords little to distinguish him from the ruthless warriors who have been theRIN IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. VO | scourge of Asia. The army marched next to Maracanda, a place which has preserved the greater part of its ancient name in that of Sam- arcand, the seat of the government of Tamerlane, Leaving here a garrison, the untiring commander pushed on to the Jaxartes, the river Sihoon, or Sir, of modern geography. He had now reached the north-eastern limit of the great empire of fren) Cyrus, having traversed a region to’ which that conqueror had penetrated, but which had never been held by his successors except in the loosest kind of subjection. His position bordered on the western frontier of the present Chinese Empire; and to commemorate the advance a site was se- lected for a city, to be called Alexandria Eschata, or, “Extreme.” Probably Khojend, on the bank ot the Jaxartes, may be the place in question. At this point danger threatened the army, and disaster befell it. An insurrection spreading through the country in the rear, a strong detach- ment was sent to secure Maracanda, while the inain body repressed hostility in its neighbor: hood with merciless ferocity. At the same time barbarian races appeared on the opposite side of the river—wild horsemen—-whose menacing atti- tude apparently challenged an assault. Accept- ing the defiance, the troops passed the stream, and inflicted chastisement upon the fierce Scyth- 22 FRETS TERRE merece oN SSeS ta prea ni Sai? SAT Te praranisttesa nen Train PRET TTEeaESRET TT an reea rena te HN TERE ba teersrisripeeas tata} SIMS 3338 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. jans, as they are called, the nomades of the Tar- tarian steppes. But they returned to hear of the almost total destruction of the detachment, nearly five thousand strong, sent to repress the revolt at adistance. Unskillful leaders suffered themselves to be decoyed to a remote and unfavorable posi- tion, where the soldiers were surrounded by the tribes of the desert, and nearly all of them perish- ed. By an,extraordinary march of four days, Alexander gained the scene of the first and great- est disaster that ever befell his arms; it was on the banks of the Polytimetus, or “highly valua- ble,” perhaps a translation of the native name into Greek. The river is identical with the one on which the modern city of Bokhara is seated. Arrian describes it as terminating in the sands, and though the Bokhara River empties itself into a lake, yet through a great portion of the year the supply of water is too scanty to force the passage, and the sands of the desert absorb it. With shocking injustice and cruelty, Alexander revenged the loss of lis soldiers, ravaging the valley of the river in its whole length and breadth, and indiscriminately venting his wrath upor. the. peaceful as well as the hostile inhabit- ants. The army remained over the year B. C328 in the countries of the Oxus and Jaxartes, dealingIN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. Oo with a rude but high-spirited population, march- ing and counter-marching to check hostile out- breaks, and reduce secluded strongholds. The death of Cleitus, and the assault of the Sogdian rock, are the main events. The fate of Cleitus is intimately connected with the conduct of his master in making his outward state correspond to that of the Persian kings. He wore the tiara erect, adopted the Median dress, assumed the most distinctive ornaments of royal attire, and exacted on great occasions, not only from the Asiaties, but from the Greeks and Macedonians, the homage of personal prostration. The formality observed in approaching the royal presence, though not exactly the kotow of the Chinese, was an attitude too servile for independ- ent minds to brook. A Spartan is said to have gone through the process by dropping a ring, and stooping to pick it up. It has been said that aD Alexander was personally indifferent to the cere- mony, and acted simply from policy, deeming it necessary to secure respect for his authority with oriental subjects. But it is more probable that views of policy were advanced more as an excuse than a motive, and that he was really influenced by self-elation—the effect of unparalleled successes upon an aspiring temper. As a foreign custom, the exaction was offensive to the Greeks, and eR Fay fanEcreEReSeeT Tat ranr ies en TENET Er pabstrirn ener treeeteae ete ce Cent tena STEETTT EATER EST fitssratrerisstst i etisaii! Peres TEST ETS340 LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. doubly so as a piece of Asiatic etiquette ; for the observance of it would not only place them upon a level with the conquered people, but involve a still more humbling consideration. Callisthenes is represented as urging this objection with force : “T call upon you, O Alexander, to remember Greece; and that the whole object of your expe- dition was its welfare; to subject Asia to Greece, not Greece to Asia.” He argued likewise against the prostration, on the ground that it exceeded the reverence due to any mortal: “ Alexander, in my opinion, 1s worthy of every honor which, without’ exceeding due bounds, can be paid to a man; but a strong line of distinction has been drawn between divine and human honors. It is unbecoming, therefore, to confound these distine- tions; to swell men by excessive honors beyond their fair proportion, and thus, as far as depends upon us, by granting equal honors to men, de- oerade the gods to an unseemly humiliation.” There were not wanting sycophants to assert, that Alexander was more than mortal; that his deeds had far surpassed those of Hercules and Bacchus, who were worshiped; and that his divinity had been admitted at the shrine of Ammon. But the feeling of opposition was so strong that the king was compelled to leave the ceremony optional. Still the mooting of the guestion gave dissatisfac-IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSTA, ETC. 341 tion to some of his trustiest followers, and origin- ated heart-burnings in the camp. Among those who opposed Alexander's par- tiality to oriental usages, Cleitus was one of the most vehement. He had been the companion of his youth, the preserver of his life at the Granieus, had risen to become one of his principal generals, and perhaps grafted upon his services the habit of taking greater liberties than position or pru- dence warranted. It happened at a banquet, when both were present, that courtly tongues be- gan to expatiate upon the exploits of the king, and to minister to his vanity by extravagant praises. Flattery of this kind was always accept- able to him, but Cleitus interposed to check it, as tending to favor the introduction of the hated ceremony. He spoke of armies being often un- justly treated in the case of victories, the eredit being given to the general, and none reserved for the soldiers. But opposition only roused the flat- terers to more excessive adulation. They began to draw a parallel between Philip and Alexander, disparaging the merits of the father in order to extol those of the son. Cleitus, on his part, de- fended Philip, under whom he had served, and drew an equally disparaging picture of the actions of Alexander, till, waxing warm in the alterca- tion, and being heated with wine, he became oY oO Gi Tree St Maes ese reaterneareaeeatrer areca roti PineteeT Tree EESTI entree rayDAS LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. rude and violent, repeatedly exclaiming, as he extended his right hand, “ This hand, O Alex- ander—this hand saved your life.” The king, equally inflamed with wine, and furious with pas- sion, attempted to rush upon him, but was held back by some of his attendants, while Cleitus was hurried out of the banquet chamber. But Alex- ander was not to be restrained. Seizing the spear of a sentinel, he hastened after the object of his wrath, who, quite as frantic as himself, was re- turning to the room, having broke away from his guards. A single thrust of the lance was fatal to. Cleitus, who fell dead upon the spot. Thus ended a drunken revel. The deed was scarcely done when bitter repentance seized the doer. For three days he kept his chamber, rejected his customary food, and execrated himself for having slain the brother of his nurse. But in vain was his remorse to restore the life of a faithful though erring follower, or remove the stain from his own character which such an act necessarily fixes upon it. The Sogdian rock, or, as it was emphatically called, “The Rock,” from its remarkable difficulty of access, was one of those hill-forts in the country bevond the Oxus which are common in India and various parts of Asia. It was completely in- sulated, and so precipitous on all sides as to beMANY Bis at 2) IN MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA, ETC. deemed perfectly incapable of ascent, except by a single narrow path, which a few defenders might hold. On a broad platform at a considerable height there was a fortress, with a garrison, in which Oxyartes, an unsubdued chief, had placed his wife and family. An insulated hill near the pass of Derbend, often mentioned in the history of Tamerlane’s expeditions, is probably the precise spot. Alexander determined upon the capture of this stronghold, but almost despaired of success upon seeing it, When summoned to surrender, the defenders returned the taunting question, “Have the Macedonians wings?” bette sot Sasa =