men's suits of clothes, and the same number for women; two couple of oxen to plough their lands, and corn to sow them. He commanded the governor of the province not to suffer them to be molested in any manner, and ordered that they should be free from taxes and tributes of every kind. Such behaviour as this was truly royal. It was, indeed, impossible for Alexander to restore them the limbs, of which the Persians had so cruelly deprived them: but then he restored them to liberty, tranquillity, and abundance. Thrice happy those princes, who are affected with the pleasure which arises from the doing of good actions, and who melt with pity for the unfortunate!

Alexander, having called together, the next day, the generals of his army, represented to them, "That no city in "the world had ever been more fatal to the Greeks than “Persepolis, the ancient residence of the Persian monarchs, "and the capital of their empire. That it was from thence "all those mighty armies poured, which had overflowed "Greece; and whence Darius first, and afterwards Xerxes, "had carried the fire-brand of the most accursed war, "which had laid waste all Europe; and therefore that it was "incumbent on them to revenge the manes of their ances"tors." It was already abandoned by the Persians, who all fled as fear directed them. Alexander entered it with his phalanx, when the victorious soldiers soon met with riches sufficient to satiate their avarice, and immediately cut to pieces all those who still remained in the city. However, the king soon put an end to the massacre, and published an order, by which his, soldiers were forbidden to violate the chastity of the women. Alexander had before possessed himself, either by force or capitulation, of a great number of incredibly rich cities; but all this was a trifle compared with the treasures he found here. The Barbarians had laid up at Persepolis, as in a store-house, all the wealth of Persia. Gold and silver were never seen here but in heaps, not to mention the clothes and furniture of inestimable value; for this was the seat of luxury. There were found in the treasury 120,000 talents, a which were designed to defray the expense of the war. To this prodigious sum he added 6000 talents, taken from Pasargada. This was a city which Cyrus had built, wherein the kings of Persia used to be crowned.

During Alexander's stay in Persepolis, a little before he set out upon his march against Darius, he entertained his friends at a banquet, at which the guests drank to excess. Among the women who were admitted to it was Thaïs the courtesan, a native of Attica, and at that time mistress to Ptolemy, a About 18,000,000 sterling.

About 900,000

་་

who afterwards was king of Egypt. About the end of the feast, during which she had studiously endeavoured to praise the king in the most artful and delicate manner, (a stratagem too often practised by women of that character), she said, with a gay tone of voice," That it would be matter of inexpressible joy to her, were she permitted (in order to "end this festival nobly) to burn the magnificent palace of "Xerxes, who had burned Athens; and to set it on fire "with her own hand, in order that it might be said in all parts of the world, that the women, who had followed "Alexander in his expedition to Asia, had taken much bet"ter vengeance of the Persians, for the many calamities "they had brought upon the Grecians, than all the generals "who had fought for them both by sea and land." All the guests applauded the discourse; when immediately the king rose from table, (his head being crowned with flowers), and, taking a torch in his hand, he advanced forward to execute this mighty exploit. The whole company follow him, breaking into loud acclamations, and afterwards, singing and dancing, they surround the palace. All the rest of the Macedonians, at this noise, ran in crowds, with lighted torches, and set fire to every part of it. However, Alexander was sorry, not long after, for what he had done; and thereupon gave orders for extinguishing the fire, but it was too late.

As he was naturally very bountiful, his great successes inGreased this beneficent disposition; and he accompanied the presents he made with such testimonies of humanity and kindness, and so obliging a demeanor, as very much enhanced their value. He exerted this temper in a particular manner towards 50 Macedonian young noblemen, who served under him as guards. Olympias, his mother, thinking him too profuse, wrote to him as follows: "I do not blame you (said she) for being beneficent towards your friends, for “that is acting like a king; but then a medium ought to be "observed in your magnificence. You equal them all with kings; and, by heaping riches on them, you give them an opportunity of making a great number of friends, of all whom you deprive yourself.' As she often wrote the same advice to him, he always kept her letters very secret, and did not show them to any person; but, happening to open one of them, and beginning to read it, Hephaestion drew near to him, and read it over his shoulder, which the king observing, did not offer to hinder him; but, only taking the ring from his finger, he put the seal of it upon the lips of his favourite, as an admonition to him not to divulge what he had read.

་

He used to send magnificent presents to his mother: but then he would never let her have any concern in the affairs

of the government. She used frequently to make very severe complaints upon that account, but he always submitted to her ill humour with great mildness and patience. Antipater having one day written a long letter against her, the king, after reading it, replied, " Antipater does not know that one single tear shed by a mother will obliterate 10,000 such "letters as this." A behaviour like this, and such an answer, show, at one and the same time, that Alexander was both a kind son and an able politician; and that he was perfectly sensible how dangerous it would have been had he invested a woman of Olympias's character with the supreme authority.

Darius leaves Ecbatana.

cr

SECT. X.

His death. Alexander sends his corpse to Sysigambis.

• Alexander, after he had taken Persepolis and Pasargada, was resolved to pursue Darius, who was arrived by this time at Ecbatana, the capital of Media. There remained still with this fugitive prince 30,000 foot, among whom were 4000 Greeks, who were faithful to him to the last. Besides these he had 4000 slingers, and upwards of 3000 cavalry, most of them Bactrians, commanded by Bessus, governor of Bactriana. Darius marched his forces a little out of the common road, having ordered his baggage to go before; then, assembling his principal officers, he spoke to them as follows: "Dear companions, among so many thousand men "who composed my army, you only have not abandoned me during the whole course of my ill-fortune; and, in a little "time, nothing but your fidelity and constancy will be able "to make me fancy myself a king. Deserters and traitors now govern in my cities; not that they are thought wor"thy of the honour bestowed on them, but rewards are given them only in the view of tempting you, and to stagger your perseverance. You still have chosen to follow my "fortune rather than that of the conqueror, for which you certainly have merited a recompense from the gods; and "do not doubt but they will prove beneficent towards you, "in case that power is denied me. With such soldiers and "officers I would brave, without the least dread, the enemy, "how formidable soever he may be. What! would any "one have me surrender myself up to the mercy of the conqueror, and expect from him, as a reward of my baseness "and meanness of spirit, the government of some province "which he may condescend to leave me? No :-It never Plutarch in Alex. p.

a Diod. I. xvii. p. 540-546. Arrian. 1. iii. p. 133-137. 689 Q. Curt 1. v. 2. 8-14. Justin l. xi. c. 15.

shall be in the power of any man either to take away or fix upon my head the diadem I wear; the same hour shall put a period to my reign and life. If you have all the 46 same courage and resolution, which I can no ways doubt, ་་ I will engage that you shall retain your liberty, and not be 66 exposed to the pride and insults of the Macedonians. You "have in your hands the means either to revenge or terminate all your evils." Having ended this speech, the whole body of soldiers replied with shouts, that they wer ready to follow him whithersoever he should go, and would shed the last drop of their blood in his defence.

46

Such was the resolution of the soldiery; but Nabarzanes, one of the greatest lords of Persia, and general of the horse, had conspired with Bessus, general of the Bactrians, to commit the blackest of all crimes, and that was, to seize upon the person of the king, and lay him in chains: which they might easily do, as each of them had a great number of sol diers under his command. Their design was, if Alexander should pursue them, to secure themselves, by giving up Darius alive into his hands; and, in case they escaped, to murder that prince, and afterwards usurp his crown, and begin a new war. These traitors soon won over the troops, by representing to them, that they were going to their destruction; that they would soon be crushed under the ruins of an empire, which was just ready to fall; at the same time that Bactriana was open to them, and offered them immense riches. Though these intrigues were carried on very secretly, they came however to the ear of Darius, who could not believe them. Patron, who commanded the Greeks, intreated him, but in vain, to pitch his tent among them, and to trust the guard of his person to men on whose fidelity he might depend. Darius could not prevail with himself to put so great an affront upon the Persians, and therefore made this answer: "That it would be a less affliction to him to "be deceived by than to condemn them. That he would "suffer the worst of evils amidst those of his own nation, " rather than seek for security among strangers, how faith"ful and affectionate soever he might believe them and "that he could not but die too late, in case the Persian sol"diers thought him unworthy of life." It was not long before Darius experienced the truth of this information; for the traitors seized him, bound him in chains of gold, by way of honour, as he was a king, and then, laying him in a covered chariot, they set out towards Bactriana.

Alexander, being arrived at Ecbatana, was informed that Darius had left that city five days before. He then commanded Parmenio to lay up all the treasures of Persia in the castle of Ecbatana, under a strong guard which he left there.

According to a Strabo, these treasures amounted to 180,000 talents, (about 27,000,000 sterling ;) and, according to Justin, to 10 talents (about 150,000 pounds) more. He ordered him to march afterwards towards Hyrcania, by the country of the Cadusians, with the Thracians, the foreigners, and the rest of the cavalry, the royal companies excepted. He sent orders to Clitus, who stayed behind in Susa, where he fell sick, that, as soon as he was arrived at Ecbatana, he should take the forces which were left in that city, and come to him in Parthia.

Alexander, with the rest of his army, pursued Darius, and arrived the 11th day at Rhages, which is a long day's journey from the Caspian straits; but Darius had already passed through them. Alexander now despairing to overtake him, what despatch soever he might make, stayed there five days to rest his forces. He then marched against the Parthians, and that day pitched his camp near the Caspian straits, and passed them the next. News was soon brought him, that Darius had been seized by the traitors; that Bessus had caused him to be drawn in a chariot, and had sent the unhappy monarch before, in order to be the surer of his person; that the whole army obeyed that wretch, Artabazus and the Greeks excepted, who not having a soul base enough to consent to so abominable a deed, and being too weak to prevent it, had therefore left the high road, and marched towards the mountains.

This was a fresh motive for him to hasten his march. The Barbarians at his arrival were seized with dread, though the match would not have been equal, had Bessus been as resolute for fighting as for putting in execution the detestable act above mentioned: for his troops exceeded the enemy both in number and strength, and were all cool and ready for the combat; whereas, Alexander's troops were quite fatigued with the length of their march. But the name and reputation of Alexander (a motive all-powerful in war) filled them with such terror, that they all fled. Bessus and his accomplices, being come up with Darius, requested him to mount his horse, and fly from the enemy, but he replied, that the gods were ready to avenge the evils he had suffered; and, beseeching Alexander to do him justice, he refused to follow a band of traitors. At these words they fell into such a fury, that all threw their darts at him, and left him covered with wounds. After having perpetrated this horrid crime, they separated, in order to leave different footsteps of their flight, and thereby elude the pursuit of the enemy, in case he should follow them; or at least oblige him to divide b Just. 1. xii. c. 1.

a Strabo. 1. xv. p. 741.

This is the city mentioned in Tobit. i 7.