Syria, had been severely condemned by the Athenian exile Charide'mus, and Dari'us, so far from feeling grateful to his monitor, ordered him to be put to death. 21. But his avenger was at hand; Alexander no sooner heard of the advance of Dari'us, than he retraced his steps, and nothing daunted by the overwhelming superiority of the Persians, boldly prepared for action. 22. The army of Dari'us was drawn up at the base of a mountainchain skirted by the little river Pin'arus; the wings were composed of native Persians, but the centre was formed of Greek mercenaries, men not inferior to the Macedonians in valour or discipline. 23. The battle commenced by Alexander leading his right wing across the stream and charging the Persians on the opposite bank; they fell back on the body-guard of the Persian king, called the Immortals, and the fight was renewed with fresh vigour; at length these two were broken, and the triumph of the right wing was complete. 24. But the left and centre were not equally fortunate. The Greek mercenaries broke through the serried lines of the phalanx, and the Persian cavalry, not waiting to be attacked, had crossed the river and fallen on the Thessalian horse. Alexander with his victorious band fell on the flank of the Greek mercenaries, at the very moment when their success was all but certain, and soon threw their lines into confusion; at the same time, the infantry on the left pressing forward, defeated the opposing Persians, and the cowardice of Dari'us completed the rout. 25. He fled from the field with so much rapidity, that his chariot, bow, and royal mantle, fell into the hands of the victors, and his army, as is usual with Asiatics, imitated his example. Even the cavalry, though partially successful, turned their horses when they heard of their prince's flight, and hurrying through the crowded defiles, trampled down their unfortunate comrades. 26. Ten thousand Persian horse, and one hundred thousand foot, are said to have fallen in this fatal field; and when we consider the difficulties that impeded their flight, the number can scarcely appear an exaggeration. The Persian camp, with all its enormous wealth, was the immediate result of this victory. Among the captives were the mother, queen, and daughters, of Dari'us, whom Alexander treated with the greatest 1kindness and generosity. 27. The greater part of Syr'ia and Phoeni"cia submitted to Alexander after his victory at Issus, and immense treasures were either betrayed by their guide, or captured by the Thessalian cavalry. 28. The Tyr'ians sent ambassadors, offering submission; but when Alexander demanded that they should admit him into the city, under pretence of offering sacrifices to Melcartor the Tyr'ian Hercules, (supposed to be the Moloch of Scripture,) the citizens, justly suspicious of his designs, returned an absolute refusal, and relying on the security of their situation, set him at defiance. Prepa 1 The generosity of Alexander to the royal prisoners is one of the most honourable traits in his character. Having heard their lamentations on receiving a false account of the death of Darius, he immediately sent Leona'tus, one of his principal officers, to undeceive them; and next day he himself paid them a visit, when he did every thing in his power to comfort and solace them. On his entering their apartment with Hephæstion, his favourite friend, Sisygambis fell at the feet of the latter, mistaking him for the king: some of the attendants, however, having by signs pointed out her error, she, greatly confused, hastened to pay her respects to Alexander. Taking her by the hand, and raising her up, he kindly endeavoured to soothe her agitation, by saying, “Do not be uneasy, mother; you were not in the wrong, for he too is an Alexander." He told them, that no part of their former state should be withheld from them; but that they should enjoy every convenience and accommodation, as in the court of Darius. Observing the infant son of Darius standing by his mother, he took him in his arms. The child, without discovering the least sign of terror, stretched out his arms to the conqueror, who being affected with its confidence, said to Hephæs'tion who attended him, "Oh! that Darius had some share, some portion of this infant's generosity." That he might prevent every suspicion of design on the chastity of Darius's consort, and at the same time remove every cause of fear or anxiety from her mind, he resolved never to visit her tent more, although she was one of the most beautiful women of her time. This moderation, so becoming in a royal conqueror, gave occasion to that noted observation of Plutarch, "That the princesses of Persia lived in an enemy's camp, as if they had been in some sacred temple, unseen, unapproached, and unmolested." rations were immediately made to besiege the town, and Alexander had now to undertake a task far more difficult than any in which he had been hitherto engaged. Questions. 1. What favourable opportunity of checking the Macedonian invasion did the Persians neglect? 2. Where did Alexander land? 3. Where did the Persians begin to concentrate their forces ? 4. Did they agree in their councils? 5. How did Alexander resolve to act when he learned the position of the Persian army? 6. In what manner did the battle of the Granicus commence ? 7. For what was this battle remarkable? 8. Did Alexander expose himself to any personal danger? 9. How was the fate of the day decided? 10. How did Alexander honour the soldiers that fell? 11. What were the consequences of the battle of Granicus? 12. To whom did Darius entrust the command of his forces? 13. How did Alexander spend his first winter in Asia? 14 For what was Gordium remarkable? 15. What stories are related of Alexander and the Gordian knot? 16. How was the second campaign in Asia opened? 17. What danger did Alexander encounter from imprudent bathing? 18. Did he exhibit any remarkable instance of intrepidity during his illness? 19. Whose death at this time was a great loss to the Persians? 20. What imprudent measures did Darius take? 21. How did Alexander behave when he learned his rival's approach? 22. In what manner was the Persian army drawn out? 23. How did the battle begin.? 24. In what manner did Alexander behave in this fight? 26. What were the results of the victory at Issus ? 27. Did any provinces submit in consequence? 28. How did the Tyrians provoke Alexander ? 2 SECTION II. Conquest of Tyre, Egypt, and Central Asia. The spear-point pierces and the sabre cleaves, When the stripp'd forest bows to the bleak air BYRON. 1. Empo'rium, s. a seat of merchan- | 19. dize. Sanctuary, s. a place of peculiar sanctity. 2. Buttresses, s. the supports of a wall. 11. Dow'ry, s. marriage portion. 17. Oa'sis, s. a fertile spot in the deserts. 25. Mesopota'mia, s. now Diarbek, a country in Asia, between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Scy'thians, a fierce and warlike people in Europe and Asia, supposed to have been the ancestors of the Cossacks and Tartars. 1. THE Phoenicians were the first people who cultivated commerce; at an age when Greece was still possessed only by barbarous tribes of hunters and shepherds, the Phoenician mariners had visited all the coasts of the Mediterranean, and had even ventured into the Atlantic ocean. Sidon was at first their capital, but it was soon eclipsed by the rising greatness of Tyre, which even before the Trojan war, had become the great emporium of all commerce between Asia and Europe. In the emphatic lan. guage of the prophet Isaiah, she was "the crowning city, whose merchants were princes, and whose traffickers were the honourable of the earth." The shores of Africa, Sicily, and Spain, were colonized by Tyrian settlers, united to the parent state by a community of religious rites; for the temple of the Tyrian Hercules was to the Phoenicians what Delphi was to the Greeks, the great sanctuary of the nation. 2. Old Tyre stood on the seacoast, but having been taken by Nebuchadnezzar, it was deserted by the citizens, and a new town erected on an island separated from the shore by a narrow strait, about half a mile in breadth. As the island was small it was easily fortified, and for the same reason the population was greatly crowded-the walls were wide and lofty, their foundations secured by buttresses projecting into the sea, and on the battlements were numerous soldiers, supplied with every munition of war that wealth could purchase. 3. Such was the city which Alexander undertook to besiege, though he had not at the time a fleet to blockade its harbours, or protect his soldiers in their operations. 4. His first attempt was to run out a causeway from Old Tyre to the walls; but this was soon found to be a work of infinite toil; and when the mound had advanced a little, the Tyrian galleys attacked the workmen in flank, and committed fearful havoc. 5. Soon after the garrison sent out a fire-ship, and placed it beside the mound, while their vessels attacked the soldiers and workmen. The assault was successful, the Macedonians, blinded by the smoke, and confused by the attacks on their flanks, fell back in confusion, and in a few minutes the mole with all its engines was destroyed. 6. It now became manifest, that without the assistance of a fleet Tyre could never be taken, and Alexander was fortunate enough to be joined by the navies of Phoenicia and Cyprus at the critical moment. The Tyrian gallies were forced to take refuge in their harbours, a new and wider mole was commenced, which the workmen, now protected by their fleet, pushed on with great vigour, and detachments sent out in rafts attacked the city walls in every quarter, where there seemed any possibility of effecting a breach. 7. On the other hand the Tyrians made incredible efforts to protract their defence; they caught some of the besiegers with grappling irons, and dragged them within the walls; others |