them by the mass of Bactrian cavalry from his main line, and an
obstinate cavalry fight now took place. The Bactrians and Scythians were
numerous, and were better armed than the horsemen under Menidas and
Ariston; and the loss at first was heaviest on the Macedonian side. But
still the European cavalry stood the charge of the Asiatics, and at
last, by their superior discipline, and by acting in squadrons that
supported each other,[52] instead of fighting in a confused mass like
the barbarians, the Macedonians broke their adversaries and drove them
off the field.
[Footnote 52: The best explanation of this may be found in Napoleon's
account of the cavalry fights between the French and the mamelukes: "Two
mamelukes were able to make head against three Frenchmen, because they
were better armed, better mounted, and better trained; they had two pair
of pistols, a blunderbuss, a carbine, a helmet with a visor, and a coat
of mail; they had several horses, and several attendants on foot. One
hundred cuirassiers, however, were not afraid of one hundred mamelukes;
three hundred could beat an equal number, and one thousand could easily
put to the rout fifteen hundred, so great is the influence of tactics,
order, and evolutions! Leclerc and Lasalle presented their men to the
mamelukes in several lines. When the Arabs were on the point of
overwhelming the first, the second came to its assistance on the right
and left; the mamelukes then halted and wheeled, in order to turn the
wings of this new line; this moment was always seized upon to charge
them, and they were uniformly broken."]
Darius now directed the scythe-armed chariots to be driven against
Alexander's horse-guards and the phalanx, and these formidable vehicles
were accordingly sent rattling across the plain, against the Macedonian
line. When we remember the alarm which the war chariots of the Britons
created among Cæsar's legions, we shall not be prone to deride this arm
of ancient warfare as always useless. The object of the chariots was to
create unsteadiness in the ranks against which they were driven, and
squadrons of cavalry followed close upon them to profit by such
disorder. But the Asiatic chariots were rendered ineffective at Arbela
by the light-armed troops, whom Alexander had specially appointed for
the service, and who, wounding the horses and drivers with their missile
weapons, and running alongside so as to cut the traces or seize the
reins, marred the intended charge; and the few chariots that reached the
phalanx passed harmlessly through the internals which the spearmen
opened for them, and were easily captured in the rear.
A mass of the Asiatic cavalry was now, for the second time, collected
against Alexander's extreme right, and moved round it, with the view of
gaining the flank of his army. At the critical moment, when their own
flanks were exposed by this evolution, Aretes dashed on the Persian
squadrons with his horsemen from Alexander's second line. While
Alexander thus met and baffled all the flanking attacks of the enemy
with troops brought up from his second line, he kept his own
horse-guards and the rest of the front line of his wing fresh, and ready
to take advantage of the first opportunity for striking a decisive blow.
This soon came. A large body of horse, who were posted on the Persian
left wing nearest to the centre, quitted their station, and rode off to
help their comrades in the cavalry fight that still was going on at the
extreme right of Alexander's wing against the detachments from his
second line. This made a huge gap in the Persian array, and into this
space Alexander instantly charged with his guard and all the cavalry of
his wing; and then, pressing toward his left, he soon began to make
havoc in the left flank of the Persian centre. The shield-bearing
infantry now charged also among the reeling masses of the Asiatics; and
five of the brigades of the phalanx, with the irresistible might of
their sarissas, bore down the Greek mercenaries of Darius, and dug their
way through the Persian centre.
In the early part of the battle Darius had showed skill and energy; and
he now, for some time, encouraged his men, by voice and example, to keep
firm. But the lances of Alexander's cavalry and the pikes of the phalanx
now pressed nearer and nearer to him. His charioteer was struck down by
a javelin at his side; and at last Darius' nerve failed him, and,
descending from his chariot, he mounted on a fleet horse and galloped
from the plain, regardless of the state of the battle in other parts of
the field, where matters were going on much more favorably for his
cause, and where his presence might have done much toward gaining a
victory.
Alexander's operations with his right and centre had exposed his left to
an immensely preponderating force of the enemy. Parmenio kept out of
action as long as possible; but Mazaeus, who commanded the Persian right
wing, advanced against him, completely outflanked him, and pressed him
severely with reiterated charges by superior numbers.
Seeing the distress of Parmenio's wing, Simmias, who commanded the sixth
brigade of the phalanx, which was next to the left wing, did not advance
with the other brigades in the great charge upon the Persian centre, but
kept back to cover Parmenio's troops on their right flank, as otherwise
they would have been completely surrounded and cut off from the rest of
the Macedonian army. By so doing, Simmias had unavoidably opened a gap
in the Macedonian left centre; and a large column of Indian and Persian
horse, from the Persian right centre, had galloped forward through this
interval, and right through the troops of the Macedonian second line.
Instead of then wheeling round upon Parmenio, or upon the rear of
Alexander's conquering wing, the Indian and Persian cavalry rode
straight on to the Macedonian camp, overpowered the Thracians who were
left in charge of it, and began to plunder. This was stopped by the
phalangite troops of the second line, who, after the enemy's horsemen
had rushed by them, faced about, countermarched upon the camp, killed
many of the Indians and Persians in the act of plundering, and forced
the rest to ride off again.
Just at this crisis, Alexander had been recalled from his pursuit of
Darius by tidings of the distress of Parmenio and of his inability to
bear up any longer against the hot attacks of Mazaeus. Taking his
horse-guards with him, Alexander rode toward the part of the field where
his left wing was fighting; but on his way thither he encountered the
Persian and Indian cavalry on their return from his camp.
These men now saw that their only chance of safety was to cut their way
through, and in one huge column they charged desperately upon the
Macedonian regiments. There was here a close hand-to-hand fight, which
lasted some time, and sixty of the royal horse-guards fell, and three
generals, who fought close to Alexander's side, were wounded. At length
the Macedonian discipline and valor again prevailed, and a large number
of the Persian and Indian horsemen were cut down, some few only
succeeding in breaking through and riding away.
Relieved of these obstinate enemies, Alexander again formed his
regiments of horse-guards, and led them toward Parmenio; but by this
time that general also was victorious. Probably the news of Darius'
flight had reached Mazæus, and had damped the ardor of the Persian right
wing, while the tidings of their comrades' success must have
proportionally encouraged the Macedonian forces under Parmenio. His
Thessalian cavalry particularly distinguished themselves by their
gallantry and persevering good conduct; and by the time that Alexander
had ridden up to Parmenio, the whole Persian army was in full flight
from the field.
It was of the deepest importance to Alexander to secure the person of
Darius, and he now urged on the pursuit. The river Lycus was between the
field of battle and the city of Arbela, whither the fugitives directed
their course, and the passage of this river was even more destructive to
the Persians than the swords and spears of the Macedonians had been in
the engagement.[53]
[Footnote 53: I purposely omit any statement of the loss in the battle.
There is a palpable error of the transcribers in the numbers which we
find in our present manuscripts of Arrian, and Curtius is of no
authority.]
The narrow bridge was soon choked up by the flying thousands who rushed
toward it, and vast numbers of the Persians threw themselves, or were
hurried by others, into the rapid stream, and perished in its waters.
Darius had crossed it, and had ridden on through Arbela without halting.
Alexander reached the city on the next day, and made himself master of
all Darius' treasure and stores; but the Persian King, unfortunately for
himself, had fled too fast for his conqueror, but had only escaped to
perish by the treachery of his Bactrian satrap, Bessus.
A few days after the battle Alexander entered Babylon, "the oldest seat
of earthly empire" then in existence, as its acknowledged lord and
master. There were yet some campaigns of his brief and bright career to
be accomplished. Central Asia was yet to witness the march of his
phalanx. He was yet to effect that conquest of Afghanistan in which
England since has failed. His generalship, as well as his valor, was yet
to be signalized on the banks of the Hydaspes and the field of
Chillianwallah; and he was yet to precede the queen of England in
annexing the Punjab to the dominions of a European sovereign. But the
crisis of his career was reached; the great object of his mission was
accomplished; and the ancient Persian empire, which once menaced all the
nations of the earth with subjection, was irreparably crushed when
Alexander had won his crowning victory at Arbela.
FIRST BATTLE BETWEEN GREEKS AND ROMANS
B.C. 280-279
PLUTARCH
(The Romans, in B.C. 290, had conquered the Samnites and this extended
the Roman power to the very gates of the Grecian cities on the Gulf of
Tarentine. Tarentum, the chief city among them, was almost totally
controlled by a party which advised a peaceful submission to the Roman
conquerors. The opposing party of patriots, against such cowardly
measures, looked abroad for aid and found a ready ally in Pyrrhus, the
Molossian king of Epirus. He was warlike and adventurous, and a member
of the royal family of Macedonia, through Olympias, who was the mother
of Alexander the Great.
Pyrrhus had established a reputation for fighting. Not alone had he
fought at the memorable battle of Ipsus, in Phrygia, but he had proven a
formidable opponent to Demetinus, king of Macedonia, having forced the
latter powerful monarch to conclude a truce with him, though afterward
he had been conquered and driven back to his little kingdom of Epirus.
At the time the Tarentines sent to him to help them against Rome he was
eager for a field in which he might do something to prove his mettle.
This was the greatest opportunity of his life, and he seized upon it.
The campaign is memorable for having brought the Romans and Greeks into
conflict on the battle-field for the first time.)
Pyrrhus, now that he had lost Macedonia, might have spent his days
peacefully ruling his own subjects in Epirus; but he could not endure
repose, thinking that not to trouble others and be troubled by them was
a life of unbearable ennui, and, like Achilles in the _Iliad_,
"he could not rest in indolence at home,
He longed for battle, and the joys of war."
As he desired some new adventures he embraced the following opportunity.
The Romans were at war with the Tarentines; and as that people were not
sufficiently powerful to carry on the war, and yet were not allowed by
the audacious folly of their mob orators to make peace, they proposed to
make Pyrrhus their leader and to invite him to be their ally in the war,
because he was more at leisure than any of the other kings, and also was
the best general of them all. Of the older and more sensible citizens
some endeavored to oppose this fatal decision, but were overwhelmed by
the clamor of the war party, while the rest, observing this, ceased to
attend the public assembly.
There was one citizen of good repute, named Meton, who, on the day when
the final decision was to be made, when the people were all assembled,
took a withered garland and a torch, and like a drunkard, reeled into
the assembly with a girl playing the flute before him. At this, as one
may expect in a disorderly popular meeting, some applauded and some
laughed, but no one stopped him. They next bade the girl play, and Meton
come forward and dance to the music; and he made as though he would do
so. When he had obtained silence he said: "Men of Tarentum, you do well
in encouraging those who wish to be merry and amuse themselves while
they may. If you are wise you will all enjoy your freedom now, for when
Pyrrhus is come to our city you will have very different things to think
of and will live very differently." By these words he made an impression
on the mass of the Tarentine people, and a murmur ran through the crowd
that he had spoken well. But those politicians who feared that if peace
were made they should be delivered up to the Romans, reproached the
people for allowing anyone to insult them by such a disgraceful
exhibition, and prevailed on them to turn Meton out of the assembly.
Thus the vote for war was passed, and ambassadors were sent to Epirus,
not from Tarentum alone, but from the other Greek cities in Italy,
carrying with them presents for Pyrrhus, with instructions to tell him
that they required a leader of skill and renown, and that they possessed
a force of Lucanians, Messapians, Samnites, and Tarentines, which
amounted to twenty thousand cavalry and three hundred and fifty thousand
infantry. This not only excited Pyrrhus, but also made all the Epirotes
eager to take part in the campaign.
There was one Cineas, a Thessalian, who was thought to be a man of good
sense, and who, having heard Demosthenes the orator speak, was better
able than any of the speakers of his age to delight his hearers with an
imitation of the eloquence of that great master of rhetoric. He was now
in the service of Pyrrhus, and being sent about to various cities,
proved the truth of the Euripidean saw, that
"All can be done by words
Which foemen wish to do with conquering swords."
Pyrrhus at any rate used to say that more cities were won for him by
Cineas with words than he himself won by force of arms. This man,
observing that Pyrrhus was eagerly preparing for his Italian expedition,
once when he was at leisure conversed with him in the following manner.
"Pyrrhus," said he, "the Romans are said to be good soldiers, and to
rule over many warlike nations. Now, if heaven grants us the victory
over them, what use shall we make of it?"
"You ask what is self-evident," answered Pyrrhus. "If we can conquer the
Romans, there is no city, Greek or barbarian, that can resist us, and we
shall gain possession of the whole of Italy, a country whose size,
richness, and power no one knows better than yourself." Cineas then,
after waiting for a short time, said: "O King, when we have taken Italy,
what shall we do then?"
Pyrrhus, not yet seeing his drift, answered: "Close to it Sicily invites
us, a noble and populous island, and one which is very easy to conquer;
for, my Cineas, now that Agathocles is dead, there is nothing there but
revolution and faction and the violence of party spirit."
"What you say," answered Cineas, "is very probably true. But is this
conquest of Sicily to be the extreme limit of our campaign?"
"Heaven," answered Pyrrhus, "alone can give us victory and success; but
these conquests would merely prove to us the stepping-stones to greater
things. Who could refrain from making an attempt upon Carthage and Libya
when he was so close to them, countries which were all but conquered by
Agathocles when he ran away from Syracuse with only a few ships? and if
we were masters of these countries, none of the enemies who now give
themselves such airs at our expense will dare to resist us."
"Certainly not," answered Cineas; "with such a force at our disposal we
clearly could recover Macedonia, and have the whole of Greece at our
feet. And after we have made all these conquests, what shall we do
then?"
Pyrrhus laughing answered: "We will take our ease and carouse every day,
and enjoy pleasant conversation with one another."
Having brought Pyrrhus to say this, Cineas asked in reply: "But what
prevents our carousing and taking our ease now, since we have already at
hand all those things which we propose to obtain with much bloodshed,
and great toils and perils, and after suffering much ourselves and
causing much suffering to others?"
By talking in this manner Cineas vexed Pyrrhus, because he made him
reflect on the pleasant home which he was leaving, but his reasoning had
no effect in turning him from his purpose.
He first despatched Cineas to Tarentum with three thousand men; next he
collected from Tarentum many horse-transports, decked vessels, and boats
of all sorts, and embarked upon them twenty elephants, twenty-three
thousand cavalry, twenty-two thousand infantry, and five hundred
slingers. When all was ready he put to sea; and when half way across a
storm burst upon him from the north, which was unusual at that season of
the year. He himself, though his ship was carried away by the tempest,
yet, by the great pains and skill of the sailors and pilots, resisted it
and reached the land, with great toil to the rowers, and beyond
everyone's expectation; for the rest of the fleet was overpowered by the
gale and scattered. Some ships were driven off the Italian coast
altogether, and forced into the Libyan and Sicilian seas, and some which
could not weather the Iapygian Cape were overtaken by night, and being
dashed by a violent and boisterous sea against that harborless coast
were utterly lost, except only the King's ship. She was so large and
strongly built as to resist the waves as long as they broke upon her
from the seaward; but when the wind changed and blew directly off the
shore, the ship, which now met the waves directly with her head, was in
great danger of going to pieces, while to let her drive out to sea again
now that it was so rough, and the wind changed so frequently, seemed
more terrible than to remain where they were.
Pyrrhus rose and leaped into the water, and at once was eagerly followed
by his friends and his bodyguard. The darkness of night and the violent
recoil of the roaring waves made it hard for them to help him, and it
was not until daybreak, when the wind abated, that he reached the land,
faint and helpless in body, but with his spirit invincible in
misfortune. The Messapians, upon whose coast he had been thrown, now
assembled from the neighboring villages and offered their help, while
some of the ships which had outlived the storm appeared, bringing a few
horsemen, about two thousand foot, and two elephants.
With these Pyrrhus marched to Tarentum; Cineas, as soon as he heard of
his arrival, bringing out the Tarentine army to meet him. When he
reached the city he did nothing to displease the Tarentines until his
fleet returned to the coast and he had assembled the greater part of his
army. But then, as he saw that the populace, unless ruled by a strong
hand, could neither help him nor help themselves, but intended to stay
idling about their baths and entertainments at home, while he fought
their battles in the field, he closed the gymnasia and public walks, in
which the people were wont to waste their time in empty talk about the
war. He forbade all drinking, feasting, and unseasonable revels, and
forced the people to take up arms, proving himself inexorable to
everyone who was on the muster-roll of able-bodied citizens. This
conduct made him much disliked, and many of the Tarentines left the city
in disgust; for they were so unused to discipline that they considered
that not to be able to pass their lives as they chose was no better than
slavery.
When news came that Laevinus, the Roman consul, was marching to attack
him with a large force, and was plundering the country of Lucania as he
advanced, while Pyrrhus' allies had not yet arrived, he thought it a
shameful thing to allow the enemy to proceed any farther, and marched
out with his army. He sent before him a herald to the Roman general,
informing him that he was willing to act as arbitrator in the dispute
between the Romans and the Greek cities of Italy, if they chose to
terminate it peacefully. On receiving for an answer that the Romans
neither wished for Pyrrhus as an arbitrator, nor feared him as an enemy,
he marched forward, and encamped in the plain between the city of
Pandosia and Heraclea.
Learning that the Romans were close by, and were encamping on the
farther side of the river Siris (the river Aciris, now called Agri), he
rode up to the river to view them; and when he observed their even
ranks, their orderly movements, and their well-arranged camp, he was
surprised, and said to the nearest of his friends: "These barbarians,
Megacles, have nothing barbarous in their military discipline; but we
shall soon learn what they can do." He began indeed already to feel some
uncertainty as to the issue of the campaign, and determined to wait
until his allies came up, and till then to observe the movements of the
Romans, and prevent their crossing the river. They, however, perceiving
his object, at once crossed the river, the infantry at a ford, the
cavalry at many points at once, so that the Greeks feared they might be
surrounded, and drew back. Pyrrhus, perceiving this, ordered his
officers instantly to form the troops in order of battle and wait under
arms while he himself charged with the cavalry, three thousand strong,
hoping to catch the Romans in the act of crossing the river and
consequently in disorder.
When he saw many shields of the Roman infantry appearing over the river
bank, and their horsemen all ranged in order, he closed up his own ranks
and charged them first himself, a conspicuous figure in his beautiful
glittering armor, and proving by his exploits that he deserved his high
reputation; especially as although he fought personally, and engaged in
combat with the enemy, yet he continually watched the whole battle, and
handled his troops with as much facility as though he were not in the
thick of the fight, appearing always wherever his presence was required,
and reenforcing those who seemed likely to give way. In this battle
Leonnatus the Macedonian, observing one of the Italians watching Pyrrhus
and constantly following him about the field, said to him: "My King, do
you see that barbarian on the black horse with white feet? He seems to
be meditating some desperate deed. He is a man of spirit and courage,
and he never takes his eyes off you, and takes no notice of anyone else.
Beware of that man."
Pyrrhus answered: "Leonnatus, no man can avoid his fate; but neither
that Italian nor anyone else who attacks me will do so with impunity."
While they were yet talking the Italian levelled his lance and urged his
horse in full career against Pyrrhus. He struck the King's horse with
his spear, and at the same instant his own horse was struck a sidelong
blow by Leonnatus. Both horses fell; Pyrrhus was saved by his friends,
and the Italian perished fighting. He was of the nation of the Frentani,
Hoplacus by name, and was the captain of a troop of horse.
This incident taught Pyrrhus to be more cautious. He observed that his
cavalry were inclined to give way, and therefore sent for his phalanx,
and arrayed it against the enemy. Then he gave his cloak and armor to
one of his companions, Megacles, and after partially disguising himself
in those of his friend, led his main body to attack the Roman army. The
Romans stoutly resisted him, and an obstinate battle took place, for it
is said that the combatants alternately yielded and again pressed
forward no less than seven distinct times. The King's exchange of armor,
too, though it saved his life, yet very nearly lost him the victory: for
many attacked Megacles, and the man who first struck him down, who was
named Decius, snatched up his cloak and helmet, and rode with them to
Lævinus, displaying them and shouting aloud that he had slain Pyrrhus.