The Story of Alexander

by Robert Steele

CHAPTER X. HOW ALEXANDER DEFEATED THE PERSIANS, AND HOW HE WENT TO THE FEAST OF DARIUS.

Now for the first time the armies of the Macedonians and the Persians came in face of each other, and hopes of victory were on either side, for the Persians were many, and their battle-leaders were five hundred noble knights. The sun shone brightly, the trumpets rang out against each other, and the long streamers of the lances danced in the wind; the horses pranced, and the young knights clashed their arms. Soon Darius ordered the battle to begin, the knights laid their spears in rest, and each, with his shield hung before him, spurred his horse; the Greeks came on to meet them, and they crashed into each other with a thundering noise and a shout, and all the fair field was covered with stumbling steeds and knights dismounted and wounded and dead; and the clash of sword-strokes cutting through coats of mail sounded like the noise of a giant’s smithy. For few minutes the field was covered with clouds of dust, and Alexander could see nothing of the result, but soon it appeared that the Greeks had driven back the foe, and that the first attack of the Persians had failed. So he called the Greek knights around him, and after a breathing space he gave orders that in their turn they should ride on the enemy.

But Darius had seen how his men were being borne down, and had noted how their king was first among the Macedonians, and how that no man stood before his blows, so he called to him one of his bravest champions, and said to him: “Sir Knight, seest thou yon leader of the Greeks, look you now, he wears the colour of my daughter; go thou, arm thee in fresh armour as a man of Macedon, and slay him. And if thou so doest, I will give thee my daughter Roxana to wife, and thou shalt be after me in the land of Persia.” Then that knight answered and said: “Thou art my lord; whatsoever thou biddest that will I do, and I will smite his head from off his shoulders, that no man may hereafter stand against the Emperor.” So he arrayed him in clean bright armour, and over his armour he put on a silk surcoat in colour like to that of the Macedonians, and rode out among them.

Now Alexander was ranging his knights for their grand attack on the Persians, and the trumpets blew, and all together they charged down on the foe. Close behind Alexander rode the Persian knight, and no man could see who he was, for the bars of his helmet were closed. And Alexander, as his wont was, rode into the thick of the fight, and struck great blows here and there, and no man stood before him. Then the knight drew his sword and spurred on his horse, and struck the king such a blow that it cut through his helmet and down into his cheek, and then as the king wheeled round his horse the sword broke in the helmet. And when the knights around saw the blow they rushed on the disguised Persian, but Alexander stayed them from hurting him, and said:

“What, my knight, why hast thou wounded thy lord and thy helper?”

“Nay,” said the knight, “I am no knight of thine; this did I for Sir Darius, who promised me his daughter if I hewed off thy head.”

“Take him away,” said the king, “but harm him not till I give order about him.”

Then Alexander turned to his lords and said:

“What shall be done to him for this deed?”

And one man advised to hang him, and another to cut off his head, and another to burn him alive. But Alexander looked displeased, and said:

“Nay, he has but done his duly to his lord, in that he obeyed his word, and his lord has all the blame of his deed. He that condemns him judges himself, for did I order one of you to slay Darius that must ye do. Let him depart and go to his lord, for he strikes a good stroke.”

So that Persian knight went unharmed from the camp of Alexander, and told all these things to Darius.

Then Darius feared, for his army was put to flight, and his knights began to compare him with the king of the Macedonians, and he rode away to a strong city near that place, and there he stayed but short time, for Alexander followed him, and came against that city and took it, and found there treasure untold, and the wife of Darius, and his mother, the wisest woman in all Asia; but Darius himself escaped him and fled away. There came one of the princes of Persia to Alexander and offered to deliver Darius into his hand, for that he had served that king for twenty years, and yet he had never given him reward; but Alexander refused to take Darius by treachery, and he said: “One king must not betray another.” So day by day the Persian lords came into the Greek camp and owned Alexander as their emperor.

Now was another army and a greater one being got together, for all the lords of Persia and the kings of the countries about, and Porus, king of India, were summoned for a set day. But letters came from the king of India saying that he was sore sick, and could give no aid till he was recovered, and that then he would come; and letters came from the mother of Darius, an exceeding wise woman, in which she bade him make peace with Alexander and submit to him, or otherwise the empire of the Persians would be utterly overthrown. But he would not obey her, for he hoped to destroy the army of the Greeks from the face of the earth. So all the might of Persia met at its chief town, Susa.

After short time the army of the Greeks had got them ready for the fight, and they began to follow up the war against Darius, and they went not so quickly as the Persians, since they were in an enemy’s land; but at the last they came in sight of the town of Susa, and behold, it lay in a great plain, and a river a furlong broad lay between it and them. So Alexander purposed in his mind to send a herald to challenge the Persians to fight, for he would not be said to attack them without granting them due time. That night, as he lay asleep in his tent, he dreamed a dream, and a man of Macedon stood by him, dressed in rich attire, with two horns on his head, and he knew that it was one of the gods, and the god said to him: “My son, send no messenger to Susa, but go thyself, so shalt thou see Darius and his court, for I will be with thee, and no harm shall come to thee.” Then Alexander arose early in the morning and told his knights his dream, and how the god had promised to guard him. So he dressed himself as a herald, and rode off with one of his knights before the sun rose to the army of Darius. Now when they came to the great river Granton, which lay between them and the town of Susa, they found it frozen over with ice a foot thick, so he bade the lord that was with him to wait there for him, and he himself rode over the river alone to the camp of Darius.

The tale tells that this river was wondrous cold by nature, and that whether by art magic, or because it was so cold every night, it froze into ice after the sun went down, and the ice was exceeding thick; but when the sun rose and the day warmed, then the ice cracked and melted, and the river ran so fast that no man might swim in it, nor might any boat cross it but with danger, and no bridge could be built across it for the ice. When the day broke the ice began to thaw, but Alexander was safely over, and he rode slowly towards the town. Now when he came to the wall of Susa he stopped at the barrier, and bade the men bring him before Darius, and they obeyed him, for his rich clothing and his speech showed him to be some great man. And Darius asked him: “What man art thou, and what doest thou here?” Then Alexander answered him: “O king, I am sent to thee by Alexander, he bids thee prepare for battle; why dost thou stay in the walls of thy town; either come out and fight him or own him for master.” And Darius said: “Wert thou the man himself thou couldst not speak more proudly, but I care never a deal for all thy bold sayings. Still for thy sovereign’s sake that sent thee hither, thou shalt sit at supper with me this even;” and Darius did him great honour, for all men in those days reverenced the heralds.

So the heralds of Persia welcomed him, and there came clerks and wise men and talked with him of the lands of Greece and of the West, and they told him of the nobles of Persia and of the wonders of the land and its richness, and of the land of India and the marvels that men spoke of it. Now among the clerks was one who was short and crooked and ungainly, and the others took little heed of him, and he stayed for a while behind and listened, saying nought. Then Alexander noticed him and said within himself: “Such a crooked and misshapen man would not be in the court of a king if he were not exceeding wise,” so he spake to him, and the clerk answered him in few words but weighty. But when those of the court were without for a space, the clerk said: “Were Alexander here, he would see the fairest maid on earth at the supper this even; and much honour would she do the knight who wore her scarf in the front of battle.” And with that he drew back, nor did he speak when Alexander drew out the scarf from his breast. Then the clerks and wise men departed and the great lords came to ask him of the arms of the Greek lords, and of their deeds in battle, and of Alexander.

When even was come the king gave his hand to Alexander and led him into the hall of his palace, and he sat at meat with Darius. And ever he thought within himself: “This barbarian does me great honour in this hall, but soon shall the hall be mine by right.” Now the hall of the palace was of beaten gold; the walls, the seats, the tables, the floor, all were covered with thick plates of gold, and the vessels of service, the cups and dishes and platens, were of fine gold. And those of the Persians that were there looked upon Alexander with curiosity, and they thought little of him since he was so short, for the heralds of the King of Persia were taller than any man in Persia, and the Persians are tall men; but they knew not the wisdom and the valour of the man, for they wist not that it was Alexander himself.

As they sat down to meat, Alexander was put in a seat on the left hand of Darius, and as he looked around him he saw at the table on the right hand of the King the fairest damsel that man had ever seen, and his eyes saw, almost without seeing, that her robe was of green covered with fair opening buds, the crown of spring and the promise of summer. And as he looked on her she lifted her eyes on him, and saw the scarf of green he wore, and she looked on his face eagerly and then looked down and away, and fear and longing and content and hope and joy struggled in her heart, but her face was that of a king’s daughter in the palace hall of her father. Then Alexander rejoiced in his heart and he said: “This maid shall be my very love and my queen.”

Now the feast began, servants ran to and fro, busily helping one another and serving the guests diligently; lutes and harps were played by the minstrels, and as fast as one dish was taken from the table another was brought, and the butlers brought forth the wine in great goblets of gold, studded with gems, and handed them to the guests. Now Alexander did after the manner of heralds at the feast of a king, for when he had drunk from the cup that which was in it, he took it up and put it in the breast of his doublet. Then Roxana the Queen called to her the servants and they brought her a cup of wine, and she bade them carry it to the herald of the Greeks from Roxana the daughter of the Emperor, and they did so. Then Alexander bowed low, and rejoiced, and drank from the cup, and when it was empty, he put it also in his breast. So the servants of the Persian King saw it and they were envious and wondered, and one said to another: “Let us see if he will do it again;” and they brought him a third cup, yet more precious, and Alexander took it, and again when he had drunk he put it in his breast for himself. Then these servants went and fell before the king and told him of the case, how that the Greek herald had drunk from the golden cups, and had put them in his breast to take them away from the feast. So Darius rose up in his seat, and with a proud, disdainful look, said: “O friend, why dost thou take my vessels from me? That is shame to thee and me.” “Sire,” said Alexander, “it is custom in our king’s feasts that the goblet given to the guest is his with what is in it; but since you keep not this custom here, I give you your cups,” and taking them from his breast he gave them to the butlers. So all men’s eyes were on Alexander, and they wondered that he could stand before the face of Darius, and they began to consider his face, his form, and his voice.

Now amongst them that were at meat with Darius that even was one Anepo, the Herald of the Sun, he who had formerly visited Macedon, and to whom Alexander had given a golden chain in earnest of the days to come. And Anepo looked on him, and said to himself: “Is not this the son of Philip?” and just then their eyes crossed, and he saw the face of Alexander, and noticed how that the eyes were of two colours—one blue, one dark—and getting up from his seat he came softly near Darius, who was sitting on his high seat, and he said to him: “Verily, O king of kings, this messenger that sitteth here is no herald, but Alexander the Macedonian himself, or I am no true herald.” Now Alexander had seen the eyes of Anepo, and when he got up he watched him, and he heard the sound of his name in the whisper, and he rose from the table as if he would handle a lute, but instead he snatched a torch from the hands of one of them that stood by, and was out of the hall towards the stables before any man could say he was gone.

Now by good fortune his horse was fed, so he loosed him and sprang on his back, and out of the court like a spark from a fire, and no man could stop him. But when the alarm was given, Darius ordered all men to follow, and men rushed in all directions; they searched the rooms of the palace, they searched the stables, some clad them in armour and rode out into the night, and some to the city gates. But little avail they made, for there was no moon, and the clearness of the night served but to mislead them, and their shouts served to warn Alexander of where they were, and if they kept silence one rode against another, and many rode into the deep ditches of the fields or stumbled in the miry ways, and at last, one by one, they came in, and no man among them all had heard or seen aught of Alexander, and well was it for them that they had to face the wrath of Darius, rather than the sword of the Greek.

In that same hour that Alexander fled out of the palace of Darius a golden image of the emperor of Persia fell to the ground, and when men came to raise it they found it broken into fragments, and they feared greatly; and when Darius heard of it he fell aweeping, and he said: “Surely this tokens trouble to the empire, and death to me;” and he sat in sore grief thinking of the boldness of Alexander, and his courage left him, so that he became weak as a woman.

Of Roxana it is to be told how her heart was glad that she had seen the lord of Macedon, and great thanks she gave to the gods because he had seen her face, and noted how fair she was, for she had watched without looking at him the turning of his eyes toward her, and the joy of his heart in her beauty. That night she sat with her maidens, and ever she sent one or another for tidings of the herald, and none brought answer, and at the end one came and told how all the knights had come back from the pursuit. Then her maidens came round about her and praised her beauty above all other times, and she gave a great gift to that one who had brought the news of the safety of the Greek, howbeit the maiden knew not that it was the meed of her tidings, and thought it was the pay of her flattering words.