The Story of Alexander

by Robert Steele

CHAPTER XI. TELLS OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN ALEXANDER AND DARIUS, AND OF THE SLAYING OF DARIUS.

But Alexander had ridden out into the night, and knew not at first in what direction he was riding, but soon, when the lights borne by the mounted men began to scatter over the fields, he reined in his bonny steed and looked up to the sky, and there low down he saw the seven stars rising from the plain, and he turned his horse’s head and rode slowly towards them, and ever he waited for some sign, for he knew that he was coming near the river Granton. But while he was waiting he saw a great flame rise in the air far on his left hand, and its rays lay along a stretch of smooth ice, and beside it was a man on horseback, and he knew him for his companion that he had left at the river, and he shouted to him in the Greek tongue, and when he heard the answer he spurred his horse and rode on to the ice. But it was well for him that the fire was before him, for far on the right the river ice began to crack and grind, since it was not yet firm, and suddenly his horse slipped and both sank into the river; and the man struggled out by the help of the thin ice which broke off piece by piece before him till he touched bottom, but the good steed was belike struck by the ice, for it sank and was drowned. Now when he came to the shore he was amazed, for there was neither fire nor light, so he called to the Greek knight, and when he came up he questioned him, and he found him sore afraid, “for,” said he, “a great dragon has circled me about for hours, so that I feared to raise my head.” Then Alexander straitly charged him that he should not speak of this thing, and they returned to the camp, and all men rejoiced to see him.

On the next day King Alexander called to him his dukes and his captains, and they brought up their men in fifties and in hundreds and in thousands, till they were assembled on the plain; and Alexander rose on high and told them how that he had seen the might of the Persians, and he encouraged them and told them that never should the crowds of the Persians equal the Greeks, for, said he, “It takes many flies to make war on wasps, be they but few;” and all the army laughed and rejoiced in his bravery and knowledge. Now by this time Darius had assembled his host and led them forth on the plain to the shores of Granton, and there he set up the tents, and prepared him a royal seat and passed his army before him in review. First the war-chariots drove by, drawn by swift coursers, and on either side the chariots were set with scythe blades, keen and sharp as knives, then the knights passed him in full armour, and every man followed by his squire and his footmen, and then passed a host of archers and crossbowmen: and as each host passed, they went on into the field and set themselves in array, and the knights mounted their huge war-horses. And on their side the Greeks were drawn up in array, and Alexander was at their head, mounted on his steed Bucephalus, the best horse under heaven. Now Alexander spurred out into the open space and rode before the army of the Persians, and dared any of their champions to come out and fight with him, but not one of them durst meet him, for their hearts were stricken with fear.

So with the sound of trumpets both sides advanced to the attack, and in few minutes they were at the sword’s point. The tale tells that for two miles there was a fight all along the line between the Persian and the Greek knights. From sunrise to sunset the slaughter lasted and both sides fought bravely, the air was thick with arrows, a hail-storm of winged darts; and now the Persians began to give way, their noblest captains were dead, and nowhere had they driven back the Greeks. King Darius had set himself on his golden car at the early dawn, and all day he had watched the fiercest of the fight, and messengers had told him of what befell, but in the end he lost hope, and took to flight; and suddenly darkness came upon the land, so that men feared to move, for the great war-chariots were thundering over the plain, and whoso got in their way was cut to pieces by the blades on their wheels, and the hosts of Persians were mowed down like corn before them. So Darius reached the Granton which his men had crossed so proudly the day before, and he rejoiced that he found it frozen over, and he rode over the stream in the dead of night, and many of his great nobles were with him. Then after him came the flying host of the Persians, and on they came, till the broad stream was covered with men and horses. But their weight was too much for the ice, and it bent down and broke away from the banks, and then of a sudden it broke into thousands of pieces, and the night was filled with the screams of horses and men and their shouts and cries, and the dark water was filled with struggling crowds striving to pull themselves up on to little pieces of ice that would not bear their weight; until one by one their struggles ceased, and the rush of the river bore them away, so that of that mighty host scarce a tenth reached the shore in safety.

Now over against the plain was a certain castle, not very strong, and Darius had brought thither his daughter Roxana, that she might see the battle, for she had much besought him to let her see the field, though she told him not that her chief desire was to see the glory of the Lord of Macedon. But when the battle was over, and the Persians were fleeing, the lord of the castle shut the gates, and set a ward, opening to no man small or great. So on the morrow the host of the Greeks came near and summoned this lord to yield up the castle to Alexander, but he withstood them and laughed at them. Then Alexander came near, and swore by the gods that if he yielded not up the castle in an hour he would hang every man in it on its battlements, but if they yielded to his power he would save them alive. Then the lord came forth and sought speech of Alexander, and prayed him concerning the safety of Roxana, and the King laughed out and said: “Where should she be safer than with her mother and her grandam, who are with me in my camp?” So the lord of the castle opened his gates and they brought forth Roxana in her litter to Alexander, and he opened not the litter, but bowed before it, and bade them bear it to her mother in the camp; and great was the joy of the queens when they met, for Alexander bore him to them as a son and not as a conqueror.

Then was Darius in sore grief; for his empire was broken, his mother and his wife and his only daughter were in the hands of his enemy, and nought of hope was there save the help that Porus had promised him: so he sent messengers to Alexander offering him all his wealth if he would return his family into his hands, and go to his own land. But when the messengers had come to Alexander and had done their errand to him, Alexander received them roughly, and though all the Macedonians rejoiced, he said, “Why does your master speak thus to me; if I have conquered him, let him own me as lord; if not, let him come out and meet me in the field. As for his gold, it is mine when I wish to take it, without his offer.” And the messengers returned to Darius loaded with gifts and honour, while Alexander’s men were gathering together the bodies of them that were slain and tending the hurts of the wounded. And after the army was rested, Alexander gave them leave and they scattered over the plain up and down, and they found the old-time palace of the kings of Persia and the tombs of the lords of the land, and one of these was made of a noble amethyst, graven over with palm trees and with birds, and so clear was it, that men might see within it the body; and the name written on it was Ninus. Others among them came on a great tower, and they forced it open and found in it men of all nations, Greeks and barbarians, who had been put there by Darius, and some had lost a hand, and some an eye, and some a foot. So when they were brought before Alexander, they cried to him, and he set them free and gave to each of them a talent, and they went their ways whither they would, blessing the Greeks.

Now when the messengers returned to Darius and told him the words of Alexander, and how that he needs must give up his empire if he could not conquer him, the Persian set him to try one last chance to recover his power, and he sent letters to Porus, king of India, offering him great wealth and honour if he would come and fight with Alexander, and saying that he would pay the wage of the armies himself, and that all the spoil of the Greeks should be theirs. And the messengers went their way to India, but one of the chief men of Darius’ council came by night secretly to Alexander, and told him all that was in the mind of Darius. So Alexander was wroth, and he swore that he would never take the name of Emperor till Darius was slain, and he began to prepare his soldiers for an attack upon Susa, but ere he had given his orders tidings came that Darius was slain.

And this was the manner of his death. When it was told in Susa that the Greeks were preparing to assault the town, all men feared, even the knights of Darius, and the king withdrew himself into an inner room of his palace. There came to him two of his knights whom he loved, and whom he had raised up from the lowest of the people, and had made great and rich, so that they were equal with great peers. These foul traitors had said within themselves, “Surely Alexander has sworn the death of Darius, and he will give us great praise and honour if we slay him,” so that when they came into the room to the king, they drew their swords and looked on one another, and smote at Darius. But their hands failed them for fear, so that they slew not the king at first, and he cried out, “O sons, why slay ye me; is not my sorrow great enough, that ye of all men should turn against me? Yea, and the lord of the Greeks will reward ye and avenge my death at your hands.” But his words moved them not, and they thrust their swords through him, so that the royal robes were covered with blood, and he fell down, as if dead; while the knights went out, and none knew that they had been with the king.

Long did he lie there alone, for his servants feared to come in before him, but at last his nurse, an old dame of eighty winters, made as if she had a petition to offer, and opened the door of the room, and saw him stricken to death. So she cried aloud, and the servants ran in, and bore him to a bed in the palace.