archers. After these, came the wives of the crown officers, and of the greatest lords of the court; then, the sutlers, and servants of the army, seated also in chariots.

In the rear, were a body of light armed troops, with their commanders, who closed the whole march. Such, was the splendour of this pageant monarch: he took the field incumbered with an unnecessary train of concubines, attended with troops of various nations, speaking different languages, for their numbers impossible to be marshalled, and so rich and effeminate in gold and in garments, as seemed rather to invite, than deter an invader.

Alexander, after marching from Tarsus, arrived at Bactriana: from thence, still earnest in coming up with his enemy, he came to Solæ, where he offered sacrifice to Esculapius; thence, he went forward to Pyramus, to Malles, and at last to Castabala. It was here, that he first received advice, that Darius, with his whole army, was encamped at Sochus, in Assyria, two days' journey from Cilicia. He therefore resolved, without delay, to meet him there, as the badness of the weather had obliged him to halt.

In the mean time, Darius led on his immense army into the plains of Assyria, which they covered to a great extent: there, he was advised, by the Grecian commanders who were in his service, and who composed the strength of his army, to halt, as he would, in that place, have sufficient room to expand his forces, and surround the invader. Darius rejected their advice; and, instead of waiting Alexander's approach, vainly puffed up with pride by his surrounding courtiers, he resolved to pursue the invader, who wished for nothing more ardently, than to engage.

Accordingly, Darius having sent his treasures to Damascus, a city of Assyria, marched, with the main body of his army, to wards Cilicia, then turned short towards Issus; and, quite ignorant of the situation of the enemy, supposed he was pursuing Alex ander, when he had actually left him in the rear. There is a strange mixture of pride, cruelty, splendour, and magnanimity, in all the actions of this Persian prince. At Issus, he barbarously put to death all the Greeks who were sick in that city, a few soldiers only excepted, whom he dismissed, after having made them view every part of his camp, in order to report his numbers and strength to the invader: these soldiers, accordingly, brought Alexander word of the approach of Darius, and he now began to think seriously of preparing for battle.

Alexander, fearing, from the numbers of the enemy, that they would attack him in his camp, fortified it, with a ditch and a rampart; but, at the same time, discovered great joy at seeing the ene. my hasten to theirowndestruction, and prepare to attack him, in a place which was wide enough only for a small army to act. Thus, the two armics were, in some measure, reduced to an equality

the Macedonians had space sufficient to employ their whole force, while the Persians had not room for the twentieth part of theirs.

Nevertheless, Alexander, as it frequently happens to the greatest captains, felt some emotion, when he saw that he was going to hazard all at one blow. The more, fortune had favoured him, hitherto, the more he now dreaded her frowns: the moment approaching, which was to determine his fate. But, on the other side, his courage revived, from the reflection, that the rewards of his toils exceeded the dangers; and, though he was uncertain with regard to the victory, he at least hoped to die gloriously, and like Alexander. However, he did not disclose these thoughts to any one well knowing, that, upon the approach of a battle, a general ought not to discover the least marks of sadness or perplexity; and that the troops should read nothing but resolution and intrepidity in the countenance of their commander.

Having made his soldiers refresh themselves, and ordered them to be ready for the third watch of the night, which began at twelve, he went to the top of a mountain, and there, by torchlight, sacrificed, after the manner of his country, to the gods of the place. As soon as the signal was given, his army, which was ready to march and fight, being commanded to make great speed, arrived, by day-break, at the several posts assigned them.

But now, the spies bringing word that Darius was not above thirty furlongs from them, the king caused his army to halt, and then drew it up in battle array. The peasants, in the greatest terror, came also, and acquainted Darius with the arrival of the enemy; which he would not, at first, believe, imagining, as we have observed, that Alexander fled before him, and was endeav ouring to escape. This news threw his troops into the utmost confusion; who, in their surprise, ran to their arms, with great precipitation and disorder.

The spot where the battle was fought, lay near the city of Issus, which the mountains bounded on one side, and the sea on the other. The plain, situated between them both, must have been considerably broad, as the two armies encamped in it, and I have before observed, that Darius' army was vastly numerous. The river Pinarius ran through the middle of this plain, from the mountain to the sea, and divided it very nearly into two equal parts. The mountain formed a kind of gulf, the extremity of which, in a curved line, bounded part of the plain.

Alexander drew up his army in the following order. He posted, at the extremity of the right wing, which stood near the mountains, the Argyraspides, commanded by Nicanor; then, the phalanx of Coenus, and afterwards that of Perdiccas, which terminated in the centre of the main army. On the extremity of the left wing, he posted the phalanx of Amyntas, then that of Ptolemy

and lastly that of Meleager. Thus, the famous Macedonian pha lanx was formed, which we find was composed of six distinct bodies. Each of those was headed by able generals; but Alexander, being always generalissimo, had consequently the command of the whole army.

The horse were placed on the two wings; the Macedonians with the Thessalians on the right, and the Peloponnesians, with the other allies, on the left. Craterus commanded all the foot, which composed the left wing, and Parmenio the whole wing. Alexander had reserved to himself the command of the right He had desired Parmenio to keep as near the sea as possible, to prevent the barbarians from surrounding him; and Nicanor, on the contrary, was ordered to keep at some distance from the mountains, to be out of the reach of the arrows, discharged by those who were posted on them. He covered the horse, on his right wing, with the light horse of Protomachus and the Pæonians; and his foot, with the bowmen of Antiochus. He reserved the Agrians, commanded by Attalus, who were greatly esteemed, and some forces newly arrived from Greece, to oppose those Darius had posted on the mountains.

As for Darius' army, it was drawn up in the following order: having heard that Alexander was marching towards him in battle array, he commanded thirty thousand horse, and twenty thousand bowmen to cross the river Pinarius, that he might have an opportunity to draw up his army in a commodious manner on the hither side. In the centre, he posted the thirty thousand Greeks in his service, who doubtless were the flower and chief strength of his army, and were not at all inferior, in bravery, to the Ma cedonian phalanx; with thirty thousand barbarians on their right, and as many on their left.

The field of battle not being able to contain a greater number, these were all heavily armed. The rest of the infantry, distinguished by their several nations, were ranged behind the first line. It is a pity that Arrian does not tell us the depth of each of those two lines; but it must have been prodigious, if we consider the ex treme narrowness of the pass, and the amazing multitude of the Persian forces. On the mountain, which lay to their left, against Alexander's right wing, Darius posted twenty thousand men ; who were so ranged (in the several windings of the mountain) that some were behind Alexander's army, and others before it. Darius, after having set his army in battle array, made his horse again cross the river, and despatched the greater part of them towards the sea, against Parmenio; because they could fight on that spot to the greatest advantage. The rest of his cavalry, he sent to the left, towards the mountain. However, finding that these would be of no service on that side, because of the too

great narrowness of the spot, he caused a great part of them to wheel about to the right. As for himself, he took his post in the centre of his army, pursuant to the custom of the Persian monarchs.

The two armies being thus drawn up in order of battle, Alex. ander marched very slowly, that his soldiers might take a little breath; so that it was supposed they would not engage till very late. Darius still continued with his army on the other side of the river, in order not to lose the advantageous situation of his post; and even caused such parts of the shore as were not craggy, to be secured with palisades; where the Macedonians concluded that he was already afraid of being defeated. The two armies being now in sight, Alexander, riding along the ranks, called by their several names, the principal officers, both of the Macedonians and foreigners; and exhorted the soldiers to sig. nalise themselves; speaking to each nation according to its peculiar genius and disposition. The whole army set up a shout and eagerly desired to be led on directly against the enemy.

Alexander had advanced, at first, very slowly, to prevent the ranks in the front of his phalanx from breaking, and halted at intervals. But when he had approached within bow shot, he commanded all his right wing to plunge impetuously into the river, that he might surprise the barbarians, come sooner to a close engagement, and be less exposed to the enemy's arrows; in all which, he was very successful. Both sides fought with the utmost bravery and resolution; and being now forced to fight close, they charged sword in hand, when a dreadful slaughter ensued, for they engaged man to man, each aiming the point of his sword at the face of his opponent.

Alexander, who performed the duty both of a private soldier and a commander, wished nothing so ardently as the glory of killng, with his own hands, Darius; who, being seated on a high chariot, was conspicuous to the whole army; and, by that means, was a powerful object, both to encourage his own soldiers to defend, and the enemy to attack him. The battle grew more furiDus and bloody than before, so that a great number of Persian noblemen were killed. Each side fought with incredible bravery. Oxatres, brother of Darius, observing that Alexander was going to charge that monarch with the utmost vigour, rushed before his chariot, with the horse under his command, and dis tinguished himself above the rest.

The horses that drew Darius' chariot, lost all command, and shook the yoke so violently, that they were on the point of overturning the king; who, seeing himself going to fall alive into the hands of his enemies, leaped down, and mounted another chariot The rest, observing this threw down their arms, and fled.

Alexander had received a slight wound in his thigh, but happily it was not attended with ill consequences.

Whilst part of the Macedonian infantry, posted on the right, were driving the advantages they had gained over the Persians, the remainder who engaged the Greeks, met with greater resistance. These observing that that body of infantry was no longer covered by the right wing of Alexander's army, which was pursuing the enemy, came and attacked it in flank. The engagement was very bloody, and victory a long time doubtful. The Greeks endeavoured to push the Macedonians into the river, and to recover the disorder into which the left wing had been thrown. The Macedonians also signalised themselves with the utmost bravery, in order to preserve the advantage which Alexander had just before gained, and support the honour of their phalanx, which had always been considered as invincible.

There was also a perpetual jealousy between the Greeks and Macedonians, which greatly increased their courage, and made the resistance, on each side, very vigorous. On Alexander's side, Ptolemy, the son of Seleucus, lost his life, with a hundred and twenty more considerable officers, who all had behaved with the utmost gallantry. In the mean time, the right wing, which was victorious under its monarch, after defeating all who opposed it, wheeled to the left, against those Greeks who were fighting against the rest of the Macedonian phalanx, whom they charged very vigorously; and, attacking them in flank, entirely routed them.

At the very beginning of the engagement, the Persian cavalry in the right wing (without waiting for their being attacked by the Macedonians) had crossed the river, and rushed upon the ThesBalian horse; several of whose squadrons they broke. Upon this, the remainder of the latter, in order to avoid the impetuosity of the first charge, and oblige the Persians to break their ranks, made a feint of retiring, as if terrified by the prodigious numbers of the enemy.

The Persians, seeing this, were filled with boldness and confidence; and thereupon the greater part of them advancing, without order or precaution, as to a certain victory, had no thoughts but of pursuing the enemy. Upon this, the Thessalians, seeing them in such confusion, suddenly faced about, and renewed the fight, with fresh ardour. The Persians made a brave defence, till they saw Darius put to flight, and the Greeks cut to pieces by the phalanx, when they fled, in the utmost disorder.

With regard to Darius, the instant he saw his left wing broken, he was one of the first that fled, in his chariot; but, getting afterwards into craggy, rugged places, he mounted on horseback, throwing down his bow, shield, and royal mantle. Alexander, however, did not attempt to pursue him, till he saw his phalanx