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The Seventeenth Book of Diodorus: in Two Parts
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1After this year was over, Cephisophon became archon at
Athens, and Gaius Valerius and Marcus Clodius consuls in Rome.2 In this year, now that Dareius
was dead, Bessus with Nabarnes and Barxaes3 and many others of the Iranian
nobles got to Bactria, eluding the hands of Alexander. Bessus had been appointed satrap of this
region by Dareius and being known to everyone because of his administration, now called upon
the population to defend their freedom.
[2]
He pointed out that
the nature of their country would assist them very much, since the region was hard for an enemy
to penetrate and furnished enough men for them to establish their independence. He proclaimed
that he would take personal command of the war and designated himself king, with the approval
of the people. Then he set to work enrolling soldiers, manufacturing an adequate stock of
weapons, and busily making everything ready for the approaching time of need.4
[3]
Alexander, for his part, was
aware that the Macedonians regarded Dareius's death as the end of the campaign and were
impatient to go home. He called them all to a meeting and, addressing them with effective
arguments, made them willing to follow him in the part of the war which remained,5 but he assembled the allied troops from the Greek cities6 and praising them for their services released
them from their military duty. He gave to each of the cavalry a talent and to each of the
infantry ten minas.7 Besides this he paid them their
wages up to date and added more to cover the period of their march back until they should
return to their homes.
[4]
To those who would remain with him in
the royal army, he gave a bonus of three talents each. He treated the soldiers with such
lavishness in part because of his native generosity and in part because he had come into
possession of very much money in the course of his pursuit of Dareius.
[5]
He had received from the royal treasurers the sum of eight thousand
talents. Apart from this, what was distributed to the soldiers, including clothing and goblets,
came to thirteen thousand talents,8 while what was stolen or taken as plunder
was thought to be even more still.
1 329/8 B.C.
2 Cephisophon was archon at Athens from July of 329 to June of 328 B.C. The Roman consuls of 331 B.C. were C. Valerius Potitus and M. Claudius Marcellus (Broughton, 1.143).
3 These names appear as Nabarzanes and Barsaentes in Curtius and Arrian.
4 Curtius 6.6.13; Arrian. 3.25.3.
5 Curtius 6.2.15-3.18; Justin 12.3.2-3; Plut. Alexander 47.
6 These were the troops furnished according to their decision by the members of the Hellenic League (Books 16.89.3; 17.4.9). Curtius 6.2.17, also, reports their dismissal at this time; their mission was complete with the destruction of Persepolis and the death of Dareius. Arrian. 3.19.5 places their dismissal earlier, at Ecbatana.
7 Curtius 6.2.17 gives the same figures. These sums are much larger than those distributed at Babylon (chap. 64.6). One may wonder whether Alexander could have been so generous to Greeks without taking care of the Macedonians equally well.
8 Curtius 6.2.10 gives 12,000 talents.
Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.
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References (11 total)
- Cross-references to this page
(1):
- Smith's Bio, Barsaentes
- Cross-references in notes from this page (7):
- Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page
(3):
- LSJ, ἁρπάζω
- LSJ, γα_ζο-φυ^λα^κέω
- LSJ, κατάκτησις
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