or Cross Bow. See CROSS-BOW.

ARBELEA, now Irbil, a city of Assyria, lying in E. Long. 44° 5' N. Lat. 35° 15'. It is famous for the last and decisive battle fought in its neighborhood between Alexander the Great and Darius Codomannus. This battle was fought 331 years before Christ, and the event of it determined the fate of the Persian empire. Arrian relates, that Darius's army consisted of a million of foot and 40,000 horse; according to Diodorus, there were 200,000 horse and 800,000 foot; Plutarch relates, that the horse and foot together made up a million: and Justin gives us exactly half Diodorus's number. The Macedonian army, according to Arrian, consisted of 40,000 foot and 7000 horse.

Upon receiving notice of the vast strength of the enemy, Alexander expressed neither surprise nor apprehension; but having commanded a halt, he encamped four days, to give his men rest and refreshment. His camp being fortified by a good intrenchment, he left in it the sick and infirm, together with all the baggage; and, on the evening of the fourth day, prepared to march against the enemy with the effective part of his army, which was said to consist of 40,000 infantry and 7000 horse, unencumbered with anything but their provisions and armour. The march was undertaken at the second watch of the night, that the Macedonians, by joining battle in the morning, might enjoy the important advantage of having an entire day before them, to reap the full fruits of their expected victory. About half way between the hostile camps, some eminences intercepted the view of either army. Having ascended the rising ground, Alexander first beheld the barbarians, drawn up in battle array, and perhaps more skilfully marshalled than he had reason to apprehend. Their appearance, at least, immediately determined him to change his first resolution. He again commanded a halt, summoned a council of war; and different measures being proposed, acceded to the single opinion of Parmenio, who advised that the foot should remain stationary until a detachment of horse had explored the field of battle and carefully examined the disposition of the enemy. Alexander, whose conduct was equalled by his courage, and both surpassed by his activity, performed those important duties in person at the head of his light horse and royal cohort. Having returned with unexampled celerity, he again assembled his captains; and encouraged them by a short speech. Their ardour corresponded with his own; and the soldiers, confident of victory, were commanded to take rest and refreshment.

"Meanwhile Darius, perceiving the enemy's approach, kept his men prepared for action. Notwithstanding the great length of the plain, he was obliged to contract his front, and form in two lines, each of which was extremely deep. According to the Persian custom, the king occupied the centre of the first line, surrounded by the princes of the blood and the great officers of his court, and defended by his horse and foot guards, amounting to 15,000 chosen men. These splendid troops, who seemed fitter for parade than battle, were flanked on either side by the Greek mercenaries and other warlike battalions, carefully selected from the whole army. The right wing consisted of the Medes, Parthians, Hyrcanians and Sacae; the left was chiefly occupied by the Bactrians, Persians, and Car- The various nations composing this immense host were differently armed, with swords, spears, clubs, and hatchets; while the horse and foot of each division were promiscuously blended, rather from the result of accident than by the direction of design. The armed chariots fronted the first line, whose centre was farther defended by the elephants. Chosen squadrons of Scythian, Bactrian, and Cappadocian cavalry advanced before either wing, prepared to bring on the action, or after it began to attack the enemy in flank and rear. The unexpected approach of Alexander within sight of his tents prevented Darius from fortifying the wide extent of his camp; and, as he dreaded a nocturnal assault from enemies who often veiled their designs in darkness, he commanded his men to remain all night under arms. This unusual measure, the gloomy silence, the long and anxious expectation, together with the fatigue of a restless night, discouraged the whole army, but inspired double terror into those who had witnessed the miserable disasters on the banks of the Granicus and the Iissus.

"At daybreak Alexander disposed of his troops in a manner suggested by the superior numbers and deep order of the enemy. His main body consisted of two heavy-armed phalanxes, each amounting to above 16,000 men. Of these the greater part formed into one line; behind which he placed the heavy-armed men, reinforced by his targeteers, with orders, that when the outspreading wings of the enemy prepared to attack the flanks and rear of his first line, the second should immediately wheel to receive them. The cavalry and light infantry were disposed on the wings, that while one part resisted the shock of the Persians in front, another, by only facing to the right or left, might take them in flank. Skilled archers and darters were posted at proper intervals, as affording the best defence against the armed chariots, which (as Alexander well knew) must immediately become useless whenever their conductors or horses were wounded.

Having thus arranged the several parts, Alexander with equal judgment led the whole in an oblique direction towards the enemy's left; a manoeuvre which enabled the Macedonians to avoid contending at once with superior numbers. When his advanced battalions, notwithstanding their nearness to the enemy, still stretched towards the right, Darius also extended his left, till fearing that by continuing this movement, his men should be drawn gradually off the plain, he commanded the Scythian squadrons to advance, and prevent the farther extension of the hostile line. Alexander immediately detached a body of horse to oppose them. An equestrian combat ensued, in which both parties were reinforced, and the barbarians finally repelled. The armed chariots then issued forth with impetuous violence; but their appearance only was formidable; for the precautions taken by Alexander rendered their assault harmless. Darius next moved his main body, but with so little order, that the horse, mixed with the infantry, advanced, and left a vacancy in the line, which his generals wanted time or vigilance to supply. Alexander seized the decisive moment, and penetrated into the void with a wedge of squadrons. He was followed by the nearest sections of the phalanx, who rushed forward with loud shouts, as if they had already pursued the enemy. In this part of the field, the victory was not long doubtful; after a feeble resistance, the barbarians gave way; and the pusillanimous Darius was foremost in the flight.

The battle, however, was not yet decided. The more remote divisions of the phalanx, upon receiving intelligence that the left wing, commanded by Parmenio, was in danger, had not immediately followed Alexander. A vacant space was thus left in the Macedonian line, through which some squadrons of Persian and Indian horse penetrated with celerity, and advanced to the hostile camp. It was then that Alexander derived signal and well-earned advantages from his judicious order of battle. The heavy-armed troops and targeteers, which he had skilfully posted behind the phalanx, speedily faced about, advanced with a rapid step, and attacked the barbarian cavalry, already entangled among the baggage. The enemy, thus surprised, were destroyed or put to flight. Meanwhile, the danger of his left wing recalled Alexander from the pursuit of Darius. In advancing against the enemy's right, he was met by the Parthian, Indian, and Persian horse, who maintained a sharp conflict. Sixty of the Companions fell; Hephaestion, Cenius, and Menidas, were wounded. Having at length dissipated this cloud of cavalry, Alexander prepared to attack the foot in that wing. But the benefits was already effected, chiefly by the Thessalian horse; and nothing remained to be done, but to pursue the fugitives, and to render the victory as decisive as possible.

According to the least extravagant accounts, with the loss of 500 men, he destroyed 40,000 of the barbarians, who never thenceforth assembled in sufficient numbers to dispute his dominion in the east. The invaluable provinces of Babylonia, Susiana, and Persis, with their respective capitals of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, formed the prize of his skill and valour. The gold and silver found in those cities amounted to thirty millions sterling; the jewels and other precious spoil, belonging to Darius, sufficed, according to Plutarch, to load 20,000 mules, and 5000 camels." The consequences of this victory the reader will find narrated under the article Persia.