or MACEDON, a celebrated kingdom of antiquity, was bounded on the east by the Aegean Sea, on the south by Thessaly and Epirus, on the west by the Ionian Sea or Adriatic, on the north, at first by the river Strymon and the Scardian Mountains, but afterwards by the river Nessus or Nestus. In a direct line the whole country extended only 150 miles; but it was lengthened out to about three times that extent by the windings of the coast, in which almost every convenient situation was converted into a Grecian sea-port. The country was naturally divided, by the Thermaic and Strymonic Gulfs, into the provinces of Pieria, Chalcis, and Pangeus. The middle region, which took its name from a city of Euboea, whence it had been originally peopled, was very fertile and pleasant; and the interior, being diversified by lakes, rivers, and arms of the sea, was extremely convenient for inland navigation, whilst the towns of Amphipolis, Potidaea, Acanthus, and many others, afforded marts for the commerce of the republics of Greece, as well as of Thrace and Macedonia. On one side of this district were the mountains of Pangeus, and on the other the plains of Pieria. The Pangean Mountains, which extended ninety miles towards the east and the river Nessus, though proper neither for corn nor pasture, produced plenty of timber for ship-building; whilst the southern branches of the mountains contained rich veins of gold and silver; but these, though wrought successively by the Thasians and the Athenians, were only brought to perfection by Philip of Macedonia, who extracted from them gold and silver to the value of about L200,000 sterling annually. Pieria extended fifty miles along the Thermaic Gulf, as far as the confines of Thessaly and Mount Pindus. The inland part of the country was beautifully diversified with shady hills and with fountains; and so admirably calculated for solitary walks and retirement, that the ancients looked upon it as the favourite haunts of the Muses, and accordingly bestowed upon them the title of Pierides.

In the most ancient times this country was called Æma-Differentia, from Æmathius, one of its princes. The name of Macedon is said to have been derived from Macedo, a descendant of Deucalion; though others suppose it to have been only a corruption of Mygdonia, a district of the country. In those remote ages of antiquity, Macedonia, like most other countries of Europe, was divided into a great number of petty principalities, of which scarcely even the names are now known.

All authors agree, however, that Caranus was the first Kingdom who established any permanent sovereignty in Macedonia, founded by He was an Argive, a descendant of Hercules, and, about Caranus, 800 years before Christ, conducted a small colony of his countrymen into the inland district of Macedonia, at that time distinguished by the name of Æmathia, as already mentioned. This territory was about 300 miles in circumference. On the south it was separated from the sea by a number of Greek republics, of which the most considerable were those of Olynthus and Amphipolis; and on the north, the east, and the west, it was surrounded by the barbarous kingdoms of Thrace, Paeonia, and Illyricum. According to the traditions of those times, Caranus having consulted the oracle respecting the success of his intended expedition, was commanded to follow the direction of the goats in the establishment of his empire. For some time he proceeded at random, without knowing what to make of the oracle's answer; but happening to enter the small kingdom of Æmathia, at that time governed by king Midas, he observed a herd of goats running towards Edessa, the capital. Recollecting the answer of the oracle, he then attacked and took the city by surprise, and soon afterwards made himself master of the whole kingdom. In memory of this remarkable event, he called the city Æge, and the people Ægiates, from the goats who conducted him, and made use of the figure of a goat for his standard. From this fable also we see why the figure of a goat is so frequently found on the coins of Philip and his successors.

But the little colony of Argives led into Æmathia by Caranus would soon have been overwhelmed by the barbarous nations who surrounded it, had not this prince and his subjects taken care to ingratiate themselves with their neighbours, rather than to attempt to subdue them by force of arms. They instructed them in the Greek religion and government, and in the knowledge of many useful arts; adopting themselves, in some degree, the language and manners of the barbarians, and imparting to them in return some portion of Grecian civilization. Thus they gradually associated with the fierce and warlike tribes in their neighbourhood; and this prudent conduct, being followed by succeeding generations, may be looked upon as one of the causes of the Macedonian greatness. Caranus dying after a short reign of three years, left the kingdom to his son Coenus, who having considerably enlarged his dominions, was succeeded by Thurymas, and he again by Perdiccas I. This last prince is by Thucydides and Herodotus accounted the founder of the Macedonian monarchy, though his history is so obscured by fable that nothing certain can now be known concerning it. In process of time, however, the good understanding which had subsisted between the Macedonians and their barbarous neighbours began to suffer interruption, and in 691 B.C. the kingdom was for the first time invaded by the Illyrians. At first they did considerable damage by their ravages; but the Macedonian monarch Argeaus having decoyed them into an ambush, cut off great numbers, and obliged the remainder to leave the kingdom. In the reign of his successors, however, they returned, and occasionally proved very troublesome enemies, till the reigns of Philip and Alexander.

In the mean time, the kingdom of Macedonia began to be affected by those great events which had taken place in other parts of the world. Cyrus having overthrown the Babylonian empire, and conquered all the western part of Asia, established a mighty monarchy, which threatened the eastern parts of Europe with complete subjugation. The Greeks, however, having now emerged from barbarism, and acquired great knowledge in the art of war, were able effectually to resist this very formidable power; but the kingdom of Macedonia, obscure and unconnected, was obliged to yield, and though not formally made a province of the Persian empire, was nevertheless accounted in some sort as under the vassalage and protection of the Persians. Alcetas, who ascended the Macedonian throne about the time that the Persian monarchy was founded, had the dexterity to preserve his dominions from the encroachments of the Greeks on the one hand, and of the Persians on the other; but in the reign of his successor Amyntas, a formal demand was made of submission to the great king Darius, by sending him a present of earth and water. Seven ambassadors were sent upon this errand by Megabizus, one of the officers of Darius. They were sumptuously entertained by Amyntas; but having attempted to take some indecent liberties with the Macedonian women, Alexander, the king's son, caused them all to be put to death. This hasty retribution had almost proved the ruin of the kingdom; but Alexander found means to pacify Bubares, the general sent against him by Megabizus, by showing him his sister Gygea, a very beautiful woman, with whom the Persian fell in love at first sight, and afterwards married her.

From this time the Macedonians were accounted the faithful allies of the Persians; and Amyntas, through the interest of his son-in-law, obtained the country in the neighbourhood of Mount Haemus and Olympus, at the same time that the city of Alabanda in Phrygia was given to Amyntas, the nephew of Alexander. The Macedonians distinguished themselves in the time of the Persian invasion of Greece, by furnishing their allies with 200,000 recruits; though some cities, particularly Potidea, Olynthus, and Pallene, adhered to the Grecian interest. The last two were taken and razed, and the inhabitants massacred by the Persians; but Potidea escaped by reason of the sea breaking into the Persian camp, where it did great damage. Alexander, however, afterwards thought proper to court the favour of the Greeks, by giving them intelligence of the time when Mardonius designed to attack them. The remaining transactions of this reign are entirely unknown, further than that the king enlarged his dominions as far as the river Nessus on the east, and the Axios on the west.

Alexander I. was succeeded by his son Perdiccas II., who is said to have inherited his father's abilities, though not his integrity. From the duplicity with which he acted, both to the Greeks and the Persians, it does not appear indeed that he had much to boast of as to the latter quality. In the Peloponnesian war he espoused the cause of the Spartans against the Athenians, from whom he was in danger by reason of their numerous settlements on the Macedonian coast, and their great power by sea. For some time, however, he amused the Athenians with a show of friendship; but at last, under pretence of enabling Olynthus and some other cities to recover their liberties, he assisted in destroying the influence of the Athenians in those places, hoping to establish that of the Macedonians in its stead. But this design failed of success; the Olynthian confederacy was broken up; and the members of it became subject to Sparta, until at last, by the misfortunes of that republic, they grew sufficiently powerful, not only to resist the encroachments of the Macedonians, but to make considerable conquests in their country.

Perdiccas II. was succeeded about 416 B.C. by Archelaus I. He enlarged his dominions by the conquest of Pydna, and other places in Pieria, though his ambition seems rather to have been to improve his dominions than greatly to extend them. He facilitated the communication between the principal towns of Macedonia, by cutting straight roads through most part of the country; he built walls and fortresses in such places as afforded favourable situations; he encouraged agriculture and the arts, particularly those subservient to war; he formed magazines of arms; he raised and disciplined a considerable body of cavalry; and, in a word, he added more to the solid grandeur of Macedonia than had been done by all his predecessors put together. Nor was he regardless of the arts of peace. His palace was adorned by the works of the Grecian painters. Euripides was long entertained at his court; Socrates was earnestly solicited to live there, after the example of this philosophic poet, formed by his precepts, and cherished by his friendship; men of merit and genius in the various walks of literature and science were invited to reside in Macedonia, and treated with distinguished regard by a monarch equally attentive to advance his own glory and promote the happiness of his subjects.

This great monarch died after a reign of six years, a civil space by far too short to accomplish the magnificent projects he had formed. After his death the kingdom fell under the power of usurpers, or of weak and wicked monarchs. A number of competitors constantly appeared for the throne; and these by turns called to their assistance the Thracians, Illyrians, Thessalians, the Olynthian confederacy, Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. Bardyllis, an active and daring chief, who, from being the head of a gang of robbers, had become sovereign of the Illyrians, entered Macedonia at the head of a numerous army; deposed Amyntas II. the father of Philip; and set up in his stead one Argeaus, who consented to become tributary to the Illyrians. Another candidate for the throne, named Pausanias, was supported by the Thracians; but, by the assistance of the Thessalians and Olynthians, Amyntas was at length enabled to resume the government. After his restoration, however, the Olynthians refused to deliver up several places of importance belonging to Macedonia, which Amyntas had either intrusted to their care, or which they had taken from his antagonist. Amyntas complained to Sparta; and that republic, which had already formed schemes of very extensive ambition, so readily complied with the request, that it was generally supposed to have proceeded from Spartan emissaries sent into Macedonia. They pretended indeed to hesitate a little, and to take time to deliberate as to the army which ought to be raised for the purpose; but Cleigenes, the principal ambassador, so strongly represented the urgency of the case, that the troops which happened at that time to be ready were or- Spartans, under the command of Eudamidas, were ordered into Macedonia, whilst a powerful reinforcement under the command of Phoebeidas, brother of the general, was ordered to follow him as soon as possible. By accident, Phoebeidas and his auxiliaries were detained till the season for action had passed; but Eudamidas with his small army performed essential service. The appearance of a Spartan army at once encouraged the subjects and allies of the Olynthians to revolt; and the city of Potidea, a place of great importance in the isthmus of Pallene, surrendered soon after his arrival in the country. Elated with his success, Eudamidas approached so near the city of Olynthus, that he was unexpectedly attacked, defeated, and killed, in a sally of the citizens. He was succeeded by Teleutias, brother of Agesilaus, who had under his command a body of ten thousand men, and was further assisted by Amyntas king of Macedonia, and Derdas his brother, the governor or sovereign of the most westerly province of Macedonia, which abounded in cavalry. By these formidable enemies the Olynthians were discomfited in a series of battles, obliged to shut themselves up in their city, and prevented from cultivating their territory; upon which Teleutias advanced with his whole forces to invest the city itself. But his excessive eagerness to destroy his enemies proved his ruin. A body of Olynthian horse had the boldness to pass the river Amniss in sight of the allied army, though so much superior in number. Teleutias ordered his targeteers to attack them, and the Olynthians retreated across the river, closely pursued by the Lacedemonians, a great part of whom also crossed the river; but the Olynthians suddenly turned upon them, and killed upwards of one hundred, with Tlemonidas their leader. Teleutias, exasperated at this disaster, ordered the remainder of the targeteers and cavalry to pursue, whilst he himself advanced at the head of the heavy-armed foot with such celerity, that they began to fall into disorder. The Olynthians allowed them to come on, and the Lacedemonians imprudently advanced under the towers and battlements of the city. The townsmen then mounted the walls, and discharged upon them a shower of darts, arrows, and other missile weapons, whilst the flower of the Olynthian troops, who had been purposely posted behind the gates, sallied forth and attacked them with the greatest fury. Teleutias, attempting to rally his men, was slain in the first onset; the Spartans who attended him were defeated, and the whole army dispersed with great slaughter, and obliged to shelter themselves in the towns of Acanthus, Apollonia, Sparta, and Potidea.

The Spartans, dismayed by this disaster, next sent their king Agesipolis with a powerful reinforcement into Macedonia. His presence greatly raised the spirits of the Lacedemonian allies, and his rapid success seemed to promise a speedy termination to the war, when he himself died of a cautelure. He was succeeded in the throne by his brother Cleombrotus, and in the command of the army by Polybiades, an old, experienced, general, who likewise brought along with him a powerful reinforcement. Olynthus was now completely blockaded by land, whilst a squadron of Lacedemonian galleys blockaded the neighbouring harbour of Myceberna. The Olynthians, however, held out for nine or ten months, but were at last obliged to submit on very humiliating conditions. They formally renounced all claim to the dominion of Chalcis, and ceded the Macedonian cities to their ancient governor; and in consequence of this Amyntas left the city of Æge or Edessa, where till now he had held his royal residence, and fixed it at Pella, a city of great strength and beauty, situated upon an eminence, which, together with a plain of considerable extent, was defended by impassable morasses, and also by the rivers Axius and Lydias. It was distant about fifteen miles from the Ægean Sea, with Macedonia, which it communicated by means of the above-mentioned rivers. It was originally founded by the Greeks, who had conquered and peopled it; but, in consequence of the misfortunes of Olynthus, it now became, and continued ever after to be, the capital of Macedonia.

Amyntas being thus established in his dominions, continued to enjoy tranquillity during the remaining part of Ptolemy's life. The reign of his son Alexander was short, and disturbed by invasions of the Illyrians, from whom he was obliged to purchase a peace. He left behind him two brothers, Perdiccas and Philip, both very young, so that Pausanias again found means to usurp the throne, being supported not only by the Thracians, but by a considerable number of Greek mercenaries, as well as a powerful party in Macedonia itself. In this critical juncture, however, Iphicrates the Athenian happening to be on an expedition to Amphipolis, was so warmly addressed by Eurydice, the widow of Amyntas, in behalf of her two sons, whom she presented to him, that he interested himself in their behalf; and got Perdiccas, the eldest, established on the throne. He was induced to perform this act of generosity by the kindness which Eurydice and her husband had formerly shown to himself; and he likewise perceived the advantages which must ensue to his country from a connection with Macedonia. During the minority of the young prince, however, his brother Ptolemy, who was his guardian, openly aspired to the throne; but he was deposed by the Theban general Peleidas, who reinstated Perdiccas in his dominions, and, in order to secure the dependence of Macedonia upon Thebes, carried along with him thirty Macedonian youths as hostages, amongst whom was Philip, the younger brother of the king. Perdiccas, elated by the protection of such powerful allies, now forgot Iphicrates and the Athenians, and even disputed with them the right to the city of Amphipolis, which had been decreed to them by the general council of Greece, but which his opposition rendered it impossible for them to recover. From the trust he put in these new allies, it is probable that he refused to Bardyllis the Illyrian the tribute the Macedonians had been obliged to pay him; a circumstance which occasioned a war with that nation. In this contest the Macedonians were defeated with the loss of four thousand men, and Perdiccas himself was taken prisoner, and soon afterwards died of his wounds.

The kingdom was now left in the most deplorable state. State of the Amyntas, the legitimate heir to the throne, was an infant; kingdom. The Thebans, in whom Perdiccas had placed so much confidence, were deprived of the sovereignty of Greece; the Athenians, justly provoked at the ungrateful behaviour of the late monarch, showed a hostile disposition; the Illyrians ravaged the western, and the Paeonians the northern quarter of the kingdom; the Thracians still supported the cause of Pausanias, and proposed to send him into Macedonia at the head of a numerous army; whilst Argeus, the former rival of Amyntas, renewed his pretensions to the throne, and by flattering the Athenians with the hopes of recovering Amphipolis, easily induced them to support his claims, in consequence of which they fitted out a fleet, having on board three thousand heavy-armed soldiers, which they sent to the coast of Macedonia.

Philip, the late king's brother, no sooner heard of his defeat and death, than he set out privately from Thebes, Philip in and on his arrival in Macedonia found matters in the si-Macedonia. tuation which we have just described. Fired with an insatiable ambition, it is probable that from the very first moment he had resolved to seize the kingdom for himself; yet it was necessary at first to pretend that he assumed the throne only to preserve it for his nephew. Philip, as has already been mentioned, had been carried off as a hostage by Pe-lopidas, but for a long time past had remained in such ob- Macedonia, security that historians are not agreed as to his place of residence, some placing him in Thebes, and others in Macedonia. It is certain, however, that from the age of fifteen he had been very much in the family of Epaminondas, from whose lessons he could not but derive the greatest advantage. It is also probable that he accompanied this celebrated general in many of his expeditions; and it is certain that, with an attendance suitable to his rank, he visited most of the principal republics, and paid great attention to their institutions, both civil and military. Having easy access to whomsoever he pleased, he cultivated the friendship of the first people in Greece. Even in Athens, where no good will subsisted to Macedonia, the philosophers Plato, Isocrates, and Aristotle, cultivated his acquaintance; and the connection he formed with the principal leaders of that republic in the early period of his life no doubt contributed greatly to the accomplishment of the designs in which he afterwards proved so successful.

His appearance in Macedonia instantly changed the face of affairs. The Macedonian army, though defeated, was not entirely destroyed; and the remainder of them secured themselves in the fortresses which had been built by Archelaus. There were also considerable garrisons in the fortresses, and walled towns scattered over the kingdom; and the Illyrians, who had made war only for the sake of plunder, soon returned home to enjoy the fruits of their victory. His other enemies, the Thracians and Paeonians, were much less formidable than the Illyrians, being still in a very rude and uncivilized state, incapable of uniting under one head in such a manner as to bring any formidable army into the field. Whilst the Illyrians therefore gave up the campaign through mere caprice and unsteadiness, Philip himself applied to the Paeonians, and by fair promises and flattery prevailed upon them to desist. The king of Thrace, by means of a sum of money, was easily prevailed upon to abandon the cause of Pausanias; so that Philip, freed from these barbarians, was now at liberty to oppose the Athenians, who supported Argeus, and threatened a very formidable invasion.

The appearance of the Athenian fleet before Methone, with that of Argeus at the head of a numerous army in Pieria, filled the whole country with consternation; and Philip, who was by no means deficient in the talents necessary to recommend himself to the good graces of the people, took the opportunity of getting Amyntas set aside, and himself declared king, for which proceeding indeed the danger of the times afforded a very plausible pretext. In the mean time, Argeus advanced with his Athenian allies towards Edessa or Ægæ, the ancient capital of the Macedonian empire, where he hoped to have been amicably received; but finding the gates shut against him, he returned back to Methone. Philip harassed him in his retreat, cutting off great numbers of his men, and afterwards defeated him in a general engagement, in which Argeus himself, with the flower of his army, was cut in pieces, and the rest taken prisoners. This first instance of success contributed greatly to raise the spirits of Philip's party; and he himself took care to improve it in the best manner possible. Having made a great number of prisoners, both Macedonians and Athenians, he determined, by his treatment of them, to ingratiate himself with both parties. The former were called into his presence, and, after a gentle reprimand, admitted to swear allegiance to him, after which they were distributed throughout the army. The Athenians were entertained at his table, and dismissed without ransom, and their baggage was restored to them. The prisoners were just allowed time to return to their native city, and to spread abroad the news of Philip's generosity, when they were followed by ambassadors from Macedonia with proposals for peace. As he knew that the loss of Amphipolis had greatly irritated them, he now thought proper to renounce his jurisdiction over that city. It was accordingly declared free and independent, and subject only to the government of its own free and equitable laws. This prudent conduct, together with his kind treatment of the prisoners, so wrought upon the minds of the Athenians, that they consented to the renewal of a treaty which had formerly subsisted between them and his father Amyntas. Thus he found means to remove all jealousy of his ambition, and to induce them to engage in a ruinous war with their allies, which occupied their attention until Philip had an opportunity of getting matters so well established that it was impossible to overthrow him.

The new king being thus at liberty to regulate his domestic concerns, began to circumscribe the power of his chiefs and nobles, who, especially in the more remote provinces, paid very little regard to the authority of the kings of Macedonia; sometimes, even in times of public calamity, throwing off their allegiance altogether, and assuming an independent jurisdiction over considerable tracts of country. To counteract the ambition of these chiefs, Philip chose a body of the bravest Macedonian youths, whom he entertained at his own table, and honoured with many testimonies of his friendship, giving them the title of his "companions," and allowing them constantly to attend him in war and hunting. Their intimacy with the sovereign, which was considered as a sure indication of their merit, obliged them to use superior diligence in all the severe duties of military discipline; and the young nobility, eager to participate in such high honours, vied with one another in their endeavours to gain admission into this distinguished order; so that whilst on the one hand they served as hostages, they formed on the other an useful seminary for future generals, by whom both Philip and Alexander were afterwards greatly assisted in their conquests.

Diodorus Siculus, and all the Roman writers who have treated of the history of Greece, assert that Philip, in the first year of his reign, instituted the Macedonian phalanx; a body of six thousand men armed with short swords fitted either for cutting or thrusting, having also strong bucklers four feet long and two and a half broad, and pikes fourteen feet long, and usually marching sixteen men deep. But this opinion is controverted by others. Dr Gillies supposes that such an opinion had arisen from the Romans meeting with the phalanx in its most complete form in Macedonia; and as they became acquainted with Greece and Macedonia pretty nearly at the same time, it was natural for them to suppose that it had been invented amongst the Macedonians. The phalanx, he says, is nothing different from the armour and arrangement which had always prevailed amongst the Greeks, and which Philip adopted in their most perfect form; "nor is there reason to think that a prince, who knew the danger of changing what the experience of ages had approved, made any alteration in the weapons or tactics of that people." The improvement in the countermarch, to which Philip gave the appearance of advancing instead of retreating, mentioned by Aelian in his Tactics (cap. xxviii.), was borrowed, as this author tells us, from the Lacedemonians. If Philip increased the phalanx, usually less numerous, to six thousand men, this was far from an improvement; and the latter kings of Macedonia, who swelled it to sixteen thousand, only rendered that order of battle more unwieldy and inconvenient." Instead of this, Philip,

---

1 Dr Gillies is mistaken as to the constitution of the Macedonian phalanx, which was a deeper, more compact, and perfect formation than that which, under the same name, obtained amongst the Greeks. See the article Army. Macedonia.

According to our author, employed himself in procuring arms, horses, and other necessary materials for war; and in introducing a more severe and exact military discipline than had formerly been known in Macedonia.

Whilst the king thus took the best methods to render himself secure at home and formidable abroad, the Paonians again began to make incursions into the kingdom. The death of Agis, their king, however, who was a man of great military skill, deprived them of almost all power of resistance when they were attacked. Philip, in consequence, overran their country with little opposition, and reduced them to the state of tributaries to Macedonia. No sooner was this accomplished, than he undertook a winter's campaign against the Illyrians, who had long been the natural enemies of Macedonia. They had now extended their territory to the east, by which means the Macedonians were excluded from the harbours upon the coast of the Adriatic. This was a grievance to Philip, who seems early to have meditated the formation of a naval force; neither could he hope to be in safety, should the kingdom be left open to the incursions of a barbarous enemy; for which reason he determined at once to humble those enemies in such a manner that they should no longer be in a situation to give him any disturbance. After an ineffectual negociation, he was met by Bardyllis at the head of a considerable body of infantry, but with only four hundred horse. They made a gallant resistance for some time; but being unable to contend with so skilful a general as Philip, they were defeated with the loss of seven thousand men, amongst whom was their leader Bardyllis, who fell at the age of ninety.

By this disaster the Illyrians were so much disheartened, that they sent ambassadors to Philip, humbly begging for peace upon any terms. The conqueror granted them the same conditions which had been imposed upon the Paonians, viz. becoming tributary, and yielding up to him a considerable part of their country. That part of it which lay to the eastward of a lake named Lychnidus he annexed to Macedonia, and probably built a town and settled a colony there, the country being fertile, and the lake abounding with many kinds of fish highly esteemed by the ancients. This town and lake were about fifty miles distant from the Ionian Sea; and such was the ascendancy which the arms and policy of Philip acquired over his neighbours, that the inhabitants of all the intermediate district soon adopted the language and manners of their conquerors; whilst their territory, hitherto unconnected with any foreign power, sunk into such absolute dependence upon Macedonia, that many ancient geographers supposed it to be a province of that country.

Philip had no sooner reduced the Illyrians, than he began to put in execution greater designs than any which he had yet attempted. The rich coasts to the southward of Macedonia, inhabited chiefly by Greeks, presented a strong temptation to his ambition and avarice. The confederacy of Olynthus, after having thrown off the yoke of Sparta, had become more powerful than ever, and could send into the field an army of ten thousand heavy-armed troops, besides a number of cavalry in proportion; most of the towns in Chalcidice had become its allies or subjects; whilst this populous and wealthy province, together with Pangeus on the right and Pieria on the left, of both which the cities were either independent or subject to the Athenians, formed a barrier sufficient to guard against any incursions of the Macedonians. But though Philip was sensible enough of the importance of those places, he considered the conquest of Amphipolis as more necessary at that time. By the possession of this place, Macedonia would be connected with the sea, and would be secured in many commercial advantages, which could not but contribute greatly to the prosperity of the kingdom at large; a road was likewise opened to the woods and mines of Pangeus, the former of which were so necessary to the formation of a naval force, and the latter for the establishment of a proper military force. This city had indeed been declared independent by Philip himself in the beginning of his reign; but this was only to prevent a rupture with the Athenians, who still asserted their right to it as an ancient colony, though, by reason of the perfidy of Charidemus, a native of Euboea, they had hitherto failed in their attempts to recover it. The Amphipolitans, however, having once enjoyed the sweets of liberty, prepared to maintain themselves in their independence. In the mean time, the hostile designs of Philip, which all his precaution had not been able to conceal, alarmed the inhabitants to such a degree that they thought proper to put themselves under the protection of the Olynthians. By them they were readily received into the confederacy, and, trusting to the strength of their new allies, behaved in such an insolent manner to Philip, that he was not long in finding a specious pretext for hostility; on which the Olynthians, greatly alarmed, sent ambassadors to Athens, requesting their assistance against such a powerful enemy. Philip, however, justly alarmed at such a formidable conspiracy, sent agents to Athens with such expedition that they arrived there before any thing could be concluded with the Olynthian deputies. Having gained over the popular leaders and orators, he deceived and flattered the magistrates and senate in such an artful manner, that a negociation was instantly set on foot, by which Philip engaged to conquer Amphipolis for the Athenians, upon condition that they surrendered to him the strong fortress of Pydna, a place which he represented as of much less importance to them; promising also to confer upon them many other advantages, which, however, he did not specify at that time. Thus the Athenians, deceived by the perfidy of their own magistrates, elated with the hopes of recovering Amphipolis, and outwitted by the superior policy of Philip, rejected with disdain the proffers of the Olynthians.

The ambassadors of Olynthus returned home highly disgusted with the reception they had met with, but had scarcely time to communicate their news to their countrymen, when the ambassadors of Philip arrived at Olynthus. He pretended to console with them on the affront they had received at Athens, but also testified his surprise that they should court the assistance of that distant and haughty republic, when they could avail themselves of the powerful kingdom of Macedonia, which wished for nothing more than to enter into equal and lasting engagements with their confederacy. As a proof of his moderation and sincerity, he offered to put them in possession of Anthemus, an important town in the neighbourhood, of which the Macedonians had long claimed the jurisdiction; making many other fair promises, and, amongst the rest, that he would reduce for them the cities of Pydna and Potidaea, which he chose rather to see in dependence on Olynthus than Athens. Thus he prevailed upon the Olynthians not only to abandon Amphipolis, but to assist him with all their power in the execution of his designs.

Philip now lost no time in executing his purposes against Amphipolis, and pressed the city so closely that the people were glad to apply to the Athenians for relief. Accordingly, they despatched two of their most eminent citizens, Hierax and Stratocles, to represent the danger of an alliance between Philip and the Olynthians, and to profess their sorrow for having so deeply offended the parent state. This representation had such an effect, that though the Athenians were then deeply engaged in the Social War, they would probably have paid some attention to the Amphipolitans, had not Philip taken care to send them a letter with fresh assurances of friendship, acknowledging their right to Amphipolis, and which he hoped shortly to put into their hands in terms of his recent agreement. By these Macedonia, specious pretences the Athenians were persuaded to pay as little regard to the deputies of the Amphipolitans as they had already done to those of the Olynthians; so that the city, unable to defend itself alone against so powerful an enemy, at last surrendered at discretion in the year 357 before Christ.

Philip still proceeded in the same cautious and politic manner in which he had commenced. Though the obstinate defence of the Amphipolitans might have furnished a pretence for severity, he contented himself with banishing a few of the popular leaders, from whom he had most cause to dread opposition, treating the rest of the inhabitants with all manner of clemency; but he took care to add Amphipolis to his own dominions, from which he was determined that it never should be separated, notwithstanding the promises he had made to the Athenians. Finding that it was not his interest at this time to fall out with the Olynthians, he cultivated the friendship of that republic with great assiduity; and took the cities of Pydna and Potidea, which he readily yielded to the Olynthians, though they had given him but little assistance in the reduction of these places. Potidea had been garrisoned by the Athenians, and then the artful king sent back without ransom, lamenting the necessity of his affairs, which obliged him, contrary to his inclination, to oppose their republic. Though this was rather too gross, the Athenians were then so much engaged with the Social War, that they had not leisure to attend to the affairs of other nations. Philip made the best use of his time, and next projected the conquest of the gold mines of Thrace. That rich and fertile country was now held by one Cotys, a prince of such weak intellectual faculties, that the superstition of the Greeks, into which he was newly initiated, had almost entirely subverted his reason, and he wandered about in quest of the goddess Minerva, with whom he fancied himself in love. The invasion of the Macedonians, however, awakened him from his reverie; and Cotys, finding himself destitute of other means of opposition, attempted to stop the progress of the enemy by a letter. To this Philip paid no regard, and the Thracians were instantly expelled from their possessions at Crenidae, where there were very valuable gold mines. These had formerly been worked by colonies from Thasos and Athens; but the colonists had long since been expelled by the barbarous Thracians, who knew not how to make use of the treasure they were in possession of. Philip took the trouble to descend into the mines himself, in order to inspect the works; and, having caused them to be repaired, planted a Macedonian colony at Crenidae, bestowed upon it the name of Philippi, and drew annually from the gold mines to the value of near 1000 talents, or L200,000 sterling, an immense sum in those days. The coins struck here were likewise called Philippi.

Philip having obtained this valuable acquisition, next undertook to settle the affairs of Thessaly, where everything was in the greatest confusion. This country had been formerly oppressed by Alexander, tyrant of Pherae, after whose death three others appeared, viz. Tissiphornus, Phialus, and Lycophron, the brothers-in-law of Alexander, who had likewise murdered him. By the united efforts of the Thessalians and Macedonians, however, these usurpers were easily overthrown, and effectually prevented from making any disturbances for the future; and the Thessalians, from a mistaken gratitude, surrendered to Philip all the revenues arising from their fairs and towns of commerce, as well as all the conveniences of their harbours and shipping; a concession which Philip took care to secure in the most effectual manner.

Having now not only established his sovereignty in the most effectual manner, but rendered himself very powerful and formidable to his neighbours, Philip determined to enjoy some repose from his fatigues. Having formed an alliance with Arybbas, king of Epirus, he, in the year 357 before Christ, married Olympias, the sister of that prince; a match thought the more eligible, as the kings of Epirus were supposed to be descended from Achilles. The nuptials were solemnized with great pomp at Pella, and several months were spent in shows and diversions, during which Philip showed such an extreme proneness to vice of every kind, as disgraced him in the eyes of his neighbours, and most probably laid the foundation of his future domestic unhappiness. So much was this behaviour of the Macedonian monarch taken notice of by the neighbouring states, that the Paonians and Illyrians threw off the yoke, engaging in their schemes the king of Thrace; and, notwithstanding the insane state of that prince, their designs were now carried on with more judgment than was usual with barbarians. Philip, however, notwithstanding his dissipation, got warning of his danger in sufficient time to prevent the evil consequences which might have ensued had the confederates had time to bring their schemes to a proper bearing. Early in the spring of 356 he took the field with the flower of the Macedonian troops. Having marched in person against the Paonians and Thracians, he despatched Parmenio, his best general, into Illyria. Both enterprises proved successful; and whilst Philip returned victorious from Thrace, he received an account of the victory gained by Parmenio; a second messenger informed him of a victory gained by his chariot at the Olympic games; and a third announced that Olympias had been delivered of a son at Pella.

This was the celebrated Alexander, to whom the diviners prophesied the highest prosperity and glory, as being the first born in such auspicious circumstances. A short time after the birth of Alexander, Philip wrote a letter to the philosopher Aristotle, whom he chose as preceptor to his son. The letter was written with great brevity, containing only the following words: "Know that a son is born to us. We thank the gods not so much for their gift, as for bestowing it at a time when Aristotle lives. We assure ourselves that you will form him a prince worthy of his father, and worthy of Macedonia."

He next set about the further enlargement of his territories, which were already very considerable. Paonia now formed one of his provinces; on the east his dominions extended to the sea of Thasos, and on the west to the lake Lychnidus. The Thessalians were in effect subject to his jurisdiction, and the possession of Amphipolis had secured him many commercial advantages. He had a numerous and well-disciplined army, with plentiful resources for supporting such an armament, and carrying through the other schemes suggested by his ambition, though his deep and impenetrable policy rendered him more truly formidable than all these put together. His first scheme was the reduction of Olynthus, the most populous and fertile country upon the borders of Macedonia, after which his ambition prompted him to aspire to the sovereignty of all Greece. To accomplish the former, he had hitherto courted the friendship of the Olynthians by every possible method; and without letting slip any opportunity to accomplish the latter, he gradually deprived the Athenians of several of their settlements in Thrace and Macedonia. In these depredations, however, he took care always to give such appearance of justice to his actions, that his antagonists, who had studied the matter less deeply, could not find a plausible pretext for engaging in war against him, even when he had openly committed hostilities against them. Philip easily perceived that the affairs of the Greeks were coming to a crisis, and he determined to watch the issue of their mutual dissensions. Nor did that result disappoint his expectations. The Phocians had violated the religion of those days in a most extraordinary manner; they had even ploughed up the lands consecrated to Apollo; and, how- Macedonia.

By this decree all Greece was again involved in the war called Phocian, from the name of the city about which it commenced. Philip at the beginning of the troubles was engaged in Thrace, where a civil war had broken out amongst the sons of Cotys; and wherever Philip interfered, it was certain that matters turned out to his own advantage. His encroachments at length became so enormous, that Kersobletes, the most powerful of the contending princes, agreed to cede the Thracian Chersonesus to the Athenians, who immediately sent Charax at the head of a powerful armament to take possession of it. In this expedition the town of Sestos was taken by storm, and the inhabitants were cruelly treated by Charax, whilst Philip employed himself in the siege of Methone in Pieria. This city he likewise reduced; but the king lost an eye at the siege, and in a very extraordinary manner, if we may give credit to the accounts of some ancient historians. A celebrated archer, named Aster, had, it seems, offered his services to Philip, being represented as such an excellent marksman that he could hit the swiftest bird on the wing. Philip replied that he would be of excellent use if they were to make war with tarlings. Aster, disgusted with this reception, went over to the enemy, and with an arrow wounded the king in the eye. When the weapon was extracted, it was found to be inscribed with these words: "For the right eye of Philip." The king ordered the arrow to be shot back again, with another inscription, importing that he would cause Aster to be hanged when the town was taken. A report was raised after Philip's death that he had lost his eye by prying too narrowly into the amours of Olympias and Jupiter Ammon, which the vanity of his successor prompted him to cherish, as his flatterers had probably been the inventors of it.

During all this time the Phocian war raged with the greatest fury, and involved in it all the states of Greece. Lycochron, one of the Thessalian tyrants whom Philip had formerly deprived of his authority, had again found means to re-establish himself; and his countrymen having taken part with the Phocians, Lycophron called in Onomarchus, the Phocian general, to protect him against the power of Philip, by whom he was sensible that he would soon be attacked. The king accordingly marched into Thessaly with a considerable army, and defeated Phyllus, the brother of Onomarchus, whom the latter had sent into the country with a detachment of seven thousand men. After this he besieged and took the city of Pegase, driving the enemy towards the frontiers of Phocis. Onomarchus then advanced with the whole army; and Philip, though inferior in numbers, did not decline the engagement. The Phocians first gave ground, on which the Macedonians pursued, in good order; but coming near a precipice, on the top of which Onomarchus had posted a detachment of soldiers, the latter rolled down stones and fragments of the rock in such manner as did dreadful execution, and threw them into the utmost disorder. Philip, however, rallied his troops with great presence of mind, and prevented the Phocians from gaining any further advantage; saying, as he withdrew his troops, that they did not retreat through fear, but only because, in order to strike with the greater vigour. Nor was he long before he made good his assertion; for, having recruited his army with the greatest expedition, he returned into Thessaly at the head of twenty thousand foot and five hundred horse, and there met by Onomarchus. The Macedonians at this time were superior in number to their enemies; and Philip, moreover, took care to remind them that their quarrel was that of heaven, and that their enemies had been guilty of sacrilege, by profaning the temple of Delphi. That they might be still more animated in the Macedonia, cause, he put crowns of laurel on their heads. Thus fired with enthusiasm, and having besides the advantage of numbers, the Phocians were altogether unable to withstand them. They threw away their arms and fled towards the sea, where they expected to have been relieved by Charax, who, with the Athenian fleet, was near to the shore; but in this they were disappointed, for he made no attempt to save them. Upwards of six thousand perished in the field of battle or in the pursuit, and three thousand were taken prisoners. The body of Onomarchus being found amongst the slain, was by order of Philip hung upon a gibbet as a mark of infamy, on account of his having polluted the temple; and the bodies of the rest were thrown into the sea, as being all partakers of the same crime. The fate of the prisoners is not known, by reason of an ambiguity in a sentence of Diodorus Siculus, which may imply that they were drowned, though he does not expressly say so.

After this victory Philip set about the settlement of Thessaly, waiting only for an opportunity to put in execution his favourite scheme of invading Greece. In the meantime, he rejoiced to see the different states weakening each other by their mutual dissensions, of which he never failed to take advantage as far as possible. He now, however, began to throw off the mask with regard to the Olynthians, whom he had long deceived with fair promises. Having detached Kersobletes from the interest of the Athenians, he established him in the sovereignty of Thrace; not out of any good will, but with a view to destroy him whenever a proper opportunity should present itself. Were he once possessed of the dominions of that prince, the way to Byzantium was open to him, the possession of which must have been a great temptation to a prince who well knew how to value the importance of its situation both with respect to commerce and war; and in order to pave the way to this important conquest, he attacked the fortress of Herenum, a small, and in itself unimportant place, though, by reason of its neighbourhood to Byzantium, a highly valuable acquisition. The Athenians, however, at last began to perceive the designs of Philip, and determined to counteract them. For this purpose they entered into an alliance with Olynthus; and having warned Kersobletes of his danger, they ordered a powerful fleet to the defence of Herenum. But these vigorous measures were soon counteracted by the report of Philip's death, which had been occasioned by his wound at Methone, and a distemper arising from the fatigues which he had afterwards undergone. The inconstant Athenians too easily gave credit to this report, and, as if all danger had been over with his death, discontinued their preparations, and directed their whole attention to the Sacred War. This contest, instead of being ended by the death of Onomarchus, now raged with redoubled fury. Phyllus, above mentioned, the only surviving brother of Onomarchus, undertook the cause of the Phocians; and his affairs becoming every day more and more desperate, he took the most unaccountable method of retrieving them which could be imagined, having converted into ready money the most precious materials belonging to the temple at Delphi, and with this treasure doubled the pay of his soldiers. By this new piece of sacrilege he indeed brought many adventurers to his standard, though he cut off all hopes of mercy for himself or his party should he be defeated. Having the assistance of a thousand Lacedaemonians, two thousand Achaeans, and five thousand Athenian infantry, with four hundred cavalry, he was still enabled to make a very formidable appearance; and the Phocians took the field with every prospect of success.

Philip now thought it time to throw off the mask entirely, for which the proceedings of the Athenians, particularly Philip their league with Olynthus, furnished him with a plausible pretext; and the revenging such horrid sacrilege as had Greece. been committed at Delphi seemed to give him a title to march at the head of an army into Greece. The superstition of the Greeks, however, had not yet blinded them to such a degree but they could easily perceive that Philip's piety was a mere pretence, and that his real design was to invade and conquer the whole country. The Athenians no sooner heard of the march of the Macedonian army, than they despatched with all expedition a strong guard to secure the pass of Thermopylae; so that Philip was obliged to return greatly chagrined and disappointed. Their next step was to call an assembly to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken in order to restrain the ambition of the Macedonian monarch; and this assembly is rendered memorable by the first appearance of Demosthenes as an orator against Philip. Athens had for some time been in a very alarming situation. They were deeply involved in the Sacred War; their northern possessions were continually insulted and plundered by Philip; whilst a number of his mercenary partisans drew off the public attention to such a degree, that, instead of taking measures to counteract that ambitious prince, they amused themselves with speculations about the designs of the Persian monarch, who was preparing for war against the Cyprians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians. Isocrates the celebrated orator, and Phocion the statesman, joined the multitude in their opinion, though not from any servile or mercenary motives, but purely from a sense of the unsteady conduct of the Athenians, who, they were assured, could not contend with a prince of the vigour and activity of Philip, and therefore exhorted them by all means to cultivate the friendship of a king whom they could not oppose with any probability of success. Isocrates, indeed, greatly wished for an expedition into Asia, and looked upon Philip as the only general capable of conducting it, though at present the Greeks had no pretence for making war upon the Persians, except that of revenging former injuries. On this subject he addressed a discourse to Philip himself; and it is even said that Isocrates, by the power of his rhetoric, prevailed upon Philip and the Athenians to lay aside for a short time their animosities, and consent to undertake this expedition in conjunction.

If this coalition, however, did really take place, it was of but very short duration. The views of Phocion and Isocrates were violently opposed by Demosthenes. Though sensible of the corruption and degeneracy of his countrymen, he hoped to be able to rouse them from their lethargy by dint of his eloquence; a talent he had been at great pains to cultivate, and in which he is said to have excelled all men that ever existed. In his first addresses to the people, this celebrated orator exhorted them to awake from their indolence, and to assume the direction of their own affairs. They had been too long governed, he said, by the incapacity of a few ambitious men, to the great disadvantage as well as disgrace of the community. In the first place, an orator who had placed himself at the head of a faction of no more than three or at the most four hundred, availed himself and his followers of the carelessness and negligence of the people, to rule them at pleasure. From a consideration of their present weakness and corruption, as well as of the designs and commotions of the neighbouring powers, he advised them to abandon all romantic and distant schemes of ambition; and, instead of carrying their arms into remote countries, to prepare for repelling the attacks which might be made upon their own dominions. He insisted also upon a better regulation of their finances; a more equal distribution of the public burdens, in proportion to the abilities of those upon whom they were laid, and the retrenchment of many superfluous expenses. Having pointed out in a strong light the vigorous conduct of Philip, and shown by what means he had attained to such a respectable footing in the world, he next laid down a proper plan for their military operations. He told them that they were not yet prepared to meet Philip in the field. They must begin with protecting Olynthus and the Chersoneses, for which it would be necessary to raise a body of two thousand light-armed troops, with a due proportion of cavalry, which ought to be transported under a proper convoy to the islands of Lemnos, Thasos, and Sciothos, in the neighbourhood of Macedonia. In these they would enjoy all kinds of necessaries in abundance, and might avail themselves of every favourable incident to appear at the first summons of their allies, and either to repel the incursions of the Macedonians, or harass their territories. Whilst this was going on, more vigorous preparations might be made for war at home; and it was proposed that only the fourth part of the Athenian citizens should enlist, and no more supplies were wanted at present but ninety talents. But notwithstanding the moderation of these proposals, and the urgent necessities of the state, it was impossible to prevail upon the indolent and careless Athenians to provide for their own safety. They appear, indeed, at this time, to have been desperately sunk in effeminacy and dissipation; a disposition which Philip took care to encourage to the utmost of his power. There was an assembly in the city called the Sixty, from their consisting originally of that number, who met expressly for the purposes of extinguishing all care about public affairs, and of intoxicating themselves with every kind of pleasure which they had in their power. With this assembly Philip was so well pleased, that he sent them money to support their extravagances; and so effectually did they answer his purposes, that all the eloquence of Demosthenes could not counteract the speeches of much inferior orators when their eloquence was backed by Macedonian gold.

Philip himself, as we have already hinted, was excessively debauched in his private character, and the most shameful stories are related of him by the ancient writers, particularly by Demosthenes. Theopompus, too, an author who flourished in the time of Alexander, and was rewarded and honoured by that monarch, also speaks of him in terms which cannot be mentioned with decency; but these accounts, coming from the avowed enemies of the king, are scarcely to be credited; and perhaps policy, as well as inclination, might contribute somewhat to this scandalous behaviour, that he might thereby recommend himself to the libertines of Athens, and prevent even many of the more thinking part of the people from suspecting his designs. But in whatever excesses he might at times indulge, he never once lost sight of his main object, the subjugation of the Greek states. On pretence of being in want of money to defray the expense of his buildings, he borrowed money at a very high price throughout the whole country; and this he found an easy matter to do, as the dissipation of the Delphic treasures had rendered cash very plentiful in Greece. Thus he attached his creditors firmly to his own interest; and, on pretence of paying debts, was enabled, without molestation, to bestow a number of pensions and gratuities upon the Athenian orators, who by their treacherous harangues contributed greatly to the ruin of their country; at least as far as it could be ruined by subjection to a prince who would have obliged them to remain at peace, and apply themselves to the useful arts. These he himself encouraged in a very eminent degree. The greater part of his time was employed at Pella, which city he adorned in the most magnificent manner, with temples, theatres, and porticos. He invited by liberal rewards the most ingenious artists to be found in Greece; and as many of these met with very little encouragement in their own country, great numbers flocked to him from all quarters. In the government of his people, also, Philip behaved with the utmost impartiality; listening with condescension to the complaints of the meanest of his subjects, and keeping up a constant correspondence with those whom he thought worthy of his acquaintance; from which it is not easy to imagine how he could be guilty of the vices which have been imputed to him by some of the ancient historians.

The fate of Olynthus was now soon determined. This city, which held the balance of power between Athens and Macedonia, was taken and plundered, and the inhabitants sold as slaves; but the chief hope of Philip was in putting an end to the Phocian war. For this purpose he affected a neutrality, that he might thereby become the arbiter of Greece. His hopes were well founded; for the Thebans, who were at the head of the league against the Phocians, solicited him on the one side, and the states confederated with the Phocians did the same on the other. He answered neither, yet held both in dependence. In his heart he favoured the Thebans, or rather placed his hopes of advancing his own cause on that state; for he well knew that the Athenians, Spartans, and other states allied with Phocis, would never allow him to pass Thermopylae, and lead an army into their territories. So much respect, however, did he show to the ambassadors from these states, particularly Ctesiphon and Phrynon, who came from Athens, that they believed him to be in their interest, and reported as much to their masters. The Athenians, who were now dissolved in ease and luxury, received this news with great satisfaction, and immediately named ten plenipotentiaries to go and treat of a full and lasting peace with Philip. Amongst these plenipotentiaries were Demosthenes and Aeschines, the most celebrated orators in Athens. Philip gave directions that these ambassadors should be treated with the utmost civility, naming, at the same time, three of his ministers to confer with them, namely, Antipater, Parmenio, and Eurylochus. Demosthenes being obliged to return to Athens, recommended it to his colleagues not to carry on their negotiations with Philip's deputies, but to proceed with all diligence to court, there to confer with the king himself. The ambassadors, however, were so far from following his instructions, that they suffered themselves to be put off for three months by the arts of Philip and his ministers.

In the mean time, the king took from the Athenians such places in Thrace as might best cover his frontiers, giving their plenipotentiaries, instead of them, abundance of fair promises, and the strongest assurances that his good will should be as beneficial to them as ever their colonies had been. At last a peace was concluded; but then the ratification of it was deferred until Philip had obtained possession of Phereia in Thessaly, and saw himself at the head of a numerous army; then he ratified the treaty, and dismissed the plenipotentiaries with assurances that he would be ready at all times to give the Athenians proofs of his friendship. On their return to Athens, when this matter came to be debated before the people, Demosthenes plainly told them that, in his opinion, the promises of Philip ought not to be relied on, because they appeared to be of little significance in themselves, and came from a prince of so much art, and so little fidelity, that they could derive no authority from their maker. Aeschines, on the other hand, gave it as his opinion, that the king of Macedonia's assurances ought to give full satisfaction. He said, that, for his own part, he was not politician enough to see any thing of disguise or dissimulation in the king's conduct; that there was great danger in distrusting princes; and that the surest method of putting men upon deceit was to show that we suspected them of it. In this the rest of the plenipotentiaries concurred with Aeschines; and the people, being desirous of quiet, and addicted to pleasure, easily gave credit to all that was said, and decreed that the peace should be maintained. All this was the more easily brought about, because Phocion, the wisest man in the republic, did not oppose Philip, which was owing to his entertaining a just sense of the actual state of his country. He conceived that the Athenians of those times were nothing like their ancestors; and therefore, as he expressed himself upon another occasion, he was desirous, since they would not be at the head of Greece themselves, that they should at least be upon good terms with that power which would unquestionably be so.

Philip, who knew how to use as well as to procure opportunity, whilst the Athenians were in this good humour, passed Thermopylae, without their knowing whether he would fall upon Phocis or Thebes; but he quickly deceived them, by commanding his soldiers to put on crowns of laurel, declaring them thereby the troops of Apollo, and himself the lieutenant-general of that god. He then entered Phocis with an air of triumph, which so terrified the Phocians, whom he had caused to be denounced as sacrilegious persons, that they immediately dismissed all thoughts of defence, and without more ado submitted to his mercy. Thus the Phocian war, which had so long employed all Greece, was ended without a stroke, and the judgment on the Phocians remitted to the Amphictyonic or grand council of Greece. By their decree, the walls of three Phocian cities were demolished, the people were forbidden to inhabit any but villages, and ordered to pay a yearly tribute of sixty talents, and never to make use of either horses or arms till they had repaid to the temple of Apollo the money they had sacrilegiously carried from thence. Their arms were taken from them, broken to pieces, and burned; and their double voice in the council was taken from them, and given to the Macedonians. Other orders were made for settling the affairs both of religion and the state throughout Greece, all of which were executed by Philip with great exactness and moderation; he paying the most profound respect to the council, and, when he had performed its commands, retiring peaceably with his army back to Macedonia, which gained him great reputation.

At Athens alone the justice and piety of Philip were not understood. The people began to see, though a little too late, that they had been abused and deceived by those who had negociated the late peace. They saw that, through their acceptance of it, the Phocians were destroyed; that Philip, having become master of Thermopylae, might enter Greece when he pleased; that, in abandoning their allies, they had abandoned themselves; and that, in all probability, they might soon feel the weight of his power, whom they had so foolishly trusted. They therefore began to take new and hostile measures; they ordered that the women should retire out of the villages into the city, that their walls should be repaired, and their forts strengthened. They seemed inclined to question Philip's election into the council of the Amphictyons, because it had been done without their consent; and even to proceed to an open war. In all likelihood, they would have carried things to extravagance, if Demosthenes had not interposed. He told them, that though he was not for making the peace, he was however for keeping it; and that he saw no occasion whatever for their entering into so unequal a contest as would necessarily ensue if they took up arms, not only against Philip, but also against all the states which had concurred with him in the late transactions. This seems to have cooled the rage of the Athenians, and to have brought them to think of ruining Philip gradually, as they had raised him.

The fame of his achievements beyond the bounds of Macedonia having disposed the subjects of Philip to hope everything from his conduct, and the several states of Greece to desire above all things his friendship, that prudent monarch laid hold of this favourable situation to fix his dominion upon such a stable foundation as that a reverse of fortune should not immediately destroy it. To this end, whilst he carried on his negociations through Macedonia, Greece, he likewise kept his army in exercise, by taking several places in Thrace, which terribly incommode the Athenians. Diopithes, who had the government of the Athenian colonies in those parts, perceiving well what end Philip had in view, did not stay for instructions from home, but, having with much expedition raised a considerable body of troops, took advantage of the king's being absent with his army, entered the adjacent territories of Philip, and wasted them with fire and sword.

The king, who, on account of the operations of the campaign in the Chersonesus, was not at leisure to repel Diopithes by force, nor indeed could divide his army without imminent hazard, chose, like an able general, rather to abandon his provinces to insults, which might be afterwards revenged, than, by following the dictates of an ill-timed resentment, to hazard the loss of his veteran army, whereon depended all his hopes. He contented himself, therefore, with complaining to the Athenians of the conduct of Diopithes, who in a time of peace had entered his dominions, and committed such devastations as could scarcely have been justified in a time of war. His partisans supported this application with all their eloquence. They told the Athenians, that unless they recalled Diopithes, and brought him to trial for this infringement of the peace, they ought not to hope either for the friendship of Philip, or that of any other prince or state; neither could they justly complain, if, prompted by such a precedent, others should break faith with them, and fall without the least notice upon their dominions. Demosthenes defended Diopithes, and undertook to show that he deserved the praise and not the censure of the Athenians. Those of the other party began then to charge him with crimes of a different nature; they alleged that he had oppressed the subjects and maltreated the allies of Athens. Demosthenes replied, that of these things there were as yet no proofs; that when such should appear, a single galley might be sent to bring over Diopithes to abide their judgment; but that Philip would not come if they sent a fleet; whence he inferred, that they ought to be cautious, and to weigh well the merits of this cause before they took any resolution. He said, that it was true Philip had not as yet attacked Attica, or pretended to make a descent on their territories in Greece, or to force his way into their ports: when it came to that, he was of opinion they would be hardly able to defend themselves; therefore he thought such men were to be esteemed as sought to protect their frontiers, in order to keep Philip as long as might be at a distance. Upon this he moved, that, instead of disowning what Diopithes had done, or directing him to dismiss his army, they should send him over recruits, and show the king of Macedonia that they knew how to protect their territories, and to maintain the dignity of their state, as well as their ancestors. These arguments had such an effect, that a decree was made conformable to his motion.

Whilst affairs stood thus, the Illyrians, recovering courage, and seeing Philip at such a distance, harassed the frontiers of Macedonia, and threatened a formidable invasion; but Philip, by quick marches, arrived on the borders of Illyricum, and struck this barbarous people with such a panic, that they were glad to compound for their former depredations at the price he was pleased to fix. Most of the Greek cities in Thrace now sought the friendship of the king, and entered into a league with him for their mutual defence. As it cannot be supposed that each of these free cities had a power equal to that of Philip, we may therefore look upon him as their protector. About this time Philip's negotiations in the Peloponnese began to come to light; the Argives and Messenians, growing weary of that tyrannical authority which the Spartans had exercised over them, applied to Thebes for assistance; and the Thebans, out of their natural aversion to Sparta, sought to open a passage for Philip into the Peloponnese, that, in conjunction with them, he might humble the Lacedaemonians. Philip readily accepted the offer, and resolved to procure a decree from the Amphictyons, directing the Lacedaemonians to leave Argos and Messene free; which, if they complied not with, he, as the lieutenant of the Amphictyons, might, with great appearance of justice, march with a body of troops to enforce their order. When Sparta received intelligence of this, she immediately applied to Athens, earnestly entreating assistance, as in the common cause of Greece. The Argives and Messenians, on the other hand, laboured assiduously to gain the Athenians to their side, alleging that, if they were friends to liberty, they ought to assist those whose only aim was to be free. Demosthenes, at this juncture, outwrestled Philip, if we may borrow that king's expression; for, by a vehement harangue, he not only determined his own citizens to become the avowed enemies of the king, but also made the Argives and Messenians not over fond of him as an ally; which, when Philip perceived, he laid aside all thoughts of this enterprise for the present, and began to practise on Euboea.

This country, now called Negropont, is separated from Greece by the Euripus, a strait so narrow that Euboea might easily be united to the continent. This situation made Philip call it "the fetters of Greece," which he therefore sought to have in his own hands. There had been for some years great disturbances in that country; under colour of which, Philip sent forces thither, and demolished Perinthos, the strongest city in those parts, leaving the whole country under the government of three lords, whom Demosthenes roundly calls tyrants established by Philip. Shortly after, the Macedonians took Oreus, which was left under the government of five magistrates, also styled tyrants at Athens. Thither Plutarch of Eretria, one of the most eminent persons in Euboea, went to represent the distresses of his country, and to implore the Athenians to set it free. This suit Demosthenes recommended warmly to the people, who sent thither their famous leader Phocion, supported by formidable votes, but a very slender army; yet so well did he manage the affairs of the commonwealth and her allies, that Philip quickly found he must for a time abandon that project; which, however, he did not until he had formed another no less beneficial to himself, or less dangerous to Athens. It was the prosecution of his conquests in Thrace, which he thought of pushing much further than he had hitherto done, or could be reasonably suspected to have any intention of doing.

Extraordinary preparations were made by the Macedonian monarch for this campaign. His son Alexander was left regent of the kingdom; and he himself with thirty thousand men laid siege to Perinthus, one of the strongest cities in the country. At that time, however, all his arts of cajoling and pretending friendship were insufficient to deceive the Athenians. They gave the command of their army and fleet to Phocion, a general of great abilities, and with whom Philip would have found it very hard to contend. On the other hand, the king of Persia began to turn jealous of the growing power of the Macedonian monarch. The Persian kings had been accustomed to regard those of Macedonia as their faithful allies; but the good fortune of Philip, the continual clamour of the Athenians against him, and his dethroning at pleasure the petty princes of Thrace, made him now be regarded in another light. When, therefore, he led his troops against Perinthus, the Great King, as he was styled by the Greeks, sent his letters mandatory to the governors of the maritime provinces, directing them to supply the place with all things in their power; in consequence of which they filled it with troops, granted subsidies in ready money, and sent besides great convoys of provision and ammuni- The Byzantines also, supposing that their turn would be next, exerted their utmost endeavours for the preservation of Perinthus, sending thither the flower of their youth, with all other necessaries for an obstinate defence. The consequence of all this was, that Philip found himself obliged to raise the siege with great loss.

That the reputation of the Macedonian arms might not sink by this disgrace, Philip made war on the Scythians and Triballi, both of whom he defeated; and then formed a design of invading Attica, though he had no fleet to transport his troops, and knew very well that the Thessalians were not to be depended upon if he attempted to march through the Pisa, and that the Thebans would even then be ready to oppose his march. To obviate all these difficulties, he had recourse to Athens itself, where, by means of his hired partisans, he procured his old friend Æschines to send their deputy to the Amphictyons. This seemed a small matter, and yet was the hinge on which his whole project turned. By the time Æschines had taken his seat, a question was stirred in the council, whether the Locrians of Amphiassia had not been guilty of sacrilege in ploughing the fields of Cyrrha in the neighbourhood of the temple of Delphi. The assembly being divided in their opinions, Æschines proposed to take a view of the ground, which was accordingly decreed. But when the Amphictyons came in order to see how things stood, the Locrians, either jealous of their property, or spurred thereby by the suggestions of some who saw farther than themselves, fell upon those venerable persons so rudely, that they were compelled to secure themselves by flight. The Amphictyons decreed that an army should be raised, under the command of one of their own number, to chastise the delinquents; but as this army was to be composed of troops sent from all parts of Greece, the appearance at the rendezvous was so inconsiderable, that the Amphictyons sent to command them durst not undertake anything. The whole matter being reported to the council, Æschines, in a long and eloquent harangue, showed how much the welfare and even the safety of Greece depended on the deference paid to their decrees; and after inveighing against the want of public spirit in such as had not sent their quotas at the time appointed by the council, he moved that they should elect Philip as their general, and pray him to execute their decree. The deputies from the other states, conceiving that by this expedient their respective constituents would be free from any further trouble or expense, agreed to it at once; upon which a decree was immediately drawn up, purporting that ambassadors should be sent to Philip of Macedonia, in the name of Apollo and the Amphictyons, once more to require his assistance, and to notify to him, that the states of Greece had unanimously chosen him their general, with full power to act as he thought fit against such as had opposed the authority of the Amphictyons. Thus of a sudden Philip acquired all that he sought; and having an army ready in expectation of this event, he immediately marched in appearance to execute the commands of the Amphictyons, but in reality to accomplish his own designs; for having passed into Greece with his army, instead of attacking the Locrians, he immediately seized upon Elatea, a great city of Phocis, situated on the river Cephissus.

The Athenians in the mean time were in the utmost confusion on the news of Philip's march. However, by the advice of Demosthenes, they invited the Thebans to join them against the common enemy of Greece. Philip endeavoured as much as possible to prevent this confederacy from taking place, but all his efforts proved ineffectual. The Athenians raised an army, which immediately marched to Eleusis, where they were joined by the Thebans. The confederates made the best appearance that had ever been seen in Greece, and the troops were exceedingly good; but, unfortunately, the generals were men of no conduct or skill in the military art. An engagement ensued at Cheronæa, in which Alexander commanded one wing of the Macedonian army, and his father Philip the other. The confederate army was divided according to the different nations of which it consisted; the Athenians having the right, and the Boeotians the left. In the beginning of the battle the confederates had the advantage; whereupon Stratocles, an Athenian commander, cried out, "Come on, brother soldiers, let us drive them back to Macedonia," which being overheard by the king, he said very coolly to one of his officers, "These Athenians do not know how to conquer." Upon this he directed the files of the phalanx to be closed up, and retired to a neighbouring eminence, from which, when the Athenians were eager in their pursuit, he rushed down with impetuosity, broke, and routed them with prodigious slaughter. The orator Demosthenes behaved very unbecomingly in this engagement, for he deserted his post, and was one of the first who fled; nay, we are told, that a stake catching hold of his robe, he, not doubting that it was an enemy, ignominiously cried out, "Spare my life."

The victory of Cheronæa determined the fate of Greece; Philip is and from this time we must reckon Philip supreme lord of appointed all the Grecian states. The first use he made of his power was to convolve a general assembly, in which he was recognised as generalissimo, and with full power appointed their leader against the Persians. Having, by virtue of his authority, settled a general peace amongst them, and appointed the quota that each of the states should furnish for the war, he dismissed them, and returning to Macedonia, began to make great preparations for this new expedition. His pretence for making war on the Persians at this time was the assistance given by the Persians to the city of Perinthus, as already mentioned. In the mean time, however, the king, by reason of the dissensions which reigned in his family, was rendered quite miserable. He quarrelled with his wife Olympias to such a degree, that he divorced her, and married another woman named Cleopatra. This produced a quarrel between him and his son Alexander, which at length reached to such a height that Alexander retired into Epirus with his mother. Some time afterwards, however, he was recalled, and a reconciliation took place in appearance; but in the mean time a conspiracy was secretly formed against the king's life, the real causes and circumstances of which are very little known. Certain it is, however, that it took effect as the king was exhibiting certain shows in honour of his daughter's marriage with the king of Epirus. Philip having given a public audience to the ambassadors of Greece, went next day in great state to the theatre. All the seats were early occupied; and the shows began with a splendid procession, in which the images of the twelve superior deities of Greece were carried, as also the image of Philip, habited in like manner, as if he now made the thirteenth, at which the people shouted aloud. Then came the king alone, in a white robe, crowned, with his guards at a considerable distance, that the Greeks might see he placed his safety only in his confidence of the loyalty of his subjects. Pausanias, the assassin, however, had fixed himself close by the door of the theatre; and observing that all things fell out as he had foreseen they would, took his opportunity when the king drew near him, and plunging his sword in his left side, laid him dead at his feet. He then fled as fast as he was able towards the place where his horses were, and would have escaped, had not the twig of a vine caught his shoe and thrown him down. This gave time to those who pursued him to come up with him; but instead of securing him, in order to extort a discovery of his accomplices, they put an end to his life.

With regard to the character of this monarch, it appears Character of Philip. Certain that he was one of the most eminent persons that ever sat upon a throne. Had he lived for some time longer, he would in all probability have subdued the Persians; an achievement less difficult than many which he had already accomplished. Had that event taken place, the undertakings of his long and successful reign would have been ennobled and illuminated by the splendour of extensive foreign conquest. Philip would have reached that height of renown which is obtained by the habits of activity, vigilance, and fortitude, in the pursuit of unbounded greatness; and, in the opinion of posterity, would perhaps have surpassed the glory of all kings and conquerors who either preceded or followed him. Yet, even on this supposition, there is not any man of sense and probity, who, if he allows himself time for serious reflection, would purchase the imagined grandeur and prosperity of the king of Macedonia at the price of his artifices and his crimes; and to a philosopher, who considered either the means by which he had obtained his triumphs, or the probable consequences of his dominion over Greece and Asia, the busy ambition of this mighty conqueror would appear but a deceitful scene of splendid misery.

No sooner did the news of Philip's death reach Athens, than, as if all danger had been past, the inhabitants showed the most extravagant signs of joy. Demosthenes and his party put on chaplets of flowers, and behaved as if they had gained a great victory. Phocion reproved them for this madness; bidding them remember, that "the army which had beaten them at Cheronæa was lessened but by one." This reproof, however, had very little effect. The people heard with pleasure all the harsh things which the orators could say of the young Alexander, king of Macedonia, whom they represented as a giddy wrong-headed boy, ready to grasp all things in his imagination, and able to perform nothing. The affairs of Macedonia indeed were in a very distracted state on the accession of Alexander; for all the neighbouring nations had the same notion of the young king with the Athenians; and, being irritated by the usurpations of Philip, immediately revolted; and the states of Greece entered into a confederacy against him. The Persians had been contriving how to transfer the war to Macedonia; but as soon as the news of Philip's death reached them, they behaved as if all danger had been terminated. At the same time Attalus, one of the Macedonian commanders, aspired to the crown, and sought to draw off the soldiers from their allegiance.

In the councils held upon this occasion, Alexander's best friends advised him rather to make use of dissimulation than force, and to try to cajole those whom they thought he could not subdue. These advices, however, were ill suited to the temper of their monarch. He thought that vigorous measures only were proper, and therefore immediately led his army into Thessaly. Here he harangued the princes so effectually, that he thoroughly gained them over to his interest, and was by them declared general of Greece; upon which he returned to Macedonia, where he caused Attalus to be seized and put to death.

In the spring of the next year (335 before Christ), Alexander resolved to subdue the Triballians and Illyrians, who inhabited the countries now called Bulgaria and Scylavonia, and had been very formidable enemies to the Macedonian power. In this expedition he discovered, though then but twenty years of age, a surprising degree of military knowledge. Having advanced to the passes of Mount Haemus (the Balkan), he learned that the barbarians had posted themselves in the most advantageous manner. Upon the tops of the cliffs, and at the head of every passage, they had placed their carriages and waggons in such a manner as to form a kind of parapet, with their shafts inwards, that when the Macedonians should have half ascended the rock, they might be able to push these heavy carriages down upon them; and they reckoned the more upon this contrivance, because of the close order of the phalanx, which, they imagined, would be terribly exposed by the soldiers wanting room to stir, and thereby to avoid the falling waggons. But Alexander, having directed his heavy-armed troops to march, gave orders, that, where the way would permit, they should open to the right and left, and suffer the carriages to go through; but that, in the narrow passes, they should throw themselves on their faces with their shields behind them, that the carts might run over them. This had the desired effect, and the Macedonians reached the enemy's works without the loss of a man. The dispute was then quickly decided. The barbarians were driven from their posts with great slaughter, and left behind them a considerable booty for the conquerors.

The next exploits of Alexander were against the Getae, the Tanantii, and some other nations inhabiting the country upon the other side of the Danube. These he also overcame; showing in all his actions the most perfect skill in military affairs, joined with the greatest valour. In the mean time, however, all Greece was thrown into commotion by a report which had been confidently spread abroad, that the king was dead in Illyria. The Thebans, on this news, seized Amyntas and Timolaus, two eminent officers in the Macedonian garrison which held their citadel, and dragged them to the market-place, where they were put to death without either form of process, or any crime being alleged against them. Alexander, however, did not suffer them to remain long in their mistake. He marched with such expedition, that in seven days he reached Pallene in Thessaly; and in six days more he entered Bœotia, before the Thebans had any intelligence of his having passed the Straits of Thermopylae. Even then they would not believe that the king was alive, but insisted that the Macedonian army was commanded by Antipater, or by one Alexander the son of Æropus. The rest of the Greeks, however, were not so hard of belief, and therefore sent no assistance to the Thebans, who were thus obliged to bear the consequences of their own folly and obstinacy. Their city was taken by assault, and the inhabitants were for some hours massacred without distinction of age or sex; after which the houses were demolished, excepting that of Pindar the famous poet, which was spared out of respect to the merit of its owner, and because he had celebrated Alexander king of Macedonia. The lands, except those destined to religious uses, were shared amongst the soldiers, and all the prisoners sold as slaves, by which 440 talents were brought into the king's treasury.

By this severity the rest of the Grecian states were so thoroughly humbled, that they thought no more of making any resistance, and Alexander had nothing further to hinder him from pursuing his favourite project of invading India. Very little preparation was necessary for the Macedonian monarch, who went as to an assured conquest, and reckoned upon being supplied chiefly by the spoils of his enemies. Historians are not agreed as to the number of his army. Arrian says, that there were thirty thousand foot and five thousand horse. Diodorus Siculus informs us that there were thirteen thousand Macedonian foot, seven thousand of the confederate states, and five thousand mercenaries, under the command of Parmenio. Of the Odrysians, Triballians, and Illyrians, there were five thousand; and of the Agrians, who were armed only with darts, one thousand. As for the horse, he tells us there were eighteen hundred commanded by Philotas, and as many Thessalians under the command of Callas. Out of the confederate states of Greece there were six hundred commanded by Eurybius; and nine hundred Thracians and Paeonians, who led the van under Cassander. Plutarch tells us, that, according to a moderate computation, Alexander had thirty thousand foot and five thousand horse; and that, according to the largest estimate, he had thirty-four thousand foot and four thousand horse. As to his fund for the payment of the army, Aristobulus says it was but seventy talents; and Onesicritus, who was also present in this expedition, not only takes away the seventy talents, but affirms that the king was two hundred in debt. As for provisions, there was just sufficient for a month and no more; and to prevent disturbances, Antipater was left in Macedonia with twelve thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse.

The army having assembled at Amphipolis, Alexander marched thence to the mouths of the river Strymon; then crossing Mount Pangaeus, he took the road to Abdera. Crossing the river Ebrus, he proceeded through the country of Paeis, and in twenty days reached Sestos; thence he marched to Eleus, where he sacrificed on the tomb of Proteus, because he was the first amongst the Greeks who at the siege of Troy set foot upon the Asiatic shore. He did this, that his landing might be more propitious than that of the hero to whom he sacrificed, who was soon afterwards slain. The greatest part of the army, under the command of Parmenio, embarked at Sestos, on board of a fleet of a hundred and sixty galleys of three benches of oars, besides small craft. Alexander himself sailed from Eleus; and when he was in the middle of the Helleospont, offered a bull to Neptune and the Nereids, pouring forth at the same time a libation from a golden cup. When he drew near to the shore, he launched a javelin, which stuck in the earth; then, in complete armour, he leaped upon the strand; and having erected altars to Jupiter, Minerva, and Hercules, he proceeded to Ilium. Here again he sacrificed to Minerva; and taking down some arms which had hung in the temple of that goddess since the time of the Trojan war, he consecrated his own in their stead. He sacrificed also to the ghost of Priam, to avert his wrath on account of the descent which he himself claimed from Achilles.

In the mean time the Persians had assembled a great army in Phrygia, amongst whom was one Memnon, a Rhodian, the best officer in the service of Darius. Alexander, as soon as he had performed all the ceremonies which he judged necessary, marched directly towards the enemy. Memnon gave it as his opinion that they should burn and destroy all the country round, that they might deprive the Greeks of the means of subsisting, and then transport a part of their army into Macedonia. But the Persians, depending on their cavalry, rejected this salutary advice, and posted themselves along the river Granicus, in order to await the arrival of Alexander. In the engagement which ensued on the banks of that river, the Persians were defeated, and Alexander became master of all the neighbouring country, which he immediately began to take care of, as if it had been part of his hereditary dominions. The city of Sardis was immediately delivered up; and here Alexander built a temple to Jupiter Olympius. After this, he restored the Ephesians to their liberty, ordered the tribute which they formerly paid to the Persians to be applied towards the rebuilding the magnificent temple of Diana, and having settled the affairs of the city, marched against Miletus. This place was defended by Memnon with a considerable body of troops who had fled thither after the battle of Granicus, and therefore made a vigorous resistance. The fortune of Alexander, however, prevailed; and the city was soon reduced, though Memnon with part of the troops escaped to Halicarnassus. After this, the king dismissed his fleet; a proceeding for which various causes have been assigned, though it is probable, that the chief reason was to show his army that their only resource now lay in subverting the Persian empire.

Almost all the cities between Miletus and Halicarnassus submitted as soon as they heard that the former was taken; but Halicarnassus, where Memnon commanded with a very numerous garrison, made an obstinate defence. Nothing, however, was capable of resisting the Macedonian army. Memnon was at last obliged to abandon the place; upon which Alexander took and razed the city of Tralles in Phrygia, received the submission of several princes tributary to the Persians; and having destroyed the Marmanians, a people of Lycia who had fallen upon the rear of his army, put an end to the campaign; after which he sent home all the new married men, in obedience, it would seem, to a precept of the Mosaic law, and which endeared him more to his soldiers than almost any other action of his life.

As soon as the season would permit, Alexander quitted the province of Phaselus; and having sent part of his army through the mountainous country to Perga, by a short but difficult road, took his route by a certain promontory, where the way is altogether impassable except when the north winds blow. At the time of the king's march the south wind had held for a long time; but of a sudden it changed, and blew from the north so violently, that, as he and his followers declared, they obtained a safe and easy passage, through divine assistance. By many this march is considered as miraculous, and compared to that of the children of Israel through the Red Sea; whilst, on the other hand, it is the opinion of others, that there was nothing at all extraordinary in it. He continued his march towards Gordium, a city of Phrygia; the enemy having abandoned the strong pass of Telmisus, through which it was necessary for him to march. When he arrived at Gordium, and found himself under the necessity of staying there some time till the several corps of his army could be re-united, he expressed a strong desire of seeing Gordius's chariot, and the famous knot in the harness, of which such strange stories had been published to the world. The cord in which this knot was tied was made of the inner rind of the cornel tree; and no eye could perceive where it began or ended. Alexander, when he could find no possible way of untying, and yet was unwilling to leave it tied, lest it should cause some fears in the breasts of his soldiers, is said by some authors to have cut the cords with his sword, saying "it matters not how it is undone." But Aristobulus assures us, that the king wrested a wooden pin out of the beam of the waggon, which, being driven in across the beam, held it up, and so took the yoke from under it. Be this as it may, however, Arrian informs us, that a great tempest of thunder, lightning, and rain, happening the succeeding night, it was held declarative of the true solution of this knot, and that Alexander would become master of Asia.

The king having left Gordium, marched towards Cilicia, where he was attended with his usual good fortune, the Persians abandoning all the strong passes as he advanced. As soon as he entered the province, he received advice that Arsames, whom Darius had made governor of Tarsus, was about to abandon it, and that the inhabitants were very apprehensive that he intended to plunder them before he withdrew. To prevent this, the king marched incessantly, and arrived just in time to save the city. But his saving it had well nigh cost him his life; for, either through the excessive fatigue of marching, as some say, or, according to others, by his plunging when very hot into the river Cydnus, which, as it runs through thick shades, has its waters excessively cold, he fell into such a distemper as threatened immediate dissolution. His army lost their spirits; the generals, perplexed, knew not what to do; and his physicians were so much affrighted, that the terror of his death hindered them from using the necessary methods for preserving his life. Philip the Acanthian alone preserved self-command enough to examine the nature of the king's disease, the worst symptom of which was a continual shivering, which he removed by Soon after Alexander's recovery, he received the agreeable news that Ptolemy and Asander had defeated the Persian generals, and made great conquests on the Hellespont; and a little after that he met the Persian army at Issus, commanded by Darius himself. A bloody engagement ensued, in which the Persians were defeated with great slaughter. The consequences of this victory were very advantageous to the Macedonians. Many governors of provinces, and petty princes, submitted themselves to the conqueror; and such as did so were treated, not as a newly conquered people, but as his old hereditary subjects, being neither burdened with soldiers nor oppressed with tribute. Amongst the number of those places which, within a short space after the battle of Issus, sent deputies to submit to the conqueror, was the city of Tyre. The king, whose name was Azelmicus, was absent in the Persian fleet; but his son was amongst the deputies, and was very favourably received by Alexander. The king probably intended to confer particular honours upon the city of Tyre, for he acquainted the inhabitants that he would come and sacrifice to the Tyrian Hercules, the patron of their city, to whom they had erected a most magnificent temple. But these people, like most other trading nations, were far too suspicious to think of admitting such an enterprising prince with his troops within their walls. They therefore sent their deputies again to him to inform him that they were ready to do whatever he should command them; but as to his coming and sacrificing in their city, they could not consent to that, but were positively determined not to admit a single Macedonian within their gates. Alexander immediately dismissed their deputies in great displeasure. He then assembled a council of war, in which he insisted strongly on the disaffected state of Greece (for most of the Grecian states had sent ambassadors to Darius, to enter into a league with him against the Macedonians), the power of the Persians by sea, and the folly of carrying on the war in distant provinces, whilst Tyre was left unreduced behind them; he also remarked, that if once this city was subdued, the sovereignty of the sea would be transferred to them, because it would fix their possession of the coasts; and as the Persian fleet was composed chiefly of tributary squadrons, those tributaries would fight the battles, not of their late, but of their present masters.

For these reasons the siege of Tyre was resolved on. The town was not taken, however, without great difficulty; which provoked Alexander to such a degree that he treated the inhabitants with the greatest cruelty. (See Tyre.) After the reduction of Tyre, Alexander, though the season was already far advanced, resolved to make an expedition into Syria; and in his way thither proposed to chastise the Jews, who had highly offended him during the siege of Tyre; for when he sent to them to demand provisions for his soldiers, they answered, that they were the subjects of Darius, and bound by oath not to supply his enemies. The king, however, was pacified by their submission, and not only pardoned them, but conferred many privileges upon them.

From Jerusalem Alexander marched directly to Gaza, the only place in that part of the world which still held out for Darius. This was a very large and strong city, situated upon a very high hill, about five miles from the sea-shore. One Batis or Betis, an eunuch, had the government of the place, and had made every preparation necessary for sustaining a long and obstinate siege. The governor defended the place with great valour, and several times repulsed his enemies; but at last it was taken by storm, and all the garrison slain to a man; and this secured to Alexander an entrance into Egypt, which having before been very impatient of the Persian yoke, admitted the Macedonians peaceably. Here the king laid the foundations of the city of Alexandria, which for many years afterwards continued to be the capital of the country. Whilst he remained here, he also formed the singular design of visiting the temple of Jupiter Ammon. As to the motives by which he was induced to take this extraordinary journey, authors are not agreed; but certain it is, that he hazarded himself and his troops in the highest degree, there being two dangers in this march, which, with the example before him of Cambyses, who lost the greater part of his army in it, might have terrified any body but Alexander. The first was the want of water, which, in the sandy deserts surrounding the temple, is nowhere to be found; the other, the uncertainty of the road from the fluctuation of the sands, which, changing their situation every moment, leave the traveller neither a road to walk in, nor a mark to march by. These difficulties, however, Alexander overcame, though not without a miraculous interposition, as is pretended by all his historians.

Alexander having consulted the oracle, and received a favourable answer, returned to pursue his conquests. Having settled the government of Egypt, he appointed the general rendezvous of his forces at Tyre. Here he met with ambassadors from Athens, requesting him to pardon such of their countrymen as he found serving the enemy. The king, being desirous to oblige such a famous state, granted their request; and also sent a fleet to the coast of Greece, to prevent the effects of some commotions which had lately happened in Peloponnesus. He then directed his march to Thapsacus; and having passed the Euphrates and Tigris, met with Darius near Arbela, where the Persians were again overthrown with prodigious slaughter, and by this victory Alexander became in effect master of the Persian empire.

After this important victory, Alexander marched directly to Babylon, which was immediately delivered up; the inhabitants being greatly disaffected to the Persian interest. After thirty days' stay in this country, the king marched to Susa, which had already surrendered to Philoxenus; and here he received the treasures of the Persian monarch, amounting, according to the most generally received account, to fifty thousand talents. Having received also at this time a supply of six thousand foot and five hundred horse from Macedonia, he set about reducing the nations of Media, amongst whom Darius had retired. He first reduced the Uxians, and having forced a passage to Persepolis, the capital of the empire, he, like a barbarian, destroyed the stately palace there, a pile of building not to be equalled in any part of the world; after having given up the city to be plundered by his soldiers. In the palace he found one hundred and twenty thousand talents, which he appropriated to his own use, and caused immediately to be carried away upon mules and camels; for he had such an extreme aversion to the inhabitants of Persepolis, that he determined to leave nothing valuable in that city.

During the time that Alexander remained at Persepolis, he received intelligence that Darius remained at Ecbatana, the capital of Media; upon which he pursued him with the greatest expedition, marching at the rate of nearly forty miles a day. In fifteen days he reached Ecbatana, where he was informed that Darius had retired from thence five days before, with an intent to pass into the remotest provinces of his empire. This put some stop to the rapid progress of the Macedonian army; and the king perceiving that there was no necessity for hurrying himself and his soldiers in such a manner, began to give the orders requisite in the present situation of his affairs. The Thessalian horse, who had deserved exceedingly well of him in all his battles, he dismissed according to his agreement; gave them their whole pay, and ordered two thousand talents over and above to be distributed amongst them. He then declared that he would force no man; but if any were willing to serve him longer for pay, he desired that they would enter their names in a book, which a great many of them did, whilst the rest sold their horses, and prepared for their departure. The king appointed Eopocius to conduct them to the sea, and assigned him a body of horse as an escort: he likewise sent Menetes with them, to take care of their embarkation, and see that they were safely landed in Euboea, without any expense to themselves.

On receiving fresh information concerning the state of Darius's affairs, the king again set out in pursuit of him, advancing as far as Rhages, a city one day's journey from the Caspian Straits. There he understood that Darius had some time before passed those straits; and this information leaving him again without hopes, he halted for five days. Oxidates, a Persian whom Darius had left prisoner at Susa, was made governor of Media, whilst the king departed on an expedition into Parthia. The Caspian Straits he passed immediately without opposition, and then gave directions to his officers to collect a quantity of provisions sufficient to serve his army on a long march through a wasted country. But before his officers could accomplish these commands, the king received intelligence that Darius had been murdered by one of his own subjects, Bessus, the governor of Bactria.

As soon as Alexander had collected his forces together, and settled the government of Parthia, he entered Hyrcania; and having, according to his usual custom, committed the greater part of his army to the care of Craterus, he, at the head of a choice body of troops, passed through certain craggy roads, and, before the arrival of Craterus, who took an open and easy path, struck the whole provinces with such terror, that all the principal places were immediately put into his hands; and soon afterwards the province of Aria also submitted, and the king continued Satibarzanes the governor in his employment. The reduction of this province completed the conquest of Persia; but the ambition of Alexander to become master of every nation of which he had the least intelligence, induced him to enter the country of the Mardi, merely because its rocks and barrenness had hitherto prevented any one from conquering, or indeed from attempting to conquer it. This conquest, however, he easily accomplished, and obliged the whole nation to submit to his pleasure. But in the mean time disturbances began to arise in Alexander's new empire, and amongst his troops, which all his activity could not thoroughly suppress. He had scarcely left the province of Aria, when he received intelligence that the traitor Bessus had caused himself to be proclaimed king of Asia by the name of Artaxerxes; and that Satibarzanes had joined him, after having massacred all the Macedonians who had been left in the province. Alexander appointed one Arxames governor in the room of Satibarzanes, and marched thence with his army against the Zarangae, who, under the command of Barzaentes, one of those who had conspired against Darius, had taken up arms, and threatened to make an obstinate defence. But their numbers daily decreasing, Barzaentes, afraid that they would purchase their own safety at the expense of his, privately withdrew from his camp, and, crossing the river Indus, sought shelter amongst the nations beyond it. But they, either dreading the power of Alexander, or detecting the treachery of this Persian towards his former master, seized and delivered him up to Alexander, who immediately caused him to be put to death.

The immense treasure which the Macedonians had acquired in the conquest of Persia now began to affect their discipline. The king himself was of a most generous disposition, and liberally bestowed his gifts on those around him; but they made a bad use of his bounty, and foolishly indulged in those vices by which the former possessors of the Ma- cdonian wealth had lost it. The king did all in his power to discourage the lazy and inactive pride which now began to show itself amongst his officers; but neither his dis-pleasure nor his example had any considerable effect. The sure manners of his courtiers from bad became worse, in spite of all he could say or do to prevent it; and at last they proceeded to censure his conduct, and to express themselves with some bitterness on the subject of his long continuance of the war, and his leading them constantly from one labour to another. This rose to such a height that the king was at last obliged to use some severity, in order to keep his army within the limits of their duty. From this time forward, however, Alexander himself began to alter his conduct, and, by yielding a little to the customs of the orientals, endeavoured to secure that obedience on the part of his new subjects which he found so difficult to preserve amongst his old ones. He likewise endeavoured, by various methods, to blend the customs of the Asiatics and the Greeks. The form of his civil government resembled that of the ancient Persian kings; in military affairs, however, he strictly preserved the Macedonian discipline; but then he made choice, out of the provinces, of thirty thousand boys, whom he caused to be instructed in the Greek language, and directed to be brought up in such a manner as that from time to time he might with them recruit the phalanx. The Macedonians observed with great concern these extraordinary measures, which suited very ill with their gross understandings; for, after all the victories they had gained, they expected to be absolute lords of Asia, and to possess not only the riches of its inhabitants, but to rule the inhabitants themselves; whereas they now found that Alexander meant no such thing, but that, on the contrary, he conferred governments, offices at court, and all other marks of confidence and favour, indiscriminately both on Greeks and Persians. From this time also the king seems to have given proofs of a cruelty which he had never shown before. Philotas, his most intimate friend, was seized, tortured, and put to death, for a conspiracy of which it could never be proved that he was guilty; and soon afterwards Parmenio and some others were executed without any crime at all, real or alleged. These things very much disturbed the army. Some of them wrote home to Macedonia respecting the king's suspicions of his friends, and his disposition to hunt out enemies at the very extremes of the world. Alexander having intercepted some of these letters, and procured the best information he could concerning their authors, picked out these dissatisfied people, and having disposed them into a corps, gave it the title of the "turbulent battalion;" hoping by this means to prevent the spirit of disaffection from pervading the whole army. As a further precaution against any future conspiracy, Alexander thought fit to appoint Hephestion and Clytus generals of the auxiliary horse; being apprehensive, that if this authority was lodged in the hands of a single person, it might prompt him to dangerous undertakings, and at the same time furnish him with the means of carrying them into execution. To keep his forces in action, he suddenly marched into the country of the Euergetae, or Benefactors, and found them full of the kind and hospitable disposition for which that name had been bestowed on their ancestors; he therefore treated them with great respect, and at his departure added some lands to their dominions, which lay contiguous, and which for that reason they had requested of him.

Turning next to the east, he entered Arachosia, the in-habitants of which submitted without giving him any trouble. Whilst he passed the winter in these parts, the feasted and king received advice that the Arians, whom he had so killed. Macedonia, lately subdued, were up again in arms, Satibarzanes having returned into that country with two thousand horse which had been assigned him by Bessus. Alexander instantly despatched Artabazus the Persian, with Erigynus and Caranus, two of his commanders, and a considerable body of horse and foot; he likewise ordered Phrataphernes, to whom he had given the government of Parthia, to accompany them.

A general engagement ensued, in which the Arians behaved very well as long as their commander Satibarzanes lived; but he engaging Erigynus, the Macedonian struck him first in the throat, and then, drawing forth his spear again, through the mouth, so that he immediately expired, and with him the courage of his soldiers, who instantly began to fly; whereupon Alexander's commanders made an easy conquest of the rest of the country, and effectually reduced it under his obedience.

The king, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season, advanced into the country of Paropamisus, so called from the mountain Paropamisus, which the soldiers of Alexander called Caucasus. Having crossed the country in sixteen days, he came at length to an opening leading into Media; and finding it of a sufficient breadth, he directed a city to be built there, which he called Alexandria, as also several other towns about a day's journey distant from thence; and in these places he left seven thousand persons, part of them such as had hitherto followed his camp, and part of the mercenary soldiers, who, weary of continual fatigue, were content to dwell there. Having thus settled things in this province, sacrificed solemnly to the gods, and appointed Proexes the Persian president thereof, with a small body of troops under the command of Niloxenus to assist him, he resumed his former design of penetrating into Bactria.

Bessus, who had assumed the name of Artaxerxes, when he was assured that Alexander was marching towards him, immediately began to waste all the country between Paropamisus and the river Oxus, which river he passed with all his forces, and then burned all the vessels he had made use of for transporting them, retiring to Nautaca, a city of Sogdia; fully persuaded that, by the precautions he had taken, Alexander would be compelled to give over his pursuit. This conduct of his, however, disheartened his troops, and gave the lie to all his pretensions; for he had affected to censure Darius's conduct, and had charged him with cowardice, in not defending the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, whereas he now quitted the banks of the most defensible river perhaps in the whole world. As to his hopes, though it cannot be said they were ill founded, yet they proved absolutely vain; for Alexander, continuing his march, notwithstanding the hardships his soldiers sustained, reduced all Bactria under his obedience, particularly the capital Bactria and the strong castle Aornus. In the latter he placed a garrison under the command of Archelaus, but the government of the province he committed to Artabazus. He then continued his march to the river Oxus, on the banks of which when he arrived, he found it three quarters of a mile in breadth, its depth more than proportional to its breadth, its bottom sandy, its stream so rapid as to render it almost unnavigable, and neither boat nor tree in its neighbourhood; so that the ablest commanders in the Macedonian army were of opinion that the army would be obliged to march back. The king, however, having first sent away, under a proper escort, all his infirm and worn-out soldiers, that they might be conducted safely to the sea-ports, and thence transported to Greece, devised a method of passing this river without either boat or bridge, by causing the hides which covered the soldiers' tents and carriages to be stuffed with straw, and then tied together, and thrown into the river. Having crossed the Oxus, he marched directly towards the camp of Bessus, where, when he arrived, he found it abandoned; but at the same time received letters from Spitamenes and Dataphernes, who were the chief commanders under Bessus, signifying, that if he would send a small party to receive Bessus, they would deliver him into his hands; which they did accordingly, and the traitor was immediately put to death.

A supply of horses having now arrived, the Macedonian cavalry were remounted. Alexander continued his march to Maracanda, the capital of Sogdia, whence he advanced to the river Iaxartes. Here he performed extraordinary exploits against the Scythians, from whom, however, though he overcame them, his army suffered much; and the revolted Sogdians, being headed by Spitamenes, gave him a great deal of trouble. Here also he married Roxana the daughter of Oxyartes, a prince of the country whom he had subdued. But during these expeditions, the king greatly disgusted his army by the murder of his friend Clytus in a drunken quarrel at a banquet, and by his extravagant vanity in claiming divine honours. At last he arrived at the river Indus, where Hephestion and Perdiccas had already provided a bridge of boats for the passage of that river. The king refreshed his troops for thirty days in the countries on the other side of the river, which were those of his friend and ally Taxiles, who gave him thirty elephants, and joined his army with about seven hundred Indian horse, to which, when they were to enter upon action, he afterwards added five thousand foot. The true reason of this seems to have been his enmity to Porus, an Indian prince whose territories were situated on the other side of the river Hydaspes. During this recess, the king sacrificed with great solemnity; receiving also ambassadors from Ambisurus, a very potent prince, and from Doxareas, who was likewise a king in those parts, with tenders of their duty, and considerable presents. When these ceremonies were ended, Alexander appointed Philip governor of Taxila, and put a Macedonian garrison into the place, because he intended to erect an hospital there for the cure of his sick and wounded soldiers. He then ordered the vessels of which his bridge had been composed when he passed the Indus to be taken to pieces, that they might be brought to the Hydaspes, where he was informed that Porus with a great army lay encamped to dispute his passage. When he approached the banks of this river with his army, and the auxiliaries under the command of Taxiles, he found that the people he had to do with were not so easily to be subdued as the Persians and other Asiatics. The Indians were not only a very tall and robust, but also a very hardy and well-disciplined people; and their king Porus was a prince of high spirit, invincible courage, and superior ability.

It was about the summer solstice when Alexander reached the Hydaspes, and consequently its waters were broader, deeper, and more rapid, than at any other time; for in India the rivers swell as the sun's increasing heat melts the snow, and subside again as winter approaches. Alexander therefore had every difficulty to struggle with. Porus had made his dispositions so judiciously, that Alexander found it impossible to practise upon him as he had done upon others, and to pass the river in his view; wherefore he was constrained to divide his army into small parties, and to employ other arts, in order to get the better of so vigilant a prince. To this end he caused a great quantity of corn and other provisions to be brought into his camp, giving out that he intended to remain where he was till the river should subside, and, by becoming fordable, afford him an opportunity of forcing a passage. This did not, however, prevent Porus from keeping up very strict discipline in his camp; which Alexander perceiving, frequently made such motions as seemed to indicate a change of his resolution, and that he had still thoughts of passing the river. The main thing the Macedonians stood in fear of were the elephants; for the bank being pretty steep on the other side, and it being the nature of horses to start at the first appearance of these animals, it was foreseen that the army would be disordered, and incapable of sustaining the charge of Porus's troops. At length Alexander passed the river by the following contrivance. At the distance of a hundred and fifty stadia from his camp there was a rocky promontory projecting into the river, thickly covered with wood; and over against this promontory there lay a pretty large uninhabited island, almost overgrown with trees. The king therefore conceived within himself a project of conveying a body of troops from this promontory into that island; and upon this scheme he built his hopes of surprising Porus, vigilant as he was. To this end he kept him and his army constantly alarmed for many nights together, till he perceived that Porus apprehended that it was only done to harass his troops, and therefore no longer drew out of his camp, but trusted to his ordinary guards; then Alexander resolved to put his design in execution. A considerable body of horse, the Macedonian phalanx, with some corps of light-armed foot, he left in his camp under the command of Craterus, as also the auxiliary Indians, giving orders that if Porus marched against him with part of his army, and left another part with the elephants behind in his camp, Craterus and his forces should remain where they were; but if it so happened that Porus withdrew his elephants, then Craterus was to pass the river, because his cavalry might then do so with safety. Alexander having marched half the way, or about nine of our miles, ordered the mercenary troops under the command of Attalus and other generals to remain there, and directed them, that as soon as they knew he was engaged with the Indians on the other side, they should pass in vessels provided for that purpose, in order to assist him. Then marching a long way about, that the enemy might not perceive his design of reaching the rock, he advanced as diligently as he could towards that post. It happened very fortunately for him, that a great storm of thunder, lightning, and hail, rose in the night, whereby his march was perfectly concealed, his vessels of thirty oars put together, and his tents stuffed and stitched, so that they passed from the rock into the island without being perceived, a little before break of day, the storm ceasing just as he and his soldiers were ready for their passage. When they had traversed the island, they boldly set forward to gain the opposite shore in sight of Porus's outposts, who instantly hastened to give their master an account of the attempt. Alexander landed first himself, and was followed as expeditiously as possible by his forces, whom he took care to draw up as fast as they arrived. When they began their march again, they found that their good fortune was not so great as they at first esteemed it; for it appeared now that they had not reached the continent at all, but were in truth in another island much larger than the former. They crossed it as fast as they could, and found that it was divided from the terra firma by a narrow channel, which, however, was so swelled by the late heavy rain, that the poor soldiers were obliged to wade up to the breast. When they were on the other side, the king drew them up again carefully, ordering the foot, in number about six thousand, to march slowly, whilst himself, with five thousand horse, led the advance. As soon as Porus received intelligence that Alexander was actually passing the river, he sent his son with two thousand horse and a hundred and twenty armed chariots to oppose him. But they came too late; Alexander had already reached the shore, and begun his march.

When the Macedonian scouts perceived them advance, they informed the king, who sent a detachment to attack them, remaining still at the head of his cavalry in expectation of Porus. But when he found that this party was unsupported, he instantly attacked with all his horse, and defeated them with the slaughter of many, and the loss of all Macedonians' their armed chariots, the son of Porus being slain in the fight. The remainder of the horse returning to the camp, with this disastrous account, Porus was in some confusion; he however quickly adopted the best and wisest resolutions which circumstances would allow, namely, to leave a part of his army, with some of his elephants, to oppose Craterus, who was now about to pass the river also, and with the remainder to march against Alexander and his forces, who were already passed. This resolution once taken, he marched immediately out of his camp at the head of four thousand horse, thirty thousand foot, three hundred chariots, and two hundred elephants. He advanced as expeditiously as he could, till he came into a plain which was firm and sandy, where his chariots and elephants might act to advantage; and there he halted, that he might put his army in order, knowing well that he need not go in quest of his enemy. Alexander soon came up with his horse, but he did not charge Porus; on the contrary, he halted, and put his troops in order, that they might be able to defend themselves in case they were attacked. When he had waited some time, his foot arrived, and he immediately surrounded them with his horse, that, after so fatiguing a march, they might have time to cool and breathe a little before they were led to engage. Porus permitted all this, because it was not his interest to fight, and because he depended chiefly upon his order of battle, the elephants covering his foot, so that the Macedonians could not charge them.

When Alexander had disposed his foot in proper order, Porus placed his horse on the wings; and, observing that he self-defeat was much superior in that arm to the enemy, and that the cavalry of Porus were easy to be charged, he resolved to let the foot have as little share as possible in the battle. To this end, having given the necessary directions to Cenius, who commanded them, he went himself to the right, and fell with great fury upon the left wing of Porus. The dispute, though short, was very bloody. The cavalry of Porus, though they fought gallantly, were quickly broken; and the foot being by this means uncovered, the Macedonians charged them. The Indian horse rallying, came up to their relief; but they were again defeated. By this time the archers had wounded many of the elephants, and killed most of their riders, so that they did not prove less troublesome and dangerous to their own side than to the Macedonians; whence a great confusion ensued, and Cenius, taking this opportunity, fell on with the troops under his command, and entirely defeated the Indian army. Porus himself behaved with the greatest intrepidity, and with the most excellent conduct; he gave his orders, and directed every thing, as long as his troops retained their formation; and when they were broken, he retired from party to party as they made stands, and continued fighting till every corps of Indians was put to the rout. In the mean time Craterus had passed with the rest of the Macedonian army; and these, falling upon the flying Indians, increased the slaughter of the day excessively, insomuch that twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse were killed, all the chariots were hacked to pieces, and the elephants not killed were taken; two of Porus's sons fell here, as also most of his officers of all ranks.

As for Porus, Alexander gave strict directions that no injury might be done to his person. He even sent Taxiles to persuade him to surrender himself, and to assure him that he should be treated with all the kindness and respect imaginable; but Porus, disdaining this advice from the mouth of an old enemy, threw a javelin, which would have killed him, but for the quick turn of his horse. Meroe the Indian, who was in the service of Alexander, succeeded better. He had been the old acquaintance of Porus, and therefore when he entreated that prince to spare his person, and to submit himself to fortune and a generous victor, Porus followed his advice; and we may truly say, that the condition of this Indian king suffered nothing by the loss of the battle. Alexander immediately gave him his liberty, and shortly afterwards restored him to his kingdom, to which he annexed provinces almost equal to it in value. Neither was Alexander a loser by his munificence, for Porus remained his true friend and constant ally. To perpetuate the memory of this victory, Alexander ordered two cities to be erected; one on the field of battle, which he named Nices; the other on the opposite side of the river, which he called Bucephala, in honour of his horse Bucephalus, who died here, as Arrian says, of mere old age, being on the verge of thirty.

All the soldiers who fell in the battle he buried with great honours, offered solemn sacrifices to the gods, and exhibited pompous shows on the banks of the Hydaspes, where he had forced his passage. He then entered the territories of the Glause, in which were thirty-seven good cities, and a multitude of populous villages. All these were delivered up to him without fighting; and as soon as he received them, he presented them to Porus, and having reconciled him to Taxiles, he sent the latter home to his own dominions. About this time ambassadors arrived from several Indian princes with their submissions; and Alexander having conquered the dominions of another Porus, which lay on the Hydaraotes, a branch of the Indus, added them to those of Porus his ally.

In the middle of all this success, however, news arrived that the Cathei, Oxydrace, and the Malli, the most warlike nations of India, were confederated against the Macedonians, and had drawn together a great army. The king immediately marched to give them battle, and in a few days reached a city called Sangala, seated on the top of a hill, and having a fine lake behind it. Before this city the confederate Indians lay encamped, having three circular lines of carriages locked together, and their tents pitched in the centre. Notwithstanding the apparent difficulty of forcing these intrenchments, Alexander resolved immediately to attack them. The Indians made a noble defence; but at last the first line of their carriages was broken, and the Macedonians entered. The second was stronger by far; yet Alexander attacked that too, and after a desperate resistance forced it. The Indians, without trusting to the third, retired into the city, which Alexander would have invested; but the foot he had with him not being sufficient for that purpose, he caused his works to be carried on both sides as far as the lake; and, on the other side of that, ordered several brigades of horse to take post, ordering also battering engines to be brought up, and in some places employing miners. The second night, he received intelligence that the besieged, knowing the lake to be fordable, intended to make their escape through it. Upon this the king ordered all the carriages which had been taken in forcing their camp, to be placed up and down the roads, in hopes of preventing their flight; giving directions to Ptolemy, who commanded the horse on the other side of the lake, to be extremely vigilant, and to cause all his trumpets to sound, that the forces might repair to that post where the Indians made their greatest effort. These precautions had all the effect that could be desired; for of the few Indians who got through the lake, and passed the Macedonian horse, the greater part were killed on the roads; but the greatest part of their army was constrained to retire again through the water into the city. Two days after, the place was taken by storm. Seventeen thousand Indians were killed, and seventy thousand taken prisoners, with three hundred chariots, and five hundred horse. The Macedonians are said to have lost only a hundred men in this siege; but they had twelve hundred wounded, and amongst these several persons of great distinction. The city was no sooner taken, than Alexander despatched Eumenes his secretary, with a party of horse, to acquaint the inhabitants of the cities adjacent with what had befallen the Sangalans; promising also, that they should be kindly treated if they would submit. But they were so much affrighted at what had happened to their neighbours, that, abandoning all their cities, they fled into the mountains; choosing rather to expose themselves to wild beasts than to these invaders, who had treated their countrymen so cruelly. When the king was informed of this, he sent detachments of horse and foot to scour all the roads; and these, finding aged, infirm, and wounded people, to the number of about five hundred, put them to the sword without mercy. Perceiving that it was impossible to persuade the inhabitants to return, he caused the city of Sangala to be razed, and gave the territories to the few Indians who had submitted to him.

Alexander, still unsated with conquest, now prepared to pass the Hyphasis. The chief reason which induced him to think of this expedition, was the information he had received of the state of the countries beyond that river. He was told that they were in themselves rich and fruitful; that their inhabitants were not only a very martial people, but very civilized; that they were governed by the nobility, who were themselves subject to the laws; and that as they lived in happiness and freedom, it was likely they would fight obstinately in defence of those blessings. He was further told, that amongst these nations there were the largest, strongest, and most useful elephants bred and tamed; and was therefore fired with an earnest desire of reducing such a bold and brave people under his rule, and of attaining to the possession of the many valuable things that were said to be amongst them. As exorbitant, however, as his personal ambition was, he found it impossible to infuse any part of it into the minds of his soldiers, who were so far from wishing to triumph over new and remote countries, that they were highly desirous of leaving those that they had already conquered. When therefore they were informed of the king's intentions, they privately consulted together in the camp about the situation of their own affairs. At this consultation, the gravest and best of the soldiers lamented that they were made use of by their king, not as lions, who fall fiercely upon those who have injured them, but as mastiffs, who fly upon and tear those who are pointed out to them as enemies. The rest were not so modest, but expressed themselves roundly against the king's humour for leading them from battle to battle, from siege to siege, and from river to river; protesting that they would follow him no farther, nor lavish their blood any longer, to purchase for him the fame he coveted. Alexander had too much penetration not to perceive that his troops were very uneasy. He therefore harangued them from his tribunal; but though his eloquence was great, and the love his army had for him was yet very strong, they did not relent. For some time the soldiers remained sullen and silent; and at last turned their eyes on Conus, an old and experienced general, whom Alexander loved, and in whom the army put great confidence. He had the generosity to undertake their cause, and told Alexander frankly, "that men endured toil in hopes of repose; that the Macedonians were already much reduced in their numbers; that of those who remained, the greater part were invalids; and that they expected, in consideration of their former services, that he would now lead them back to their native country; an act which, of all others, would most contribute to his own great designs, since it would encourage the youth of Macedonia, and even of all Greece, to follow him in whatever new expedition he pleased to undertake." The king was far from being pleased with this speech of Conus, and much less with the disposition of his army, which continued in a deep silence. He therefore dismissed the assembly. But next day he called another, in which he told the soldiers plainly, that he would not be driven from his purpose; that he would proceed in his conquests with such as should follow him voluntarily; and that, as for the rest, he would not detain them, but would leave them at liberty to go home to Macedonia, where they might publish, "that they had left their king in the midst of his enemies." Even this expedient had no success; his army was so thoroughly tired with long marches and desperate battles, that they were determined to advance no further; upon which Alexander retired to his tent, where he refused to see his friends, and evinced the same gloomy temper that reigned amongst his troops.

For three days things remained in this situation. At last the king suddenly appeared; and, as if he had been fully determined to pursue his first design, he gave orders to sacrifice for the good success of his new undertaking. But Aristander the augur reported that the omens were altogether inauspicious; upon which the king said, that since his proceeding farther was neither pleasing to the gods nor grateful to his army, he would return. When this was rumoured amongst the army, they assembled in great numbers about the royal tent, saluting the king with loud acclamations; wishing him success in all his future designs, and giving him at the same time hearty thanks, insomuch as "he who was invincible had suffered himself to be overcome by their prayers." A stop being thus put to the conquests of Alexander, he determined to make the Hyphasis the boundary of his dominions; and having erected twelve altars of an extraordinary magnitude, he sacrificed upon them, after which he exhibited shows in the Grecian manner; and, having added all the conquered country in these parts to the dominions of Porus, he began to return. Having arrived at the Hydaspes, he made the necessary preparations for sailing down the Indus to the ocean. For this purpose, he ordered vast quantities of timber to be felled in the neighbourhood of the Hydaspes, through which he was to sail into the Indus; and he caused the vessels with which he had passed other rivers to be brought thither, and assembled a vast number of artificers capable of repairing and equipping his fleet, which, when finished, consisted of eighty vessels of three banks of oars, and two thousand lesser ships and transports. Those who were to manage this fleet were collected from among the Phoenicians, Cyprians, Carians, and Egyptians who had followed his army, and were reckoned perfectly well skilled in the nautical art. When all things were ready, the army embarked about break of day; whilst the king, in the mean time, sacrificed to the gods, according to the ceremonies used in his own country, and likewise according to those of the country in which he now was. Then he himself went on board, and causing the signal to be given by sound of trumpet, the fleet set sail. Craterus and Hephaestion had marched some days before with another division of the army; and in three days the fleet reached that part of the river which was opposite to their camps. Here he received information that the Oxydrace and Malli were raising forces to oppose him, upon which he immediately determined to reduce them; for, during this voyage, he made it a rule to compel the inhabitants on both sides of the river to yield him obedience. But before he arrived amongst the people above mentioned, he himself sustained no small danger; for, coming to the confluence of the Acesines with the Hydaspes, whence both rivers roll together into the Indus, the eddies, whirlpools, and rapid currents, rushing with tremendous noise from the respective channels of those rivers into the great one formed by them both, at once terrified those who navigated his vessels, and actually destroyed many of the long vessels, with all who were on board of them; the king himself being in some danger, and Nearchus the admiral not a little at a loss. As soon as this danger was over, Alexander went on shore; and having ordered his elephants with some troops of horse and archers to be carried across, and put under the command of Craterus, he then divided his army on the left-hand bank into three bodies, the first commanded by himself, the second by Hephaestion, and the third by Ptolemy. Hephaestion had orders to move silently through the heart of the country, five days' march before the king; that if, on Alexander's approach, any of the barbarians should attempt to shelter themselves by retiring into the country, they might fall into the hands of Hephaestion. Ptolemy Lagus was ordered to march three days' journey behind the king, that if any escaped his army, they might fall into Ptolemy's hands; and the fleet had orders to stop at the confluence of this river with the Hydraotes until such time as all these several corps should arrive.

Alexander himself, at the head of a body of horse and light-armed foot, marched through a desert country against the Malli, and, scarcely affording any rest to his soldiers, arrived in three days at a city into which the barbarians had put their wives and children, with a good garrison for their defence. The country people, having no notion that Alexander would march through such a desert and barren region, were all unarmed, and in the utmost confusion. Many of them therefore were slain in the fields; the rest fled into the city, and shut the gates. But this only protracted their fate for a short time; for the king, having ordered the city to be invested by his cavalry, took it, as well as the castle, by storm, and put all he found there to the sword. He sent at the same time Perdiccas, with a considerable detachment, to invest another city of the Malli, at a considerable distance; but when he came there he found it abandoned. However, he pursued the inhabitants, who had but lately left it, and killed great numbers of them on the road. After this the king took several other cities, but without considerable resistance; for the Indians sometimes chose to burn themselves in their houses rather than surrender. At last he marched to their capital city; and finding it abandoned, he proceeded to the river Hydraotes, where he found fifty thousand men encamped on the opposite bank, in order to dispute his passage. He did not hesitate, however, to enter the river with a considerable party of horse; and so much were the Indians terrified at his presence, that their whole army retired before him. In a short time they returned and attacked him, being ashamed to fly before such an inconsiderable number; but in the meantime the rest of the Macedonian forces came up, and the Indians were obliged to retire to a city which lay behind them, and which Alexander invested that very night. The next day he stormed the city with such violence, that the inhabitants were compelled to abandon it, and to retire to the castle, where they prepared for an obstinate defence. The king instantly gave orders for scaling the walls, and the soldiers prepared to execute these orders as fast as they could; but the king being impatient, caught hold of a ladder and mounted it first himself, being followed by Leonatus, Peucestas, and Abreas, the latter a man of great valour, and who on that account had double pay allowed him. The king having gained the top of the battlements, cleared them quickly of the defendants, killing some of them with his sword, and pushing others over the walls; but after this was done, he was in more danger than ever, for the Indians galled him with their arrows from the adjacent towers, though they durst not approach near enough to engage him. His own battalion of targeteers mounting in haste to second him, broke the ladders; which, as soon as Alexander perceived, he threw himself down into the castle, as did also Peucestas, Leonatus, and Abreas. As soon as the king was on the ground, the Indian general rushed forward to attack him; but Alexander instantly despatched him, as well as several others who followed Macedonia. Upon this the rest retired, and contented themselves with throwing darts and stones at him at a distance. Abreas was struck in the head with an arrow, and died on the spot; and, shortly after, another pierced through the king's breast-plate into his body. As long as he had spirits, he defended himself valiantly; but, through a vast effusion of blood, losing his senses, he fell upon his shield. Peucestas then covered him with the sacred shield of Pallas on one side, as did Leonatus with his own shield on the other, though they themselves were dreadfully wounded. In the mean time, however, the soldiers on the outside, eager to save their king, supplied their want of ladders by driving large iron pins into the walls. By the help of these many of them ascended, and came to the assistance of Alexander and his companions. The Indians were now slaughtered without mercy; but Alexander continued for some time in a very dangerous way. However, he at last recovered his strength, and showed himself again to his army, which filled them with the greatest joy.

The Malli, being now convinced that nothing but submission could save the remainder of them, sent deputies to Alexander, offering the dominion of their country, as did also the Oxydraces; and the king having settled every thing in these countries agreeable to his mind, proceeded on his voyage down the river Indus. In this voyage he received the submission of some other Indian princes; and perceiving, that at the point of the island Pattala, the river divided itself into two vast branches, he ordered an haven and convenient docks to be made there for his ships; and when he had careened his fleet, he sailed down the right-hand branch towards the ocean. In his passage he sustained great difficulties by reason of the want of pilots, and at the mouth of the river very narrowly missed being cast away; yet all this did not prevent him from pursuing his first design, though it does not appear that he had any other motive thereto than the vain desire of boasting that he had entered the ocean beyond the Indus; for, having consecrated certain bulls to Neptune, and thrown them into the sea, performed certain libations out of golden cups, and thrown the cups also into the sea, he came back again, having only surveyed two little islands, one at the mouth of the Indus, and one a little farther in the ocean. On the king's return to Pattala, he resolved to sail down the other branch of the Indus, that he might see whether it was more safe and commodious for his fleet than that which he had already tried; and for this he had very good reasons. He had resolved to send Nearchus with his fleet by sea, through the Persian Gulf, up the river Tigris, to meet him and his army in Mesopotamia; but as the possibility of this voyage depended on the ceasing of the etesian winds, there was a necessity for laying up the fleet till the season should prove favourable. Alexander, therefore, sailing through this branch of the Indus, sought on the sea-coast for bays and creeks, where his fleet might anchor in safety; he also caused pits to be sunk, which might be filled with fresh water for the use of his people, and took all imaginable precautions for preserving them in case and safety till the season would allow them to continue their voyage. In this he succeeded to his wish; for he found this branch of the river Indus, at its mouth, spread over the plain country, and forming a kind of lake, in which a fleet might ride with safety. He therefore appointed Leonatus, and a part of his army, to carry on such works as were necessary, causing them to be relieved by fresh troops as often as there was occasion; then having given his last instructions to Nearchus, he departed with the rest of the army, in order to march back to Babylon.

Before the king's departure, many of his friends advised him against the route which he intended to take. They told him, that nothing could be more rash or dangerous than this resolution. They informed him, that the country through which he was to travel was a wild uncultivated desert; that Semiramis, when she led her soldiers this way out of India, brought home but twenty of them; and that Cyrus, attempting to do the same, returned with only seven. But all this was so far from deterring Alexander, that it more than ever determined him to pursue no other route. As soon, therefore, as he had put things in order, he marched at the head of a sufficient body of troops to reduce the Orite, who had never vouchsafed either to make their submission or to court his friendship. Their territories lay upon the other side of a river called Arabis, which Alexander crossed so speedily, that they had no intelligence of his march; whereupon most of them quitted their country, and fled into the deserts. Their capital he found so well situated, that he resolved to take it out of their hands, and to cause a new and noble city to be founded there, the care of which he committed to Hephæstion. Then he received the deputies of the Orite and Gedrosi; and having assured them, that if the people returned to their villages, they should be kindly treated, and having appointed Apollonides president of the Orite, and left a considerable body of troops under Leonatus to secure their obedience, he began his march through Gedrosia. In this march his troops suffered incredible hardships. The road was very uncertain and troublesome, on account of its lying through deep and loose sands, rising in many places into hillocks, which forced the soldiers to climb, at the same time that it sunk under their feet; there were no towns, villages, nor places of refreshment, to be met with; so that, after excessive marches, they were forced to encamp among these dry sands. As to provisions, they hardly met with any during their whole march. The soldiers were therefore obliged to kill their beasts of carriage; and such as were sent to bring some corn from the sea side, were so grievously distressed, that, though it was sealed with the king's signet, they cut open the bags, choosing rather to die a violent death for disobedience than perish by hunger. When the king, however, was informed of this, he freely pardoned the offenders; he was also forced to accept the excuses that were daily made for the loss of mules, horses, &c. which were in truth eaten by the soldiers, and their carriages broken in pieces to avoid further trouble. As for water, their want of it was a great misfortune, and yet their finding it in plenty was sometimes a greater; for, as in the one case they perished with thirst, so in the other they were thrown into dropsies, and rendered incapable of travel. Frequently they met with no water for the whole day together; sometimes they were disappointed of it at night, in which case, if they were able, they marched on; so that it was common with them to travel thirty, forty, fifty, or even sixty miles without encamping. Through these hardships numbers were obliged to fall into the rear; and of these many were left behind, and perished; for indeed scarcely any of them ever joined the army again. Their miseries, however, they sustained with incredible patience, being encouraged by the example of their king, who, on this occasion, suffered greater hardships than the meanest soldier in his army.

At last they arrived at the capital of Gedrosia, where Amril they refreshed themselves, and staid some time; after which they marched into Caramania, which being a very plentiful country, made them ample amends for the hardships and fatigues which they had sustained. Here they were joined, first by Craterus with the troops under his command, along with a number of elephants; then came Stasanor, president of the Arians, and Phrismanes, the son of Phrataphernes, the governor of Parthia. They brought with them camels, horses, and other beasts of burden, in vast numbers; having foreseen that the king's march through Gedrosia would be attended with the loss of the greater part, if not all, of the cavalry and beasts. Thus ended the exploits of Alexander, the greatest Macedonian conqueror that ever the world saw, at least with respect to the rapidity of his conquests. In the course of twelve years he had brought under his subjection Egypt, Libya, Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Babylonia, Persia, with part of India and Tartary. Still, however, he meditated greater things. He had now got a great taste for maritime affairs, and is said to have meditated a voyage to the coasts of Arabia and Ethiopia, and thence round the whole continent of Africa to the Straits of Gibraltar. But of this there is no great certainty, though that he intended to subdue the Carthaginians and Italians is more than probable. All these designs, however, were frustrated by his death, which happened at Babylon, in the year 323 before Christ. He is said to have received several warnings of his approaching fate, and to have been advised to avoid that city, which advice he either despised or could not follow. He died of a fever, after eight days' illness, without naming any successor; having only given his ring to Perdiccas, and left the kingdom, as he said, "to the most worthy."

The character of this great prince has been variously represented; but most historians seem to have looked upon him rather as an illustrious madman than one upon whom the epithet of Great could be properly bestowed. From a careful observation of his conduct, however, it must appear that he possessed not only a capacity to plan, but likewise to execute, the greatest enterprises which ever entered into the mind of any of the human race. From whatever cause the notion originated, it is plain that he imagined himself a divine person, and born to subdue the whole world; and extravagant and impracticable as this scheme may appear at present, it cannot at all be looked upon in the same light in the age of Alexander. The Greeks were in his time the most powerful people in the world in respect to their skill in the military art, and the Persians were the most powerful with respect to wealth and numbers. The only other powerful nations in the world were the Carthaginians, Gauls, and Italian nations. From a long series of wars which the Carthaginians carried on in Sicily, it appeared that they were by no means capable of contending with the Greeks, even when they had an immense superiority of numbers; and much less could they have sustained an attack from the whole power of Greece and Asia united. The Gauls and Italians were indeed very brave, and of a martial disposition; but they were barbarous, and could not have resisted armies well disciplined, and under the command of such a skilful leader as Alexander. Even long after this time, it appeared that the Romans themselves could not have resisted the Greeks, since Regulus, after having defeated the Carthaginians, and reduced them to the utmost distress, was totally unable to resist a Carthaginian army commanded by a Greek general, and trained to Greek discipline.

Thus it appears that the scheme of Alexander cannot by any means be accounted that of a madman, or of one who projects great things without judgment, and the means necessary to execute them. If from his actions we consider the end which he most probably had in view, could his scheme have been accomplished, we shall find it not only the greatest, but the best, which can possibly be imagined. He did not conquer to destroy, enslave, or oppress, but to civilize and to unite the whole world as one nation. No sooner was a province conquered than he took care of it as if it had been part of his paternal inheritance. He allowed not his soldiers to oppress and plunder the Persians, which they were very much inclined to do; on the contrary, by giving in to the oriental customs himself, he strove to extinguish that inveterate hatred which had so long subsisted between the two nations. In the Scythian countries which he subdued he pursued the same excellent plan. His courage and military skill, in which he never was ex- Macedonia, celled, were displayed, not with a view to rapine or desultory conquest, but to civilize and induce the barbarous inhabitants to employ themselves in a more proper way of life. Amidst the hardships of a military life, obstinate sieges, bloody battles, and dear-bought victories, he still respected the rights of mankind, and practised the mild virtues of humanity. The conquered nations enjoyed their ancient laws and privileges; the rigours of despotism were softened; arts and industry encouraged; and the proudest Macedonian governors compelled, by the authority and example of Alexander, to observe the rules of justice towards their meanest subjects. To bridle the fierce inhabitants of the Scythian plains, he founded cities and established colonies on the banks of the Iaxartes and Oxus; and those destructive campaigns usually ascribed to his restless activity and blind ambition appeared to the discernment of this extraordinary man, not only essential to the security of the conquests which he had already made, but necessary for the more remote and splendid expeditions which he still purposed to undertake, and which he performed with singular boldness and unexampled success.

He was of a low stature, and somewhat deformed; but the activity and elevation of his mind animated and ennobled his frame. By a life of continual labour, and by an early and habitual practice of the gymnastic exercises, he had hardened his body against the impressions of cold and heat, hunger and thirst, and prepared his robust constitution for bearing such exertions of strength and activity, as have appeared incredible to the undisciplined softness of modern times. In generosity and in prowess he rivalled the greatest heroes of antiquity; and in the race of glory, having finally outstripped all competitors, became ambitious to surpass himself. His superior skill in war gave uninterrupted success to his arms; and his natural humanity, enlightened by the philosophy of Greece, taught him to improve his conquests to the best interests of mankind. In his extensive dominions he built or founded not less than seventy cities; the situation of which, being chosen with consummate wisdom, tended to facilitate communication, to promote commerce, and to diffuse civilization through the greatest nations of the earth. It may be suspected, indeed, that he mistook the extent of human power, when in the course of one reign he undertook to change the face of the world; and that he miscalculated the stubbornness of ignorance and the force of habit, when he attempted to enlighten barbarism, to soften servitude, and to transplant the improvements of Greece into an African and Asiatic soil, where they have never been known to flourish. Yet let not the designs of Alexander be too hastily accused of extravagance. Whoever seriously considers what he actually performed before his thirty-third year, will be cautious of determining what he might have accomplished had he reached the ordinary term of human life. His resources were peculiar to himself; and such views as well as actions became him, as would have become none besides. In the language of a philosophical historian, "he seems to have been given to the world by a peculiar dispensation of Providence, being a man like to none other of the human kind."

With the death of Alexander fell also the glory of the Macedonians, who very soon relapsed into a situation as bad as, or perhaps worse than, that in which they had been before the reign of Philip. This was occasioned principally by his not having distinctly named a successor, and having no child of his own come to the years of discretion to whom the kingdom might seem naturally to belong. The ambition and jealousy of his mother Olympias, of his queen Roxana, and especially of the great commanders of his army, not only prevented a successor from being ever named, but occasioned the death of every person, whether male or female, who was in the least related to Alexander. To have a just notion of the origin of these disturbances, it is necessary in the first place to understand the state of Macedonian affairs at the time of Alexander's death.

When Alexander set out for Asia, he left Antipater in Macedonia, to prevent any disturbances that might arise either there or in Greece. The Greeks, even during the lifetime of Alexander, bore the superiority which he exercised over them with great patience; and, though nothing could be more gentle than the government of Antipater, yet he was exceedingly hated, because he obliged them to be quiet. One of the last actions of Alexander's life set all Greece in a flame. He had, by an edict, directed all the cities of Greece to recall their exiles; which edict, when it was published at the Olympic games, created much confusion. Many of the cities were afraid, that when the exiles returned they would change the government; most of them doubted their own safety if the edict took effect; and all of them held this peremptory decree to be a total abolition of their liberty. No sooner, therefore, did the news of Alexander's death arrive than they prepared for war.

In Asia the state of things was not much better; not indeed through any inclination of the conquered countries to revolt, but through the dissensions amongst the commanders. In the general council which was called soon after the death of Alexander, it was at last agreed, or rather commanded by the soldiers, after much confusion and altercation, that Aridaeus, the brother of Alexander, who had always accompanied the king, and had been wont to sacrifice with him, should assume the sovereignty. This Aridaeus was a man of slender parts and judgment, not naturally, but by the wicked practices of Olympias, who had given him poisonous draughts in his infancy, lest he should stand in the way of her son Alexander or any of his family; and for this, or some other reason, Perdiccas, Ptolemy, and most of the cavalry officers, resented his promotion to such a degree that they quitted the assembly, and even the city. However, Meleager, at the head of the phalanx, vigorously supported their first resolution, and threatened loudly to shed the blood of those who affected to rule over their equals, and to assume a kingdom which nowise belonged to them. Aridaeus was accordingly arrayed in royal robes, had the arms of Alexander put upon him, and was saluted by the name of Philip, to render him more popular. Thus were two parties formed, at the head of which were Meleager and Perdiccas, both of them pretending vast concern for the public good, yet at bottom desiring nothing more than their own advantage. Perdiccas was a man of high birth, and had a supreme command in the army, was much in favour with Alexander, and one in whom the nobility had placed great confidence. Meleager had become formidable by the phalanx being on his side, and having the nominal king entirely in his power; for Aridaeus, or Philip, was obliged to comply with whatever he thought proper, and publicly declared, that whatever he did was by the advice of Meleager; so that he made his minister accountable for his own schemes, and nowise endangered himself. The Macedonians also, besides their regard for the deceased king, soon began to entertain a personal love for Philip on account of his moderation.

It is remarkable, however, that notwithstanding all the Meleager favours which Alexander had conferred upon his officers, and the fidelity with which they had served him during his life, only two of them were attached to the interests of his family after his death. These were Antipater, and Eumenes the Cardian, whom he had appointed his secretary. Antipater, as we have already seen, was embroiled with the Greeks, and could not assist the royal family, who were in Asia; and Eumenes had not as yet sufficient interest to form a party in their favour. In a short time, however, Perdiccas prevailed against Meleager, and caused him to be murdered; by which means the supreme power for a time fell into his hands. His first step, in consequence of this power, was to distribute the provinces of the empire amongst the commanders, in order at once to prevent competitors, and to satisfy the ambition of the principal leaders of the army. Arideus, and the son of Roxana, born after the death of his father, were to enjoy the regal authority. Antipater had the government of the European provinces. Craterus received the title of Protector. Perdiccas was made general of the household troops, in the room of Hephaestion. Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, obtained Egypt, Libya, and that part of Arabia which borders upon Egypt. Cleomenes, a man of infamous character, whom Alexander had appointed receiver-general in Egypt, was made Ptolemy's deputy. Lysimachus had Syria; Philotas, Cilicia; Python, Media; Eumenes, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and all the country bordering on the Euxine Sea, as far as Trapezus; but these were not yet conquered, so that he was a governor without a province. Antigonus received Pamphylia, Lycia, and Phrygia Major; Cassander, Caria; Menander, Lydia; Leonatus, Phrygia on the Hellespont.

In the mean time, not only Alexander's will, but even his remains, were so much neglected, that his body was allowed to lie seven days before any notice was taken of it; or any orders were given for its being embalmed. The only will he left was a short memorandum of six things which he wished to have done. 1. A fleet of one thousand stout galleys was to be built and employed against the Carthaginians and other nations who might oppose the reduction of the sea-coasts of Africa and Spain, with all the adjacent islands as far as Sicily. 2. A large and regular highway was to be constructed along the coast of Africa, as far as Ceuta and Tangier. 3. Six temples of extraordinary magnificence were to be erected, at the expense of one thousand five hundred talents each. 4. Castles, arsenals, havens, and yards for building ships, were to be established in proper places throughout his empire. 5. Several new cities were to be built in Europe and Asia; those in Asia to be inhabited by colonies from Europe, and those in Europe to be filled with Asiatics; that by blending the people and the manners of both, the hereditary antipathy which had hitherto subsisted between the inhabitants of these two continents might, if possible, be eradicated. Lastly, he had projected the building of a pyramid, equal in size and beauty to the largest in Egypt, in honour of his father Philip. But all these designs were, on the pretence of their being expensive, referred to a council of Macedonians, to be held nobody knew when or where.

The government, being now in the hands of Perdiccas and Roxana, soon became cruel and distasteful. Alexander was scarcely dead when the queen sent for Statira and Drypetis, the two daughters of Darius, one of whom had been married to Alexander, and the other to Hephaestion; and as soon as they arrived at Babylon, she caused them both to be murdered, that no son of Alexander by any other woman, or of Hephaestion, might give any trouble to her or her son Alexander. Sisygambis, the mother of Darius, no sooner heard that Alexander the Great was dead, than she laid violent hands on herself, being apprehensive of the calamities which were about to ensue.

War was first declared in Greece against Antipater in the year 321 before Christ; and, through the treachery of the Thessalians, that general was defeated, with the army he had under his own command. Leonatus was therefore sent from Asia, with a very considerable army, to his assistance; but both were overthrown with great loss by the confederates, and Leonatus himself was killed. In a short time, however, Craterus arrived in Greece with a great army, the command of which he resigned to Antipater. The army of the confederates amounted to about twenty-five thousand foot and three thousand horse; but Antipater commanded no fewer than forty thousand foot, three thousand archers, and five thousand horse. In such an unequal contest, therefore, the Greeks were defeated, and forced to sue for peace, which they did not obtain except on condition of their receiving Macedonian garrisons into several of their cities. At Athens also the democratic government was abrogated; and such a dreadful punishment did this seem to the Athenians, that twenty-two thousand of them left their country and retired into Macedonia.

Whilst these things were doing in Greece, disturbances began also to arise in Asia and in Thrace. The Greek mercenaries, who were dispersed throughout the inland provinces of Asia, despairing of ever being allowed to return home by fair means, determined to attempt it by force. For this purpose they assembled to the number of twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse; but they were all cut off to a man by the Macedonians. In Thrace, Lysimachus was attacked by one Seuthes, a prince of that country, who claimed the dominions of his ancestors, and had raised an army of twenty thousand foot and eight thousand horse. But though the Macedonian commander was forced to engage this army with no more than four thousand foot and two thousand horse, yet he kept the field of battle, and could not be driven out of the country.

Perdiccas, in the mean time, by pretending friendship to the royal family, had gained over Eumenes entirely to his interest; and at last put him in possession of the province of Cappadocia by the defeat of Ariarathes, king of that country, whom he afterwards caused to be crucified. His ambition, however, now began to involve him in difficulties. At the first division of the provinces, Perdiccas, to strengthen his own authority, had proposed to marry Nicaea, the daughter of Antipater; and so well was this proposal relished, that her brethren, Jollas and Archias, conducted her to him, in order to be present at the celebration of the nuptials. But Perdiccas had now other objects in view. He had been solicited by Olympias to marry her daughter Cleopatra, the widow of Alexander king of Epirus, and who then resided at Sardis in Lydia. Eumenes promoted this match to the utmost of his power, because he thought it would be for the interest of the royal family; and his persuasions had such an effect on Perdiccas, that he was sent to Sardis to compliment Cleopatra, and to carry presents to her in name of her new lover. In the absence of Eumenes, however, Alcetas, the brother of Perdiccas, persuaded him to marry Nicaea; but, in order to gratify his ambition, he resolved to divorce her immediately after the marriage, and to marry Cleopatra. By this last alliance he hoped to have a pretence for altering the government of Macedonia; and, as a necessary measure preparative to these, he entered into contrivances for destroying Antigonus. Unfortunately for himself, however, he ruined all his schemes by his own jealousy and precipitate cruelty. Cyane, the daughter of Philip by his second wife, had brought her daughter Adda, who was afterwards named Eurydice, to court, in hopes that King Aridaeus might marry her. Against Cyane, Perdiccas, from some political motives, conceived such a grudge, that he caused her to be murdered. This raised a commotion in the army, which frightened Perdiccas to such a degree that he now promoted the match between Aridaeus and Eurydice, to prevent which he had murdered the mother of the young princess. But, in the mean time, Antigonus, knowing the designs of Perdiccas against himself, fled with his son Demetrius to Greece, there to take shelter under the protection of Antipater and Craterus, whom he informed of the ambition and cruelty of the regent.

A civil war was now kindled up. Antipater, Craterus, Civil war. Neoptolemus, and Antigonus, were combined against Perdiccas; and it was the misfortune of the empire in general that Eumenes, the most able general, as well as the Macedonia most virtuous of all the commanders, was on the side of Perdiccas, because he believed him to be in the interest of Alexander's family. Ptolemy in the mean time remained in quiet possession of Egypt, but without the least intention of owning any person as his superior. However, he also acceded to the league formed against Perdiccas, and thus the only person in the whole empire who consulted the interest of the royal family was Eumenes.

It was now thought proper to bury the body of Alexander, which had been kept for two years, during all which time preparations had been making for its interment. Aridaus, to whose care it was committed, set out from Babylon for Damascus, in order to carry the king's body to Egypt. This was much against the will of Perdiccas; for it seems there was a superstitious report, that wherever the body of Alexander was laid, that country should flourish most. Perdiccas, therefore, out of regard to his native soil, would have it conveyed to the royal sepulchres in Macedonia; but Aridaus, pleading the late king's express direction, was determined to carry it into Egypt, from thence to be conveyed to the temple of Jupiter Ammon. The funeral was accordingly conducted with all imaginable magnificence. Ptolemy came to meet the body as far as Syria; but, instead of burying it in the temple of Jupiter Ammon, he erected a stately temple for it in the city of Alexandria; and, by the respect which he showed for his dead master, induced to join him many of the Macedonian veterans, who were afterwards of the greatest service to him.

Perdiccas No sooner was the funeral over, than both the parties above mentioned fell to blows. Perdiccas marched against a new division of Ptolemy, but was slain by his own men, who, after the death of their general, submitted to his antagonist; and thus Eumenes was left alone to contend against all the other generals who had served under Alexander. In this contest, however, he would by no means have been overmatched, had his soldiers been attached to him; but as they had been accustomed to serve under those very generals against whom they were now to fight, they were upon all occasions ready to betray and desert Eumenes. However, he defeated and killed Neoptolemus and Craterus; but then found himself obliged to contend with Antipater and Antigonus. Antipater was now appointed protector of the kings, with sovereign power; and Eumenes was about the same time declared a public enemy. A new division of Alexander's empire took place. Egypt, Libya, and the parts adjacent, were given to Ptolemy, because they could not be taken from him. Syria was confirmed to Leomedon. Philoxenus received Cilicia. Mesopotamia and Arbelitus were given to Amphimachus. Babylon was bestowed on Seleucus. Susiana fell to Antigenes, who commanded the Macedonian Argyraspidei, or Silver Shields, because he was the first who opposed Perdiccas. Peucestas held Persia; Thepolemus had Caramania; Python had Media as far as the Caspian Straits; Stasander had Aria and Drangia; Philip, Parthia; Stasonor, Bactria and Sogdia; Sybirtius, Aracopa; Oxyartes, the father of Roxana, Paropamisus. Another Python had the country between this province and India. Porus and Taxiles retained what Alexander had given them, refusing to part with any portion of their dominions. Cappadocia was assigned to Nicannor. Phrygia Major, Lycaonia, Pamphylia, and Lycia, were given to Antigonus; Caria to Cassander; Lydia to Clytus; and Phrygia the Less to Aridaus. Cassander was appointed general of the horse; whilst the command of the household troops was given to Antigonus, with orders to prosecute the war against Eumenes. Antipater having thus settled everything as well as he could, returned to Macedonia with the two kings, to the great joy of his countrymen, having left his son Cassander as a check upon Antigonus in Asia.

Matters now seemed to wear a better aspect than they had yet done; and, if Eumenes had believed that his enemies really consulted the interest of Alexander's family, there is not the least doubt that the war would have been immediately terminated. He saw, however, that the design of Antigonus was only to set up for himself, and consequently he refused to submit. From this time, therefore, the Macedonian empire in Asia ceased to exist; and the Macedonian affairs were now entirely confined to that kingdom itself, and to Greece. Antipater had not been long returned to Macedonia, when he died; and the last action of his life completed the ruin of Alexander's family. With a view to the public good, he had appointed Polysperchon, one of the eldest of Alexander's captains, to be protector and governor of Macedonia. This failed not to disgust his son Cassander, who thought he had a natural right to these offices, and of course kindled up a new civil war in Macedonia. This was indeed highly promoted by his first actions as a governor. He began with attempting to remove all the governors appointed in Greece by Antipater, and to restore democracy wherever it had been abolished. The immediate consequence of this was, that the people refused to obey their magistrates; the governors refused to resign their places, and applied for assistance to Cassander. Polysperchon had also the imprudence to recall Olympias from Epirus, and to allow her a share in the administration, which Antipater, and even Alexander himself, had always refused her. The consequence of all this was, that Cassander invaded Greece, where he prevailed against Polysperchon. Olympias returned to Macedonia, where she cruelly murdered Aridaeus and his wife Eurydice. But she was herself put to death by Cassander, who afterwards caused Roxana and her son to be murdered; and Polysperchon being driven into Eolia, first raised to the crown Hercules the son of Alexander by the daughter of Darius, and then, by the instigation of Cassander, murdered him, by which means the line of Alexander the Great became totally extinct.

Cassander having thus destroyed all the royal family, assumed the regal title, as he had for sixteen years before relations had all the power. But he enjoyed the title of king of Macedonia only three years, after which he died, about 288 before Christ. By Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip king of Macedonia, he left three sons, Philip, Antipater, and Alexander. Philip succeeded him, but soon afterwards died of a consumption, and a contest immediately began between the two brothers, Antipater and Alexander. Antipater seized the kingdom, and, to secure himself in it, murdered his mother Thessalonica. Alexander invited Pyrrhus king of Epirus, and Demetrius the son of Antigonus, to assist him and revenge the death of his mother. But Pyrrhus being bought off, and a peace concluded between the brothers, Alexander, afraid of having too many protectors, formed a scheme of getting Demetrius assassinated. Instead of this, however, both he and Antipater were put to death; and Demetrius became king of Macedonia, four years after the death of Cassander.

In 287 before Christ, Demetrius was driven out by Pyrrhus, who was again driven out two years after by Lysimachus, who was soon afterwards killed by Seleucus Nicanor; and Seleucus in his turn was murdered by Ptolemy Ceraunus, who became king of Macedonia about 280 before our era. The new king was in a short time cut off, with his whole army, by the Gauls; and Antigonus Gonatas, the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, became king of Macedonia in 278 before Christ. He proved successful against the Gauls, but was driven out by Pyrrhus king of Epirus, who, however, soon disoblige his subjects to such a degree that Antigonus recovered a great part of his kingdom. But in a little time, Pyrrhus being killed at the siege of Argos in Greece, Antigonus was restored to the whole of Macedonia; but scarcely was he seated on the throne, when he was driven from it by Alexander the son of Pyrrhus. The new inva- der was in his turn expelled by Demetrius the son of Antigonus, who, though at that time but a boy, had almost made himself master of Epirus. In this enterprise, however, he was disappointed; but by his means Antigonus was restored to his kingdom, which he governed for many years in peace. By a stratagem he made himself master of the city of Corinth, and from that time began to form schemes for the thorough conquest of Greece. The method he took to accomplish this was, to support the petty tyrants of Greece against the free states, which indeed weakened the power of the latter, but involved the whole country in so many calamities, that these transactions redounded but little to the reputation either of his arms or of his honour. He died about the year 243, leaving the kingdom to his son Demetrius II.

Neither Demetrius nor his successor Antigonus Doson performed any thing remarkable. In 221 before Christ, the kingdom fell to Philip, the last but one of the Macedonian monarchs. To him Hannibal, after the battle of Cannae, applied for assistance, which he refused; and the same imprudence which made him refuse this assistance prompted him to embroil himself with the Romans, and at last to conclude a treaty with them, by which he in effect became their subject, being tied up from making peace or war except according to their pleasure. In 179 before Christ he was succeeded by his eldest son Perseus, under whom the war with the Romans was renewed. Even yet the Macedonians were terrible in war; and their phalanx, when properly conducted, seems to have been absolutely invincible by any method of making war at that time known. It consisted of sixteen thousand men, of whom one thousand marched abreast, and thus was sixteen men deep, each of whom carried a kind of long pike denominated sarissa. The soldiers stood so close together, that the fifth rank extended the points of their pikes beyond the front of the battle. The hindermost ranks leaned their pikes upon the shoulders of those who went before them, and, locking them fast, pressed briskly against them when they made the charge; so that the first five ranks received the impetus of the whole phalanx, which was the reason why the shock generally proved irresistible. (See the article Army, in which the constitution of the phalanx is fully explained.) The Romans had never encountered such a terrible enemy; and in the first battle, which happened 171 before Christ, they were defeated with the loss of two thousand two hundred men, whilst the Macedonians lost no more than sixty. The generals of Perseus now pressed him to storm the enemy's camp; but he being naturally of a cowardly disposition, refused to comply, and thus the best opportunity he ever had was lost. Still, however, the Romans gained little or no advantage over it, until the year 168 before Christ, when Paulus Emilius, a most experienced commander, was sent to Macedonia. Perseus now put everything upon the issue of a general engagement; and Emilius, with all his courage and military experience, would have been defeated, had the Macedonians been commanded by a general of the smallest courage or conduct. The light-armed Macedonians charged with such vigour, that, after the battle, some of their bodies were found within two furlongs of the Roman camp. When the phalanx came to charge, the points of their spears striking into the Roman shields, kept the heavy-armed troops from making any motion; whilst, on the other hand, Perseus's light-armed men did terrible execution. On this occasion, it is said that Emilius tore his clothes, and gave up all hopes. However, the Roman general, perceiving that as the phalanx gained ground it lost its order in several places, caused his own light-armed troops to charge in those places, whereby the Macedonians were soon thrown into confusion. If Perseus with his horse had, on the first appearance of this, charged the Romans briskly, his infantry would have been enabled to recover themselves; but instead of this, he betook himself to flight, and the infantry at last did the same, but not till twenty thousand of them had lost their lives.

This battle decided the fate of Macedonia, which immediately submitted to the conqueror. The cowardly king took refuge in the island of Samothrace, but was at last obliged to surrender to the Roman consul, by whom he was carried to Rome, led in triumph, and afterwards most barbarously treated. Some pretenders to the throne afterwards appeared; but being unable to defend themselves against the Romans, the country was reduced to a Roman province in the year 148 before Christ.