the offers of darius rejected.—batis, governor of gaza, refuses to submit.

while alexander was still occupied by the siege of tyre, ambassadors came to him from darius, announcing that he would give him ten thousand talents332 in exchange for his mother, wife, and children; that all the territory west of the river euphrates, as far as the grecian sea, should be alexander’s; and proposing that he should marry the daughter of darius, and become his friend and 135ally.333 when these proposals were announced in a conference of the companions, parmenio is said to have told alexander, that if he were alexander he should be delighted to put an end to the war on these terms, and incur no further hazard of success. alexander is said to have replied, so would he also do, if he were parmenio, but as he was alexander he replied to darius as he did. for he said that he was neither in want of money from darius, nor would he receive a part of his territory instead of the whole; for that all his money and territory were his; and that if he wished to marry the daughter of darius, he would marry her, even though darius refused her to him. he commanded darius to come to him if he wished to experience any generous treatment from him. when darius heard this answer, he despaired of coming to terms with alexander, and began to make fresh preparations for war.

alexander now resolved to make an expedition into egypt. all the other parts of what was called palestine syria334 had already yielded to him; but a certain eunuch, named batis, who was in possession of the city of gaza, paid no heed to him; but procuring arabian mercenaries, and having been long employed in laying up sufficient food for a long siege, he resolved not to admit alexander into the city, feeling confident that the place could never be taken by storm.