escape of darius into media.—march of alexander to babylon and susa.
immediately after the battle, darius marched through the mountains of armenia towards media, accompanied in his flight by the bactrian cavalry, as they had then been posted with him in the battle; also by those persians who were called the king’s kinsmen, and by 171a few of the men called apple-bearers.428 about 2,000 of his grecian mercenaries also accompanied him in his flight, under the command of paron the phocian, and glaucus the aetolian. he fled towards media for this reason, because he thought alexander would take the road to susa and babylon immediately after the battle, inasmuch as the whole of that country was inhabited and the road was not difficult for the transit of baggage; and besides babylon and susa appeared to be the prizes of the war; whereas the road towards media was by no means easy for the march of a large army. in this conjecture darius was mistaken; for when alexander started from arbela, he advanced straight towards babylon; and when he was now not far from that city, he drew up his army in order of battle and marched forward. the babylonians came out to meet him in mass, with their priests and rulers, each of whom individually brought gifts, and offered to surrender their city, citadel, and money.429 entering the city, he commanded the babylonians to rebuild all the temples which xerxes had destroyed, and especially that of belus, whom the babylonians venerate more than any other god.430 he then appointed mazaeus viceroy of the babylonians, apollodorus the amphipolitan general of the soldiers who were left behind with mazaeus, and asclepiodorus, son of philo, collector of the revenue. he also sent mithrines, who had surrendered to him the citadel of sardis, down into armenia to be viceroy there.431 here 172also he met with the chaldaeans; and whatever they directed in regard to the religious rites of babylon he performed, and in particular he offered sacrifice to belus according to their instructions.432 he then marched away to susa433; and on the way he was met by the son of the viceroy of the susians,434 and a man bearing a letter from philoxenus, whom he had despatched to susa directly after the battle. in the letter philoxenus had written that the susians had surrendered their city to him, and that all the money was safe for alexander. in twenty days the king arrived at susa from babylon; and entering the city he took possession of the money, which amounted to 50,000 talents, as well as the rest of the royal property.435 many other things were also captured 173there, which xerxes brought with him from greece, especially the brazen statues of harmodius and aristogeiton.436 these alexander sent back to the athenians, and they are now standing at athens in the ceramicus, where we go up into the acropolis,437 right opposite the temple of rhea, the mother of the gods, not far from the altar of the eudanemi. whoever has been initiated in the mysteries of the two goddesses438 at eleusis, knows the altar of eudanemus which is upon the plain. at susa alexander offered sacrifice after the custom of his fathers, and celebrated a torch race and a gymnastic contest; and then, leaving abulites, a persian, as viceroy of susiana, mazarus, one of his companions, as commander of the garrison in the citadel of susa, and archelaüs, son of theodorus, as general, he advanced towards the land of the persians. he also sent menes down to the sea, as governor of syria, ph?nicia, and cilicia, giving him 3,000 talents of silver439 to convey to the sea, with orders to despatch as many of them to antipater as he might need to carry on the war against the lacedaemonians.440 there also amyntas, son of andromenes, reached him with the forces which he was leading from 174macedonia441; of whom alexander placed the horsemen in the ranks of the companion cavalry, and the foot he added to the various regiments of infantry, arranging each according to nationalities. he also established two companies in each squadron of cavalry, whereas before this time companies did not exist in the cavalry; and over them he set as captains those of the companions who were pre-eminent for merit.