darius pursued into media and parthia.

after bringing these matters to a successful issue, he advanced towards media; for he ascertained that darius was there. now darius had formed the resolution, if alexander remained at susa or babylon, to stay there among the medes, in order to see if any change of policy were made by alexander. but if the latter marched against him, he resolved to proceed into the interior towards parthia and hyrcania, as far as bactria, laying waste all the land and making it impossible for alexander to advance any further. he therefore sent the women and the rest of the property which he still retained, together with the covered carriages, to what were called the caspian gates454; but he himself stayed at ecbatana,455 180with the forces which had been collected from those who were at hand. hearing this, alexander advanced towards media, and invading the land of the paraetacae,456 he subdued it, and appointed oxathres, son of abulites, the former viceroy of susa, to rule as viceroy. being informed on the march that darius had determined to meet him for battle, and to try the fortune of war again (for the scythians and cadusians had come to him as allies), he ordered that the beasts of burden, with their guards and the rest of the baggage, should follow; and taking the rest of his army, he led it in order of battle, and on the twelfth day arrived in media. there he ascertained that the forces of darius were not fit for battle, and that his allies, the cadusians and scythians, had not arrived; but that he had resolved to flee. he therefore marched on with still greater speed; and when he was only three days’ journey from ecbatana, he was met by bistanes, son of ochus, who reigned over the persians before darius. this man announced that darius had fled five days before, taking with him 7,000 talents of money457 from the medes, and an army of 3,000 cavalry and 6,000 infantry.

when alexander reached ecbatana, be sent the thessalian cavalry and the other grecian allies back to the sea, paying them the full hire which had been stipulated, and making them an additional donation from himself of 2,000 talents. he issued an order that if any man of his own accord wished still to continue to serve for hire with him, he should enlist; and those who enlisted in his service were not a few. he then ordered epocillus, 181son of polyeides, to conduct the rest down to the sea, taking other cavalry as a guard for them, since the thessalians sold their horses there. he also sent word to menes to take upon himself the duty of seeing that they were conveyed in triremes to euboea, when they arrived at the sea.458 he instructed parmenio to deposit the money which was being conveyed from persis in the citadel at ecbatana, and to band it over to the charge of harpalus;459 for he had left this man over the money with a guard of 6,000 macedonians and a few horsemen and light-armed infantry to take care of it. he told parmenio himself to take the grecian mercenaries, the thracians, and all the other horsemen except the companion cavalry, and march by the land of the cadusians into hyrcania. he also sent word to clitus, the commander of the royal squadron of cavalry, who had been left behind at susa ill, that when he arrived at ecbatana from susa he should take the macedonians who had been left there in charge of the money, and go in the direction of parthia, where also he himself intended soon to arrive.