oxyartes besieged in the sogdian rock.

meantime coenus returned to alexander at nautaca, as also did craterus, phrataphernes the viceroy of the parthians, and stasanor the viceroy of the areians, after executing all the orders which alexander had given them. the king then caused his army to rest around nautaca, because it was now mid-winter; but he despatched phrataphernes into the land of the mardians and tapurians to fetch autophradates the viceroy, because, though he had often been sent for, he did not obey the summons. he also sent stasanor into the land of the drangians, and atropates into media,579 with the appointment of viceroy over the medes, because oxodates seemed disaffected to him. stamenes also he despatched to babylon, because news came to him that mazaeus the babylonian governor was dead. sopolis, epocillus, and menidas he sent away to macedonia, to bring him the army up from that country. at the first appearance of spring,580 he advanced towards the rock in sogdiana, to which he was informed many of the sogdianians had fled for refuge; among whom were said to be the wife and daughters of oxyartes the bactrian, who had deposited them for safety in that place, as if forsooth it 240were impregnable. for he also had revolted from alexander. if this rock was captured, it seemed that nothing would be left to those of the sogdianians who wished to throw off their allegiance. when alexander approached it, he found it precipitous on all sides against assault, and that the barbarians had collected provisions for a long siege. the great quantity of snow which had fallen helped to make the approach more difficult to the macedonians, while at the same time it kept the barbarians supplied with plenty of water. but notwithstanding all this, he resolved to assault the place; for a certain overweening and insolent boast uttered by the barbarians had thrown him into a wrathful state of ambitious pertinacity. for when they were invited to come to terms of capitulation, and it was held out to them as an inducement, that if they surrendered the place, they would be allowed to withdraw in safety to their own abodes, they burst out laughing, and in their barbaric tongue bade alexander seek winged soldiers, to capture the mountain for him, since they had no apprehension of danger from other men.581 he then issued a proclamation that the first man who mounted should have a reward of twelve talents,582 the man who came next to him the second prize, and the third so on in proportion, so that the last reward should be three hundred darics583 to the last prize-taker who reached the top. this proclamation excited the valour of the macedonians still more, though they were even before very eager to commence the assault.