alexander in carmania.

certain authors have said (though to me the statement seems incredible) that alexander led his forces through carmania lying extended with his companions upon two covered waggons joined together, the flute being played to him; and that the soldiers followed him wearing garlands and sporting. food was provided for them, as well as all kinds of dainties which had been brought together along the roads by the carmanians. they say that he did this in imitation of the bacchic revelry of dionysus, because a story was told about that deity, that after subduing the indians he traversed the greater part of asia in this manner and received the appellation of thriambus.808 for the same reason the processions in 363honour of victories after war were called thriambi. this has been recorded neither by ptolemy, son of lagus, nor by aristobulus, son of aristobulus, nor by any other writer whose testimony on such points any one would feel to be worthy of credit. it is sufficient therefore for me to record it as unworthy of belief.809 but as to what i am now going to describe i follow the account of aristobulus. in carmania alexander offered sacrifices to the gods as thank-offerings for his victory over the indians, and because his army had been brought in safety out of gadrosia. he also celebrated a musical and gymnastic contest. he then appointed peucestas one of his confidential body-guards, having already resolved to make him viceroy of persis. he wished him, before being appointed to the viceroyalty, to experience this honour and evidence of confidence, as a reward for his exploit among the mallians. up to this time the number of his confidential body-guards had been seven:—leonnatus, son of anteas, hephaestion, son of amyntor, lysimachus, son of agathocles, aristonoüs, son of pisaeus, these four being pellaeans; perdiccas, son of orontes, from orestis, ptolemy, son of lagus, and peithon, son of crateas, the heordaeans. peucestas, who had held the shield over alexander, was now added to them as an eighth. at this time nearchus, having sailed round the coast of ora and gadrosia and that of the ichthyophagi, put into port in the inhabited part of the coastland of carmania,810 and going up thence into the interior with a few men he reported to alexander the particulars of the voyage which he had made along the coasts of the external sea. nearchus was then sent down to the sea again to sail round as far as the country of susiana, and the outlets of the river 364tigres.811 how he sailed from the river indus to the persian sea and the mouth of the tigres, i shall describe in a separate book, following the account of nearchus himself.812 for he also wrote a history of alexander in greek. perhaps i shall be able to compose this narrative in the future, if inclination and the divine influence urge me to it. alexander now ordered hephaestion to march into persis813 from carmania along the seashore with the larger division of the army and the beasts of burden, taking with him also the elephants; because, as he was making the expedition in the season of winter,814 the part of persis near the sea was warm and possessed abundant supplies of provisions.