The Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the GreatArrian
History
The Anabasis of Alexander : $b or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
Arrian
Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C.; India -- History -- To 324 B.C.; Iran -- History -- To 640
with my cavalry, I added to your empire the whole of Ionia,[870] the
whole of Aeolis, both Phrygias[871] and Lydia, and I took Miletus by
siege. All the other places I gained by voluntary surrender, and I
granted you the privilege of appropriating the wealth found in them.
The riches of Egypt and Cyrene, which I acquired without fighting a
battle, have come to you. Coele-Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia are
your property. Babylon, Bactra, and Susa are yours. The wealth of the
Lydians, the treasures of the Persians, and the riches of the Indians
are yours; and so is the External Sea. You are viceroys, you are
generals, you are captains. What then have I reserved to myself after
all these labours, except this purple robe and this diadem?[872] I have
appropriated nothing myself, nor can any one point out my treasures,
except these possessions of yours or the things which I am guarding
on your behalf.[873] Individually, however, I have no motive to guard
them, since I feed on the same fare as you do, and I take only the same
amount of sleep. Nay, I do not think that my fare is as good as that of
those among you who live luxuriously; and I know that I often sit up at
night to watch for you, that you may be able to sleep.
CHAPTER X.
ALEXANDER’S SPEECH (_continued_).
“But some one may say, that while you endured toil and fatigue, I have
acquired these things as your leader without myself sharing the toil
and fatigue. But who is there of you who knows that he has endured
greater toil for me than I have for him? Come now! whoever of you has
wounds, let him strip and show them, and I will show mine in turn;
for there is no part of my body, in front at any rate, remaining free
from wounds; nor is there any kind of weapon used either for close
combat or for hurling at the enemy, the traces of which I do not bear
on my person. For I have been wounded with the sword in close fight,
I have been shot with arrows, and I have been struck with missiles
projected from engines of war; and though oftentimes I have been hit
with stones and bolts of wood for the sake of your lives, your glory,
and your wealth, I am still leading you as conquerors over all the
land and sea, all rivers, mountains, and plains. I have celebrated
your weddings with my own, and the children of many of you will be
akin to my children. Moreover I have liquidated the debts of all those
who had incurred them, without inquiring too closely for what purpose
they were contracted, though you receive such high pay, and carry off
so much booty whenever there is booty to be got after a siege. Most
of you have golden crowns, the eternal memorials of your valour and
of the honour you receive from me. Whoever has been killed, has met
with a glorious end and has been honoured with a splendid burial.
Brazen statues of most of the slain have been erected at home,[874]
and their parents are held in honour, being released from all public
service and from taxation. But no one of you has ever been killed
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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