joined the Bactrians.85 Darius is bound with gold chains—as a mark of

  his high rank—although his cart is covered with dirty hides for camou-

  flage.86 seemingly there is fear of his rescue. it is not clear why Bessus,

  who had been waiting for a chance to end the king’s life, now takes him

  along in such guise. furthermore, the Bactrian army that had so terrified

  the persians, now flees upon learning of alexander’s approach:

  for the barbarians were superior both in number and in strength; and

  besides their fresh soldiers would have entered battle with wearied men.

  But the name of alexander and his fame, of especially great import in war,

  so terrified them that they turned to flight.87

  that is the climax of the story that has been minutely graded. all comes

  down to alexander’s greatness. first we are told of the Bactrians’ formidable

  79 Curtius V. Xii. 14.

  80 Curtius V. Xii. 15.

  81 Curtius V. X. 7.

  82 Curtius V. Xii. 16.

  83 Curtius V. Xii. 17; it is significant that strabo XV. 3. 9 in enumerating the persian

  treasuries captured by alexander, valued at 180,000 talents, adds that the treasures carried

  along with Darius in flight from Media, was 8,000 talents and were taken as booty by those

  who slew him. therefore, based on this report one can see that Darius in his last flight and

  on his way to organize a last stand in Bactria, takes a fraction of the treasures with him,

  and not the entire treasury in the advent of the campaigns, as the alexander histories had

  stated (see the chapter i on the plight of achaemenid royal Women).

  84 Curtius V. Xii. 18.

  85 Curtius V. Xii. 19.

  86 Curtius V. Xii. 20.

  87 Curtius V. Xiii. 13–14.

  86

  chapter four

  force and then informed that even that fresh strong newly reinforced army

  had merely melted down in view of alexander’s name and reputation.

  he is not only powerful but he is also merciful. Darius awaits his rescue

  and ‘protection’.88 this incites the wrath in the traitors who wound him

  and the beasts of burden, killing the two accompanying slaves and then

  scattering in different directions.89 their army is of course either slain by

  alexander’s forces or captured,90 while Darius’ cart wanders off the road

  and is finally found by a Macedonian near a spring, with Darius groaning

  of his wounds and near death.91

  no doubt Curtius’ lost text would have included messages of farewell to

  alexander, praising his valour and accepting his sovereignty. thus persian

  kingship would have been reborn in alexander with the old king vouch-

  ing for his legitimacy, and the metaphor of water acting as a validating

  factor.

  although the accounts of Darius iii in alexander histories seem to

  be heavily affected by propaganda, with the primary aim of establishing

  alexander as his legitimate successor, yet they also include much sensa-

  tional eulogistic expressions of sympathy for Darius himself.

  Despite his shortcomings, especially in comparison with the shin-

  ing light of alexander,92 his eventual downfall is mainly attributed to

  the treachery of certain of his followers. Darius’ relatively short reign

  of six years (336–330 BC) is almost entirely spent on dealing with the

  Macedonian threat and alexander’s invasion. and one gets the sense that

  he is deprived of a courageous last stand, which he had been preparing

  for, only because of the unanticipated disloyalty of an important faction

  of his force. the people that he had come to count on for serious support

  suddenly let him down.

  in following the alexander histories, one can glean the fact that Darius

  had planned to draw alexander into the eastern satrapies and perhaps

  into the Bactrians’ trap, counting on their cavalry’s maneuvers from a

  position of strength and familiarity with the terrain. Justin’s information

  on Darius’ preferred strategy of letting the enemy advance beyond the

  frontiers and then drive him out93 may in fact be a reflection on such

  88 Curtius V. Xiii. 16; see above on the meaning of Alexander, ‘protector of men’; cf.

  e. Badian, “Darius iii”, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 100, 2000, p. 241.

  89 Curtius V. Xiii. 16–18.

  90 Curtius V. Xiii. 18–22.

  91 Curtius V. Xiii. 23–25.

  92  Cf. Badian, 2000, pp. 241–268.

  93 Justin Xi. Vi.

  darius’ last days & counter-propagandas

  87

  deliberate planning. this considerable reliance on the Bactrian forces may

  have foreshadowed Bessus’ own strategy in anticipating a chance for gain-

  ing the kingship. as an achaemenid,94 he would have considered himself

  as viable for replacing Darius. in Curtius’ account, Darius does as a matter

  of fact accuse him of having harboured ill-intent for a long time, awaiting

  an opportune moment.95

  on the other hand, it is obvious that folklore and drama also play sub-

  stantial roles in the accounts of Darius iii. interestingly his account in the

  Shāhnāma is also influenced by folklore, moreover, a folklore that reaches

  back to the times before the achaemenids and to that of the elamites.96

  the last independent elamite king, tempt-humban-inshushinak (668–

  653 BC), the te-umman of the assyrian records, loses his kingdom to the

  invading army of ashur-banipal and in his last hours suffers the treason of

  some of his close followers, very much like Darius iii. it has been argued

  elsewhere that a local nationalistic folkloric memory on the demise of

  the last independent elamite king had been transferred to the accounts

  of Darius who had had a similar status—the last independent king—in

  the eyes of the population of the same area, namely the elamite–persian

  territories that had witnessed the peaceful co-existence of the two

  peoples—elamites and persians—for centuries and the cross-fertilization

  of their cultures.97 it was argued that the medium of minstrel poetry had

  functioned as the transmitting vehicle, reflecting on certain informa-

  tion that had been received through the filter of poets at the service of

  powerful kings, such as ashur-banipal, echoes from whose bas-reliefs are

  also seen in this folkloric story.98 it may be that the accounts surviving

  in the alexander histories had also been nourished by the same pool of

  folklore.

  With regard to folkloric motifs from ancient times influencing Darius’

  accounts, one may perhaps also note the poetry of stesichorus, the 7th

  century BC greek poet,99 who envisions sun’s journey at night as:

  now the sun, begotten of hyperion, was descending into his golden cup,

  that he might traverse oceanus and come to the depths of dark and awful

  94 arrian iii. 21. 4–5, 30. 4.

  95 Curtius V. iX. 9.

  96 p. Jamzadeh, “an assyrian motif in the Shāhnāma”, Iranica Antiqua 38, 2003, pp.

  167–172.

  97  Ibid.

  98  Ibid.

  99 a. Lesky, A History of Greek Literature, 1966, new york, p. 152.

  88

  chapter four

  night, even to his mother and wedded wife and beloved children. Meanwhile

  he, the son of Zeus, strode into the grove o’ershadowed with bay-trees.100

  (my emphasis)

  in the chapter on ‘the plight of the achaemenid royal Women’ the

  implicit question was raised: how have we come to place so much empha-

  sis by the sources on the capture of Darius’ mother, wife and children?

  Was it because in the scheme of alexander’s propaganda they each had

  a role to play? or we are witnessing the reflections of the survival of an

  ancient motif? in that case perhaps the propaganda had originally been

  an eulogistic vision of Darius compared to the ancient motif of the sun

  travelling at night—perhaps as the captive king in the covered wagon,

  with a latter revision transferring that eulogy and turning the story around

  to alexander’s benefit? at this stage this can only remain a hypothetical

  question (see also below, on alexander’s family. Ch. Xii).

  there are other texts in other contexts that are also more sympathetic

  to Darius and the persians that may be relevant at this point to men-

  tion. an example is the akkadian text known as the Dynastic prophecy.

  Column iii of this much damaged tablet is said to refer to the reign of

  Darius iii. Moreover, it portrays the persians as the final victors over the

  invaders. according to this document, the persian king is first defeated in

  battle. But after reorganizing his army and with the help of the Babylonian

  gods, he is finally triumphant.101

  it is noteworthy that this wishful interpretation of history—if not in

  fact revealing the existence of a different version of the events—would

  seem to reflect the sentiments expressed in the Shāhnāma story that

  relates alexander’s failure in finding a resting place among the royal

  achaemenid tombs at naqsh-i rustam.102 it was previously argued that

  the Shāhnāma story had reflected a prevailing popular projection among

  the persians of the achaemenids as the final victors.103 it may be that here

  with the Dynastic prophecy too we are seeing a similar example but in a

  Babylonian context.

  100 athenaeus Xi. 469 e–f.

  101 a.K. grayson, Babylonian Historical-Literary Texts, toronto, 1975, pp. 17 f., 24 f., 35;

  Briant, pp. 863 f., 876.

  102 see below; p. Jamzadeh, “remnants of the legacy of the achaemenids in the

  Shāhnāma of firdawsi”, Proceedings of the Second European Conference of Iranian Studies,

  eds. B.g. fragner et al., rome, 1995, pp. 317–323.

  103  Ibid.

  darius’ last days & counter-propagandas

  89

  another interesting sympathetic piece is a greek sibylline prophecy

  from western anatolia that also informs of the eventual destruction of the

  Macedonians by persians.104 at the end it includes the soothing expression

  of the prevalence of justice as: ‘those whose race he wished to destroy, by

  them will his own race be destroyed’.105 it is believed it to be an originally

  persian sibylline oracle that survives in greek and refers to alexander’s

  invasion of asia as that of a faithless savage man who is a stranger to jus-

  tice putting asia under an evil yoke and flooding the earth in blood.106

  104 s.K. eddy, The King is Dead, Studies in the Near Eastern Resistance to Hellenism 334–31

  BC, Lincoln, 1961, pp. 11–12; M. Boyce & f. grenet, A History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. iii, Zoroastrianism under Macedonian and Roman Rule, Leiden, 1991, p. 13.

  105 Boyce, p. 13.

  106 eddy, pp. 11–12.

  Chapter Five

  Bessus’ Fate

  Bessus’ final fate, as reported by the alexander histories, also reveals the

  interaction of folkloric motifs with historic facts. in certain parts close

  similarities with reports on Darius, as well as counter-poses, is evident.

  While altogether these reports show a singular strand of direction, they

  culminate in glorifying alexander.

  Bessus’ very end and the punishment meted out by alexander is

  reported variously by the sources, some drawing on comparisons with

  the fate of rebels in the beginning of Darius i’s rule and his restoration of

  stability and achaemenid rule. the story of Bessus’ capture interestingly

  approximates that of Darius iii, his iranian predecessor. they both suffer

  from the treason of their close associates.

  One may note that there are other rebellions that alexander needs

  to put down, but none is treated in the sources with such significance.

  the reason is of course Bessus’ claim to achaemenid kingship. as arrian

  reports:

  Certain persians met alexander, reporting that Bessus was wearing his

  cap royal fashion and clothing himself in persian royal garb, called himself

  artaxerxes instead of Bessus, and gave out that he was king of asia. he had

  about him, they said, those persians who had fled safe to Bactria and a good

  number of the Bactrians themselves; and he expected that scythian allies

  would also join him.1

  it would seem that he is following Darius’ strategy and the plan that he

  had relied on for his final encounter with alexander. But instead of put-

  ting the Bactrian force and their formidable strength2 at the service of the

  king and using the advantage of the Bactrian country side for the king’s

  victory, he seizes the opportunity for his own assumption of power.3

  1 arrian iii. 25. 3; on the significance of throne names, see r. schmitt, “achaemenid

  throne-names” Annali dell’Istituto Orientale di Napoli 42, 1982, pp. 83–95.

  2 Curtius iv. Xiii. 5.

  3  Cf. Diodorus Xvii. 74. 2: “he pointed out that the nature of their country would assist

  them very much, since the region was hard for an army to penetrate and furnished enough

  men for them to establish their independence. he proclaimed that he would take personal

  command of the war and designated himself king, with the approval of the people. then

  92

  chapter five

  alexander on his march against Bessus encounters rebellions and armed

  oppositions, some as part of and precursors to Bessus’ rebellion, narrated

  with heroic overtones.4 Of special significance is the hand-to-hand duel

  of an iranian general with one of alexander’s generals,5 bringing to mind

  the story of Darius’ combat with a Cadusian chieftain when serving in the

  army of artaxerxes iii.6 this finds an added importance in view of the

  fact that Bessus has assumed the throne-name of artaxerxes. the story

  here would seem to function as a propaganda tool for Bessus, elevating

  him contra Darius and putting him on equal footing with Darius’ former

  overlord, the achaemenid king artaxerxes iii (Ochus). the story ascribed

  to Darius is now related for one of his underlings, satibarzanes,7 although

  the outcome of the combat is in favour of alexander’s general, erigyius.8

  therefore, in the end the story seizes on the established gradation and

  turns its purport and the final effect to alexander’s benefit. this single

  combat decides the fate of the battle and the iranian tribesmen either

  flee9 or surrender.10 Further on amid the skirmishes and flights we are

  informed of another deed of Bessus that seems to echo an act of Darius,

  only in reverse, displaying his dark character in comparison with Darius’

  humanism, again all taking place under alexander’s overwhelming brav-

  ery and powerful ascent.

  in fleeing from alexander’s approaching army Bessus crosses the river

  Oxus and burns the boats on which he had crossed.11 this act may be

  compared with Darius’ action after the defeat at arbela and his flight. he

  crosses the river Lycus and refuses to burn the bridge behind him, saying

  that he preferred to give a passage to his pursuers rather than take one

  away from those who were in flight.12

  he set to work enrolling soldiers, manufacturing an adequate stock of weapons, and busily

  making everything ready for the approaching time of need”; Curtius vi. 6. 13: “For Bessus,

  having assumed royal attire, had given orders that he should be called artaxerxes, and was

  assembling the scythians and the rest of the peoples dwelling by the tanais.”

  4 arrian iii. 25. 5–7, 28. 2–3; Diodorus Xvii. 81. 3, 83. 4 f.; Curtius vii. 3. 2, 4. 33–40.

  5 arrian iii. 28. 3; Diodorus Xvii. 83. 5–6; Curtius vii. iv. 33–38.

  6 Diodorus Xvii. 6. 1–2; Justin X; cf. Briant, pp. 229–230.

  7 arrian iii. 25. 5; Diodorus Xvii. 83. 5; Curtius vii. iv. 33.

  8 Curtius vii. 4. 37; arrian iii. 28. 3; Diodorus Xvii. 83. 6.

  9 arrian iii. 28. 3.

  10 Curtius vii. 4. 38; Diodorus Xvii. 83. 6.

  11 arrian iii. 28. 9.

  12 Curtius iv. Xvi. 8–9; Justin Xi. Xiv.

  bessus’ fate

  93

  Following this crossing Bessus seems to lose the support of the Bactrians,

  but he has others with him.13 alexander easily takes the greatest cities of

  Bactria and establishes garrisons there and a persian satrap, artabazus.14

  interestingly at this crucial moment there is no news of the Bactrian cav-

  alry who had returned home, following Bessus’ flight.

  shortly after the first stages of Bessus’ dramatic end gradually unfolds

  which bear similarities to the final fate of Darius, as well as that of the

  last independent elamite king, noted before. according to the accounts in

  alexander histories Bessus also suffers from the treason of his associates15

  who take on his mantle and that of his former accomplices in Darius’

  drama.16

  Of interest is alexander’s response to this news which is opposite to his

  reaction towards the news of Darius’ capture. Now he relaxes his pursuit,17

 

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