CHAPTER XVII.

DEFEAT AND DEATH OF SPITAMENES.

When this news was brought to Craterus, he made a forced march against

the Massagetians, who, when they heard that he was marching against

them, fled as fast as they could towards the desert. Following them

up closely, he overtook those very men and more than 1,000 other

Massagetian horsemen, not far from the desert. A fierce battle ensued,

in which the Macedonians were victorious. Of the Scythians, 150

horsemen were slain; but the rest of them easily escaped into the

desert, for it was impossible for the Macedonians to pursue them any

further. At this time, Alexander relieved Artabazus of the viceroyalty

of the Bactrians, at his own request, on the ground of his advanced

age; and Amyntas, son of Nicolaüs, was appointed viceroy in his

stead.[577] Coenus was left with his own brigade and that of Meleager,

400 of the Companion cavalry, and all the horse-archers, besides the

Bactrians, Sogdianians, and others who were under the command of

Amyntas. They were all under strict injunctions to obey Coenus and to

winter there in Sogdiana, in order to protect the country and to arrest

Spitamenes, if anyhow they might be able to draw him into an ambush,

as he was wandering about during the winter. But when Spitamenes saw

that every place was occupied by the Macedonians for a garrison, and

that there would soon be no way of flight left open to him, he turned

round against Coenus and the army with him, thinking that he would be

better able to fight in this way. Coming to Bagae, a fortified place in

Sogdiana, situated on the confines of the countries of the Sogdianians

and the Massagetian Scythians, he easily persuaded 3,000 Scythian

horsemen to join him in an invasion of Sogdiana. It is an easy matter

to induce these Scythians to engage in one war after another, because

they are pinched by poverty, and at the same time have no cities or

settled abodes, to give them cause for anxiety about what is most dear

to them. When Coenus ascertained that Spitamenes was advancing with his

cavalry, he went to meet him with his army. A sharp contest ensued, in

which the Macedonians were victorious, so that of the barbarian cavalry

over 800 fell in the battle, while Coenus lost 25 horsemen and twelve

foot-soldiers. The consequence was, that the Sogdianians who were still

left with Spitamenes, as well as most of the Bactrians, deserted him in

the flight, and came to Coenus to surrender. The Massagetian Scythians

having met with ill-success in the battle, plundered the baggage of

the Bactrians and Sogdianians who were serving in the same army as

themselves, and then fled into the desert in company with Spitamenes.

But when they were informed that Alexander was already on the start to

march into the desert, they cut off the head of Spitamenes and sent

it to him, with the hope by this deed of diverting him from pursuing

them.[578]