CHAPTER II.

CAPTURE OF FIVE CITIES IN TWO DAYS.

When Alexander was informed of this, he gave instructions to the

infantry, company by company, to prepare the ladders which were

assigned to each company. He then started from the camp and advanced

to the nearest city, the name of which was Gaza; for the barbarians

of the land were said to have fled for refuge into seven cities. He

sent Craterus to the one called Cyropolis, the largest of them all,

into which most of the barbarians had gathered.[515] The orders of

Craterus were to encamp near the city, to dig a trench round it, to

surround it with a stockade, and to fix together the military engines

which were required for use, so that the men in this city, having had

their attention drawn to his forces, might be unable to render aid to

the other cities. As soon as Alexander arrived at Gaza, without any

delay he gave the signal to his men to place the ladders against the

wall all round and to take it by assault at once, as it was made merely

of earth and was not at all high. Simultaneously with the assault of

the infantry, his slingers, archers, and javelin-throwers assailed

the defenders on the wall, and missiles were hurled from the military

engines, so that the wall was quickly cleared of its defenders by the

multitude of the missiles. Then the fixing of the ladders against the

wall and the mounting of the Macedonians were matters soon effected.

They killed all the men, according to Alexander’s injunctions; but

the women, the children, and the rest of the booty they carried off

as plunder. Thence he immediately marched to the city situated next

to that one; and this he took in the same way and on the same day,

treating the captives in the same manner. Then he marched against the

third city, and took it on the next day at the first assault. While

he was thus occupied by these matters with the infantry, he sent out

his cavalry to the two neighbouring cities, with orders to guard the

men within them closely, so that when they heard of the capture of the

neighbouring cities, and at the same time of his own near approach,

they should not betake themselves to flight and render it impossible

for him to pursue them. It turned out just as he had conjectured; and

his despatch of the cavalry was made just at the nick of time. For

when the barbarians who occupied the two cities still uncaptured,

saw the smoke rising from the city in front of them which was then

on fire, (and some men, escaping even from the midst of the calamity

itself, became the reporters of the capture which they had themselves

witnessed,) they began to flee in crowds out of the cities as fast as

each man could; but falling in with the dense body of cavalry drawn up

in array of battle, most of them were cut to pieces.