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Many, it is true, did reproach him for these things, but he silenced them with gifts. At this juncture he learned that the satrap of Areia, Satibarzanes, had put to death the soldiers who were left with him,1 had made common cause with Bessus and with him had decided to attack the Macedonians, so Alexander set out against the man. This Satibarzanes had brought his forces into Chortacana,2 a notable city of that region and one of great natural strength, [2] but as the king approached, he became alarmed at the size of the latter's forces and at the fighting reputation of the Macedonians. He himself with two thousand horsemen3 rode off to the protection of Bessus, asking him to send help with all speed, but told his other followers to take refuge in a mountain called . . .,4 which afforded difficult terrain and a secure refuge for those who did not dare to meet their enemies face to face. [3] After they had done so, and had secured themselves upon a steep and high "rock,"5 the king with his accustomed spirit invested the place, attacked them vigorously, and compelled them to surrender. [4] In the course of thirty days thereafter, he brought into submission all the cities of the satrapy.6 Then he left Hyrcania and marched to the capital of Drangine,7 where he paused and rested his army.8

1 Satibarzanes had been one of the murderers of Dareius, but, after defeating him, Alexander had confirmed him in his satrapy, leaving a small force of Macedonians with him to ensure his good behaviour (Berve, Alexanderreich, 2, no. 697).

2 The city is usually called Artacoana.

3 Curtius 6.6.22.

4 It is futile to guess what name is missing in the manuscripts.

5 The same term occurs in Curtius 6.6.23-26. Cp. on chap. 28.1, note.

6 Curtius 6.6.13-36; Arrian. 3.25.1-7.

7 Arrian. 3.25.8 calls these people "Zarangaioi." The usual term is Drangiane.

8 Diodorus has compressed the movements involved in this operation. Alexander had left Hyrcania and passed through Parthia and Aria, where he left Satibarzanes as satrap. He advanced east toward Bactria. At the revolt of Satibarzanes, he returned to Aria; the satrap in his flight must have passed Alexander going in the opposite direction. He can have encountered Satibarzanes's foot troops in the mountains east of Artacoana and not have proceeded to that city. Finally, after thirty days, he turned south into Drangiane, abandoning his original route.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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    • Arrian, Anabasis, 3.25.1
    • Arrian, Anabasis, 3.25.8
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 6.6.13
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 6.6.22
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 6.6.23
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