Surrender

of the

princes of Alexander

Cyprus to

-he gets

hold of the

main Phe

nician and

Cyprian fleet.

naval force of the city, ships and little boats, was sent forth to land men at once on all parts of the mole. So successful was this attack, that all the Macedonian engines were burnt,-the outer woodwork which kept the mole together was torn up in many places,—and a large part of the structure came to pieces'.

Alexander had thus not only to construct fresh engines, but also to begin the mole nearly anew. He resolved to give it greater breadth and strength, for the purpose of carrying more towers abreast in front, and for better defence against lateral attacks. But it had now become plain to him, that while the Tyrians were masters of the sea, no efforts by land alone would enable him to take the town. Leaving Perdikkas and Kraterus therefore to reconstruct the mole and build new engines, he himself repaired to Sidon, for the purpose of assembling as large a fleet as he could. He got together triremes from various quarters-two from Rhodes, ten from the seaports in Lykia, three from Soli and Mallus. But his principal force was obtained by putting in requisition the ships of the Phenician towns, Sidon, Byblus, and Aradus, now subject to him. These ships, eighty in number, had left the Persian admiral and come to Sidon, there awaiting his orders; while not long afterwards, the princes of Cyprus came thither also, tendering to him their powerful fleet of 120 ships of war2. He was now master of

Arrian, ii. 18, 19; Diodor. xvii. 42; Curtius, iv. 3, 6, 7.

2 Arrian, ii. 20, 1-4; Curtius, iv. 2, 14. It evinces how strongly Arrian looks at everything from Alexander's point of view, when we find him telling us, that that monarch forgave the Phenicians and Cy

CHAP. XCIII.] ALEXANDER OBTAINS THE PHENICIAN SHIPS. 187

a fleet of 200 sail, comprising the most part, and the best part, of the Persian navy. This was the consummation of Macedonian triumph-the last real and effective weapon wrested from the grasp of Persia. The prognostic afforded by the eagle near the ships at Miletus, as interpreted by Alexander, had now been fulfilled; since by successful operations on land, he had conquered and brought into his power a superior Persian fleet'.

before Tyre

merous

the place by

Having directed these ships to complete their He appears equipments and training, with Macedonians as with a nusoldiers on board, Alexander put himself at the fleet, and head of some light troops for an expedition of blocks up eleven days against the Arabian mountaineers on sea. Libanus, whom he dispersed or put down, though not without some personal exposure and hazard2. On returning to Sidon, he found Kleander arrived with a reinforcement of 4000 Grecian hoplites, welcome auxiliaries for prosecuting the siege. Then, going aboard his fleet in the harbour of Sidon, he sailed with it in good battle order to Tyre, hoping that the Tyrians would come out and fight. But they kept within, struck with surprise and consternation; having not before known that their fellowPhenicians were now among the besiegers. Alexander, having ascertained that the Tyrians would not accept a sea-fight, immediately caused their

prians for their adherence and past service in the Persian fleet, considering that they had acted under compulsion.

1 Arrian, i. 18, 15. In the siege of Tyre (four centuries earlier) by the Assyrian monarch Salmaneser, Sidon and other Phenician towns had lent their ships to the besieger (Menander apud Joseph. Antiq. Jud. ix. 14, 2).

2 Arrian, ii. 20, 5; Plutarch, Alexander, 24.

Capture of
Tyre by

storm

desperate resistance

of the citizens.

two harbours to be blocked up and watched; that on the north, towards Sidon, by the Cyprians— that on the south, towards Egypt, by the Phenicians'.

From this time forward, the doom of Tyre was certain. The Tyrians could no longer offer obstruction to the mole, which was completed across the channel and brought up to the town. Engines were planted upon it to batter the walls; moveable towers were rolled up to take them by assault; attack was also made from seaward. Yet though reduced altogether to the defensive, the Tyrians still displayed obstinate bravery, and exhausted all the resources of ingenuity in repelling the besiegers. So gigantic was the strength of the wall fronting the mole, and even that of the northern side fronting Sidon, that none of Alexander's engines could make any breach in it; but on the south side towards Egypt he was more successful. A large breach having been made in this south-wall, he assaulted it with two ships manned by the hypaspists and the soldiers of his phalanx: he himself commanded in one and Admêtus in the other. At the same time he caused the town to be menaced all round, at every approachable point, for the purpose of distracting the attention of the defenders. Himself and his two ships having been rowed close up to the breach in the south wall, boarding bridges were thrown out from each deck, upon which he and Admêtus rushed forward with their respective storming-parties. Admêtus got upon the wall, but was there slain; Alexander also was among the 1 Arrian, ii. 20, 9-16; Curtius, iv. 3, 11.

CHAP. XCIII.]

TYRE TAKEN BY STORM.

189

At

first to mount, and the two parties got such a foot-
ing on the wall as to overpower all resistance.
the same time, his ships also forced their way into
the two harbours, so that Tyre came on all sides
into his power'.

Though the walls were now lost, and resistance had become desperate, the gallant defenders did not lose their courage. They barricaded the streets, and concentrated their strength especially at a defensible post called the Agenorion, or chapel of Agenor. Here the battle again raged furiously until they were overpowered by the Macedonians, incensed with the long toils of the previous siege, as well as by the slaughter of some of their prisoners, whom the Tyrians had killed publicly on the battlements. All who took shelter in the temple of Heraklês were spared by Alexander from respect to the sanctuary: among the number were the prince Azemilchus, a few leading Tyrians, the Carthaginian envoys, and some children of both sexes. The Sidonians also, displaying a tardy sentiment of kindred, and making partial amends for the share which they had taken in the capture, preserved some lives from the sword of the conqueror2. But the greater number of the adult freemen perished Surviving with arms in their hands; while 2000 of them who survived, either from disabling wounds, or from the fatigue of the slaughterers, were hanged on the sea-shore by order of Alexander3. The females, maining

'Arrian, ii. 23, 24; Curtius, iv. 4, 11; Diodor. xvii. 46. 2 Curtius, iv. 4, 15.

This is mentioned both by Curtius (iv. 4, 17) and by Diodorus (xvii. 46). It is not mentioned by Arrian, and perhaps may not have

males, 2000

in number,

hanged by Alexander.

order of

The re

captives sold.

B.C. 332,
July-Aug.

Duration of

seven

months.

the children, and the slaves, were sold to the slavemerchant. The number sold is said to have been about 30,000: a total rather small, as we must assume slaves to be included; but we are told that many had been previously sent away to Carthage1.

Thus master of Tyre, Alexander marched into the city and consummated his much-desired sacrithe siege for fice to Herakles. His whole force, land and naval, fully armed and arrayed, took part in the procesSacrifice of Alexander Sion. A more costly hecatomb had never been to Herakles. offered to that God, when we consider that it had been purchased by all the toils of an unnecessary siege, and by the extirpation of these free and highspirited citizens, his former worshipers. What the loss of the Macedonians had been, we cannot say. The number of their slain is stated by Arrian at 400, which must be greatly beneath the truth; for the courage and skill of the besieged had prolonged the siege to the prodigious period of seven months, though Alexander had left no means untried to accomplish it sooner2.

Second letter from Darius to Alexander, who re

quires unconditional

Towards the close of the siege of Tyre, Alexander received and rejected a second proposition from Darius, offering 10,000 talents, with the cession of all the territory westward of the Euphrates, as submission. ransom for his mother and wife, and proposing that Alexander should become his son-in-law as well as his ally. "If I were Alexander (said Parmenio) I

found a place in Ptolemy or Aristobulus; but I see no ground for disbelieving it.

'Arrian, iv. 24, 9; Diodorus, xvii. 46.

2 The resuscitating force of commercial industry is seen by the fact, that in spite of this total destruction, Tyre again rose to be a wealthy and flourishing city (Strabo, xvi. p. 757).