battle with the triballians.

alexander sent the booty away southward to the cities on the seashore,27 entrusting to lysanias and philotas28 the duty of setting it up for sale. but he himself crossed the summit, and advancing through the haemus into the land of the triballians, he arrived at the river lyginus.29 this river is distant from the ister30 three days’ march to one intending to go to the haemus. syrmus, king of the triballians, hearing of alexander’s expedition long before, had sent the women and children of the nation on in advance to the ister, ordering them to pass over into one of the islands in that river, the name of which was peuce.31 to this island also the thracians, whose territories were conterminous with those of the triballians, had fled together for refuge at the approach of alexander. syrmus himself likewise, accompanied by his train, had fled for refuge to the same place. but the main body of the triballians fled back to the river, from which alexander had started the day before.

when he heard of their starting, he wheeled round again, and, marching against them, surprised them just 13as they were encamping. and those who were surprised drew themselves up in battle array in a woody glen along the bank of the river. alexander drew out his phalanx into a deep column, and led it on in person. he also ordered the archers and slingers to run forward and discharge arrows and stones at the barbarians, hoping to provoke them by this to come out of the woody glen into the ground unencumbered with trees. when they were within reach of the missiles, and were struck by them, they rushed out against the archers, who were undefended by shields, with the purpose of fighting them hand-to-hand. but when alexander had drawn them thus out of the woody glen, he ordered philotas to take the cavalry which came from upper macedonia, and to charge their right wing, where they had advanced furthest in their sally. he also commanded heraclides and sopolis32 to lead on the cavalry which came from bottiaea33 and amphipolis against the left wing; while he himself extended the phalanx of infantry and the rest of the horse in front of the phalanx and led them against the enemy’s centre. and indeed as long as there was only skirmishing on both sides, the triballians did not get the worst of it; but as soon as the phalanx in dense array attacked them with vigour, and the cavalry fell upon them in various quarters, no longer merely striking them with the javelin, but pushing them with their very horses, then at length they turned and fled through the woody glen to the river. three thousand were slain in the flight; few of them were taken prisoners, both because there was a dense wood in front of the river, and the approach of night deprived the macedonians of certainty in their pursuit. ptolemy says, that of the macedonians themselves eleven horsemen and about forty foot soldiers were killed.