David Gemmell - Dark Prince

Mothac was buried in the shadows of the Ida Mountains, in a hollow surrounded by tall trees.

And the army moved on towards the south.

With a boldness few of his enemies could have expected, Alexander marched the allied army along the southern coastline of Asia Minor, through Mysia, Lydia and Caria. Many of the Greek cities immediately opened their gates, welcoming the victorious Macedonians as liberators and friends, and Alexander accepted then: tributes with a show of great humility. .

It contrasted with the savagery he unleashed on those towns and cities who tried to oppose him.

The Ionian city of Miletus was stormed by the King's Thracian mercenaries, and appalling tales of murder, rape and slaughter swept east across the Persian empire and west to the cities of Greece. Even Alexander's enemies could scarcely believe the scale of the atrocities.

It was even whispered that the Macedonian King himself was present, dressed as a common soldier and urging the Thracian savages to even greater depths of depravity.

When Alexander heard of it he flew into a towering rage and an immediate inquiry was launched, headed by an Athenian general. Miletian survivors were questioned and brought to the Macedonian camp. The Thracians were ordered to stand in file while the survivors walked among them, pointing out soldiers alleged to have taken part in the atrocities. By dusk on the fifth day of the inquiry, some seventy Thracians had been executed.

The swiftness of Alexander's justice earned him credit among the allies, and the Macedonian army moved on.

By the spring of the following year Alexander had reached the southern satrap of Cilicia on the coastline of the sea of Cyprus. No Persian army had come against him and Darius' general, Memnon, had moved his offensive to the sea -

sailing through the Aegean with a force of 300 warships, destroying Macedonian supply ships and raiding the coastal cities which had declared support for Alexander.

In the captured port of Aphrodesia Parmenion watched the unloading of three Greek ships which had broken through the Persian blockade. The first, an Athenian trireme, carried supplies of coin desperately needed to pay the troops.

Alexander had decreed that there should be no plunder of the liberated lands. All goods would be paid for and any soldier found guilty of looting or theft would be instantly executed. This was good policy, for it meant that the King could continue to be seen as a liberator and not an invader. But it carried with it a serious problem. If soldiers had to pay for food or clothing or women, then they needed coin — and that was in short supply.

Three gold shipments so far had been intercepted by the Persian fleet, and no Macedonian had received pay for more than three months. Disquiet was growing, morale low.

Parmenion counted the chests as they were carried from the ship and loaded on ox-carts, then mounted his stallion and led the convoy to the city treasury. Here he watched the unloading of the carts and left Ptolemy and Hector to supervise the storing of the treasure in the vaults below the palace.

Alexander was waiting in the upper rooms, Hephaistion and Craterus with him. The King looked tired, thought Parmenion, as he entered the room and bowed. Alexander, in full armour of shining gold-embossed iron, was sitting on a high-backed chair by the wide window.

'The coin is safely stored, sire,' said Parmenion, untying the chinstrap and lifting his helm from his head. His grey hair was streaked with sweat and he moved to a nearby table where a pitcher of watered wine had been set, with six goblets around it.

'What news of Darius?' asked the King, standing and moving to where Parmenion stood.

The Spartan had reached for the pitcher but now he paused. 'The moment is coming,' he said. 'Last year the Greek King ordered a full conscription from all the satrapies. But he was persuaded that our invasion was merely a swift incursion into Asia Minor in order to plunder the Ionian cities. Now he has realized his error. Our reports are not as complete as I would like, but it seems he is amassing an army of great size.'

'Where?' asked the King, his eyes gleaming.

'That is difficult to say. The troops are moving from all over the Empire. One army is reported at Mazara, which is some three weeks to the north-east of us. Another is said to be at Tarsus, a week's march to the east. Yet another is gathering in Syria. There may be more.'

'How many will come against us?' asked Hephaistion.

The Spartan's mouth was dry and he found himself longing to lift the pitcher, to feel the strength of the wine flowing in his limbs. He shook his head. 'Who can say?' He reached for the wine.

'But you can guess?' Alexander insisted.

'Perhaps a quarter of a million,' Parmenion answered. Swiftly he filled a goblet and lifted it to his lips, intending only to sip at the wine, but the taste was almost overpowering and when he replaced the goblet on the table it was empty.

Alexander refilled it for him. 'A quarter of a million? Surely not!' argued the King.

The Spartan forced himself to ignore the wine and moved to a couch at the centre of the room. Rubbing his tired eyes he sat down, leaning back against the silk-covered cushions. 'Those who have never been in Asia,' he began, 'find it difficult to visualize the sheer size of the Empire. If a young man wanted to ride slowly around its outer borders he would arrive back at his starting point middle-aged. Years and years of travel, through deserts and mountains, lush valleys, immense plains, jungles and areas of wilderness that stretch on a hundred times further than the eye can see, even from the tallest mountain.' He gazed around the room. 'Look at the wine pitcher,' he told them. 'If that is Greece, then this palace is the Persian Empire. It is so vast that you could not count the Great King's subjects: a hundred million. . two hundred million? Even he does not know.'

'How then do we conquer such an Empire?' Craterus asked.

'By first choosing the battleground,' answered Parmenion, 'but more importantly by winning the support of its people.

The Empire is too vast to defeat as an invader. We must become a part of it. Darius took the throne by poisoning his rivals. He has already faced his own civil wars and won them. But there are many who distrust him. Macedonia was once considered a part of the Empire and we must build on that. Alexander is here not only to liberate the Greek cities, he is here to liberate the Empire from the usurper.'

Hephaistion laughed. 'You jest, Parmenion! How many Persians will accept that an invading Greek is a liberator?'

'More than you would believe,' said Alexander suddenly. 'Think of it, my friend. In Greece we have many city states, but we are all Greeks. Here there are hundreds of different nations. What do the Cappadocians care if it is not a Persian sitting on the throne? Or the Phrygians, or the Syrians, or the Egyptians? All they know is that the Great King rules in Susa.' He turned to Parmenion. 'You are correct, strategos , as always. But this time you have surpassed yourself.' The King brought Parmenion a fresh goblet of wine, which the Spartan accepted gratefully.

There is still the question of the Persian army,' pointed out Craterus. 'Who will lead it?'

'That is a problem,' Parmenion admitted. 'Memnon is a skilled general. We defeated him at the Granicus because he was not aware of the scale of reinforcements which had arrived with Alexander. He was marginally outnumbered.

But wherever this battle is fought, we will face a ten-to-one disadvantage.'

'Do not concern yourself with Memnon,' said Alexander, his voice curiously flat and emotionless. 'He died two nights ago.'

'I had not heard that,' said Parmenion.