Son of the Star, born of the Mountain Alexander the Great

“Go along the middle path, along the middle path, in front of the archers along the ridge, behind them the Peltasts, and leave the horsemen and hypaspists at the dam,” he said in a half-whisper as if with himself, from which all his friends were thrown into heat.

He immediately turned to his friends, and smiling, as usual, said:

– Go along the middle path, go round the honey, I know.

“I will lead, I myself am an archer,” Nearhar suggested, the prince approached, looked into his eyes,

“It will work out, my friend,” Alexander said, putting his hand on Eter’s forelegs.

A detachment of three hundred fighters quickly assembled, and pulling their raincoats over their heads, the warriors, led by Nearhom, walked around the ridge, his squires were with him. Three hours later, closer to the night, they saw the Highlanders below themselves, so the position was magnificent.

“You’ll be ready,” Kuret handed the order to the hurricanes, and all the archers prepared to shoot, and the rest took the darts.

– Come on! – Nearhs made a whisper, he shot himself, and he saw one and a half hundred arrows and the same number of darts flew into the honeys, and immediately followed them again and again. At a distance of a hundred steps, it was hard to miss, and the honey fell ten dozen onto the stones, bleeding, tried to answer, but threw the darts up and not down, so only ten people died at the Macedonians and thirty-two were wounded, Thracian dart tip. In desperation, the mountaineers rushed to the dam, but there Alexander was already waiting for them, and began to throw their weapons and surrender to the Macedonians. More than a thousand honey and their leader were captured, he gave his sword personally to Alexander. The detachment with the king and the prisoners went into one of the valleys, where the rest of the army was waiting for him with Polyperchon and Erigy. Garpal organized the supply of food, the soldiers were quite well fed and happy, and Alexander went to the prisoners, to negotiate with the leader.

The leader of the honeys was sitting with tied legs, but his hands were released to him, and heaped with his batons in order to prevent the leader from having rebellious thoughts. The prince, smiling, already in a clean dress, sat in a folding chair opposite the chieftain.

– Hello, Res, – he turned, – I broke all your troops, you are in captivity, it’s time to think about the world.

“I will not be a slave to the Hellenes,” the leader replied, proudly throwing back his head, and the golden hryvnia on his neck proudly flooded.

– Why do I need slaves? – Alexander was surprised, I don’t have anything to feed them, he laughed a little, with his head on his shoulder, – But your fortress will be mine, and you will swear loyalty, and every year you will send me five hundred lightly armed and two hundred horsemen, and you will give your son hostage. And you will not rob the roads.

“But these are our customs,” Al already scoffed.

“There is no more,” Alexander stretched out his hand to him, and after a pause, the leader extended his hand, having sealed the contract. Then they swore in the presence of the priests, and without the ropes on their feet, honey was present at the feast. Just the soldiers killed three wild boars, and one was given to the royal retinue, and he was fried in a hole, long tormented with herbs. The feast turned out great, but the guard was sober, afraid of the treachery of the Highlanders. Moved along the mountain roads to the city of Reza, the fortress for a few days. Going to the city, the Macedonians decided that everything was perfectly arranged with the honey-fortress was well fortified, the moat and the shaft were very wide, and although the wall was low, he moat and the shaft were insurmountable.

“I like the fortress, Alexander,” asked Res, turning in the saddle to the equestrian prince too.

“Great,” looking at the city with an admiring gaze answered the young man, “I swear you will not regret the king about our contract.”

“I want to name the city in honor of you, Alexandropolis,” answered Res, Alexander simply beamed at these words, he adored expressions of self-love and answered a hundredfold.

“But I will leave the garrison here, stop fifty peltastes, Res, and I would like to look at the city inside, the prince added harsherly, and the Thracian looked at him with respect and understanding.” The horsemen approached the gates, and at the scream of Resa, the gates opened, and the Pelttes and retinue of Junior Argead entered the city. Inside were several squat houses, a well, stables, nothing surprising. The king spoke with his Thracian, and Teres translated the meaning of the speeches: “We lost, but the prince is kind, allows us to live according to our customs, lets the prisoners go, but demands to stop the looting, to send five hundred young men every year to serve him, and the king’s son as a sign of friendship, they will live near the Macedonians. And also the Macedonians will leave a garrison in the fortress, and if the Mezians attack Mead, Alexander will come to the rescue. “The elders who listened to the king, agreed nod, and as the servant conveyed to Nearh, they agreed. When the prince heard the words of a Cretan citizen about this, he was delighted with this answer of the elders, and called for Eumenes,

“Write to Pella to the mother and father that I conquered the honey,” he thought for a few moments, “and stormed their fortress and called it Alexandropolis. Recorded Eumenes?

“Yes, Alexander,” after a short time he gave the prince two scrolls, he sealed them with his ring and gave Evmen back.

– Send today with the messengers, father and mother. Such news they like more.

“Res, in a week you will send five hundred fighters to Pella, and one of the hurdles of Alexandropol conducts them,” the young commander ordered, the king of the honey nodded his affirmative to these words.

– Alexander, if the Mezians come, will you definitely help?

– I never lie, Res. I will come with the army, I swear by Zeus, – with these words the honey brightened, nodded and set out to place its wounded, and select people to serve the Macedonians.

After a day at the fortress, the army returned to Pella, returned victorious. Apart from the dead from the dead, Res paid twenty talents of silver, so there was something to pay the soldiers. On the way, part of the detachments were dismissed to their homes, and only hypaspists, Eters and Thessalians returned to the capital. Only on their way did the Eters see that Alexander grew gloomy more and more.

“What’s the matter with you, Alexander,” asked his closest friend Hephaestion, and he looked up at him with sadness,

“You know Hephaestion, they tear me apart, as if you can share my love,” answered the prince in impotence by hanging his blond head,

“What is he,” asked Nearh in a whisper to Ptolemy,

“He loves both his mother and father, but they don’t get along well, and the Olympiad has a very domineering character,” Alexander’s bodyguard replied to him. “I hope that this time it will be okay.”

Having entered the city, the prince dismissed the detachments to their homes, leaving the hypaspists and personal squad, and the entire retinue approached the palace, where Alexander sent a vestnik of his return, and since King Philip returned to the city with a successful war, in honor of his victory and victory Son called all the nobility to the feast. But first, the Eters went to the bathhouse, the palace had the same showers as Miez, so they managed to get comfortable in order, and after changing their clothes, the Eters went to the Great Hall of the Palace, but Alexander went to visit his mother, so long as he did not with friends. The hall was richly decorated, and for the sake of celebration, it was thickly hung with flower garlands, there were lodges for the Goths and small tables nearby, and a large table, on which stood oratory and subtle divine aromas of fine and wine, Philip and Alexander Lodge were near, on some elevation, they also invited two aedovs in order to brighten the ears of the guests with declamation and music. Philip, as the owner, was already reclining in a wreath of flowers, the prince was not there yet, and the butler indicated the place to the guests according to their merits and nobility, so Alexander’s eters were far from the royal place. Philip was gloomy, and already called the butler to him, as Alexander appeared, he was wearing a new beautiful dress, but he was collected and pale,

“You keep yourself waiting, my beloved son,” said the king, with a light reproach, “you have undoubtedly accomplished many feats, but still?

– Sorry, father, -Alexander came up and kissed the king on the cheek,

“Your son is a skillful commander!” Said Perdiccas loudly, “he has the sense of a true warrior!”

Philip really liked the praise of a skilled commander, and he didn’t hide it.

“I don’t like to shed blood just like that, and Alexander’s face slightly twisted, as if it were from pain,” but it’s better to live a faithful ally than scorched fields and mountains of corpses.

“Well, after all, you took Alexandropolis by attack,” Philip pointedly noted, “this is the Tsarevich who kept modestly silent,” now the hones will send us help, the tsar added for his entourage. And just the butlers filled the cups, and the king proclaimed:

– For my son, Alexander, the brave and intelligent commander!

All happily shouted and drank fragrant wine. Then they went merrily – they drank for the army, for Macedonia, then the saints began to perform excerpts from the Iliad, singing the heroic deeds of the heroes, and many noble births of the Macedonians were directly descended from the heroes of the Trojan War, at least it was thought so. Then they were just drinking a lot, and the young people with Alexander slipped out of the hall. On the way from the hall, all the prince’s friends noticed that the butler was leading the flutist and heter to continue the fun.

The next day, after saying goodbye to his father and mother, Alexander and his retinue gathered and moved to Mieza to continue their studies with Aristotle. They did not know what was left to study for less than two years. The arresttel taught the main thing that to act decently and correctly is better and more useful than to follow evil and commit evil. A letter came to Nearh that Kallifen would soon arrive with his son in Amphipolis, and the prince agreed that this was correct because it was not good when the wife was far from her husband, and the husband was from his wife. But Kallifen arrived only two years later, after a big war.

A new war broke out two years later, Thebes in alliance with Athens came out against Macedonia. The messengers from Philip jumped up so that the Eters and Alexander would gather and would appear in Pella, and that the prince would receive the sludge in command. It’s time for parting. mentor, everyone gathered, and went to his house. Alexander knocked on the door, opened the elderly servant of the philosopher, let the students into the courtyard,

“Come in, I will call the tutor now,” and quickly went into the house, from which he almost immediately emerged majestically and leisurely, leaning on his staff, dressed in white linen clothes befitting a philosopher, Aristotle.

– Hello Alexander, hello my worthy students, – he greeted,

“Greetings, Teacher, we came to say goodbye, I don’t know whether we will meet again or not,” Philip’s son began to speak loudly and clearly, “a great war began, and we should go on a campaign. We did not pass your training for nothing, and I hope you will be proud of us.

– I am also glad that you took lessons from me, I didn’t have any better students, and there won’t be. The best gratitude for a mentor is worthy student behavior.

“You will not be ashamed of having taught us,” Alexander added with a bow, and so the students of the Miezensh School said farewell to the philosopher Aristotle. And so ended their adolescence.

War

Philipe convened all the sovereign princes of the conquered areas with their retinues, and successfully prepared regular troops with the help of Parmenion and Antipater. We managed to collect thirty thousand infantry, of which twelve thousand prepared phalangites and three thousand cavalry, of which about eight hundred cataphracts. Alexandrov gastrafeti were not ready, although the prince wanted to check them in, and the first detachment of three hundred soldiers trained with might and main. But the mechanism was very expensive, costing an inexpensive horse, and when Philip found out how much he was worth, he simply choked at dinner. Thebes collected eleven thousand infantry and one and a half thousand horsemen, the Athenians recruited fifteen thousand mercenaries in Arcadia and Messenia, and collected fifteen thousand infantry militia and a thousand horsemen, so the forces were almost equal, but the Macedonians had easy cavalry, Agrian and Thracian, and they took to ruin Boeotia. Parmenion and Philip constantly maneuvered to trap the mercenaries in one of the passes, and they succeeded, the Athens mercenaries surrendered, and the prisoners were sent north to Thrace to keep the border from the Mezians, since the mercenaries quickly figured out the situation and agreed to serve Argeadam, but did not want to fight Athens and Thebes. The clash was inevitable, and Lysicles hastily led the Athenian militia to help Thebes, and even Demosthenes also took the goplon in his hands. The intelligence of the Macedonians from light cavalry disturbed the Athenians and the Thebans, holding them like a hunting dog of a bear, and not allowing them to leave the flat field advantageous to the Macedonians. Philip hastily led the army in three columns, he entrusted the cavalry and hypaspites to Alexander, himself led the Phalangites and Peltasts and the Thracian infantry.

The enemies set up camps opposite each other at Heronei, where the battle was to break out. Philip summoned the peacers to the Council and a feast to encourage the commanders before the battle, and once again to discuss the battle plan. Towards noon, all the commanders, Parmenion with his son, Antipater with Cassander, Cleet, Ken, Attal, Meleagr, and Alexander with the inseparable friend Hephaestion and his bodyguard Ptolemy, approached. In the middle was a table with poured sand, and figures of soldiers denoting military units, white Macedonians, black opponents, the Athenians and the Thebans.

“Come, comrades-in-arms,” suggested Philip, everyone looked at the location of the Macedonians – infantry in the first row, Thracians and Pelttes in the first row; in the second row, in the distance of the arrow-phalanx, three hundred Thracian riders of the reserve were built, on the right flank all was built cavalry and hypaspists and runners, as well as eight hundred cataphracts under the command of Alexander.

“Dangers, said Parmenion,” are the Peltasts ahead? yes they will flee before the Athenians,

“That’s just the point, an old friend,” Philip smacked, blinking with one single eye, “Lysikel, Hares, and especially Demosthenes, people who are fond of, and rush to pursue our avant-garde and fall on spears of phalangites and Alexander will hit them on the flank, and the Athenians shall be broken, they shall bare the flank, and we shall surround the Thebans. -pages began to distribute wine to guests, handing out filled bowls to the generals.

“And you, son, restrain the Thebans, and remember – Feagen is clever, you can’t lure him into an ambush,” Philip said further, taking a sip of wine, “break their cavalry, and wait for our help and do not break it, and the goddess Nika will open his wings above us.

Everyone agreed, nodding that the best possible plan, the servants brought tables with food, as always the same sheep cheese, flatbread and olives. None of the guests lost their appetite in front of the Sich, everyone was experienced fighters and commanders. They drank three bowls, the last for all the gods, and went to bed.

The starry sky over Herney became brighter in the east, and wake-ups began to play in the camps, the warriors had a little snack, and rejoicing that the summer heat had not yet begun, put on armor and went out to build according to the schedule of the commanders and went away in perfect order to the field covered from the sudden the attacks of the enemy by preservation, Alexander, and Philip, the son and the father, went to different flanks of the army, and with them the warriors and ordinary fighters rose to their seats in the ranks. Far in the haze, it was clear how the Athenians were being built with the Thebans, and there, too, the detachment was connected with the detachment, making up an impregnable line of hoplites. The troops in the ranks approached each other at a distance of three flights of arrows, and Philip sent light infantry and peltasts on the wall of the Athenians to attack. Lysikel sent his Peltastes, but most of the Peltasts were mercenaries, and they now served the Macedonians in the north, and the Athenian peltas, being in the minority, fled, and Lysicles was forced to throw his infantry into the attack, throwing the Macedonians, but then his inspiration caused him, and the excessive vehemence of Demosthenes, who carried away the Athenians to persecution, played a role, and the fleeing Thracians and Peltasts went into the passages in the phalanx, and there Antipater didn’t doze, and the Macedonians, staring ahead sarissas, did not let the Athenians form under the deafening howls of flutes and beeps, under the sound of terrible pyrrhics attacked. This music completely deprived the warriors of fear, and did not let them feel tired. First, the phalanx struck with darts, because the ranks from the fourth to the fifteenth, they were lightly-armed throwers, so at first Lysicles’s militia began to be whipped by a storm of light spears, dozens and dozens of warriors were wounded and killed, and half a stage with quick steps hit phalangites who did not crush shields as it was customary in the battle of the hoplites between themselves, they beat with spears longer than usual three times. Each row of Macedonians beat either at once, three spears at once into one person, or separately, at the command of the first in a row, or two spears hit the shield to deflect him, and hit the opponent with the third, and most importantly, do not let the tip get stuck in the shield or the body of the enemy.So the phalangites wielded as oarsmen on the ship, rhythmically and consistently, destroying opponents, the ship’s tail cuts the foam of the waves, so that the Macedonians formed a blockage from the wounded and killed Athenians, laying in layers from two to five people on top of each other, and pouring blood on each other from the wounds, and finally they quivered, unable to resist this death machine of Philip. At first they gave a little bit, and then running, rapidly from the battlefield, the Athenian hoplites fled, pursued by the Thracians. Alexander had everything much harder, first the Macedonian cavalry knocked down the Theban cavalry from the field, and the Thessalians began to pursue them, and the prince for the time being sent detachments of Peltasts to the Thebans by tying them into battle without giving a strike, and the commander Feagen was afraid to bare the flank only when the Athenians began to pursue the Macedonians, the Thebans rushed to the attack, but Alexander quelled their impulse by striking the Agrians in the flank of the Theban infantry and maneuvered the cavalry, not attacking, and only when the Athenians retreated, and Feagen tried to retreat to the camp about organized, the prince threw first In the attack of the Dimahs, they began to throw the marines of Thebes with darts, and when they tried to attack, they cut them with swords, from the right flank they were hit by hypaspists, and in the battle Feagen died and the Thebans also fled, but the Sacred squad stood unmoved.

Alexander saw these heroes, and, accompanied by the Eters, rode up to them.

“Surrender, I swear, I will let you all go home,” he shouted to this detachment of braves, “We were enemies, it’s all over, I don’t want to kill you, and the least thing will still drive you out of the city, this is the best outcome for you.” Can you and your families suggest Alexandropol to exile. Your servants will bring your families there later.

The Thebans thought for a long time and agreed, and the prince ordered Nearh to send Teres with the wounded to Alexandropol, two days later the servants of the townsfolk came with carts in which the wounded were families, and they moved to Thrace. And the most interesting is that everyone whom young Argead was treating did not die.

Later, Alexander came to the wounded Macedonians, Nearh helped him. The young man worked as a simple doctor, not churayas blood, easing the suffering of people. Nearh saw that Alexander was terribly tired, his already very bright face, which had never sunburnt, was gray with the pain and fear of others. Nearh then heard for the first time how the prince began to speak, whispered as if with himself: “To drag, but not to overtighten… Tighten the skin on the inlay and glue together with a plaster and tighten…”

Kuret saw a seriously wounded man, wearing a tunic drenched in blood, with his eyes closed, and called Alexander.

“I’m not Elicia, she’s smoking, I’m not raising the dead and not battling Tanat,” he said in a different, hollow voice. “Humble yourself, Nearh, he’s already dead,” he said in his usual tone, and tapped the Cretan on the shoulder. – Let me see you, you never know, you are also wounded, I examined everyone, you alone remained.

Néarch did not argue, and took off his chiton, and Aristotle’s student quickly unwound the bandage, examined the canvas on the wound, quickly wiped it, suddenly grabbed the edges of the wound, pulled it slightly, overlapping the edges of the cut skin with each other and fixed it with glue and tightly bandaged.

“Then thank you, and your wife will like it,” he said, grinning, “And you fought bravely, becoming a real rider. Come on, you have to wash and eat.

Simple warriors happily greeted the Eters who came out of the tent.

– Thank you, Alexander, now for sure our friends will survive, they will not die! Alexander our king, Philip our commander – the warriors shouted, and Nearh was slightly frightened here, and Alexander smiled happily, accepting thanks to experienced warriors covered with scars, with simple weapons in their hands, who had gained Macedonia and this victory.

And in a separate pile laid down the weapons of the Sacred Squad, forbidding him to touch the name of the prince. Ten cataphracts, twenty runners and thirty-five hypaspists were killed in battle, and on the flank of Philip eight hundred and fifty lightly armed. The battle was over.

World after war, hegemony

Lightly armed began to walk around the field, collecting weapons and valuables, but Philip forbade removing clothes from dead enemies, although usually the dead were robbed by naked. The king was going to take a ransom for the dead Thebans, the Athenians immediately announced that he would not take a ransom for the return of the bodies and for the prisoners, too, the signing of a compulsory union would be the price. For the Thebans there were more stringent demands – the Macedonian garrison must be in the Cadmea, and it is maintained at the expense of the city, and Plateia and Orchomen must be restored.

Philip decided to drive around the battlefield with commanders, when the dead were still gathered from this mournful place. The king carefully examined the places where more warriors died, and there was no joy on his face. The warriors had already finished burying the Macedonians and their allies, and the captured Thebans buried their soldiers under the guard of the Macedonians, the Sacred Squad was buried separately from others.

Immediately, next to the field, he ordered a shed to be laid out, and armchairs were placed for the commanders of the troops, the pages brought tables with food and wine, and they were sent for Alexander. The guests began to move in to Philip, he personally met everyone and thanked and seated, and the pages immediately poured wine to the guest.

“For Philip, the winner!” Shouted the experienced fighters, the king’s companions, “For the victory over Athens and Thebes, the commanders of the troops immediately proclaimed,

“I’m not looking for the authorities, but the unity of Hellas,” their leader replied to his comrades-in-arms, and did not want to shed blood.