NIKHIL SINGH

Following a gruelling, seven-month siege of the fortress citadel of Tyre, in Southern Lebanon, from which he emerged victorious, Alexander the Great led his Macedonian forces toward Gaza, which, at that time, acted as a fortified gateway for the Persian Army, under the auspices of King Darius III, prohibiting entry into Egypt. Alexander, then resolved to invade Egypt and establish a capital therein, was thus obligated to capture and subjugate the forces of Gaza, in order to accomplish his objective.

The taking of Tyre had been a bloody business. For the majority of the conflict, it seemed as though the walls of the twin-harboured city were truly impregnable, built as they were, to withstand the frequent earthquakes of the area, and, were it not for maritime reinforcements and the appearance of an mysterious sea beast of mammoth proportions, which both warring sides took as an augur of impending victory – the Tyrians seeing it as the wrath of Neptune, the Macedonians as an ally, pointing as it was, in the same direction as their invasive causeway, the conflict would most certainly have ended differently. The Tyrians fell to premature celebration after witnessing the beast, and whilst fat with feast, were stormed by the Macedonians and a company of annexed Sidonese troops, who, under Alexander’s direction, slaughtered over six thousand Tyrian men within the walls and crucified a further two thousand along the surrounding coastline. The Sidonese warriors, however, seeing themselves as countrymen of the Tyrians, whose city and theirs were both founded by the legendary ruler, Agenor, covertly hid and trafficked survivors of Tyre to Sidon, sparing, by many accounts, as many as fifteen thousand souls from the conqueror’s wrath.

At that time, Gaza was under the command of the eunuch Betis, who remained fiercely loyal to his Persian rulership. Word had reached the city, recounting the defeat of Tyre and much work was put into the city’s defences. At that time, Tyre had been the capital of its own global empire, which included the colonies of Carthage in Africa, Thebes and Gades. Darius was understandably concerned, already facing internal intrigues, which included the potential insurgence of his finest satrap and second, Bessus (a Greek transliteration of Bayaca – an old Persian name, loosely translated as ‘defender against fear’). Bessus commanded the forces of outlying Bactria, whose marauding ways and affinity with the austere Scythians (Iranian nomadic tribes), whose territories also lay within his satrapy, frowned upon the luxurious excesses of the distant Persian court. In a vain attempt at peace, Darius, by messenger, proposed a marriage between his daughter Stateira (the second, after her mother) and Alexander, adjoining the offer with the promise of a stately fortune of talents. The union would justify Alexander’s claim over conquered territory, but place him firmly below Darius, and subject therefore, to Persian rule. Alexander declined, claiming he was ‘a King not a trader,’ and continued to advance upon Gaza. Ironically, some years later, Alexander would capture Stateira II, her sisters and Darius’s wife, whom he treated civilly and the two were eventually wed, as initially suggested. However, she was later assassinated, by Alexander’s next wife, a Sogdian noblewoman of Bactria, known as Roxana.

Upon arrival at Gaza, Alexander reviewed the fortified position and elected to dig mines beneath the city walls, for the ground was soft, sandy and devoid of the sort of loose rock that might hinder underground operations. During the siege of Tyre, Alexander had ordered an ocean causeway constructed across the tempestuous outer strait, which was perpetually assailed by wild winds out of Africa, in the hopes of breaching the citadel’s defensive gate. Entire trees were flung into the ocean and piled with earth and boulders, so as to form a foundation for the main parapet, whose edges were lined with defensive towers, to repel marauding vessels. The Tyrians, however, artfully employed underwater saboteurs, who pulled apart the raw wood foundation with hooks, thereby collapsing parts of causeway in sections, along with the watchtowers. Alexander, undeterred, ordered a larger causeway built, with sturdier towers erected along the centre line. His strategy now involved the deconstruction and transportation of these towers, to Gaza. They could then be reconstituted and leaned against city walls, allowing access along the defensive ramparts. However, in this instance, the formerly co-operative ground of Gaza now worked against its Macedonian invaders. The immense towers were not easily conveyed and often toppled, midway throughout advances, their large wheels hopelessly compromised by sand. Returning fallen towers to safety became impossible within the range of artillery, in the form of catapults, burning arrows and the like, so the ground surrounding Gaza soon became stricken by these enormous, fallen structures.  

Alexander, who was driven by divination, supernatural intervention and the counsel of deities, usually via Oracular agency, elected to surround the city and perform a sacrifice, which he hoped would designate his course of action. As luck would have it, during the ceremony, a raven dropped the remains of its foraging. An object struck Alexander, dripping fluid down his face and shoulder.

The raven then attempted to land upon the wreckage of a toppled tower, but its wing feathers became hopelessly entrapped, against a sticky, defensive coating of bitumen and sulphur.

At that time, augury by birds, was considered a supreme form of divination, and its practice spanned many ancient cultures.

In the decades to come, important Roman legions would always travel with a Pullatrix, whose function it was to sacrifice chickens and, from the arrangement of internal organs and other things, decipher portents and potential future outcomes, to any critical, developing situation. Later still, with the spread of alchemy and Hermeticism, the secret language of its high practitioners came to be known as, either as the Green Language (partly in reference to the fabled Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegustus) or – the Language of the Birds.

The raven was captured and submitted for examination, to Aristander, Alexander’s most trusted advisor in these matters. After intensive deliberation and spiritual counsel, Aristander concluded that the imminent fall of Gaza was predicted by the raven’s actions, but that a potential threat lay toward Alexander – specifically, in the form of a wound to the shoulder. He pleaded with the headstrong King to belay his advance upon the fortress city, albeit only for that day.

Alexander, who would have ordinarily scorned this course of action, complied, out of deference to his own beliefs. However, upon sighting the retreat of the invaders, the Gazan defences took their action to be evidence of defeat and, delighted by it, impetuously opened a gate, launching an attack upon the enemy’s rear guard. But, as the standard bearers turned to face them, it became clear to the Gazans that all was not as they had imagined. Alexander, being of impulsive disposition, though still mindful of the warning issued by his counsel, donned his rarely worn armoured corselet and raced to the vanguard. There, he encountered a warrior of Darius, who, it is said, prostrated himself before the conqueror, swearing fealty to the Macedonian army. Alexander bade him rise and join their ranks, wholly unprepared for a blade, hidden beneath the Persian’s shield. The warrior swung for Alexander’s throat, but was undone by the prowess of the King, who feinted, and by doing so, was able to draw his own sword and sever the would-be assassin’s hand.

Alexander now grew exultant, imagining he had sidestepped the portent of doom. He quickly passed an order to resume the attack, remaining at the front line as the Macedonians once again advanced, though this time, upon a horde of defending warriors. It was hubris that undid him, for whilst fighting, Alexander received an arrow to the shoulder. His physician, Phillip, was able to remove the arrow on the field, but due to the corselet, it was impossible to gauge the full extent of the damage, or staunch the bleeding, until Alexander had safely quit the arena of battle. Refusing to bow to the immediacy of his condition, Alexander demanded a field dressing and continued to fight, until unconstrained bleeding caused him to collapse. Betis, observing this from the battlements, rejoiced, thinking that the conqueror had finally met his end.   

Retreating to safety, Alexander ordered a mound, raised to the height of the city battlements, whilst simultaneously accelerating excavations beneath, intended to undermine the surrounding walls. A warren of tunnels developed feverishly, weakening the foundations in increments. Betis ordered new structures built, in tandem with those of the enemy without, to match in height, the growing structures upon the mound, for Alexander had repurposed some of the fallen towers and managed to erect a new standing platform, at the pinnacle of the enterprise. Such, were the efforts of the Macedonian engineers, that missiles were soon raining down upon the once-enclosed city from this vantage point.

A ruthless onslaught then befell Gaza, wreaking havoc, sowing flame and levelling many buildings within the vicinity. This barrage was followed by the collapse of a section of the wall, which had been successfully weakened, by a maze of orchestrated digs. Alexander, his shoulder not yet fully healed, led a strike force through the breach, and whilst fighting in the streets of Gaza, suffered a second wound, this time to his leg. Enraged by the sight of his own blood, leaning on a spear for support, Alexander joined the crowd gathered around Betis. The Persian commander, now also sporting wounds of his own and deserted by his company, resolved to not bend the knee and instead, fight to his very last breath.

Alexander, famous for rewarding the valiant, even amongst his opponents, in this case, perhaps infuriated by the ignobility of his wounds, succumbed to sadism and petty vengeance. Ordering Betis’s legs pierced, and a sturdy rope run between bone and tendon, the commander was tethered thusly to Alexander’s chariot and driven in a frenzy, through the ruined streets of Gaza, until very little was left of him.  Alexander, satisfied with this barbaric imitation of Achilles, whom he claimed had founded his race, rested, observing in triumph, the slaughter of over ten thousand, upon the streets of Gaza. Weary of Persian rule and invigorated by tales of Macedonian exploits, the Egyptians gathered to welcome Alexander, who was soon to sail up the Nile, to further glory.