Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.78.1-17.78.4

Revolt of Satibarzanes and Pacification of Areia

Passage 683 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Alexander, hearing of the rebellion of Satibarzanes, the satrap of Areia, marched against him, forced his forces to surrender after besieging their stronghold, and after subduing the region, advanced to Drangiana.

§17.78.1ὅμως δὲ πολλῶν αὐτῷ μεμψιμοιρούντων τούτους μὲν ταῖς δωρεαῖς ἐθεράπευεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πυθόμενος τὸν Ἀρείας σατράπην Σατιβαρζάνην ἀνῃρηκέναι μὲν τοὺς καταλελειμμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ στρατιώτας, συμφρονεῖν δὲ Βήσσῳ καὶ κεκρικέναι μετʼ αὐτοῦ διαπολεμεῖν Μακεδόσιν ἐστράτευσεν ἐπʼ αὐτόν.
Nevertheless, though many were discontented with him, he conciliated them with gifts; but he himself, having learned that Satibarzanes, the satrap of Areia, had put to death the soldiers left behind by him, and was in agreement with Bessus and had decided to wage war along with him against the Macedonians, marched against him.
ὁ δὲ Σατιβαρζάνης τὴν μὲν δύναμιν ἤθροισεν εἰς Χορτάκανα, πόλιν ἐπιφανεστάτην τῶν ἐν τούτοις τοῖς τόποις καὶ φυσικῇ διαφέρουσαν ὀχυρότητι,
Satibarzanes assembled his forces at Chortacana, a most prominent city in these parts and outstanding for its natural strength.
§17.78.2τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως ἐγγίσαντος κατεπλάγη τό τε μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ τὰς διαβεβοημένας τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνδραγαθίας.
When the king drew near, he was struck with awe by the magnitude of the force and the celebrated valor of the Macedonians.
διόπερ αὐτὸς μὲν μετὰ δισχιλίων ἱππέων ἐξίππευσε πρὸς Βῆσσον, παρακαλέσων βοηθεῖν κατὰ τάχος, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις παρήγγειλε καταφυγεῖν εἰς ὄρος καλούμενον, ἔχον πολλὰς δυσχωρίας καὶ καταφυγὰς εὐθέτους τοῖς μὴ τολμῶσι κατὰ στόμα διακινδυνεύειν.
Therefore, he himself rode out with two thousand cavalry to Bessus to urge him to bring aid quickly, and ordered the rest to flee to a mountain so called, which had many difficult passes and places of refuge suitable for those who did not dare to risk a face-to-face conflict.
§17.78.3ὧν πραξάντων τὸ παραγγελθὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῇ συνήθει φιλοτιμίᾳ χρησάμενος καὶ τοὺς καταφυγόντας εἴς τινα πέτραν ὀχυρὰν καὶ μεγάλην πολιορκήσας ἐνεργῶς ἠνάγκασεν ἑαυτοὺς παραδοῦναι.
When they had executed his order, the king, displaying his usual ambition, actively besieged those who had fled to a certain strong and large rock, and forced them to surrender themselves.
§17.78.4μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πάσας τὰς κατὰ τὴν σατραπείαν ταύτην πόλεις ἐν τριάκονθʼ ἡμέραις κατακτησάμενος προῆγεν ἐκ τῆς Ὑρκανίας καὶ διανύσας εἰς τὰ βασίλεια τῆς Δραγγινῆς ἐνταῦθα διέτριβε καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἀνελάμβανε.
After this, having acquired all the cities in this satrapy within thirty days, he advanced from Hyrcania, and having completed his journey to the palace of Drangiana, he stayed there and let his army recuperate.

Notes

  1. §17.78.1πολλῶν αὐτῷ μεμψιμοιρούντων — Genitive absolute construction. The noun (pronoun) and participle appear in the genitive case without a conjunction to form an adverbial clause, here with a concessive force, which is emphasized by the preceding adverb `ὅμως` (nevertheless).
  2. §17.78.2κατεπλάγη τό τε μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ τὰς διαβεβοημένας τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνδραγαθίας — The verb `κατεπλάγη` (3rd person singular aorist passive indicative of `καταπλήττω`) is associated here with accusatives denoting the cause of fear or wonder (accusative of emotion/respect). The neuter nominative/accusative `τό ... μέγεθος` and the feminine plural accusative `τὰς ... ἀνδραγαθίας` are coordinated to express the objects/causes that struck him with awe.
  3. §17.78.2ὄρος καλούμενον — Meaning "a mountain so called" or "a mountain called [such-and-such]." Usually, a proper name would follow, but here the name is missing in the manuscript tradition, or the author simply left it unspecified.
  4. §17.78.3ὧν πραξάντων — A genitive absolute construction using the relative pronoun `ὧν` in a connecting usage (relative connection). It refers back to "the rest" (`τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις`) in the preceding sentence, functioning at the beginning of the clause like a main clause with a coordinating conjunction ("and when they had done...").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.78.1-17.78.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.78.1-17.78.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.