Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

ALEXANDER'S ORIENTAL TROOPS. 633Leonnatus, who had won a victory over the Oritians at theriver Tomerus ;Nearehus, who had become the most famous ofadmirals ; Hephaestion, liis bosom friend ; Lysimachus, Aristonus,Perdiccas, Ptolemy and Peithon. Onesecritus, thepilot of the king's galley, was also thus honored.were some whom all this failed to satisfy.Ever since Alexander started in pursuit ofBut thereDarius, he hadincorporated in the army a great number of Asiatic soldiers.And it seems altogether probable that they were drilled andinstructed in the Macedonian manner. Some historiansdoubt the fact, but inno other way can we explain the marvelousresults obtained in the five years' campaigning whichhad since been conducted. Only on this hypothesis can theessential unity of tactical action be explained. No doubtmany national peculiarities were retainedamong the foreignersso serving ; and there must have been kept up some decideddistinguishing mark between these Asiatics and theMacedonians. But we find no particular mention of Orientaldetachments. The authorities mention the phalanx, thelight troops, the Companion or other cavalry, and only theDaiin horse-bowmen are frequently spoken of as a specialcorps. What Asiatics there were seem to have been distributedamong the brigades of the phalanx, or to have beenamong the light troops, horse and foot.Nor does the proportionof light troops appear to have been increased. Howeverthis may be, whatever distinction there was it was nowpart of Alexander's plan to obliterate.The way was alreadypaved. He had long ago caused to be chosen in all partsof the empire, from the choicest of the youth of Persia justreaching the age of manhood, a force numbering thirty thousandmen.This body for five years had been assembling anddrilling. They were known as Epigoni, the " successors,"were now under command of Seleucus, and in their entire