LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

420 DAn TUDOR IOnEScU
to the west from yantra) and the oescus (Iskar/Isker) river, to decisively
defeat the triballians. It is by far the most probable road to be taken, but it
is a bit far from the Celts, who, according to Arrian (An.1.4.6), lived north
of the Ionic Gulf (the Adriatic Sea).
thirdly, it could be the westernmost route, the road leading from the
nestus/Mesta to the Strymon/Struma valley, and from there to Serdica/
Sophia and the oescus/Isker valley and the confluence of this river with
the Danube, so nearer to the Iron Gates; nevertheless, this itinerary that
almost solves the Celtic problem, does not solve the problem of assaulting
the Mountain pass against the thracian defenders and it is not congruent
with Arrian (An.1.1.5) that specifically mentions the way from Amphipolis
to the haemus, crossing the nestus/Mesta river apparently from the west
bank to the east bank and leaving to his left/west the orbelus Mountain and
the town of philippi/Crenides, because Alexander’s army headed north and
the west was on their left side) 7 .
Alexander’s next move was to cross the Danube and make an incursion
against the Getae that were massing their forces (estimated at about 10000
infantry and 4000 cavalry) on the north bank of the river. he did that
by night, embarking some of his troops on his ships that came from the
Black Sea and the Danube Delta and other troops were embarked on local
boats (monoxylae/monovxuloi), used by the locals for fishing, travel, and
raiding (local brigandage and piracy); the remaining forces of Alexander’s
expeditionary corps floated to the north bank of the Danube on inflated
leather bags (skin sacks or bags used for transporting water, emptied, and
inflated with air were used as floating devices for the assault troops forcing
a river since the Assyrians); Arrian (An.1.3.3-6) wrote that, apart from the
Macedonian ships and the local boats, Alexander ordered his men to fill
the skin tents with straws and grass, in order to make them floatable and
ready for transporting troops. In all, Alexander’s task force brought north
7 I give hereby my own opinions on the possible itineraries taken by Alexander
and his expeditionary force in 335 BC and I could not possibly claim to solve the problem
here. there is a strong possibility that Alexander crossed the Balkans through an unknown
and unmentioned mountain pass westwards from the Shipka pass, and that Arrian’s text
(using here either ptolemaeus son of lagus or Aristobulus of Cassandreia) is confused or
corrupt. Anyway, the narrative could well be incomplete and we cannot exactly fathom
Alexander’s troops’ movements in 335 BC. Dr. Ivo topalilov suggested to me that
Alexander could and possibly would have taken the old road that lead directly from the
philippopolis (plovdiv) plain to the confluence between the Isker (Oescus) and the Danube
(Istros/Ister). It was a road used before Alexander and the romans after the conquest of
Macedon and during the gradual occupation of thrace and Moesia they have used it and
have built a military causeway on this itinerary.