Diodorus Siculus

BOOK XVIII - The Library of History



Page 588 the Field, and all the Bag and Baggage as a Prey to their own use: All being thus encourag'd, he drew up his Army in Battalia; the Right Wing he commanded himself, the Left he gave to Neoptolemus: His Army in the whole consisted of Twenty thousand Foot, most of them Macedonians, Men famous for their Valour, in whom he plac'd the Confidence of his Victory; with these, there march'd along with him above Two thousand Horse. Eumenes likewise had Twenty thousand Foot of divers Nations, and Five thousand Horse, on whole Valour chiefly he had resolv'd to venture, and lay all the Stake in this Battel.

The Horse on both sides moving forward in two Wings a great distance before the Foot, Craterus with a Body of choice Men made a brave Charge upon the Enemy, but his Horse stumbling, he was thrown out of the Saddle to the Ground, and not being known, was by the confus'd throng of Horse trampl'd under Foot, and so unfortunately lost his Life; upon whose Fall the Enemy was so encourag'd, that dispersing themselves up and down, they made a terrible Slaughter. The Right Wing being thus distress'd, and at length totally routed, was forc'd to retreat to the Foot. But in the left Wing commanded by Neoptolemus, oppos'd to Eumenes, there was a very sharp Engagement, the two Generals singling out one another: For being known to each other by their Horses, and other special Marks, they fought hand to hand, and by combating thus singly, they put a Remark upon the Victory; for after they had try'd it out by their Swords, they presently began an admirable and new sort of Encounter, Anger and Revenge mutually stirring up each other: For letting their Bridles fall upon their Horses Necks, they catch'd hold with their left hands one upon another, and so grappling together, their Horses (violently pressing forward) ran from under them, leaving them both tumbling on the Ground together. And though it was a difficult matter for either of them, after so violent a Fall, to rise again, and besides being press'd down by the weight of their Arms, yet Eumenes (rising first) wounded Neoptolemus in the Ham (with so great a Gash and Cut), that he lay Hamstrung groveling upon the Ground, and by reason of the grievousness of the Wound, was not able to raise himself upon his Feet: But the Stoutness and Courage of his Mind overcoming the Weakness of his Body, he got upon his Knees, and gave his Adversary three Wounds upon his Arm and Thigh; but none of them being mortal, (while they were yet warm) Eumenes gave Neoptolemus a second Blow upon his Neck, and kill'd him outright.

In the mean time great Slaughter was made among the rest of the Horse on both sides; so that while some were kill'd and others wounded, the Fortune of the Day at the first was very uncertain: But as soon as it was nois'd abroad that Neoptolemus was slain, and both Wings broken, the whole Body fled, and made away to the Phalanx as to a strong Wall of Defence. But Eumenes (content with keeping of his Ground, and the Possession of the Bodies of both the Generals) sounded a Retreat to his Soldiers. Then he set up a Trophy, and after he had bury'd the Slain, he sent to the Phalanx, and to them that were thus routed, to let them know, That whoever would, should have liberty to take up Arms with him, or to go their way wherever they pleas'd. The Macedonians accepted of these Terms of Peace, and upon Oath of Fidelity given, they had liberty to march away to the next Towns to supply themselves with Provision. But they dealt treacherously with Eumenes; for recollecting their Forces, and furnishing themselves with Provision, in the Night they stole away and went to Antipater. Eumenes indeed did all he could to revenge this Breach of their Oaths, and to that end forthwith endeavour'd to pursue the Phalanx; but by reason of the Strength of the Enemy, and his own Indisposition, (through the Wounds he had receiv'd,) he was not able to do any thing effectually, and therefore he judg'd it better to forbear from further Pursuit. Having therefore gain'd so glorious a Victory, and cut off two eminent Commanders, his Name grew very famous. Antipater having receiv'd those that had escap'd, after they were refresh'd hasted away to Cilicia, and to aid Ptolemy. But Perdiccas hearing of the Victory gain'd by Eumenes, prosecuted his Expedition into Aegypt with much more Assurance. When he came near to the River Nile, he encamp'd not far off Pelusium; and while he was cleansing an old Sluce, Nile so overflow'd, that it defeated all his Design, and spoil'd his Works, and many of his Friends deserted the Camp, and went over to Ptolomy. For he inclin'd to Cruelty, and having remov'd the rest of the Captains from the Sovereign Command, he made it his only Business to be sole Monarch, and absolute Tyrant.

Ptolemy on the contrary was courteous and mild, and gave free Liberty to the rest of the Captains to advise him in all his Enterprizes. Besides, he had put strong Garisons into all the convenient Places of Aegypt, and had furnish'd them with all sorts of Weapons, and other Things that were necessary. By which means he succeeded in every


Previous Forward

Bibliotheca Historica


The first five books

The last ten books

Contents



Free Books


The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.



The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.





The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.


Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.