fe, and
children, and his whole harem, that they might witness his triumph over
the insolent Macedonian.

Darius took no steps to guard any of the passes of Asia Minor. Why
should he seek to keep back this foe, who was marching blindly to his
fate? But instead of waiting for Alexander on the plain, where he could
have made use of his vast force, he marched into the defile of Issus,
where there was only a mile and a half of open ground between the
mountains and the sea, and where his vanguard alone could be brought
into action. In this defile the two armies met, the fighting part of
each being, through the folly of the Persian king, not greatly different
in numbers.

The blunder of Darius was soon made fatal by his abject cowardice. The
Macedonians having made a sudden assault on the Persian left wing, it
gave way and fled. Darius, who was in his chariot in the centre, seeing
himself in danger from this flight, suddenly lost his over-confidence,
and in a panic of terror turned his chariot and fled with wild haste
from the field. When he reached ground over which the chariot could not
pass, he mounted hastily on horseback, flung from him his bow, shield,
and royal mantle, and rode in mortal terror away, not having given a
single order or made the slightest effort to rally his flying troops.

Darius had been sole commander. His flight left the great army without a
leader. Not a man remained who could give a general order. Those who saw
him flying were infected with his terror and turned to flee also. The
vast host in the rear trampled one another down in their wild haste to
get beyond the enemy's reach. The Macedonians must have looked on in
amazement. The battle--or what ought to have been a battle--was over
before it had fairly begun. The Persian right wing, in which was a body
of Greeks, made a hard fight; but these Greeks, on finding that the king
had fled, marched in good order away. The Persian cavalry, also, fought
bravely until they heard that the king had disappeared, when they also
turned to fly. Never had so great a host been so quickly routed, and all
through the cowardice of a man who was better fitted by nature to turn a
spit than to command an army.

[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.]

But Alexander was not the man to let his enemy escape unscathed. His
pursuit was vigorous. The slaughter of the fugitives was frightful.
Thousands were trodden to death in the narrow and broken pass. The ca