Alexander’s near fatal dip in the Cydnus River at Tarsus

Tarsus, in antiquity, was a large and prosperous city, but its remains are sadly disappointing since all that is left is a short stretch of Roman road of black basalt with white edges without a beginning or end. This is not surprising, as sixteen consecutive layers of habitation have been found on top of the Roman layer. Tarsus today looks like a rather sleepy town with typical Ottoman houses recently renovated and repainted.

Consequently, all my hopes are focused on the River Cydnus. This is a typical mountain river, tumbling down from the Taurus Mountains over rocks and outcrops and meandering between trees and bushes that cling to their footholds along its very banks. It is said to be 200 ft wide. Still, I wonder about the spot where these measurements were taken for the water at times cascades happily over the many rocks through narrow passages, while at other times, the river is slowly flowing between wide manmade banks. After some effort, I found a spot to dip my hand in the fast-flowing water. It is early May, about the same time of year Alexander was here. The water is clear and cold, chilly but not exactly ice-cold, and certainly not to the extent of causing a convulsive reaction.

What illness struck Alexander remains vague. Arrian speaks of “a bout of sickness,” adding that Aristobulus mentions exhaustion. Alexander was seized by a convulsion, followed by a high fever and sleepless nights. Curtius, as usual, is more elaborate, describing how Alexander’s limbs stiffened and how he lost his color and body warmth, making him look more dead than alive. This spread commotion and concern throughout the camp, where many started mourning their king, wailing with great anxiety. Alexander’s physicians were at a loss, but one of them, Philip of Acarnia, who knew Alexander from boyhood, promised to treat him with a strong purgative. Alexander agreed to take it when he received a letter from Parmenion, who had been sent ahead, cautioning him against the doctor. “Beware of Philip,” he wrote, adding that he was informed that King Darius had bribed Philip with a thousand talents to poison him. As Philip handed his cup of medicine to his patient, Alexander drank the concoction with the letter in his hand and gave the document to his physician. Philip showed no alarm and simply advised Alexander to continue the treatment. There obviously was nothing wrong with the medicine or with Philip, who continued to serve Alexander all through his further campaigns. Curtius says Alexander appeared before his soldiers after the third day of treatment – much to everybody’s relief.

It is near impossible to imagine Alexander’s camp on the banks of the Cydnus. There are simply too many modern houses and streets closing in around the river. This “illness” had pinned down the Macedonian army for a while and delayed Alexander’s advance. At that time, Darius was waiting to confront Alexander on the plains of Sochi, but as soon as he heard the bad news, he set his army in motion to safeguard Cilicia. Yet he would not take Alexander off guard, for the Macedonian king had dispatched Parmenion to hold the Syrian Gates, modern Beilan Pass, in the Amanus Mountains, southeast of Iskenderun. 

As soon as he was strong enough, Alexander set the remaining part of his army in motion too, and marched to Issus.