Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀνάβασις 6.6.3

6.6.3

οἱ δὲ οὔποτʼ ἄν οἰηθέντες διὰ τῆς ἀνύδρου ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ σφᾶς Ἀλέξανδρον ἔξω τε τῆς πόλεως οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ ἄνοπλοι ἦσαν. ἐφʼ ὅτῳ καὶ δῆλος ἐγένετο ταύτην ἀγαγὼν Ἀλέξανδρος, ἣν ὅτι αὐτῷ ἀγαγεῖν χαλεπὸν ἦν, ἐπὶ τῷδε οὐδὲ τοῖς πολεμίοις ὅτι ἄξει πιστὸν ἐφαίνετο. τούτοις μὲν δὴ οὐ προσδοκήσασιν ἐπιπεσὼν τοὺς μὲν πολλοὺς ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτῶν οὐδὲ ἐς ἀλκὴν οἷα δὴ ἀνόπλους τραπέντας· τῶν δὲ ἄλλων εἰς τὴν πόλιν κατειληθέντων κύκλῳ περιστήσας τῷ τείχει τοὺς ἱππέας, ὅτι μήπω ἡ φάλαγξ τῶν πεζῶν ἠκολουθήκει αὐτῷ, ἀντὶ χάρακος ἐχρήσατο τῇ ἵππῳ.

Alexander selected for his own division the hypaspists, the archers, the Agrianians, the corps of foot-guards under Peithon, all the horse-archers, and the half of the companion cavalry, and led them through a waterless tract of country against the Malloi, a race of independent Indians. On the first day he encamped near a small stream which was twenty stadia distant from the river Akesines. Having dined there and allowed the army a short time for repose, he ordered every man to fill whatever vessel he had with water. He then marched during the remainder of the day and all night a distance of about 400 stadia, and arrived before daybreak at a city to which many of the Malloi had fled for refuge. As they never imagined that Alexander would come to attack them through the waterless desert, most of them were abroad in the fields and without their arms; and just as it was manifest that he led his forces by this route because of the difficulties it presented, so did it appear to the enemy past belief that he would conduct an army by a way so perilous. He thus fell upon them unexpectedly, and slew most of them without their even turning to offer resistance, since they were unarmed. The rest he shut up within the city, and as the phalanx of infantry had not yet arrived, he posted the cavalry in a cordon round the wall, thus making it serve for a stockade. No sooner, however, did the infantry come up than he despatched Perdikkas with his own cavalry regiment and that of Kleitos, together with the Agrianians, to another city of the Malloi, into which many of the Indians of that district had fled for refuge. He was enjoined to blockade the men in the city, but not to attempt to storm the place until his own arrival, so that no one might escape and carry the news of Alexander's approach to the other barbarians. He then made an assault upon the wall, which the barbarians abandoned on seeing it could no longer hold out, since many had been killed during the siege, and others disabled for fighting by reason of their wounds. They fled into the citadel, which, being seated on a commanding height and difficult of access, they continued to defend for some time. As the Macedonians, however, vigorously pressed the attack at all points, while Alexander himself was seen everywhere urging forward the work, the citadel was stormed, and all the men who had fled to it for refuge were put to the sword to the number of 2000.
Perdikkas meanwhile reached the city whither he had been sent, but on learning that the inhabitants had not long before fled from it, he rode away at full gallop on the track of the fugitives, while the light troops followed him on foot as fast as they could. Some of the fugitives he overtook and killed, but such as had been too quick for him made their escape to the river marshes.