Ἰνδική 28.2

28.2

ὃ δὲ ταῦτα μὲν ἄσμενος δέκεσθαι ἔφη, ἐθέλειν δὲ θεήσασθαι τὴν πόλιν· οἳ δὲ εἴων παρελθεῖν.

When he approached the walls the inhabitants came out to meet him, bringing a present of tunny-fish broiled in pans (the first instance of cookery among the Ikhthyophagi, although these were the very last of them), accompanied with small cakes and dates. He accepted their offering with the proper acknowledgments, but said he wished to see their town, which he was accordingly allowed to enter. No sooner was he within the gates than he ordered two of his archers to seize the portal by which they had entered, while he himself with two attendants and his interpreter mounting the wall hard by, made the preconcerted signal, on seeing which the troops under Arkhias were to perform the service assigned to them. The Makedonians, on seeing the signal, immediately ran their ships towards land, and without loss of time jumped into the sea. The barbarians, alarmed at these proceedings, flew to arms. Upon this Nearkhos ordered his interpreter to proclaim that if they wished their city to be preserved from pillage they must supply his army with provisions. They replied that they had none, and proceeded to attack the wall, but were repulsed by the archers with Nearkhos, who assailed them with arrows from the summit of the wall. Accordingly, when they saw that their city was taken, and on the point of being pillaged, they at once begged Nearkhos to take whatever corn they had, and to depart without destroying the place. Nearkhos upon this orders Arkhias to possess himself of the gates and the ramparts adjoining, and sends at the same time officers to see what stores were available, and whether these would be all honestly given up. The stores were produced, consisting of a kind of meal made from fish roasted, and a little wheat and barley, for the chief diet of these people was fish with bread added as a relish. The troops having appropriated these supplies returned to the fleet, which then hauled off to a cape in the neighbourhood called Bagia, which the natives regarded as sacred to the sun.