Marching through the wooded valley of the Phasis, Alexander marched against the city of Dioscurias, so-called after its founders, the twin gods Castor and Pollux. A colony of Greeks, it was the richest emporium on the Black Sea coast, serving as the entry-point for Greek wares into this part of the world, and as the market for salt, tar, timber, linen and hemp acquired locally. It was a multicultural, multilingual city, notorious for the multitude of peoples which flocked there to do trade. These merchants, however, were not soldiers of any note; resistance was minimal and the elders of the city soon turned it over to Alexander, who promised not to sack and pillage it.
Alexander was by now master of Colchis and Iberia; only the wild mountains and a few wild tribes separated us from the Caspian Sea. We turned back from the Caucasus Mountains and marched in direction of the Lychnitis (Lake Sevan), to the encounter of new troops brought from Persia and Babylon. With these troops we swept through the country sandwiched between Iberia, Atropatene and the Caspian. This country is called variously Aeria or Albania. It is inhabited by barbarians, ruled by clan chiefs; though they deal with each other freely, they did not have a king as master of them all until Alexander.
At Barda, chief city of the country, the lady Roxana gave birth to a live son. To this boy Alexander gave the name Archelaus, meaning 'ruler of the people'. Though it was a name oft-used by his clan, it was thought that such a name intended the son of his favored wife for future rule.
At this time Alexander offered the government of the newly conquered lands to Antipater, now his father-in-law. These lands contained rich cities and stood to grow in importance with the acquisition of further lands to their north. In comparison to the satraps in the East, Antipater would also be closely located to the centers of government in Macedon and Babylonia. Antipater, however, considered this too lowly a commission for one who had so recently governed the homeland - to his mind, exceptionally well. He spurned Alexander's offer and haughtily refused, almost as if desiring to flare Alexander's anger against him. Sending him away, Alexander made his maternal kinsman Neoptolemus satrap of Colchis; as we marched on, Antipater was called back and superficially reconciled to Alexander.
Continuing north, we passed along the southern limits of the Caucasian Mountains. The Coraxi tribe fled before us, but soon returned at the side of a far greater force, the army of King Paerisades of the Bosporus. This tyrant ruled over a realm centered on the cities of Panticapaeum and Phanagoria, and the ports of Tanais and Theodosia along the Tanais river, which river was considered the boundary of Europe and Asia in the north. From these cities, their outlying districts and surrounding regions this king summoned a mighty army of both Greeks and Asians. This army was commanded by Paerisades' father-in-law Dythagoeaeus, a fearsome barbarian warrior.
We fought along the banks of the Black Sea, which flowed red with both Macedonian and barbarian blood. Antipater and his sons Cassander and Iollas fell in the fighting. The Persians Madates and Bisthanes[1], close kinsmen of the old queen Sisygambis, also perished. Their deaths were universally blamed on Hephaestion, who had foolishly placed them, though it is likely that these deaths were ardently wished-for and intended by Alexander as a means of innocently disposing of potential rivals. On the barbarian side the prince Satyrus, son of the King, was also cut down.
On the second day of fighting Dythagoeaeus sued for peace and made his submission to Alexander. Alexander took to wife the lady Dedmotis, grand-daughter of Dythagoeaeus and daughter of King Paerisades, in this way allying himself with both the Greeks and barbarians, for Dythagoeaeus was a Scythian prince. Trusting Dythagoeaeus more than the king, he restored Paerisades to his throne and commanded Dythagoeaeus to command what remained of the army and escort us across Sarmatia into Asia. Pharnabazus brother of Barsine was left with a mixed company of Macedonians and Persians to scout and take hold of the land and ensure the proper payment of tribute.
We then proceed along the Tanais, encountering a number of barbarian tribes which lived in its vicinity: the Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others. Some made their submission, others were cut down before acknowledging Alexander as lord and master. The men of the land were exceptionally tall, with long flowing manes of blond hair on both head and beard. It is said they are the descendants of the Amazons, who mated with the wild men found north of Bactria. We were at this point within a short marching distance from what we believed to be the Caspian, but Alexander insisted on turning north. Dythagoeaeus informed us that at that point the Tanais turned west, away from Asia and into inhospitable country; if we wished to return to Babylon by way of Bactria, we ought to abandon the Tanais and march east. His word confirmed by our scouts and our souls tempered by the biting cold of the land, we set off east. All along the way we encountered Scythian and Sarmatian tribes, extremely warlike but living in the most barbarian ways.
[1] Madates was the husband of Sisygambis' sister's daughter and a close kinsman of Darius. Sisygambis sucessfuly interceded on his behalf with Alexander. Bisthanes was a son of King Artaxerxes III who came over to Alexander during the war against Darius.