Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- BOOK ONE
- BOOK TWO
- ALEXANDER'S CONQUESTS IN THE WEST
- THE WAR AGAINST PORUS OF INDIA
- THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
- THE END OF THE WAR AGAINST PORUS
- THE MARVELS OF INDIA
- THE CONQUEST OF BABYLON
- ALEXANDER'S DEATH
- WAR BETWEEN ALEXANDER'S BARONS
- THE AVENGING OF ALEXANDER
- Appendix 1 How Nectanebus fathered Alexander [from the 13th-century Prose Alexander]
- Appendix 2 Aristotle's advice to Alexander [an interpolation into Wauquelin's text]
- Appendix 3 Jacques de Longuyon's excursus on the Nine Worthies [from Les Voeux du Paon (‘The Vows of the Peacock’), c.1310]
THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
from BOOK TWO
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- BOOK ONE
- BOOK TWO
- ALEXANDER'S CONQUESTS IN THE WEST
- THE WAR AGAINST PORUS OF INDIA
- THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
- THE END OF THE WAR AGAINST PORUS
- THE MARVELS OF INDIA
- THE CONQUEST OF BABYLON
- ALEXANDER'S DEATH
- WAR BETWEEN ALEXANDER'S BARONS
- THE AVENGING OF ALEXANDER
- Appendix 1 How Nectanebus fathered Alexander [from the 13th-century Prose Alexander]
- Appendix 2 Aristotle's advice to Alexander [an interpolation into Wauquelin's text]
- Appendix 3 Jacques de Longuyon's excursus on the Nine Worthies [from Les Voeux du Paon (‘The Vows of the Peacock’), c.1310]
Summary
How Alexander sent knights to the queen of the Amazons.
After all this sharing of spoils King Alexander commanded two of his barons, Ptholomer and Philotas, to take ten thousand troops and go and reconnoitre the surrounding cities and find out if they were inclined to surrender or meant to resist his majesty; those that intended to rebel they were to attack and destroy utterly.
But in the event the two barons found no resistance in any city, fort or castle; everywhere they went the people surrendered to Alexander and placed themselves and their possessions under his dominion and lordship. And they, valiant knights that they were, in the manner of all good masters showed them kindness and favour and accepted them in love and peace; and indeed the people gave them such a noble welcome, showing them all possible goodwill, that they had no cause or reason to do otherwise.
With all this settled, Alexander, seeing the land's obedience was secure, decided to send messengers to the realm of the Amazons, which wasn't far from there. He dictated a letter and entrusted it to his envoys, insisting that they shouldn't stop till they reached the Amazons.
They followed his instructions and made their way to the Amazon queen Calistrida and presented his letter to her. She accepted it and had it read, and found it contained the following or very like:
‘From Alexander, commander of the Greeks, son of King Philip and Queen Olympias, to the most noble queen of the Amazons, health and happiness.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Medieval Romance of AlexanderThe Deeds and Conquests of Alexander the Great, pp. 191 - 195Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2012