VII.] DESCRIPTION OF ARTANA. 131
tains of Carmania and Gedrosia, which form a continuation of
those of Persis j while in the opposite direction, between it and
the Caspian Sea, the massive chain of Elburz intervenes, which
towards its centre attains the elevation of more than 18,000 feet
in Mt. Demavend. The eastern portion of this range was known
in antiquity as the Hyrcanian mountains, and the country im-
mediately to the south of them, though we hear but little of it at
the time of which we are now speaking, is one which rose to great
importance under the Roman empire—the land of Parthia. It
will be seen, from the position of the great desert steppe which
has been described, that the route through these regions, whether
for the passage of armies or for caravan traffic, must always in the
main have been the same.
Darius had cherished the hope that Alexander had attained
the object of his invasion by capturing the chief FH htof
cities of Persia and the treasure which they con- Darius into
tained, and would leave him in possession of the
remainder of his dominions; and under this impression he passed
the winter of 331 at Ecbatana. But when he found that the
conqueror was still pursuing him, he quitted that place shortly
before Alexander's arrival, and fled into Parthia by way of the
Caspian Gates. That pass did not lead, as its ^ „ .
i i i -mi The CasPTan
name would seem to suggest, through the Elburz Gates (sirdar
mountains to the Caspian Sea, but traversed a
lateral range, which quits the main chain to the southward of
Mt Demavend, and runs at right angles to it It is now known
as the Sirdar pass, and is crossed by the road which connects
Teheran and Herat As soon as Alexander had arranged matters
at Ecbatana, he started with a small body of troops in the hope of
overtaking the fugitive, but notwithstanding that he pressed on
by forced marches, he had hardly entered Parthia
when he received the news of the death of that Darius!1 °f
monarch. This was the result of a conspiracy
formed against him by Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, and other
leading Persians, who felt that their cause was hopeless so long
as the supreme power remained in the hands of one so pusillani-
mous as Darius, and hoped that, when he was removed, they
might organise resistance in the outlying provinces. Alexander's
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