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[2] but Alexander would not agree, so now again Dareius sent other envoys praising Alexander for his generous treatment of Dareius's mother and the other captives and inviting him to become a friend. He offered him all the territory west of the Euphrates, thirty thousand talents of silver,1 and the hand of one of his daughters. Alexander would become Dareius's son-in-law and occupy the place of a son, while sharing in the rule of the whole empire.2

1 These figures are variously reported in the manuscripts.

2 It was a common practice among the Persians as later among the Seleucids for the king to share the administration of his huge realm with the crown prince. According to this offer, Dareius would rule the east, Alexander the west, but the kingdom would remain a unit. The territory offered to Alexander was approximately that which later became a part of the Roman Empire.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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