get away so easily. Therefore, as a second part of his strategy, he ordered a battalion of mounted spear-men to advance and provoke an attack from the horse-lords. The nomads did not recognize this sacrifice for what it was. In their society, in which blood feuds were common, no commander would have sacrificed troops to obtain a better position for the main force. The families of those who had been killed would immediately start a vendetta. Alexander, on the other hand, could send his mounted spear-men on this dangerous mission because his men were well trained and understood that they were not really left alone. Alexander's vanguard was immediately surrounded and attacked by the Saka mounted archers. Once they were engaged, their position was fixed and they were vulnerable to an approach by the Macedonian infantry and Alexander's cohorts of Cretan archers. The nomads found themselves caught between the Macedonian mounted spear-men and the rest of Alexander's army. The Saka tried to escape to the wings of the Macedonian lines, but there they were met by Alexander's infantry. Aftermath and consequences About 1200 Saka were surrounded and killed, including their commander, Satraces. Over 150 prisoners were taken and 1800 horses were captured. As far as the Macedonians* <Strabo, VII, Frg. 9 (Loeb, H.L. Jones)> <Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander II, 14, 4 (Loeb, P. A. Brunt)> <[Pausanias, Description of Greece, Phocis Book VIII, 4]> <[Polybius, Book IX, 34, 3]> <Xenophon Hellenica V.2.12> <[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.3.2> knew, no commander had ever been able to pin down and destroy a nomad army besides Alexander's father, Philip II. Philip had defeated the Scythian king Atheas in 340 BC. This was a boost for morale, and a psychological blow for the nomads north of the Jaxartes. Alexander's main aim, however, had never been able to subdue the nomads; he wanted to go to the south, where a far more serious crisis demanded his attention. He could do so now without loss of face; and in order to make the outcome acceptable to the Saka, he released the prisoners of war without ransom. This policy was successful: the northern frontier of Alexander's empire no longer faced an immediate threat from the Eurasian nomads. References Sources James R. Ashley. The Macedonian Empire: the era of warfare under Philip II and Alexander the Great. McFarland & Company, 2004. Arrian. Anabasis Alexandri Book 4. 329 BC Jaxartes Ancient