From the period of these events, which occurred about 350 years before Christ, till the reign of Alexander the Great, the Rhodians enjoyed profound and uninterrupted tranquillity; their commerce extended, and their wealth encreased.  To this conqueror they offered no resistance, but of their own accord surrendered their cities and harbours; as soon, however, as they learnt that he was dead, they resumed their independence.  About this time the greater part of their city was destroyed by a dreadful inundation, which would have swept the whole of it away, if the wall between it and the sea had not been broken down by the force of the waters, and thus given them free passage.  This misfortune seems only to have encouraged the inhabitants to attend still more closely and diligently to commerce, which they carried on with so much industry and skill, and in such a profitable manner, that they soon rebuilt their city, and repaired all the losses they had sustained.  Their alliance was courted by all their neighbours; but they resolved to adhere to a strict neutrality, and thus, while war raged among other nations, they were enabled to profit by that very circumstance, and thus became one of the most opulent states of all Asia.  Their commerce, as well as that of all the states on the Mediterranean, being much molested and injured by the pirates, they undertook, of their own accord, and at their own expence, to root them out; and in this they completely succeeded.

But that commerce, on account of which they were so very anxious to keep at peace, involved them in war.  Their most lucrative trade was with Egypt.  When hostilities began between Ptolemy and Antigonus, the latter insisted that they should join him; this they refused to do; upon which his fleet blockaded Rhodes, to prevent their commerce with Egypt.  The Rhodians were thus compelled to act against him in their own defence, in order to free their harbour.  The raising of the blockade, and the defeat of his fleet, incensed Antiochus; and to the remonstrances and entreaties of the Rhodians to be permitted to remain at peace, he replied, “that they must declare war against Ptolemy, admit his fleet into their harbour, and give hostages for the performance of these articles.”  War now was inevitable, and great preparations for it were made on both sides:  the attack on the city was committed by Antigonus to his son Demetrius; for this purpose he collected a fleet of 200 ships of war, 170 transports with 40,000 men on board, and 1000 vessels laden with provisions, stores, warlike engines, etc.  This immense armament was composed partly of pirates and mercenaries, who were induced to join Demetrius, by the hope of partaking in the plunder of Rhodes.  It is foreign to our purpose to enter on the details of this memorable siege:  the Rhodians trusted principally to their own valour and resources; from Ptolemy, however, they received most ample and seasonable supplies of provisions:  at one time he sent them 300,000 measures of corn; a few days afterwards Cassandra sent them 100,000 bushels of barley, and Lysimachus 400,000 bushels of corn, and as many of barley:  these supplies, the valour of the inhabitants, and the ill success of some new and immense engines, on which Demetrius had mainly depended, at length induced him to raise the siege and make peace with the Rhodians.