Introduction:
Xenophon's vivid eyewitness account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries who lost the war to Iranians under Cyrus the Younger.
Xenophon's Anabasis is an engrossing tale of remarkable adventures, as the Greeks retreated through inhospitable lands from the gates of Babylon back to the coast after Cyrus' death, also it is an invaluable source on Greek and Iranian military forces.
Book 1 Section 1
[1.1.1] Darius and Parysatis had two sons born
to them, of whom the elder was Artaxerxes and the younger Cyrus.1 Now when
Darius lay sick and suspected that the end of his life was near, he wished
to have both his sons with him. [1.1.2] The elder, as it chanced, was with
him already; but Cyrus he summoned from the province over which he had
made him satrap, and he had also appointed him commander of all the forces
that muster in the plain of Castolus.1 Cyrus accordingly went up2 to his
father, taking with him Tissaphernes as a friend and accompanied by three
hundred Greek hoplites,3 under the command of Xenias of Parrhasia.
[1.1.3] When Darius had died and Artaxerxes
had become established as king, Tissaphernes falsely accused Cyrus to his
brother of plotting against him. And Artaxerxes, believing the accusation,
arrested Cyrus, with the intention of putting him to death; his mother,
however, made intercession for him, and sent him back again to his
province. [1.1.4] Now when Cyrus had thus returned, after his danger and
disgrace, he set about planning that he might never again be in the power
of his brother, but, if possible, might be king in his stead. He had, in
the first place, the support of Parysatis, his mother, for she loved him
better than the son who was king, Artaxerxes. [1.1.5] Again, when any of
the King's court came to visit him, he treated them all in such a way that
when he sent them back they were more devoted to him than to the King. He
also took care that the people of his own province should be capable
soldiers and should feel kindly toward him. [1.1.6] Lastly, as regards his
Greek force, he proceeded to collect it with the utmost secrecy, so that
he might take the King as completely unprepared as possible.It was in the
following way, then, that he gathered this force: In the first place, he
sent orders to the commanders of all the garrisons he had in the cities to
enlist as many Peloponnesian soldiers of the best sort as they severally
could, on the plea that Tissaphernes had designs upon their cities. For,
in fact, the Ionian cities had originally belonged to Tissaphernes, by
gift of the King,1 but at that time all of them except Miletus had
revolted and gone over to Cyrus. [1.1.7] The people of Miletus also were
planning to do the very same thing, namely, to go over to Cyrus, but
Tissaphernes, finding out about it in time, put some of them to death and
banished others. Cyrus thereupon took the exiles under his protection,
collected an army, and laid siege to Miletus both by land and by sea, and
endeavoured to restore the exiles to their city; and this, again, made him
another pretext for gathering an army. [1.1.8] Meanwhile he sent to the
King and urged, on the ground that he was his brother, that these Ionian
cities should be given to him instead of remaining under the rule of
Tissaphernes, and his mother co-operated with him in this. The result was
that the King failed to perceive the plot against himself, but believed
that Cyrus was spending money on his troops because he was at war with
Tissaphernes. Consequently he was not at all displeased at their being at
war, the less so because Cyrus regularly remitted to the King the tribute
which came in from the cities he chanced to have that belonged to
Tissaphernes.
[1.1.9] Still another army was being collected
for him in the Chersonese which is opposite Abydus, in the following
manner: Clearchus1 was a Lacedaemonian exile; Cyrus, making his
acquaintance, came to admire him, and gave him ten thousand darics.2 And
Clearchus, taking the gold, collected an army by means of this money, and
using the Chersonese as a base of operations, proceeded to make war upon
the Thracians who dwell beyond the Hellespont, thereby aiding the Greeks.3
Consequently, the Hellespontine cities of their own free will sent
Clearchus contributions of money for the support of his troops. So it was
that this army also was being secretly maintained for Cyrus.
[1.1.10] Again, Aristippus the Thessalian
chanced to be a friend of Cyrus, and since he was hard pressed by his
political opponents at home, he came to Cyrus and asked him for three
months' pay for two thousand mercenaries, urging that in this way he
should get the better of his opponents. And Cyrus gave him six months' pay
for four thousand, and requested him not to come to terms with his
opponents until he had consulted with him. Thus the army in Thessaly,
again, was being secretly maintained for him.
[1.1.11] Furthermore, Cyrus directed Proxenus
the Boeotian, who was a friend of his, to come to him with as many men as
he could get, saying that he wished to undertake a campaign against the
Pisidians, because, as he said, they were causing trouble to his province.
He also directed Sophaenetus the Stymphalian and Socrates the Achaean, who
were likewise friends of his, to come with as many men as they could get,
saying that he intended to make war upon Tissaphernes with the aid of the
Milesian exiles; and they proceeded to carry out his directions.
[1.2.1] When he thought the time had come to
begin his upward1 march, the pretext he offered was that he wished to
drive the Pisidians out of his land entirely, and it was avowedly against
them that he set about collecting both his Persian and his Greek troops.
At that time he also sent word to Clearchus to come to him with the entire
army which he had, and to Aristippus to effect a reconciliation with his
adversaries at home and send him the army which he had; and he sent word
to Xenias the Arcadian, who commanded for him the mercenary force in the
cities,2 to come with his troops, leaving behind only so many as were
necessary to garrison the citadels. [1.2.2] He likewise summoned the
troops which were besieging Miletus, and urged the Milesian exiles to take
the field with him, promising them that, if he should successfully
accomplish the object for which he was taking the field, he would not stop
until he had restored them to their homes. And they gladly obeyed--for
they trusted him--and presented themselves, under arms, at Sardis.
[1.2.3] Xenias, then, arrived at Sardis with
the troops from the cities, who were hoplites to the number of four
thousand; Proxenus was there with hoplites to the number of fifteen
hundred, and five hundred light-armed troops; Sophaenetus the Stymphalian
with a thousand hoplites; Socrates the Achaean with about five hundred
hoplites; and Pasion the Megarian arrived with three hundred hoplites and
three hundred peltasts.1 The last-named, and Socrates also, belonged to
the force that had been engaged in besieging Miletus. All these came to
Cyrus at Sardis.
[1.2.4] Meanwhile Tissaphernes had taken note
of these proceedings and come to the conclusion that Cyrus' preparations
were too extensive to be against the Pisidians; he accordingly made his
way to the King as quickly as he could, with about five hundred horsemen.
[1.2.5] And when the King heard from Tissaphernes about Cyrus' array, he
set about making counter-preparations.Cyrus was now setting forth from
Sardis with the troops I have mentioned; and he marched through Lydia
three stages,1 a distance of twenty-two parasangs,2 to the Maeander river.
The width of this river was two plethra,3 and there was a bridge over it
made of seven boats. [1.2.6] After crossing the Maeander he marched
through Phrygia one stage, a distance of eight parasangs, to Colossae, an
inhabited1 city, prosperous and large. There he remained seven days; and
Menon2 the Thessalian arrived, with a thousand hoplites and five hundred
peltasts, consisting of Dolopians, Aenianians, and Olynthians. [1.2.7]
Thence he marched three stages, twenty parasangs, to Celaenae, an
inhabited city of Phrygia, large and prosperous. There Cyrus had a palace
and a large park full of wild animals, which he used to hunt on horseback
whenever he wished to give himself and his horses exercise. Through the
middle of this park flows the Maeander river; its sources are beneath the
palace, and it flows through the city of Celaenae also. [1.2.8] There is
likewise a palace of the Great King1 in Celaenae, sfortified and situated
at the foot of the Acropolis over the sources of the Marsyas river; the
Marsyas also flows through the city, and empties into the Maeander, and
its width is twenty-five feet. It was here, according to the story, that
Apollo flayed Marsyas,2 after having defeated him in a contest of musical
skill; he hung up his skin in the cave from which the sources issue, and
it is for this reason that the river is called Marsyas. [1.2.9] It was
here also, report has it, that Xerxes, when he was on his retreat from
Greece after losing the famous battle,1 built the palace just mentioned
and likewise the citadel of Celaenae. Here Cyrus remained thirty days; and
Clearchus, the Lacedaemonian exile, arrived, with a thousand hoplites,
eight hundred Thracian peltasts, and two hundred Cretan bowmen. At the
same time came also Sosis the Syracusan with three hundred hoplites and
Agias the Arcadian with a thousand hoplites. And here Cyrus held a review
and made an enumeration of the Greeks in the park, and they amounted all
told to eleven thousand hoplites and about two thousand peltasts.2
[1.2.10] Thence he marched two stages, ten
parasangs, to Peltae, an inhabited city. There he remained three days,
during which time Xenias the Arcadian celebrated the Lycaean1 festival
with sacrifice and held games; the prizes were golden strigils, and Cyrus
himself was one of those who watched the games. Thence he marched two
stages, twelve parasangs, to the inhabited city of Ceramon-agora,2 the
last Phrygian city as one goes toward Mysia. [1.2.11] Thence he marched
three stages, thirty parasangs, to Caystru-pedion,1 an inhabited city.
There he remained five days. At this time he was owing the soldiers more
than three months' pay, and they went again and again to his headquarters
and demanded what was due them. He all the while expressed hopes, and was
manifestly troubled; for it was not Cyrus' way to withhold payment when he
had money. [1.2.12] At this juncture arrived Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis,
the king1 of the Cilicians, coming to visit Cyrus, and the story was that
she gave him a large sum of money; at any rate, Cyrus paid the troops at
that time four months' wages. The Cilician queen was attended by a
body-guard of Cilicians and Aspendians; and people said that Cyrus had
intimate relations with the queen.
[1.2.13] Thence he marched two stages, ten
parasangs, to the inhabited city of Thymbrium. There, alongside the road,
was the so-called spring of Midas, the king of the Phrygians, at which
Midas, according to the story, caught the satyr by mixing wine with the
water of the spring.1 [1.2.14] Thence he marched two stages, ten parasangs,
to Tyriaeum, an inhabited city. There he remained three days. And the
Cilician queen, as the report ran, asked Cyrus to exhibit his army to her;
such an exhibition was what he desired to make, and accordingly he held a
review of the Greeks and the Persians on the plain. [1.2.15] He ordered
the Greeks to form their lines and take their positions just as they were
accustomed to do for battle, each general marshalling his own men. So they
formed the line four deep, Menon and his troops occupying the right wing,
Clearchus and his troops the left, and the other generals the centre.
[1.2.16] Cyrus inspected the Persians first, and they marched past with
their cavalry formed in troops and their infantry in companies; then he
inspected the Greeks, driving past them in a chariot, the Cilician queen
in a carriage. And the Greeks all had helmets of bronze, crimson tunics,
and greaves, and carried their shields uncovered. [1.2.17] When he had
driven past them all, he halted his chariot in front of the centre of the
phalanx, and sending his interpreter Pigres to the generals of the Greeks,
gave orders that the troops should advance arms and the phalanx move
forward in a body. The generals transmitted these orders to the soldiers,
and when the trumpet sounded, they advanced arms and charged. And then, as
they went on faster and faster, at length with a shout the troops broke
into a run of their own accord, in the direction of the camp. [1.2.18] As
for the Persians, they were terribly frightened; the Cilician queen took
to flight in her carriage, and the people in the market1 left their wares
behind and took to their heels; while the Greeks with a roar of laughter
came up to their camp. Now the Cilician queen was filled with admiration
at beholding the brilliant appearance and the order of the Greek army; and
Cyrus was delighted to see the terror with which the Greeks inspired the
Persians.
[1.2.19] Thence he marched three stages,
twenty parasangs, to Iconium, the last city of Phrygia. There he remained
three days. Thence he marched through Lycaonia five stages, thirty
parasangs. This country he gave over to the Greeks to plunder, on the
ground that it was hostile territory.1 [1.2.20] From there Cyrus sent the
Cilician queen back to Cilicia by the shortest route, and he sent some of
Menon's troops to escort her, Menon himself commanding them. With the rest
of the army Cyrus marched through Cappadocia four stages, twenty-five
parasangs, to Dana, an inhabited city, large and prosperous. There they
remained three days; and during that time Cyrus put to death a Persian
named Megaphernes, who was a wearer of the royal purple,1 and another
dignitary among his subordinates, on the charge that they were plotting
against him.
[1.2.21] From there they made ready to try to
enter Cilicia. Now the entrance was by a wagon-road, exceedingly steep and
impracticable for an army to pass if there was anybody to oppose it; and
in fact, as report ran, Syennesis was upon the heights, guarding the
entrance; therefore Cyrus remained for a day in the plain. On the
following day, however, a messenger came with word that Syennesis had
abandoned the heights, because he had learned that Menon's army was
already in Cilicia, on his own side of the mountains, and because,
further, he was getting reports that triremes belonging to the
Lacedaemonians1 and to Cyrus himself were sailing around from Ionia to
Cilicia under the command of Tamos. [1.2.22] At any rate1 Cyrus climbed
the mountains without meeting any opposition, and saw the camp where the
Cilicians had been keeping guard. Thence he descended to a large and
beautiful plain, well-watered and full of trees of all sorts and vines; it
produces an abundance of sesame, millet, panic, wheat, and barley, and it
is surrounded on every side, from sea to sea, by a lofty and formidable
range of mountains. [1.2.23] After descending he marched through this
plain four stages, twenty-five parasangs, to Tarsus,1 a large and
prosperous city of Cilicia, where the palace of Syennesis, the king of the
Cilicians, was situated; and through the middle of the city flows a river
named the Cydnus, two plethra in width. [1.2.24] The inhabitants of this
city had abandoned it and fled, with Syennesis, to a stronghold upon the
mountains--all of them, at least, except the tavern-keepers; and there
remained also those who dwelt on the sea-coast, in Soli and Issus.1
[1.2.25] Now Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis,
had reached Tarsus five days ahead of Cyrus, but in the course of her
passage over the mountains to the plain two companies of Menon's army1 had
been lost. Some said that they had been cut to pieces by the Cilicians
while engaged in a bit of plundering; another story was that they had been
left behind, and, unable to find the rest of the army or the roads, had
thus wandered about and perished; at any rate, they numbered a hundred
hoplites. [1.2.26] And when the rest of Menon's troops reached Tarsus, in
their anger over the loss of their comrades they plundered thoroughly, not
only the city, but also the palace that was in it. As for Cyrus, after he
had marched into the city he more than once summoned Syennesis to his
presence; but Syennesis said that he had never yet put himself in the
hands of anyone who was more powerful than he was, and he would not now
put himself in the hands of Cyrus until his wife had won him over and he
had received pledges. [1.2.27] When the two men finally met one another,
Syennesis gaCyrus a large sum of money for his army, while Cyrus gave him
gifts which are regarded at court1 as tokens of honour--a horse with a
gold-mounted bridle, a gold necklace and bracelets, a gold dagger and a
Persian robe--promising him, further, that his land should not be
plundered any more and that they might take back the slaves that had been
seized in case they should chance upon them anywhere.
[1.3.1] Cyrus and his army remained here at
Tarsus twenty days, for the soldiers refused to go any farther; for they
suspected by this time that they were going against the King, and they
said they had not been hired for that. Clearchus was the first to try to
force his men to go on, but they pelted him and his pack-animals with
stones as often as they began to go forward. [1.3.2] At that time
Clearchus narrowly escaped being stoned to death; but afterwards, when he
realized that he could not accomplish anything by force, he called a
meeting of his own troops. And first he stood and wept for a long time,
while his men watched him in wonder and were silent; then he spoke as
follows:
[1.3.3] "Fellow-soldiers, do not wonder that I
am distressed at the present situation. For Cyrus became my friend and not
only honoured me, an exile from my fatherland, in various ways, but gave
me ten thousand darics. And I, receiving this money, did not lay it up for
my own personal use or squander it in pleasure, but I proceeded to expend
it on you. [1.3.4] First I went to war with the Thracians, and for the
sake of Greece I inflicted punishment upon them with your aid, driving
them out of the Chersonese when they wanted to deprive the Greeks who
dwelt there of their land. Then when Cyrus' summons came, I took you with
me and set out, in order that, if he had need of me, I might give him aid
in return for the benefits I had received from him. [1.3.5] But you now do
not wish to continue the march with me; so it seems that I must either
desert you and continue to enjoy Cyrus' friendship, or prove false to him
and remain with you. Whether I shall be doing what is right, I know not,
but at any rate I shall choose you and with you shall suffer whatever I
must. And never shall any man say that I, after leading Greeks into the
land of the Persians, betrayed the Greeks and chose the friendship of the
Persians; [1.3.6] nay, since you do not care to obey me, I shall follow
with you and suffer whatever I must. For I consider that you are to me
both fatherland and friends and allies; with you I think I shall be
honoured wherever I may be, bereft of you I do not think I shall be able
either to aid a friend or to ward off a foe. Be sure, therefore, that
wherever you go, I shall go also."
[1.3.7] Such were his words. And the
soldiers--not only his own men, but the rest also--when they heard that he
said he would not go on to the King's capital, commended him; and more
than two thousand of the troops under Xenias and Pasion took their arms
and their baggage train and encamped with Clearchus. [1.3.8] But Cyrus,
perplexed and distressed by this situation, sent repeatedly for Clearchus.
Clearchus refused to go to him, but without the knowledge of the soldiers
he sent a messenger and told him not to be discouraged, because, he said,
this matter would be settled in the right way. He directed Cyrus, however,
to keep on sending for him, though he himself, he said, would refuse to
go.
[1.3.9] After this Clearchus gathered together
his own soldiers, those who had come over to him, and any others who
wanted to be present, and spoke as follows: "Fellow-soldiers, it is clear
that the relation of Cyrus to us is precisely the same as ours to him;
that is, we are no longer his soldiers, since we decline to follow him,
and likewise he is no longer our paymaster. [1.3.10] I know, however, that
he considers himself wronged by us. Therefore, although he keeps sending
for me, I decline to go, chiefly, it is true, from a feeling of shame,
because I am conscious that I have proved utterly false to him, but,
besides that, from fear that he may seize me and inflict punishment upon
me for the wrongs he thinks he has suffered at my hands. [1.3.11] In my
opinion, therefore, it is no time for us to be sleeping or unconcerned
about ourselves; we should rather be considering what course we ought to
follow under the present circumstances. And so long as we remain here we
must consider, I think, how we can remain most safely; or, again, if we
count it best to depart at once, how we are to depart most safely and how
we shall secure provisions--for without provisions neither general nor
private is of any use. [1.3.12] And remember that while this Cyrus is a
valuable friend when he is your friend, he is a most dangerous foe when he
is your enemy; furthermore, he has an armament--infantry and cavalry and
fleet--which we all alike see and know about; for I take it that our camp
is not very far away from him. It is time, then, to propose whatever plan
any one of you deems best." With these words he ceased speaking.
[1.3.13] Thereupon various speakers arose,
some of their own accord to express the opinions they held, but others at
the instigation of Clearchus to make clear the difficulty of either
remaining or departing without the consent of Cyrus. [1.3.14] One man in
particular, pretending to be in a hurry to proceed back to Greece with all
speed, proposed that they should choose other generals as quickly as
possible, in case Clearchus did not wish to lead them back; secondly, that
they should buy provisions--the market was in the Persian army!--and pack
up their baggage; then, to go to Cyrus and ask for vessels to sail away
in; and if he would not give them vessels, to ask him for a guide to lead
them homeward through a country that was friendly; and if he would not
give them a guide, either, to form in line of battle with all speed and
likewise to send a force to occupy the mountain heights in advance, in
order that neither Cyrus nor the Cilicians should forestall them--"and we
have in our possession," he said, "many of these Cilicians and much of
their property that we have seized as plunder." Such were the words of
this speaker.
[1.3.15] After him Clearchus said merely this:
"Let no one among you speak of me as the man who is to hold this command,
for I see many reasons why I should not do so; say rather that I shall
obey to the best of my ability the man whom you choose, in order that you
may know that I understand as well as any other person in the world how to
be a subordinate also." [1.3.16] After he had spoken another man arose to
point out the foolishness of the speaker who had urged them to ask for
vessels, just as if Cyrus were going home again, and to point out also how
foolish it was to ask for a guide "from this man whose enterprise we are
ruining. Indeed, if we propose to trust the guide that Cyrus gives us,
what is to hinder us from directing Cyrus also to occupy the heights for
us in advance? [1.3.17] For my part, I should hesitate to embark on the
vessels that he might give us, for fear of his sinking us with his
war-ships, and I should be afraid to follow the guide that he might give,
for fear of his leading us to a place from which it will not be possible
to escape; my choice would be, in going off without Cyrus' consent, to go
off without his knowledge--and that is not possible. [1.3.18] Now in my
own opinion the plans just proposed are nonsense; rather, I think we
should send to Cyrus men of the proper sort, along with Clearchus, to ask
him what use he wishes to make of us; and if his enterprise is like the
sort of one in which he employed mercenaries before,1 I think that we also
should follow him and not be more cowardly than those who went up with him
on the former occasion; [1.3.19] if, however, his enterprise is found to
be greater and more laborious and more dangerous than the former one, we
ought to demand that he should either offer sufficient persuasion1 and
lead us on with him, or yield to our persuasion and let us go home in
friendship; for in this way, if we should follow him, we shfollow as
friends and zealous supporters, and if we should go back, we should go
back in safety. I propose, further, that our representatives should report
back to us whatever reply he may make, and that we after hearing it should
deliberate about the matter."
[1.3.20] This plan was adopted, and they chose
representatives and sent them with Clearchus; and they proceeded to put to
Cyrus the questions resolved upon by the army. He replied that he had
heard that Abrocomas, a foe of his, was at the Euphrates river, twelve
stages distant. It was against him, therefore, he said, that he desired to
march. And if he were there, he wished to inflict due punishment upon him;
"but if he has fled," he continued, "we will deliberate about the matter
then and there." [1.3.21] Upon hearing this reply the deputies reported it
to the soldiers, and they, while suspecting that Cyrus was leading them
against the King, nevertheless thought it best to follow him. They asked,
however, for more pay, and Cyrus promised to give them all half as much
again as they had been receiving before, namely, a daric and a half a
month to each man instead of a daric; but as regards the suspicion that he
was leading them against the King, no one heard it expressed even then--at
any rate, not openly.
[1.4.1] Thence he marched two stages, ten
parasangs, to the Psarus river, the width of which was three plethra. From
there he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the Pyramus river, the
width of which was a stadium.1 From there he marched two stages, fifteen
parasangs, to Issus, the last city in Cilicia, a place situated on the
sea, and large and prosperous. [1.4.2] There they remained three days; and
the ships from Peloponnesus1 arrived to meet Cyrus, thirty-five in number,
with Pythagoras the Lacedaemonian as admiral in command of them. They had
been guided from Ephesus to Issus by Tamos the Egyptian, who was at the
head of another fleet of twenty-five ships belonging to Cyrus--these
latter being the ships with which Tamos had besieged Miletus, at the time
when it was friendly to Tissaphernes,2 and had supported Cyrus in his war
upon Tissaphernes. [1.4.3] Cheirisophus the Lacedaemonian also arrived
with this fleet, coming in response to Cyrus' summons,1 together with
seven hundred hoplites, over whom he continued to hold command in the army
of Cyrus. And the ships lay at anchor alongside Cyrus' tent. It was at
Issus also that the Greek mercenaries who had been in the service of
Abrocomas--four hundred hoplites--joined Cyrus, after deserting Abrocomas,
and so bore a share in his expedition against the King.
[1.4.4] Thence he marched one stage, five
parasangs, to the Gates between Cilicia and Syria. These Gates consisted
of two walls; the one on the hither, or Cilician, side was held by
Syennesis and a garrison of Cilicians, while the one on the farther, the
Syrian, side was reported to be guarded by a garrison of the King's
troops. And in the space between these walls flows a river named the
Carsus, a plethrum in width. The entire distance from one wall to the
other was three stadia; and it was not possible to effect a passage by
force, for the pass was narrow, the walls reached down to the sea, and
above the pass were precipitous rocks, while, besides, there were towers
upon both the walls. [1.4.5] It was because of this pass that Cyrus had
sent for the fleet, in order that he might disembark hoplites between and
beyond the walls and thus overpower the enemy if they should be keeping
guard at the Syrian Gates--and that was precisely what Cyrus supposed
Abrocomas would do, for he had a large army. Abrocomas, however, did not
do so, but as soon as he heard that Cyrus was in Cilicia, he turned about
in his journey from Phoenicia1 and marched off to join the King, with an
army, so the report ran, of three hundred thousand men.
[1.4.6] Thence Cyrus marched one stage, five
parasangs, to Myriandus, a city on the sea coast, inhabited by
Phoenicians; it was a trading place, and many merchant ships were lying at
anchor there. There he remained seven days; [1.4.7] and Xenias the
Arcadian and Pasion the Megarian embarked upon a ship, put on board their
most valuable effects, and sailed away; they were moved to do this, as
most people thought, by a feeling of jealous pride, because their soldiers
had gone over to Clearchus1 with the intention of going back to Greece
again instead of proceeding against the King, and Cyrus had allowed
Clearchus to keep them. After they had disappeared, a report went round
that Cyrus was pursuing them with warships; and while some people prayed
that they might be captured, because, as they said, they were cowards, yet
others felt pity for them if they should be caught.
[1.4.8] Cyrus, however, called the generals
together and said: "Xenias and Pasion have deserted us. But let them,
nevertheless, know full well that they have not escaped from me--either by
stealth, for I know in what direction they have gone, or by speed, for I
have men-of-war with which I can overtake their craft. But for my part, I
swear by the gods that I shall not pursue them, nor shall anyone say about
me that I use a man so long as he is with me and then, when he wants to
leave me, seize him and maltreat him and despoil him of his possessions.
Nay, let them go, with the knowledge that their behaviour toward us is
worse than ours toward them. To be sure, I have their wives and children
under guard in Tralles,1 but I shall not deprive them of these, either,
for they shall receive them back because of their former excellence in my
service." [1.4.9] Such were his words; as for the Greeks, even those who
had been somewhat despondent in regard to the upward march, when they
heard of the magnanimity of Cyrus they continued on their way with greater
satisfaction and eagerness.After this Cyrus marched four stages, twenty
parasangs, to the Chalus river, which is a plethrum in width and full of
large, tame fish; these fish the Syrians regarded as gods, and they would
not allow anyone to harm them, or the doves, either.1 And the villages in
which the troops encamped belonged to Parysatis, for they had been given
her for girdle-money.2 [1.4.10] From there Cyrus marched five stages,
thirty parasangs, to the sources of the Dardas river, the width of which
is a plethrum. There was the palace of Belesys, the late ruler of Syria,
and a very large and beautiful park containing all the products of the
seasons. But Cyrus cut down the park and burned the palace. [1.4.11]
Thence he marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Euphrates river,
the width of which was four stadia; and on the river was situated a large
and prosperous city named Thapsacus. There he remained five days. And
Cyrus summoned the generals of the Greeks and told them that the march was
to be to Babylon, against the Great King; he directed them, accordingly,
to explain this to the soldiers and try to persuade them to follow.
[1.4.12] So the generals called an assembly and made this announcement;
and the soldiers were angry with the generals, and said that they had
known about this for a long time, but had been keeping it from the troops;
furthermore, they refused to go on unless they were given money,1 as were
the men who made the journey with Cyrus before,2 when he went to visit his
father; they had received the donation, even though they marched, not to
battle, but merely because Cyrus' father summoned him. [1.4.13] All these
things the generals reported back to Cyrus, and he promised that he would
give every man five minas1 in silver when they reached Babylon and their
pay in full until he brought the Greeks back to Ionia again.2 By these
promises the greater part of the Greek army was persuaded.But as for Menon,
before it was clear what the rest of the soldiers would do, that is,
whether they would follow Cyrus or not, he gathered together his own
troops apart from the others and spoke as follows: [1.4.14] "Soldiers, if
you will obey me, you will, without either danger or toil, be honoured by
Cyrus above and beyond the rest of the troops. , then, do I direct you to
do? At this moment Cyrus is begging the Greeks to follow him against the
King; my own plan, then, is that you should cross the Euphrates river
before it is clear what answer the rest of the Greeks will make to Cyrus.
[1.4.15] For if they vote to follow him, it is you who will get the credit
for that decision because you began the crossing, and Cyrus will not only
feel grateful to you, regarding you as the most zealous in his cause, but
he will return the favour--and he knows how to do that if any man does; on
the other hand, if the rest vote not to follow him, we shall all go back
together, but you, as the only ones who were obedient, are the men he will
employ, not only for garrison duty,1 but for captaincies; and whatever
else you may desire, I know that you, as friends of Cyrus, will secure
from him." [1.4.16] Upon hearing these words the soldiers were persuaded,
and made the crossing before the rest gave their answer. When Cyrus
learned that they had crossed, he was delighted and sent Glus to the
troops with this message: "Soldiers, to-day I commend you; but I shall see
to it that you also shall have cause to commend me, else count me no
longer Cyrus." [1.4.17] So Menon's troops cherished high hopes and prayed
that he might be successful, while to Menon himself Cyrus was said to have
sent magnificent gifts besides. After so doing Cyrus proceeded to cross
the river, and the rest of the army followed him, to the last man. And in
the crossing no one was wetted above the breast by the water. [1.4.18] The
people of Thapsacus said that this river had never been passable on foot
except at this time, but only by boats; and these Abrocomas had now
burned, as he marched on ahead of Cyrus, in order to prevent him from
crossing. It seemed, accordingly, that here was a divine intervention, and
that the river had plainly retired before Cyrus because he was destined to
be king.
[1.4.19] Thence he marched through Syria nine
stages, fifty parasangs, and they arrived at the Araxes river. There they
found many villages full of grain and wine, and there they remained for
three days and provisioned the army.
[1.5.1] Thence he marched through Arabia,
keeping the Euphrates on the right, five stages through desert country,
thirty-five parasangs. In this region the ground was an unbroken plain, as
level as the sea, and full of wormwood; and whatever else there was on the
plain by way of shrub or reed, was always fragrant, like spices; [1.5.2]
trees there were none, but wild animals of all sorts, vast numbers of wild
asses and many ostriches, besides bustards and gazelles. These animals
were sometimes chased by the horsemen. As for the asses, whenever one
chased them, they would run on ahead and stop--for they ran much faster
than the horses--and then, when the horses came near, they would do the
same thing again, and it was impossible to catch them unless the horsemen
posted themselves at intervals and hunted them in relays. The flesh of
those that were captured was like venison, but more tender. [1.5.3] But no
ostrich was captured by anyone, and any horseman who chased one speedily
desisted; for it would distance him at once in its flight, not merely
plying its feet, but hoisting its wings and using them like a sail. The
bustards, on the other hand, can be caught if one is quick in starting
them up, for they fly only a short distance, like partridges, and soon
tire; and their flesh was delicious.
[1.5.4] Marching on through this region they
arrived at the Mascas river, which is a plethrum in width. There, in the
desert, was a large city named Corsote, completely surrounded by the
Mascas. [1.5.5] There they remained three days and provisioned the army.
Thence Cyrus marched thirteen stages through desert country, ninety
parasangs, keeping the Euphrates river on the right, and arrived at Pylae.
In the course of these stages many of the baggage animals died of hunger,
for there was no fodder and, in fact, no growing thing of any kind, but
the land was absolutely bare; and the people who dwelt here made a living
by quarrying mill-stones along the river banks, then fashioning them and
taking them to Babylon, where they sold them and bought grain in exchange.
[1.5.6] As for the troops, their supply of grain gave out, and it was not
possible to buy any except in the Lydian1 market attached to the Persian
army of Cyrus,2 at the price of four sigli for a capith of wheat flour or
barley meal. The siglus is worth seven and one-half Attic obols, and the
capith had the capacity of two Attic choenices.3 The soldiers therefore
managed to subsist by eating meat.4 [1.5.7] And Cyrus sometimes made these
stages through the desert very long, whenever he wanted to reach water or
fresh fodder.Once in particular, when they came upon a narrow, muddy place
which was hard for the wagons to get through, Cyrus halted with his train
of nobles and dignitaries and ordered Glus and Pigres to take some of the
Persian troops and help to pull the wagons out. [1.5.8] But it seemed to
him that they took their time with the work; accordingly, as if in anger,
he directed the Persian nobles who accompanied him to take a hand in
hurrying on the wagons. And then one might have beheld a sample of good
discipline: they each threw off their purple cloaks where they chanced to
be standing, and rushed, as a man would run to win a victory, down a most
exceedingly steep hill, wearing their costly tunics and coloured trousers,
some of them, indeed, with necklaces around their necks and bracelets on
their arms; and leaping at once, with all this finery, into the mud, they
lifted the wagons high and dry and brought them out more quickly than one
would have thought possible. [1.5.9] In general, it was clear that Cyrus
was in haste throughout the whole journey and was making no delays, except
where he halted to procure provisions or for some other necessary purpose;
his thought was that the faster he went, the more unprepared the King
would be to fight with him, while, on the other hand, the slower he went,
the greater would be the army that was gathering for the King.
Furthermore, one who observed closely could see at a glance that while the
King's empire was strong in its extent of territory and number of
inhabitants, it was weak by reason of the greatness of the distances and
the scattered condition of its forces, in case one should be swift in
making his attack upon it.
[1.5.10] Across the Euphrates river in the
course of these desert marches was a large and prosperous city named
Charmande, and here the soldiers made purchases of provisions, crossing
the river on rafts in the following way: they took skins which they had
for tent covers, filled them with hay, and then brought the edges together
and sewed them up, so that the water could not touch the hay; on these
they would cross and get provisions--wine made from the date of the palm
tree and bread made of millet, for this grain was very abundant in the
country.
[1.5.11] There one of Menon's soldiers and one
of Clearchus' men had some dispute, and Clearchus, deciding that Menon's
man was in the wrong, gave him a flogging. The man then went to his own
army and told about it, and when his comrades heard of the matter, they
took it hard and were exceedingly angry with Clearchus. [1.5.12] On the
same day Clearchus, after going to the place where they crossed the river
and there inspecting the market, was riding back to his own tent through
Menon's army, having only a few men with him; and Cyrus had not yet
arrived, but was still on the march toward the place; and one of Menon's
soldiers who was splitting wood threw his axe at Clearchus when he saw him
riding through the camp. Now this man missed him, but another threw a
stone at him, and still another, and then, after an outcry had been
raised, many. [1.5.13] Clearchus escaped to his own army and at once
called his troops to arms; he ordered his hoplites to remain where they
were, resting their shields against their knees,1 while he himself with
the Thracians2 and the horsemen, of which he had in his army more than
forty, most of them Thracians, advaupon Menon's troops; the result was
that these and Menon himself were thoroughly frightened and ran to their
arms, though there were some who stood stock-still, nonplussed by the
situation. [1.5.14] But Proxenus--for he chanced to be now coming up,
later than the others, with a battalion of hoplites following
him--straightway led his troops into the space between the two parties,
halted them under arms, and began to beg Clearchus not to proceed with his
attack. Clearchus, however, was angry, because, when he had barely escaped
being stoned to death, Proxenus was talking lightly of his grievance, and
he ordered him to remove himself from between them. [1.5.15] At this
moment Cyrus also came up and learned about the situation, and he
immediately took his spears in his hands and, attended by such of his
counsellors as were present, came riding into the intervening space and
spoke as follows: [1.5.16] "Clearchus, and Proxenus, and all you other
Greeks who are here, you know not what you are doing. For as certainly as
you come to fighting with one another, you may be sure that on this very
day I shall be instantly cut to pieces and yourselves not long after me;
for once let ill fortune overtake us, and all these Persians whom you see
will be more hostile to us than are those who stand with the King."
[1.5.17] On hearing these words Clearchus came to his senses, and both
parties ceased from their quarrel and returned to their quarters.
[1.6.1] As they went on from there, they kept
seeing tracks of horses and horses' dung. To all appearances it was the
trail of about two thousand horses, and the horsemen as they proceeded
were burning up fodder and everything else that was of any use. At this
time Orontas, a Persian, who was related to the King by birth and was
reckoned among the best of the Persians in matters of war, devised a plot
against Cyrus--in fact, he had made war upon him before this, but had
become his friend again. [1.6.2] He now said to Cyrus that if he would
give him a thousand horsemen, he would either ambush and kill these
horsemen who were burning ahead of him, or he would capture many of them
alive and put a stop to their burning as they advanced; and he would see
to it that they should never be able to behold Cyrus' army and get to the
King with their report. When Cyrus heard this plan, it seemed to him to be
an expedient one, and he directed Orontas to get a detachment from each
one of the cavalry commanders. [1.6.3] Then Orontas, thinking that his
horsemen were assured him, wrote a letter to the King saying that he would
come to him with as many horsemen as he could get; and he urged the King
to direct his own cavalry to receive him as a friend. The letter also
contained reminders of his former friendship and fidelity. This letter he
gave to a man whom he supposed to be faithful to him; but this man took it
and gave it to Cyrus. [1.6.4] When Cyrus had read it, he had Orontas
arrested, and summoned to his tent seven of the noblest Persians among his
attendants, while he ordered the Greek generals to bring up hoplites and
bid them station themselves under arms around his tent. And the generals
obeyed the order, bringing with them about three thousand hoplites.
[1.6.5] Clearchus was also invited into the
tent as a counsellor, for both Cyrus and the other Persians regarded him
as the man who was honoured above the rest of the Greeks. And when he came
out, he reported to his friends how Orontas' trial was conducted--for it
was no secret. [1.6.6] He said that Cyrus began the conference in this
way: "My friends, I have invited you here in order that I may consult with
you and then take such action in the case of Orontas here as is right in
the sight of gods and men. This man was given me at first by my father, to
be my subject; then, at the bidding, as he himself said, of my brother,
this man levied war upon me, holding the citadel of Sardis, and I, by the
war I waged against him, made him count it best to cease from warring upon
me, and I received and gave the hand-clasp of friendship. Since that," he
said, "Orontas, have I done you any wrong?" [1.6.7] "No," Orontas
answered. Cyrus went on questioning him: "Did you not afterwards,
although, as you yourself admit, you had suffered no wrong at my hands,
desert me for the Mysians, and do all the harm you could to my territory?"
"Yes," said Orontas. "Did you not," Cyrus said, "when once more you had
learned the slightness of your own power, go to the altar of Artemis and
say you were sorry, and did you not, after prevailing upon me to pardon
you, again give me pledges and receive pledges from me?" This also Orontas
admitted. [1.6.8] "What wrong, then," said Cyrus, "have you suffered at my
hands, that you now for the third time have been found plotting against
me?" When Orontas replied, "None," Cyrus asked him: "Do you admit, then,
that you have proved yourself a doer of wrong toward me?" "I cannot choose
but do so," said Orontas. Thereupon Cyrus asked again: "Then could you
henceforth prove yourself a foe to my brother and a faithful friend to
me?" "Even if I should do so Cyrus," he replied, "you could never after
this believe it of me." [1.6.9] Then Cyrus said to those who were present:
"Such have been this man's deeds, such are now his words; and now,
Clearchus, do you be the first of my counsellors to express the opinion
you hold." And Clearchus said: "My advice is to put this man out of the
way as speedily as possible, so that we may no longer have to be on our
guard against the fellow, but may be left free, so far as concerns him, to
requite with benefits these willing servants." [1.6.10] In this opinion
Clearchus said that the others also concurred.After this, he said, at the
bidding of Cyrus, every man of them arose, even Orontas' kinsmen, and took
him by the girdle, as a sign that he was condemned to death; and then
those to whom the duty was assigned led him out. And when the men who in
former days were wont to do him homage saw him, they made their obeisance
even then, although they knew that he was being led forth to death.
[1.6.11] Now after he had been conducted into the tent of Artapates, the
most faithful of Cyrus' chamberlains, from that moment no man ever saw
Orontas living or dead, nor could anyone say from actual knowledge how he
was put to death,--it was all conjectures, of one sort and another; and no
grave of his was ever seen.
[1.7.1] From there Cyrus marched through
Babylonia three stages, twelve parasangs. On the third stage he held a
review of the Greeks and the Persians on the plain at about midnight; for
he thought that at the next dawn the King would come with his army to do
battle; and he ordered Clearchus to act as commander of the right wing and
Menon of the left, while he himself marshalled his own troops. [1.7.2] On
the morning following the review, at daybreak, there came deserters from
the great King and brought reports to Cyrus about his army.At this time
Cyrus called together the generals and captains of the Greeks, and not
only took counsel with them as to how he should fight the battle, but, for
his own part, exhorted and encouraged them as follows: [1.7.3] "Men of
Greece, it is not because I have not Persians enough that I have brought
you hither to fight for me; but because I believe that you are braver and
stronger than many Persians, for this reason I took you also. Be sure,
therefore, to be men worthy of the freedom you possess, upon the
possession of which I congratulate you. For you may be certain that
freedom is the thing I should choose in preference to all that I have and
many times more. [1.7.4] And now, in order that you may know what sort of
a contest it is into which you are going, I who do know will tell you. Our
enemies have great numbers and they will come on with a great outcry; for
the rest, however, if you can hold out against these things, I am ashamed,
I assure you, to think what sorry fellows you will find the people of our
country to be. But if you be men and if my undertaking turn out well, I
shall make anyone among you who wishes to return home an object of envy to
friends at home upon his return, while I shall cause many of you, I
imagine, to choose life with me in preference to life at home."
[1.7.5] Hereupon Gaulites, a Samian exile who
was there and was in the confidence of Cyrus, said: "And yet, Cyrus, there
are those who say that your promises are big now because you are in such a
critical situation--for the danger is upon you--but that if any good
fortune befall, you will fail to remember them; and some say that even if
you should remember and have the will, you would not have the means to
make good all your promises." [1.7.6] Upon hearing these words Cyrus said:
"Well, gentlemen, my father's realm extends toward the south to a region
where men cannot dwell by reason of the heat, and to the north to a region
where they cannot dwell by reason of the cold; and all that lies between
these limits my brother's friends rule as satraps. [1.7.7] Now if we win
the victory, we must put our friends in control of these provinces. I
fear, therefore, not that I shall not have enough to give to each of my
friends, if success attends us, but that I shall not have enough friends
to give to. And as for you men of Greece, I shall give each one of you a
wreath of gold besides." [1.7.8] When they heard these words, the officers
were far more eager themselves and carried the news away with them to the
other Greeks. Then some of the others also sought Cyrus' presence,
demanding to know what they should have, in case of victory; and he
satisfied the expectations of every one of them before dismissing them.
[1.7.9] Now all alike who conversed with him urged him not to take part in
the fighting, but to station himself in their rear. Taking this
opportunity Clearchus asked Cyrus a question like this: "But do you think,
Cyrus, that your brother will fight with you?" "Yes, by Zeus," said Cyrus,
"if he is really a son of Darius and Parysatis and a brother of mine, I
shall not win this realm without fighting for it."
[1.7.10] At this time, when the troops were
marshalled under arms,1 the number of the Greeks was found to be ten
thousand four hundred hoplites, and two thousand five hundred peltasts,2
while the number of the Persians under Cyrus was one hundred thousand and
there were about twenty scythe-bearing chariots. [1.7.11] The enemy, it
was reported, numbered one million two hundred thousand1 and had two
hundred scythe-bearing chariots; besides, there was a troop of six
thousand horsemen, under the command of Artagerses, which was stationed in
front of the King himself. [1.7.12] And the King's army had four
commanders, each at the head of three hundred thousand men, namely,
Abrocomas, Tissaphernes, Gobryas, and Arbaces. But of the forces just
enumerated only nine hundred thousand, with one hundred and fifty
scythe-bearing chariots, were present at the battle; for Abrocomas,
marching from Phoenicia, arrived five days too late for the engagement.
[1.7.13] Such were the reports brought to Cyrus by those who deserted from
the Great King before the battle, and after the battle identical reports
were made by the prisoners taken thereafter.
[1.7.14] From there Cyrus marched one stage,
three parasangs, with his whole army, Greek and Persian alike, drawn up in
line of battle; for he supposed that on that day the King would come to an
engagement; for about midway of this day's march there was a deep trench,
five fathoms1 in width and three fathoms in depth. [1.7.15] This trench
extended up through the plain for a distance of twelve parasangs, reaching
to the wall of Media,1 [Here also are the canals, which flow from the
Tigris river; they are four in number, each a plethrum wide and
exceedingly deep, and grain-carrying ships ply in them; they empty into
the Euphrates and are a parsang apart, and there are bridges over them.]
and alongside the Euphrates there was a narrow passage, not more than
about twenty feet in width, between the river and the trench; [1.7.16] and
the trench1 had been constructed by the Great King as a means of defence
when he learned that Cyrus was marching against him. Accordingly Cyrus and
his army went through by the passage just mentioned, and so found
themselves on the inner side of the trench. [1.7.17] Now on that day the
King did not offer battle, but tracks of both horses and men in retreat
were to be seen in great numbers. [1.7.18] Then Cyrus summoned Silanus,
his Ambraciot soothsayer, and gave him three thousand darics; for on the
eleventh day before this, while sacrificing, he had told Cyrus that the
King would not fight within ten days, and Cyrus had said: "Then he will
not fight at all, if he will not fight within ten days; however, if your
prediction proves true, I promise you ten talents.1" So it was this money
that he then paid over, the ten days having passed. [1.7.19] But since the
King did not appear at the trench and try to prevent the passage of Cyrus'
army, both Cyrus and the rest concluded that he had given up the idea of
fighting. Hence on the following day Cyrus proceeded more carelessly;
[1.7.20] and on the third day he was making the march seated in his
chariot and with only a small body of troops drawn up in line in front of
him, while the greater part of the army was proceeding in disorder and
many of the soldiers' arms and accoutrements were being carried in wagons
and on pack-animals.
[1.8.1] It was now about full-market time1
and the stopping-place where Cyrus was intending to halt had been almost
reached, when Pategyas, a trusty Persian of Cyrus' staff, came into sight,
riding at full speed, with his horse in a sweat, and at once shouted out
to everyone he met, in the Persian tongue and in Greek, that the King was
approaching with a large army, all ready for battle. [1.8.2] Then ensued
great confusion; for the thought of the Greeks, and of all the rest in
fact, was that he would fall upon them immediately, while they were in
disorder; [1.8.3] and Cyrus leaped down from his chariot, put on his
breastplate, and then, mounting his horse, took his spears in his hands
and passed the word to all the others to arm themselves and get into their
places, every man of them. [1.8.4] Thereupon they proceeded in great haste
to take their places, Clearchus occupying the right end of the Greek
wing,1 close to the Euphrates river, Proxenus next to him, and the others
beyond Proxenus, while Menon and his army took the left end of the Greek
wing. [1.8.5] As for the Persians, Paphlagonian horsemen to the number of
a thousand took station beside Clearchus on the right wing, as did the
Greek peltasts, on the left was Ariaeus, Cyrus' lieutenant, with the rest
of the Persian army, [1.8.6] and in the centre Cyrus and his horsemen,
about six hundred in number. These troopers were armed with breastplates
and thigh-pieces and, all of them except Cyrus, with helmets--Cyrus,
however, went into the battle with his head unprotected. [In fact, it is
said of the Persians in general that they venture all the perils of war
with their heads unprotected.] [1.8.7] And all their horses [with Cyrus]
had frontlets and breast-pieces; and the men carried, besides their other
weapons, Greek sabres.
[1.8.8] And now it was midday, and the enemy
were not yet in sight; but when afternoon was coming on, there was seen a
rising dust, which appeared at first like a white cloud, but some time
later like a kind of blackness in the plain, extending over a great
distance. As the enemy came nearer and nearer, there were presently
flashes of bronze here and there, and spears and the hostile ranks began
to come into sight. [1.8.9] There were horsemen in white cuirasses on the
left wing of the enemy, under the command, it was reported, of
Tissaphernes; next to them were troops with wicker shields and, farther
on, hoplites with wooden shields which reached to their feet, these latter
being Egyptians, people said; and then more horsemen and more bowmen. All
these troops were marching in national divisions, each nation in a solid
square. [1.8.10] In front of them were the so-called scythe-bearing
chariots, at some distance from one another; and the scythes they carried
reached out sideways from taxles and were also set under the chariot
bodies, pointing towards the ground, so as to cut to pieces whatever they
met; the intention, then, was that they should drive into the ranks of the
Greeks and cut the troops to pieces. [1.8.11] As for the statement,
however, which Cyrus made when he called the Greeks together and urged
them to hold out against the shouting of the Persians, he proved to be
mistaken in this point; for they came on, not with shouting, but in the
utmost silence and quietness, with equal step and slowly.
[1.8.12] At this moment Cyrus rode along the
line, attended only by Pigres, his interpreter, and three or four others,
and shouted to Clearchus to lead his army against the enemy's centre, for
the reason that the King was stationed there; "and if," he said, "we are
victorious there, our whole task is accomplished." [1.8.13] Clearchus,
however, since he saw the compact body at the enemy's centre and heard
from Cyrus that the King was beyond his left wing (for the King was so
superior in numbers that, although occupying the centre of his own line,
he was beyond Cyrus' left wing), was unwilling to draw the right wing away
from the river, for fear that he might be turned on both flanks; and he
told Cyrus, in reply, that he was taking care to make everything go well.
[1.8.14] At this critical time the King's army
was advancing evenly, while the Greek force, still remaining in the same
place, was forming its line from those who were still coming up. And
Cyrus, riding along at some distance from his army, was taking a survey,
looking in either direction, both at his enemies and his friends. [1.8.15]
Then Xenophon,1 an Athenian, seeing him from the Greek army, approached so
as to meet him and asked if he had any orders to give; and Cyrus pulled up
his horse and bade Xenophon tell everybody that the sacrificial victims
and omens were all favourable. [1.8.16] While saying this he heard a noise
running through the ranks, and asked what the noise was. Xenophon replied
that the watchword was now passing along for the second time.1 And Cyrus
wondered who had given it out, and asked what the watchword was. Xenophon
replied "Zeus Saviour and Victory." [1.8.17] And upon hearing this Cyrus
said, "Well, I accept it, and so let it be." After he had said these words
he rode back to his own position.At length the opposing lines were not
three or four stadia apart, and then the Greeks struck up the paean and
began to advance against the enemy. [1.8.18] And when, as they proceeded,
a part of the phalanx billowed out, those who were thus left behind began
to run; at the same moment they all set up the sort of war-cry which they
raise to Enyalius,1 and all alike began running. It is also reported that
some of them clashed their shields against their spears, thereby
frightening the enemy's horses. [1.8.19] And before an arrow reached them,
the Persians broke and fled. Thereupon the Greeks pursued with all their
might, but shouted meanwhile to one another not to run at a headlong pace,
but to keep their ranks in the pursuit. [1.8.20] As for the enemy's
chariots, some of them plunged through the lines of their own troops,
others, however, through the Greek lines, but without charioteers. And
whenever the Greeks saw them coming, they would open a gap for their
passage; one fellow, to be sure, was caught, like a befuddled man on a
race-course, yet it was said that even he was not hurt in the least, nor,
for that matter, did any other single man among the Greeks get any hurt
whatever in this battle, save that some one on the left wing was reported
to have been hit by an arrow.
[1.8.21] When Cyrus saw that the Greeks were
victorious over the division opposite them and were in pursuit, although
he was pleased and was already being saluted with homage as King by his
attendants, he nevertheless was not induced to join the pursuit, but,
keeping in close formation the six hundred horsemen of his troop, he was
watching to see what the King would do. For he knew that the King held the
centre of the Persian army; [1.8.22] in fact, all the generals of the
Persians hold their own centre when they are in command, for they think
that this is the safest position, namely, with their forces on either side
of them, and also that if they want to pass along an order, the army will
get it in half the time; [1.8.23] so in this instance the King held the
centre of the army under his command, but still he found himself beyond
the left wing of Cyrus. Since, then, there was no one in his front to give
battle to him or to the troops drawn up before him, he proceeded to wheel
round his line with the intention of encircling the enemy.
[1.8.24] Thereupon Cyrus, seized with fear
lest he might get in the rear of the Greek troops and cut them to pieces,
charged to meet him; and attacking with his six hundred, he was victorious
over the forces stationed in front of the King and put to flight the six
thousand,1 slaying with his own hand, it is said, their commander
Artagerses. [1.8.25] But when they turned to flight, Cyrus' six hundred,
setting out in pursuit, became scattered also, and only a very few were
left about him, chiefly his so-called table companions. [1.8.26] While
attended by these only, he caught sight of the King and the compact body
around him; and on the instant he lost control of himself and, with the
cry "I see the man," rushed upon him and struck him in the breast and
wounded him through his breastplate--as Ctesias1 the physician says,
adding also that he himself healed the wound.
[1.8.27] While Cyrus was delivering his
stroke, however, some one hit him a hard blow under the eye with a
javelin; and then followed a struggle between the King and Cyrus and the
attendants who supported each of them. The number that fell on the King's
side is stated by Ctesias, who was with him; on the other side, Cyrus
himself was killed and eight of the noblest of his attendants lay dead
upon him. [1.8.28] Of Artapates, the one among Cyrus' chamberlains who was
his most faithful follower, it is told that when he saw Cyrus fallen, he
leaped down from his horse and threw his arms about him. [1.8.29] And one
report is that the King ordered someone to slay him upon the body of
Cyrus, while others say that he drew his dagger and slew himself with his
own hand; for he had a dagger of gold, and he also wore a necklace and
bracelets and all the other ornaments that the noblest Persians wear; for
he had been honoured by Cyrus because of his affection and fidelity.
[1.9.1] In this way, then, Cyrus came to his
end, a man who was the most kingly and the most worthy to rule of all the
Persians who have been born since Cyrus the Elder, as all agree who are
reputed to have known Cyrus intimately. [1.9.2] For firstly, while he was
still a boy and was being educated with his brother and the other boys, he
was regarded as the best of them all in all respects. [1.9.3] For all the
sons of the noblest Persians are educated at the King's court. There one
may learn discretion and self-control in full measure, and nothing that is
base can be either heard or seen. [1.9.4] The boys have before their eyes
the spectacle of men honoured by the King and of others dishonoured; they
likewise hear of them; and so from earliest boyhood they are learning how
to rule and how to submit to rule. [1.9.5] Here, then, Cyrus was reputed
to be, in the first place, the most modest of his fellows, and even more
obedient to his elders than were his inferiors in rank; secondly, the most
devoted to horses and the most skilful in managing horses; he was also
adjudged the most eager to learn, and the most diligent in practising,
military accomplishments, alike the use of the bow and of the javelin.
[1.9.6] Then, when he was of suitable age, he was the fondest of hunting
and, more than that, the fondest of incurring danger in his pursuit of
wild animals. On one occasion, when a bear charged upon him, he did not
take to flight, but grappled with her and was dragged from his horse; he
received some injuries, the scars of which he re, but in the end he killed
the bear; and, furthermore, the man who was the first to come to his
assistance he made an object of envy to many.
[1.9.7] Again, when he was sent down1 by his
father to be satrap of Lydia, Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia and was also
appointed commander of all the troops whose duty it is to muster in the
plain of Castolus, he showed, in the first place, that he counted it of
the utmost importance, when he concluded a treaty or compact with anyone
or made anyone any promise, under no circumstances to prove false to his
word. [1.9.8] It was for this reason, then, that the cities trusted him
and put themselves under his protection,1 and that individuals also
trusted him; and if anyone had been an enemy, when Cyrus made a treaty
with him he trusted that he would suffer no harm in violation of that
treaty. [1.9.9] Consequently, when he came to hostilities with
Tissaphernes, all the cities of their own accord chose Cyrus rather than
Tissaphernes, with the exception of Miletus;1 and the reason why the
Milesians feared him was, that he would not prove false to the exiles from
their city. [1.9.10] For he showed repeatedly, by deed as well as by word,
that he would never abandon them when once he had come to be their friend,
not even if they should become still fewer in number and should meet with
still worse misfortune.
[1.9.11] It was manifest also that whenever a
man conferred any benefit upon Cyrus or did him any harm, he always strove
to outdo him; in fact, some people used to report it as a prayer of his
that he might live long enough to outdo both those who benefited and those
who injured him, returning like for like. [1.9.12] Hence it was that he
had a greater following than any other one man of our time of friends who
eagerly desired to entrust to him both treasure and cities and their very
bodies. [1.9.13] Yet, on the other hand, none could say that he permitted
malefactors and wicked men to laugh at him; on the contrary, he was
merciless to the last degree in punishing them, and one might often see
along the travelled roads people who had lost feet or hands or eyes; thus
in Cyrus' province it became possible for either Greek or Persian,
provided he were guilty of no wrongdoing, to travel fearlessly wherever he
wished, carrying with him whatever it was to his interest to have.
[1.9.14] But it was the brave in war, as all
agree, whom he honoured especially. For example, he was once at war with
the Pisidians and Mysians and commanded in person an expedition into their
territories; and whomsoever in his army he found willing to meet dangers,
these men he would not only appoint as rulers of the territory he was
subduing, but would honour thereafter with other gifts also. [1.9.15] Thus
the brave were seen to be most prosperous, while cowards were deemed fit
to be their slaves. Consequently Cyrus had men in great abundance who were
willing to meet danger wherever they thought that he would observe them.
[1.9.16] As for uprightness, if a man showed that he desired to
distinguish himself in that quality, Cyrus considered it all important to
enable such an one to live in greater opulence than those who were greedy
of unjust gain. [1.9.17] Hence he not only had many and various functions
performed for him with fidelity, but, in particular, he secured the
services of an army worthy of the name. For generals and captains who came
overseas to serve him for the sake of money judged that loyal obedience to
Cyrus was worth more to them than their mere monthly pay. [1.9.18] Again,
so surely as a man performed with credit any service that he assigned him,
Cyrus never let his zeal go unrewarded. In consequence, he was said to
have gained the very best supporters for every undertaking.
[1.9.19] Furthermore, whenever he saw that a
man was a skilful and just administrator, not only organizing well the
country over which he ruled, but producing revenues, he would never
deprive such a man of territory, but would always give him more besides.
The result was that they toiled with pleasure and accumulated with
confidence, and, more than that, no one would conceal from Cyrus the store
which he had acquired; for it was clear that he did not envy those who
were frankly and openly rich, but strove to make use of the possessions of
such as tried to conceal their wealth.
[1.9.20] As to friends, all agree that he
showed himself pre-eminent in his attentions to all the friends that he
made and found devoted to him and adjudged to be competent co-workers in
whatever he might be wishing to accomplish. [1.9.21] For, just as the
precise object for which he thought he needed friends himself was that he
might have co-workers, so he tried on his own part to be a most vigorous
co-worker with his friends to secure that which he found each one of them
desired. [1.9.22] Again, he received more gifts, I presume, than any other
one man, and for many reasons; and surely he of all men distributed gifts
most generously among his friends, with an eye to the tastes of each one
and to whatever particular need he noted in each case. [1.9.23] As for all
the gifts which people sent him to wear upon his person, whether intended
for war or merely for show, it is reported that he said of them that his
own person could not be adorned with all these things, but that in his
opinion friends nobly adorned were a man's greatest ornament. [1.9.24] To
be sure, the fact that he outdid his friends in the greatness of the
benefits he conferred is nothing surprising, for the manifest reason that
he had greater means than they; but that he surpassed them in solicitude
and in eagerness to do favours, this in my opinion is more admirable.
[1.9.25] For example, when Cyrus got some particularly good wine, he would
often send the half-emptied jar to a friend with the message: "Cyrus says
that he has not chanced upon better wine than this for a long time; so he
sends it to you, and asks you to drink it up today in company with the
friends you love best." [1.9.26] So he would often send halves of geese
and of loaves and so forth, instructing the bearer to add the message:
"Cyrus enjoyed this, and therefore wants you also to take a taste of it."
[1.9.27] And wherever fodder was exceedingly scarce and he was able to get
it for his own use because of the large number of his servants and because
of his good planning, he would distribute this fodder among his friends
and tell them to give it to the horses that carried their own bodies, that
they might not be hungry while carrying his friends. [1.9.28] And whenever
he was on the march and was likely to be seen by very many people, he
would call his friends to him and engage them in earnest conversation, in
order to show whom he honoured. Hence, as I at least conclude from what
comes to my ears, no man, Greek or Persian, has ever been loved by a
greater number of people. [1.9.29] Here is a fact to confirm that
conclusion: although Cyrus was a slave,1 no one deserted him to join the
King, save that Orontas attempted to do so (and he, mark you, speedily
found out that the man he imagined was faithful to him, was more devoted
to Cyrus than to him); on the other hand, many went over from the King to
Cyrus after the two had become enemies (these being, moreover, the men who
were most highly regarded by the King), because they thought that if they
were deserving, they would gain a worthier reward with Cyrus than with the
King. [1.9.30] Furthermore, what happened to Cyrus at the end of his life
is a strong indication that he was a true man himself and that he knew how
to judge those who were faithful, devoted, and constant. [1.9.31] When he
died, namely, all his bodyguard of friends and table companions died
fighting in his defence, with the exception of Ariaeus; he, it chanced,
was stationed on the left wing at the head of the cavalry, and when he
learned that Cyrus had fallen, he took to flight with the whole army that
he commanded.
[1.10.1] Then the head of Cyrus and his right
hand were cut off. But the King, pursuing Ariaeus, burst into the camp of
Cyrus; and Ariaeus and his men no longer stood their ground, butfled
through their own camp to the stopping-place from which they had set out
that morning, a distance, it was said, of four parasangs. [1.10.2] So the
King and his troops proceeded to secure plunder of various sorts in
abundance, while in particular he captured the Phocaean woman, Cyrus'
concubine, who, by all accounts, was clever and beautiful. [1.10.3] The
Milesian woman, however, the younger one, after being seized by the King's
men made her escape, lightly clad, to some Greeks who had chanced to be
standing guard amid the baggage train and, forming themselves in line
against the enemy, had killed many of the plunderers, although some of
their own number had been killed also; nevertheless, they did not take to
flight, but they saved this woman and, furthermore, whatever else came
within their lines, whether persons or property, they saved all alike.
[1.10.4] At this time the King and the Greeks
were distant from one another about thirty stadia, the Greeks pursuing the
troops in their front, in the belief that they were victorious over all
the enemy, the King and his followers plundering, in the belief that they
were all victorious already. [1.10.5] When, however, the Greeks learned
that the King and his forces were in their baggage train, and the King, on
the other hand, heard from Tissaphernes that the Greeks were victorious
over the division opposite them and had gone on ahead in pursuit, then the
King proceeded to gather his troops together and form them in line of
battle, and Clearchus called Proxenus (for he was nearest him in the line)
and took counsel with him as to whether they should send a detachment or
go in full force to the camp, for the purpose of lending aid. [1.10.6]
Meanwhile the Greeks saw the King advancing again, as it seemed, from
their rear, and they accordingly countermarched and made ready to meet his
attack in case he should advance in that direction1; the King, however,
did not do so, but returned by the same route he had followed before, when
he passed outside of Cyrus' left wing, and in his return picked up not
only those who had deserted to the Greeks during the battle, but also
Tissaphernes and his troops. [1.10.7] For Tissaphernes had not taken to
flight in the first encounter, but had charged along the river through the
Greek peltasts1; he did not kill anyone in his passage, but the Greeks,
after opening a gap for his men, proceeded to deal blows and throw
javelins upon them as they went through. The commander of the Greek
peltasts was Episthenes of Amphipolis, and it was said that he proved
himself a sagacious man. [1.10.8] At any rate, after Tissaphernes had thus
come off with the worst of it, he did not wheel round again, but went on
to the camp of the Greeks and there fell in with the King; so it was that,
after forming their lines once more, they were proceeding together.
[1.10.9] When they were over against the left
wing of the Greeks,1 the latter conceived the fear that they might advance
against that wing and, by outflanking them on both sides, cut them to
pieces; they thought it best, therefore, to draw the wing back and get the
river in their rear.2 [1.10.10] But while they were taking counsel about
this matter, the King had already changed his line of battle to the same
form as theirs and brought it into position opposite them, just as when he
had met them for battle the first time.1 And when the Greeks saw that the
enemy were near them and in battle-order, they again struck up the paean
and advanced to the attack much more eagerly than before; [1.10.11] and
the Persians once again failed to await the attack, but took to flight
when at a greater distance from the Greeks than they were the first time.
[1.10.12] The Greeks pursued as far as a certain village, and there they
halted; for above the village was a hill, upon which the King and his
followers rallied; and they were not now foot-soldiers, but the hill was
covered with horsemen, so that the Greeks could not perceive what was
going on. They did see, they said, the royal standard, a kind of golden
eagle on a shield, raised aloft upon a pole. [1.10.13] But when at this
point also the Greeks resumed their forward movement, the horsemen at once
proceeded to leave the hill; they did not keep together, however, as they
went, but scattered in different directions; so the hill became gradually
cleared of the horsemen, till at last they were all gone. [1.10.14]
Clearchus, accordingly, did not lead the army up the hill, but halted at
its foot and sent Lycius the Syracusan and another man to the summit,
directing them to observe what was beyond the hill and report back to him.
[1.10.15] And Lycius, after riding up and looking, brought back word that
the enemy were in headlong flight. [1.10.16] At about this time the sun
set.Then the Greeks halted, grounded arms, and proceeded to rest
themselves. At the same time they wondered that Cyrus was nowhere to be
seen and that no one else had come to them from him; for they did not know
that he was dead, but conjectured that he had either gone off in pursuit
or pushed on to occupy some point. [1.10.17] So they took counsel for
themselves as to whether they should remain where they were and bring the
baggage train thither, or return to their camp. The decision was to
return, and they reached their tents about supper-time. [1.10.18] Such was
the conclusion of this day. They found most of their property pillaged, in
particular whatever there was to eat or drink, and as for the wagons
loaded with flour and wine which Cyrus had provided in order that, if ever
serious need should overtake the army, he might have supplies to
distribute among the Greeks (and there were four hundred of these wagons,
it was said), these also the King and his men had now pillaged. [1.10.19]
The result was that most of the Greeks had no dinner; and they had had no
breakfast, either, for the King had appeared before the time when the army
was to halt for breakfast. Thus it was, then that they got through this
night.
1,10,6,n1. The Greeks had advanced straight
forward from their position on the right wing and the King straight
forward from his centre (which was beyond the left wing of Cyrus' entire,
i.e. Greek and Persian, army); hence the two had passed by one another at
a considerable distance. The question now was, whether the King on his
return march would move obliquely, so as to meet the Greeks, or would
follow the same route by which he advanced, thus keeping clear of them
again.
1,10,7,n1. See Xen. Anab. 1.8.4-5.
1,10,9,n1. At this point the fronts of the two
armies--which were facing in opposite directions, and, further, each in
the direction opposite to that which it took in the first encounter--were
in approximately the same straight line. It should be noted that Xenophon
means by "the left wing" of the Greeks that which had been the left wing
in the original formation, but had now become the right.
1,10,9,n2. The Greek line was now, as in the
beginning, at right angles to the Euphrates. The movement here described
would (if executed) have made it parallel to the river, the latter serving
as a defence in the rear.
1,10,10,n1. Xenophon seems to mean that the King now moved to the right until his flank (like that of the Greeks--see the preceding notes) rested upon the Euphrates. The two armies, therefore, were again squarely facing one another, though with positions relatively reversed (see note 2
above).
source:
http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/History/hakhamaneshian/xenophon/anabasis/xeno_anbs_book_1.htm