The army proceeds through Arabia, having the Euphrates on the
right. They suffer from want of provisions, and many of the beasts
of burden perish; but supplies are procured from the opposite bank
of the Euphrates. A dispute occurs between Clearchus and Menon,
which is quelled by Cyrus.
1. Cyrus now advanced through Arabia, having the Euphrates on his right,
five days' march through the desert, a distance of thirty-five
parasangs. In this region the ground was entirely a plain, level as the
sea. It was covered with wormwood, and whatever other kinds of shrub or
reed grew on it, were all odoriferous as perfumes. But there were no
trees. 2. There were wild animals, however, of various kinds; the most
numerous were wild asses; there were also many ostriches, as well as
bustards and antelopes; and these animals the horsemen of the army
sometimes hunted. The wild asses, when any one pursued them, would start
forward a considerable distance, and then stand still; (for they ran
much more swiftly than the horse;) and again, when the horse approached,
they did the same; and it was impossible to catch them, unless the
horsemen, stationing themselves at intervals, kept up the pursuit with a
succession of horses. The flesh of those that were taken resembled
venison, but was more tender. 3. An ostrich no one succeeded in
catching; and those horsemen who hunted that bird, soon desisted from
the pursuit; for it far outstripped[44] them in its flight, using its
feet for running, and its wings, raising them like a sail.[45] The
bustards might be taken, if a person started them suddenly; for they fly
but a short distance, like partridges, and soon tire. Their flesh was
very delicious.
4. Marching through this region, they came to the river Mascas, the
breadth of which is a plethrum. Here was a large deserted city, of which
the name was Corsote, and which was entirely surrounded by the Mascas.
Here they stayed three days, and furnished themselves with provisions.
5. Thence he proceeded, thirteen days' march through the desert, a
distance of ninety parasangs, still keeping the Euphrates on the right,
and arrived at a place called the Gates.[46] In this march many of the
beasts of burden perished of hunger; for there was neither grass, nor
any sort of tree, but the whole country was completely bare. The
inhabitants, who quarried and fashioned millstones near the river, took
them to Babylon, and sold them, and lived upon corn which they bought
with the money. 6. Corn, too, failed the army, and it was not possible
to buy any, except in the Lydian market among Cyrus's Barbarian troops,
where they purchased a capithe[47] of wheat-flour or barley-meal for
four sigli. The siglus is equivalent to seven Attic oboli and a
half,[48] and the capithe contains two Attic chœnices. The soldiers
therefore lived entirely upon flesh.
7. There were some of these marches which he made extremely long,
whenever he wished to get to water or forage. On one occasion, when a
narrow and muddy road presented itself, almost impassable for the
waggons, Cyras halted on the spot with the most distinguished and
wealthy of his train, and ordered Glus and Pigres, with a detachment of
the Barbarian forces, to assist in extricating the waggons. 8. But as
they appeared to him to do this too tardily, he ordered, as if in anger,
the noblest Persians of his suite to assist in expediting the carriages.
Then might be seen a specimen of their ready obedience; for, throwing
off their purple cloaks, in the place where each happened to be
standing, they rushed forward, as one would run in a race for victory,
down an extremely steep declivity, having on those rich vests which they
wear, and embroidered trowsers, some too with chains about their necks
and bracelets on their wrists, and, leaping with these equipments
straight into the mud, brought the waggons up quicker than any one would
have imagined.
9. On the whole, Cyrus evidently used the greatest speed throughout the
march, and made no delay, except where he halted in order to obtain a
supply of provisions, or for some other necessary purpose; thinking that
the quicker he went, the more unprepared he should find the king when he
engaged him, and that the more slowly he proceeded, the more numerous
would be the force collected by the king. And an attentive observer
might see that the empire of the king was strong indeed in extent of
territory and number of inhabitants, but weak through the length of the
roads, and the dispersion of its forces, if an enemy invaded it with
rapid movements.
10. On the other side of the Euphrates, over against their course
through the desert, was an opulent and extensive city, called Charmande;
from this place the soldiers purchased provisions, crossing the river on
rafts in the following manner. They filled the skins, which they had for
the coverings of their tents,[49] with dry hay, and then closed and
stitched them together, so that the water could not touch the hay. Upon
these they went across, and procured necessaries, such as wine made of
the fruit of the palm-tree, and panic[50] corn; for this was most
plentiful in those parts. 11. Here the soldiers of Menon and those of
Clearchus falling into a dispute about something, Clearchus, judging a
soldier of Menon's to be in the wrong, inflicted stripes upon him, and
the man, coming to the quarters of his own troops, told his comrades
what had occurred, who, when they heard it, showed great displeasure and
resentment towards Clearchus. 12. On the same day, Clearchus, after
going to the place where the river was crossed, and inspecting the
market there, was returning on horseback to his tent through Menon's
camp, with a few attendants. Cyrus had not yet arrived, but was still on
his way thither. One of Menon's soldiers, who was employed in cleaving
wood, when he saw Clearchus riding through the camp, threw his axe at
him, but missed his aim; another then threw a stone at him, and another,
and afterwards several, a great uproar ensuing. 13. Clearchus sought
refuge in his own camp, and immediately called his men to arms, ordering
his heavy-armed troops to remain on the spot, resting their shields
against their knees, while he himself, with the Thracians, and the
horsemen that were in his camp, to the number of more than forty, (and
most of these were Thracians,) bore down towards the troops of Menon, so
that they and Menon himself were struck with terror, and made a general
rush to their arms; while some stood still, not knowing how to act under
the circumstances. 14. Proxenus happened then to be coming up behind the
rest, with a body of heavy-armed men following him, and immediately led
his troops into the middle space between them both, and drew them up
under arms, begging Clearchus to desist from what he was doing. But
Clearchus was indignant, because, when he had narrowly escaped stoning,
Proxenus spoke mildly of the treatment that he had received; he
accordingly desired him to stand out from between them.
15. At this juncture Cyrus came up, and inquired into the affair. He
then instantly took his javelins in his hand, and rode, with such of his
confidential officers as were with him, into the midst of the Greeks,
and addressed them thus: 16. "Clearchus and Proxenus, and you other
Greeks who are here present, you know not what you are doing. For if you
engage in any contention with one another, be assured, that this very
day I shall be cut off, and you also not long after me; since, if our
affairs go ill, all these Barbarians, whom you see before you, will
prove more dangerous enemies to us than even those who are with the
king." 17. Clearchus, on hearing these remonstrances, recovered his
self-possession; and both parties, desisting from the strife, deposited
their arms in their respective encampments.
[Footnote 44: Απεσπᾶτο.] "Drew itself away from" its pursuers. There are
various readings of this word. Kühner adopts ἀπεσπα, in the sense of
"drew off its pursuers from the rest of the huntsmen." Bornemann reads
ἀπέπτατο.]
[Footnote 45: It would be needless to repeat all that has been said as
to the construction of this passage; I have adopted the explication of
Kühner.]
[Footnote 46: Επὶ Πύλας.] A strait or defile through which the road lay
from Mesopotamia into Babylonia; hence called the _Pylæ Babyloniæ_. It
is mentioned by Stephanus Byzantinus _sub voce_ Χαρμάνδη. Ainsworth, p.
80, places it fourteen miles north of Felújah, and a hundred and eight
miles north of Babylon.]
[Footnote 47: Καπίθη.] A measure, as is said below, equal to two Attic
_chœnices_. The Attic chœnix is valued by Mr. Hussey, Essay on Ancient
Weights, &c., ch. 13, sect. 4, at 1.8467 pint.]
[Footnote 48: The _siglus_ is regarded by some as the same with the
Hebrew shekel, but erroneously, as the siglus was of less value than the
shekel. The obolus is valued by Mr. Hussey at something more than three
half-pence; seven oboli and a half would therefore be about a shilling.]
[Footnote 49: Σκεπάσματα is the reading of Dindorf, but it ought rather
to be στεγάσματα, if the distinction of Krüger and Kühner, who adopt the
latter, be right; viz. that στίπασμα signifies a covering to wrap round
the body, and στέγασμα a shelter against sun or rain. See Arrian, iii.
29. This mode of crossing rivers, we learn from Dr. Layard, is still
practised in Armenia both by men and women.]
[Footnote 50: See note on i. 2. 22.]