Anabasis by Xenophon - Book 2, Part 2

III. And now comes the proof of what I stated above, that the King was utterly taken aback by the sudden apparition of the army. Only the day before he had sent and demanded the surrender of their arms, and now, with the rising sun, came heralds sent by him to arrange a truce. These, having reached the advanced guard, asked for the generals. The guard reported their arrival, and Clericus, who was busy inspecting the ranks, sent back word to the heralds that they must await his leisure. Having carefully arranged the troops so that from every side they might present the appearance of a compact battle line, without a single unarmed man in sight, he summoned the ambassadors, and himself went forward to meet them, with the soldiers who, for choice, accoutrement and noble aspect, were the flower of his force, a cause which he had invited the other generals also to adopt. And now, being face to face with the ambassadors, he questioned them as to what their wishes were. They replied that they had come to arrange a truce, and were persons competent to carry proposals from the king to the Hellenes, and from the Hellenes to the king. He returned answer to them, take back word then to your master that we need a battle first, for we have had no breakfast, and he will be a brave man who will there mention the word truce to Hellenes without providing them with breakfast. With this message the heralds rode off, but were back again in no time, which was a proof that the king, or someone appointed by him to transact the business, was hard by. They reported that the message seemed reasonable to the king. They had now come bringing guides, who, if a truce were arranged, would conduct them where they could get provisions. Clearchus inquired whether the truce was offered to the individual men merely as they went and came, or to all alike. To all, they replied, until the king receives your final answer. When they had so spoken, Clearchus, having removed the ambassadors, held a council, and it was resolved to make a truce at once, and then quietly to go and secure provisions. And Clearchus said, I agree to the resolution. Still, I do not propose to announce it at once, but to while away time till the ambassadors begin to fear that we have decided against the truce, though I suspect, he added, the same fear will be operative on the minds of our soldiers also. As soon as the right moment seemed to have arrived, he delivered his answer in favor of the truce, and bade the ambassadors at once conduct them to the provisions. So these led the way, and Clearchus, without relaxing precaution, in spite of having secured a truce, marched after them with his army in line, and himself in command of the rear guard. Over and over again they encountered trenches and conduits so full of water that they could not be crossed without bridges, but they contrived well enough for these by means of trunks of palm-trees which had fallen, or which they cut down for the occasion. And here Clearchus's system of superintendence was a study in itself, as he stood with a spear in his left hand and a stick in the other, and when it seemed to him there was any dawdling among the parties told off to the work, he would pick out the right man and down would come the stick, nor, at the same time, was he above plunging into the mud and lending a hand himself, so that every one else was forced for very shame to display equal alacrity. The men told off for the business were the men of thirty years of age, but even the elder men, when they saw the energy of Clearchus, could not resist lending their aid also. What stimulated the haste of Clearchus was the suspicion in his mind that these trenches were not, as a rule, so full of water, since it was not the season to irrigate the plain, and he fancied that the king had let the water on for the express purpose of vividly presenting to the Hellenes the many dangers with which their march was threatened at the very start. Proceeding on their way they reached some villages, where their guides indicated to them that they would find provisions. They were found to contain plenty of corn and wine made from palm-dates, and an acidulated beverage extracted by boiling from the same fruit. As to the palm-nuts or dates themselves, it was noticeable that the sort which we are accustomed to see in Hellas were set aside for the domestic servants. Those put aside for the masters are picked specimens that are simply marvelous for their beauty and size, looking like gray golden lumps of amber. Some specimens they dried and preserved as sweetmeats. Sweet enough they were as an accompaniment of wine, but apt to give headache. Here too, for the first time in their lives, the man tasted the brain of the palm. No one could help being struck by the beauty of this object, and the peculiarity of its delicious flavor. But this, like the dried fruit, was exceedingly apt to give headache. When this cabbage or brain has been removed from the palm, the whole tree withers from top to bottom. In these villages they remained three days, and a deputation from the great king arrived, De Cephernes and the king's brother-in-law, and three other Persians, with a retinue of many slaves. As soon as the generals of the Hellenes had presented themselves, De Cephernes opened the proceedings with the following speech through the lips of an interpreter. Men of Hellas, I am your next-door neighbor in Hellas. Therefore was it that I, when I saw into what a sea of troubles you were fallen, regarded it as a godsend, if by any means I might obtain, as a boon from the king, the privilege of bringing you back in safety to your own country. And that, I take it, will earn me gratitude from you and all Hellas. In this determination I preferred my request to the king. I claimed it as a favor which was fairly my due. For was it not I who first announced to him the hostile approach of Cyrus, who supported that announcement by the aid I brought, who, alone among the officers confronted with the Hellenes in battle, did not flee, but charged right through and united my troops with the king inside your camp, where he was arrived, having slain Cyrus? It was I, lastly, who gave chase to the barbarians under Cyrus, with the help of those here present with me at this moment, which are also among the trustiest followers of our lord the king. Now I counsel you to give a moderate answer, so that it may be easier for me to carry out my design, if happily I may obtain from him some good thing on your behalf." Thereupon the Hellenes retired and took counsel. Then they answered, and Clearchus was their spokesman. We neither mustered as a body to make war against the king, nor was our march conducted with that object, but it was Cyrus, as you know, who invented many and diverse pretexts that he might take you off your guard and transport us hither. Yet after a while, when we saw that he was in sore straits, we were ashamed in the sight of God and man to betray him whom we had permitted for so long a season to benefit us. But now that Cyrus is dead, we set up no claim to his kingdom against the king himself. There is neither person nor thing for the sake of which we would care to injure the king's country. We would not choose to kill him if we could, rather we would march straight home if we were not molested. But God helping us, we will retaliate on all who injure us. On the other hand, if any be found to benefit us, we do not mean to be outdone in kindly deeds as far as in us lies. So he spoke, and De Cepernas listened and replied, That answer will I take back to the king and bring you word from him again. Until I come again, let the truce continue, and we will furnish you with a market. All next day he did not come back, and the Hellenes were troubled with anxieties. But on the third day he arrived with the news that he had obtained from the king, the boon he asked. He was permitted to save the Hellenes, though there were many gainseers who argued that it was not seemly for the king to let those who had marched against him depart in peace. And at last he said, You may now, if you like, take pledges from us that we will make the countries through which you pass friendly to you, and will lead you back without treachery into Hellas, and will furnish you with a market, and wherever you cannot purchase, we will permit you to take provisions from the district. You on your side must swear that you will march as through a friendly country, without damage, merely taking food and drink wherever we fail to supply a market, or, if we afford a market, you shall only obtain provisions by paying for them. This was agreed to, and oaths and pledges exchanged between them, Thyssefernes and the king's brother-in-law upon the one side, and the generals and officers of the Hellenes on the other. After this Thyssefernes said, And now I go back to the king. As soon as I have transacted what I have a mind to, I will come back, ready-equipped, to lead you away to Hellas, and to return myself to my own dominion. NUMBER FOUR After these things the Hellenes and Arius waited for Thyssefernes, being encamped close to one another. For more than twenty days they waited, during which time there came visitors to Arius, his brother and other kinsfolk. To those under him came certain other Persians, encouraging them, and bearing pledges to some of them, from the king himself, that he would bear no grudge against them, on account of the part they bore in the expedition against him with Cyrus, or for aught else of the things which were passed. Whilst these overtures were being made, Arius and his friends gave manifest signs of paying less attention to the Hellenes, so much so that, if for no other reason the majority of the lesser were not well pleased, then they came to Clericus and the other generals, asking what they were waiting for. Do we not know full well, they said, that the king would give a great deal to destroy us, so that other Hellenes may take warning, and think twice before they march against the king? Today it suits his purpose to induce us to stop here, because his army is scattered. But as soon as he has got together another armament, attack us most certainly he will. How do we know he is not at this moment digging away at trenches, or running up walls, to make our path impassable? It is not to be supposed that he will desire us to return to Helles, with the tale how a handful of men like ourselves beat the king at his own gates, laughed him to scorn, and then came home again. Clericus replied, I, too, am keenly aware of all this. But I reason thus. If we turn our backs now, they will say we mean war, and are acting contrary to the truth. And then what follows? First of all, no one will furnish us with a market, or means of providing ourselves with food. Next, we shall have no one to guide us. Moreover, such action on our part will be a signal to Arius to hold aloof from us, so that not a friend will be left to us. Even those who were formerly our friends will now be numbered with our enemies. What other river or rivers we may find we have to cross I do not know. But this we know. To cross the Euphrates in the face of resistance is impossible. You see, in the event of being driven to an engagement, we have no cavalry to help us, but with the enemy it is the reverse. Not only the most, but the best of his troops are cavalry, so that if we are victorious, we shall kill no one. But if we are defeated, not a man of us can escape. For my part, I cannot see why the king, who has so many advantages on his side, if he desires to destroy us, should swear oaths and tender solemn pledges merely in order to perjure himself in the sight of heaven, to render his word worthless and his credit discreditable the wide world over. These arguments he propounded at length. Meanwhile De Cepernas came back, apparently ready to return home. He had his own force with him, and so had Orontas, who was also present, his. The letter brought, moreover, his bride with him, the king's daughter, whom he had just wedded. The journey was now at length fairly commenced. De Cepernas led the way and provided a market. They advanced, and Arius advanced, too, at the head of Cyrus's Asiatic troops, side by side with De Cepernas and Orontas, and with these two he also pitched his camp. The Hellenes, holding them in suspicion, marched separately with the guides, and they encamped on each occasion a parison apart, or rather less, and both parties kept watch upon each other as if they were enemies, which hardly tended to lull suspicion, and sometimes, whilst forging for wood and grass, and so forth, on the same ground, blows were exchanged, which occasioned further embitterments. Three stages they had accomplished ere they reached the Wall of Metia, as it is called, and passed within it. It was built of baked bricks laid upon bitumen. It was twenty feet broad and a hundred feet high, and the length of it was said to be twenty parisangs. It lies at no great distance from Babylon. From this point they marched two stages, eight parisangs, and crossed two canals, the first by a regular bridge, the other spanned by a bridge of seven boats. These canals issued from the Tigris, and from them a whole system of minor trenches was cut, leading over the country, large ones to begin with, and then smaller and smaller, till at last they become the merest runnels, like those in Hellas used for watering millet fields. They reached the river Tigris. At this point there was a large and thickly populated city, named Sittas, at a distance of fifteen furlongs from the river. The Hellenes accordingly encamped by the side of that city, near a large and beautiful park, which was thick with all sorts of trees. The Asiatics had crossed the Tigris, but Samael were entirely hidden from view. After Sipper, Procenus and Xenophon were walking in front of the Place d'Arne, when a man came up and demanded of the advanced guard where he could find Procenus or Clericus. He did not ask for Menon, and that too, though he came from Arius, who was Menon's friend. As soon as Procenus had said, I am he whom you seek, the man replied, I have been sent by Arius and Artaeus, who have been trusty friends to Cyrus in past days, and are your well-wishers. They warn you to be on your guard, in case the barbarians attack you in the night. There is a large body of troops in the neighboring park. They also warn you to send and occupy the bridge over the Tigris, since Ctesiphonus is minded to break it down in the night, if he can, so that you may not cross, but be caught between the river and the canal. On hearing this, they took the man to Clericus, and acquainted him with his statement. Clericus, on his side, was much disturbed, and indeed alarmed at the news. But a young fellow who was present, struck with an idea, suggested that the two statements were inconsistent, as to the contemplated attack and the proposed destruction of the bridge. Clearly the attacking party must either conquer or be worsted. If they conquer, what need of their breaking down the bridge? Why, if there were half a dozen bridges, said he, we should not be any the more able to save ourselves by flight. There would be no place to flee to. But in the opposite case, suppose we win, with the bridge broken down, it is they who will not be able to save themselves by flight. And what is worse for them, not a single soul will be able to bring them succor from the other side, for all their numbers, since the bridge will be broken down. Clericus listened to the reasoning, and then he asked the messenger, how large the country between the Tigris and the canal might be. A large district, he replied, and in it are villages and cities, numerous and large. Then it dawned upon them. The barbarians had sent the men with subtlety, in fear lest the Hellenes should cut the bridge and occupy the island territory, with the strong defenses of the Tigris on the one side, and of the canal on the other, supplying themselves with provisions from the country so included, large and rich as it was, with no lack of hands to till it, in addition to which a harbor of refuge and asylum would be found for any one who was minded to do the king a mischief. After this they retired to rest in peace, not, however, neglecting to send a guard to occupy the bridge in spite of all, and there was no attack from any quarter whatsoever, nor did any of the enemy's people approach the bridges, so the guards were able to report next morning. But as soon as it was morning, they proceeded to cross the bridge, which consisted of thirty-seven vessels, and in so doing they used the utmost precaution possible, for reports were brought by some of the Hellenes with such a fearness that an attempt was to be made to attack them while crossing. All this turned out to be false, though it is true that while crossing they did catch sight of Glus watching, with some others, to see if they crossed the river. But as soon as he had satisfied himself on that point, he rode off and was gone. From the river Tigris they advanced four stages, twenty parisangs, to the river Fiscus, which is a hundred feet broad and spanned by a bridge. Here lay a large and populous city named Opis, close to which the Hellenes were encountered by the natural brother of Cyrus and Arthur Therces, who was leading a large army from Susa and Ecbatana to assist the king. He halted his troops and watched the Hellenes march past. Clericus led them in a column, two abreast, and from time to time the vanguard came to a standstill, just so often and just so long the effect repeated itself down to the hindmost man. Halt! Along the whole line, so that even to the Hellenes themselves their army seemed enormous, and the Persian was fairly astonished at the spectacle. From this place they marched through Medea, six desert stages, thirty parisangs, to the villages of Perisades, Cyrus's and the king's mother. These Ctesiphonus, in mockery of Cyrus, delivered over to the Hellenes to plunder, except that the folk in them were not to be made slaves. They contained much corn, cattle, and other property. From this place they advanced four desert stages, twenty parisangs, keeping the Tigris on the left. On the first of these stages, on the other side of the river, lay a large city. It was a well-to-do place named Kyne, from which the natives used to carry across loaves and cheeses and wine on rafts made of skins.