An. 401. Artax. 4. At length Cyrus, having raised all those forces which he thought sufficient for his designs, and mus tered them all together, he marched with them directly against his brother. He was followed in this expedition by thirteen thousand Greeks, under the command of Clearchus (which were the flower and main strength of his army,) and by one hundred thousand of other forces, raised from among the barbarians. Artaxerxes, having notice of this from Tissaphernes, who posted to the Persian court to give him information of it, prepared to meet him with a numerous army. Cyrus' greatest difficulty was to pass the straits of Cilicia, where Siennesis, king of that country, was making ready to stop his progress; and would certainly have effected it, but that Tamus, and the Lacedemonians with their fleet, coming upon the coasts of that country, diverted him to defend his own territories; for a small guard in those narrow passes might be sufficient to impede the march of the greatest army. But after Cyrus had by this means got through them, he then marched on without any farther difficulty or obstruction, till he came to the plains of Cunaxa, in the province of Babylon, where Artaxerxes meeting him with an army of nine hundred thousand men, it there came to decisive battle between them; in which Cyrus, rashly venturing his person too far into the heat of the battle, was unfortunately slain, after his auxiliary, Greeks had in a manner gotten the victory for him. This put those Greeks into a great distress; for they were now at a great distance from their own homes, in the heart of the Persian empire, and there surrounded with the numerous forces of a conquering army, and had no way to return again into Greece, but by breaking through them, and forcing their retreat through a vast tract of their enemy's country, which lay between them and home. But their valour and resolution mastered all these difficulties: for, the next day after, having, on consultation together, resolved to attempt their return by the way of Paphla gonia, they immediately set themselves on their march, and, in spite of all oppositions from a numerous army o Xenophon de Expeditione Cyri. Diodor. Sic. lib. 14. Plutarchus in Artaxerxo. Ctesias. Justin, lib. 5, c. 11. of Persians, which coasted them all the way, made a retreat of two thousand three hundred and twenty-five miles, all the way through provinces belonging to the enemy, and got safe to the Grecian cities on the Euxine sea; which was the longest and most memorable retreat that was ever made through an enemy's country. Clearchus first commanded in it, but he having in the beginning of it been cut off by the treachery of Tissaphernes, it was afterwards conducted chiefly by Xenophon, to whose valour and wisdom it was principally owing that they at length got safely again into Greece. The same Xenophon having written a large account of this expedition, the preparations that were made for it, and the retreat of the Greeks from the place of the battle after it was lost, and that book being still extant, and published in the English language, need say no more, than refer the reader to it, for a fuller history of all this matter. Psammitichus, P who was descended from the ancient Psammitichus, that was king of Egypt some ages before, and of whom I have spoken in the first book of this history, reigned over the Egyptians, after Pausiris. To him fled Tamus, Cyrus' admiral. For, after the death of that prince, Tissaphernes being sent down into his former government, with an enlargement of power (as having, in reward of the great service which he had done the king in the late war, the same command given him in those parts that Cyrus had,) all the governours of those cities and districts, within the verge of his authority, who had espoused the interest of Cyrus, fearing the account which he might call them to for it, sent their agents to make their peace with him on the best terms they could. Only Tamus, who was the most powerful of them, took another course. He was, by birth, an Egyptian, of the city of Memphis, and, being a person of great valour, and of great skill in maritime affairs, he was first employed by Tissaphernes in the Persian fleet, and afterwards, under Cyrus, became chief commander of it, and also governour of Ionia; by which means, having amassed great wealth, instead of courting the favour of Tis p Diodorus Siculus, lib. 14. saphernes, or at all trusting to his clemency, he put his wife, children, and, servants, with all else that he had, on board his ships, and made his retreat into his own country, much confiding in the friendship of Psammitichus, which he had merited by many good. offices that he had done him while he served the Persians. But the perfidious man, having no regard to former obligations, or the common laws either of humanity or hospitality, as soon as he had received an account of his arrival, and of the great riches which he brought with him, for the sake of them, instead of receiving him as a friend, he fell upon him as an enemy, and having slain him, with all his family and followers, made a prey of all that they had. Only Gaus, one of his sons, staying behind in Asia, escaped this massacre, and afterwards became admiral of the Persian fleet in the Cyprian war; all the rest were barbarously murdered for the sake of what they had. Such horrid wickednesses doth the greedy desire of gain too often prompt men to, when they give up their minds to it. But Providence, no doubt, suffered it not to go unpunished, though we have no account of it; this barbarous murder being the only act that history hath recorded of this prince. Statira being very troublesome to Parysatis her mother-in-law, in expressing her resentments and reproaches for the countenance which she gave unto Cyrus her younger son against king Artaxerxes, to be revenged for this and other grudges formerly conceived against her, she caused her to be poisoned; which was effected by this stratagem: they supping both together, and a certain bird being served up at table, which was a great rarity among the Persians, it was divided between her and her daughter-in-law by a knife poisoned on one side only; that part which was cut off on the unpoisoned side of the knife was given to Parysatis; and she having eaten it, this encouraged Statira, without any suspicion, to the other part which was cut off on the poisoned side of the knife; and she died of it within a few hours after. The loss of this 'his much-beloved wife greatly afflicted Artaxerxes ; q Ctesias. Plutarchus in Artaxerxe. 1 and therefore afterwards, full discovery having been made how it came to pass, he banished his mother to Babylon for it, and for some years after never saw her; but at length, time having mollified his grief and resentments, he permitted her again to return to court, and from that time she made it her chief business to humour him in every thing right or wrong, and no more crossed him in any thing whatsoever it was that he had an inclination to do; and by this means she regained her interest with him, and held it to her death. She was a most crafty woman, and of great understanding and penetration in all affairs, and of as great wickedness, as what is above related of her doth sufficiently shew. An. 400. Artax. 5. Tissaphernes being settled in his government, and with that enlargement of power which I have mentioned, he began to set hard upon the Grecian cities in those parts; whereon they sent to the Lacedemonians to pray their protection against him; and they being now freed from that long war which they had with the Athenians, gladly laid hold of this occasion of again breaking with the Persians, and sent Thimbro into those parts with an army against them; which being strengthened by the conjunction of those forces to it which Xenophon brought back from Persia, and such others as were raised out of the Grecian cities which he came to protect, he took the field with it against Tissaphernes, and wore out the time of his government in several military actions in that country, in which he had some few, but not great successes. An. 399. Artax. 6. But he having kept very bad discipline in his army, and permitted his soldiers to make great depredations on the allies, complaint was made hereof to the Lacedemonians; whereon they sent Dercyllidas to take charge of that war in his stead, who being an able general, as well as a most excellent engineer, (which last he was more particularly famous for,) he managed it with better order, and much better success; and Thimbro being called r Xenophon. Hellenic. lib. 3. Diodorus Siculus, lib. 14. Xenophon. et Diodorus, ibidem. home to answer for what he was accused of, and convicted of it, was sent into banishment for the punishment of his crime. Dercyllidas, after he had entered on his charge,t finding that he was not strong enough to wage war with Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus both together, resolved to agree with the one of them, that thereby he might be the better enabled to encounter the other; and therefore having, according to this scheme, made peace with Tissaphernes, he marched against Pharnabazus with all his forces, and took from him all Æolis, and dispossessed him of several cities besides in those parts; whereon Pharnabazus, fearing that he might invade Phrygia also, where was the chief seat of his government, was glad to make a truce with him, to be secured from his farther insults. About this time Conon, by the means of Ctesias the Cnidian, who was chief physician to Artaxerxes, procured peace from that king for Euagoras of Salamine, in the island of Cyprus. This Euagoras having expelled Abdymon the Citian out of that city, where he was governour for the Persian king, set himself up in his stead, and reigned there as king of that place many years. Conon having been one of the generals of the Athenians at the battle of the Goats river, as * soon as he saw all was there brought to a desperate point, made his escape with nine of the Athenian ships; and, having sent one of them to Athens, to acquaint his citizens with the ill fate of the battle, fled with the rest to this Euagoras, with whom he had contracted a former friendship, and there continuing with him, made use of the interest which he had with the said Ctesias at the Persian court, to do his friend this good office. For Ctesias being chief physician to Artaxerxes (as I have already said) was much in bis favour, and had a great interest with him. He was y at first physician to Cyrus his brother, and followed; him to the battle in which he was slain; where, being t Xenophon. Hellenic. lib. 3. Diodorus Siculus, lib. 14. T |