Book 1 · Chapter 10

Then the head of Cyrus and his right hand were chopped off from his body. But the king and those around him chased after them and attacked the Cyreian camp.

The troops of Ariaeus totally lost it, fleeing through their own camp back to where they'd camped the night before - about four miles, they said. So the king and his crew started looting everything they could get their hands on.

Among the loot, he grabbed the Phocaean woman, who had been Cyrus’s girlfriend - apparently, she was super smart and beautiful. Some of the king’s men also caught the younger Milesian. But she ripped off her outer clothes and bolted to the Hellenes, who had been left behind to guard the camp.

Those guys immediately lined up and started slashing at the looters, though they lost some of their own in the process. They held their ground and managed to save not only that woman, but everything else - both stuff and people - that was within reach.

At that point, the king and the Hellenes were about three miles apart. One side was chasing their enemies like they'd already won the whole thing. The other was looting like they were celebrating a victory.

But when the Hellenes heard that the king and his troops were in the baggage camp, and the king learned from Tissaphernes that the Hellenes had won their section of the field and were chasing after them, things changed fast. The king gathered his troops and got into formation.

Clearchus called over Proxenus, who was standing next to him, and they talked about whether to send a small group or go as a whole to save the camp. Meanwhile, the king was spotted again, seeming to advance from the rear. The Hellenes spun around and got ready to fight him right there.

But instead of attacking them at that spot, he turned away, following the same route he’d taken earlier, outside the left side of his opponent, and picked up the troops who had deserted to the Hellenes during the battle, as well as Tissaphernes and his division.

Tissaphernes hadn't run when the fighting started; he’d charged parallel to the Euphrates River right into the Greek peltasts, and through them. But even though he charged hard, he didn’t take down a single person.

Instead, the Hellenes made a gap for him to go through, slashing at him with their swords and throwing their javelins as he passed. Episthenes of Amphipolis was in charge of the peltasts, and he seemed like a smart guy, they said.

That's how Tissaphernes, having gotten through in a chaotic mess and getting the worst of it, failed to turn around and come back the way he came. He reached the Hellenes’ camp, joined up with the king, and fell back into formation. The two divisions then moved forward side by side.

They were lined up next to the Greeks’ left flank, and suddenly the Greeks were freaked out, thinking they’d be surrounded and wiped out. So, they decided to spread out their line and put the river behind them.

But while they were figuring things out, the king rode up and positioned his troops - exactly the same way he’s lined up to fight at the start. Seeing them so close and ready for battle, the Greeks yelled out a victory chant and charged again, even more pumped than before.

And once again, the barbarians didn’t even wait - they bolted, even farther this time. The Greeks chased them until they hit a village, where they stopped, because a hill rose above the village, and the king and his crew gathered and reformed there.

They didn’t have any foot soldiers left, but the hilltop was packed with cavalry, so it was impossible to see what was happening. They did see, though, the king’s banner - a golden eagle with wings spread, perched on a wooden pole and raised on a spear.

As soon as the Greeks started moving again, the enemy cavalry scattered from the hill - not as a group anymore, but in pieces, some running off one way, some another. Little by little, the hilltop emptied out until they were completely gone.

So, Clearchus didn’t go up the hill, but posted his army at the bottom and sent Lycius of Syracuse and another guy up to check things out and report back. Lycius rode up and checked it out, telling them they were fleeing like crazy. Almost immediately, the sun dipped below the horizon.

The Greeks stopped there, dropped their weapons, and rested, wondering where Cyrus was and why no messenger had arrived. They didn’t know he was dead, and guessed he’d either chased after them or was moving ahead to take a strategic spot.

Left to their own devices, they debated whether to stay put and have the baggage train brought up, or head back to camp. They decided to return, and around supper time, they reached the tents. That’s how the day ended.

They found most of their stuff had been looted - food and drinks, everything, even the wagons loaded with corn and wine that Cyrus had prepared in case they really needed to share them with the Greeks. They said there were four hundred of these wagons, and the king and his men had ransacked them all.

So, most of the Greeks went to bed without supper, having already skipped breakfast because the king had shown up before their usual breakfast stop. And that’s how they spent the night, in pretty rough shape.