Book 1 · Chapter 2

When Cyrus felt the time was right to head inland, he claimed he wanted to completely kick the Pisidians out of the country. He started gathering both his troops from Asia and Greece, saying it was all against them.

From Sardis, his orders flew everywhere: to Clearchus, to meet him there with his whole army; to Aristippus, to sort things out back home and send the soldiers he hired; to Xenias the Arcadian, who was in charge of the foreign troops in the cities, to show up with all the men he could spare, except those needed to guard the fortresses.

Next, he called up the troops currently laying siege to Miletus, and invited the exiles to join his planned trip, promising to restore them to their hometown if he won. They were totally on board - they believed in him, and showed up at Sardis with their weapons.

Xenias arrived at Sardis with four thousand heavily armed soldiers from the cities. Proxenus brought fifteen hundred heavily armed troops and five hundred light infantry. Sophaenetus from Stymphalus brought one thousand heavily armed soldiers.

Socrates from Achaea brought five hundred heavily armed troops. And Megarion Pasion arrived with three hundred heavily armed soldiers and three hundred lightly armed troops. This last guy, and Socrates, were both part of the force attacking Miletus. They all joined Cyrus at Sardis.

But Tissaphernes was definitely paying attention. Such a huge army meant there was more going on than just invading Pisidia, he figured. So, as fast as he could, he rode off to the king with around five hundred horsemen.

The king, hearing from Tissaphernes about Cyrus’s massive army, immediately started making his own plans.

So, Cyrus, with the troops I already mentioned, left Sardis and kept marching through Lydia for three days, covering about twenty-two miles. He reached the River Maeander, which is pretty wide - around two hundred feet - and crossed using a bridge made of seven boats.

Then, he marched through Phrygia for a single day, traveling about eight miles to Colossae, a thriving and sizable city. He stayed there for a week, and Menon from Thessaly joined him with one thousand heavily armed soldiers and five hundred lighter troops - Dolopes, Aenianes, and Olynthians.

From there, he marched for three days, covering about twenty miles, to Celaenae, another bustling and prosperous city in Phrygia. Cyrus owned a palace here, along with a huge park full of wild animals, which he used for hunting, to get exercise for himself and his horses.

The River Maeander flowed right through the park, starting from within the palace grounds and flowing through the city of Celaenae. The great king also had a palace in Celaenae, a strong fortress, near the source of another river, the Marsyas, at the base of the city's high point.

This river also flowed through the city, joining the Maeander, and was about twenty-five feet wide. This is where Apollo is said to have flayed Marsyas after winning a contest against him.

He hung the skin of the defeated man in a cave where a spring bubbled up, and that’s how the river got its name, Marsyas.

It was on this spot that Xerxes, according to tradition, built this very palace, as well as the citadel of Celaenae itself, while retreating from Greece after losing a major battle.

Cyrus stayed in Celaenae for thirty days, and then Clearchus from Sparta arrived with one thousand heavily armed soldiers, eight hundred Thracian light troops, and two hundred Cretan archers.

Sosis from Syracuse also showed up with three thousand heavily armed soldiers, and Sophaenetus from Arcadia brought one thousand more. Cyrus then held a review in the park, counted his Greek soldiers, and found he had around eleven thousand heavily armed and about two thousand lighter troops.

From there, he continued his march for two days - ten miles - to the busy city of Peltae, where he stayed for three days. During that time, Xenias from Arcadia celebrated the Lycaea festival with sacrifices and games. The prizes were gold headbands, and Cyrus watched the competition.

Then, the march continued for two days - twelve miles - to Ceramon-agora, another bustling city, the last one on the border of Mysia. After that, a three-day march - thirty miles - brought him to Caystru-pedion, a busy city.

Cyrus stopped there for five days, and the soldiers, who hadn’t been paid for over three months, kept coming to the palace gates demanding their wages. Cyrus kept stalling them with promises and hopes, but he couldn't hide how annoyed he was - he always made sure to pay up when he had the money.

At this point, Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, the king of the Cilicians, came to visit Cyrus, and it was said that Cyrus received a large sum of money from the queen. At least, that’s when Cyrus gave the army four months' worth of pay.

The queen was accompanied by a group of bodyguards from Cilicia and Aspendos, and, if rumors are to be believed, Cyrus and the queen were having an affair.

From this place, he marched two stages - ten parasangs - to Thymbrium, a really busy city. Right by the road is the spring of Midas, the king of Phrygia, like, that's what they call it. The story goes that Midas caught a satyr by spiking the spring with wine.

From there, he marched two more stages - ten parasangs - to Tyriaeum, another crowded city. He stopped there for three days. And get this, the Cilician queen, according to everyone, asked Cyrus to show off his army just for fun.

Cyrus was totally down, so he held a review of the Greeks and non-Greeks in the open field. He told the Greeks to line up and get into their usual battle formation, with each general leading their own group. So they formed a line four soldiers deep.

Menon and his crew were on the right; Clearchus and his men were on the left; and the other generals and their troops were in the center. Cyrus first checked out the non-Greeks, who marched past in groups of horses and infantry.

Then he checked out the Greeks, driving past in his chariot with the queen in her carriage. And everyone was decked out in shiny brass helmets and purple tunics, with greaves and shields uncovered.

After driving past the whole army, he stopped his chariot in front of the center of the battle line and sent his translator, Pigres, to the Greek generals. He told them to present arms and march along the whole line.

The generals repeated the order to their troops, and when the bugle sounded, with shields forward and spears ready, they charged forward to meet the enemy. The pace picked up, and with a shout, the soldiers spontaneously broke into a run, heading towards the camp. The non-Greeks were freaking out.

The Cilician queen in her carriage turned and fled; the merchants left their stuff and ran for it; and the Greeks rolled into camp laughing. What really impressed the queen was how awesome and organized the army looked, but Cyrus was stoked to see how scared the non-Greeks were.

From there, he marched on three stages - twenty parasangs - to Iconium, the last city in Phrygia, where he stayed for three days. Then he marched through Lycaonia for five stages - thirty parasangs. This was enemy territory, so he let the Greeks loot it.

At that point, Cyrus sent the Cilician queen back to her own country the fastest way possible, and to escort her, he sent Menon’s soldiers and Menon himself. The rest of the troops continued their march through Cappadocia for four stages - twenty-five parasangs - to Dana, a big, thriving city.

They stopped there for three days, during which time Cyrus had a Persian nobleman named Megaphernes - who wore the royal purple - and another important commander among his officers executed on charges of plotting against him.

They tried to push their way into Cilicia. The entrance was by a really steep, winding road - impossible for an army to use if someone was defending it. Word was that Syennesis was at the top of the pass, guarding the way. So, they stopped for a day in the open field.

But the next day, a messenger arrived saying Syennesis had left the pass. He probably realized Menon’s army was already in Cilicia, on his side of the mountains. Plus, he heard that warships, from Sparta and Cyrus himself, with Tamos as the captain, were sailing from Ionia to Cilicia.

Whatever the reason, Cyrus made his way up into the hills without any trouble and saw the Cilician guards' tents. From there, he went down into a huge, gorgeous plain - lots of water and trees of all kinds, plus grapevines everywhere.

This plain grew tons of sesame, panic grass, millet, barley, and wheat. It was surrounded on all sides by a tall, steep wall of mountains, from one sea to the other. Going through this plain, he traveled four stages - twenty-five parasangs - to Tarsus, a big, thriving city in Cilicia.

There was Syennesis’s palace, the king's home. A river called the Cydnus flowed right through the city, two hundred feet wide. They found the city had been emptied out - everyone, including Syennesis, had gone to a strong position on the hills. Everyone had left, that is, except the tavern owners.

The people from the coastal towns of Soli and Issi were still there too. Now, Epyaxa, Syennesis’s queen, had reached Tarsus five days before Cyrus. During their trip over the mountains into the plain, two groups from Menon’s army got lost.

Some said the Cilicians had killed them while they were out raiding. Another story was that they'd fallen behind, couldn’t catch up with the main army, and couldn’t find their way, so they died. Either way, they were one hundred hoplites - heavily armed infantry soldiers.

When the rest of the army arrived, they were furious about the loss of their comrades, so they took out their anger by looting the city of Tarsus and the palace. Now, when Cyrus marched into the city, he sent for Syennesis to come to him.

But the king replied that he’s never put himself in the hands of someone he considered his superior, and wasn’t willing to accept Cyrus’s offer just then. Eventually, his wife convinced him, and he agreed to a promise of good faith.

After that, they met, and Syennesis gave Cyrus a lot of money to help his army. In return, Cyrus gave him traditional gifts for a king: a horse with a gold bit, a necklace of gold, a gold bracelet, and a gold scimitar - a curved sword.

He also gave him a Persian tunic and, most importantly, promised that his territory wouldn’t be looted again and that he could get back any slaves that had been captured.