Book 1 · Chapter 4

From there, he marched two stages - about ten miles - to the river Psarus, which was about two hundred feet across. Then, he marched another five miles to Issi, the last city in Cilicia. It was a thriving, big, and prosperous town right on the coast.

They stopped there for three days, and that’s where Cyrus met up with his fleet. There were thirty-five ships from Peloponnesus, with the Lacedaemonian admiral Pythagoras on board. An Egyptian named Tamos had sailed them from Ephesus, and he himself had another twenty-five ships for Cyrus.

These ships had been blocking Miletus when that city sided with Tissaphernes; he’s also used them for other military actions against that satrap for Cyrus.

A third officer, the Lacedaemonian Cheirisophus, joined the fleet - Cyrus had sent for him - and he brought seven hundred heavily armed infantry soldiers, who he would lead for Cyrus. The fleet was anchored just across from Cyrus’s tent.

Another group arrived too: four hundred Greek mercenaries working for Abrocomas, who ditched him for Cyrus and joined the campaign against the king. From Issi, he marched another five miles to the gates of Cilicia and Syria.

It was like a double fortress - the inner, closer one protecting Cilicia was held by Syennesis and some local soldiers; the outer, further one protecting Syria was reported to be guarded by troops loyal to the king.

A river named the Carsus, about a hundred feet wide, flowed between the two fortresses, and the space between them was barely six hundred yards.

It would have been impossible to force a way through - the pass was so narrow, with walls stretching down to the sea and steep cliffs above, and both fortresses had gates.

Cyrus had sent for the fleet so he could move some infantry soldiers inside and outside the gates, and break through the enemy if they were guarding the Syrian gate - he fully expected Abrocomas to be there with a large army.

But Abrocomas had learned Cyrus was in Cilicia and turned around, leaving Phoenicia to join the king with an army rumored to be three hundred thousand strong. From there, Cyrus kept moving, through Syria for another five miles to Myriandus, a city populated by Phoenicians on the coast.

It was a busy port, and lots of merchant ships were anchored in the harbor. They stopped there for seven days. Then, the Arcadian general Xenias and the Megarian Pasion snuck onto a merchant ship, taking their most valuable possessions, and sailed home.

Most people figured they were just jealous because Cyrus had let Clearchus keep the soldiers who had deserted to him, hoping to return to Greece instead of marching against the king.

When the two disappeared, rumors spread that Cyrus was after them with warships, and some hoped the cowards would get caught, while others felt sorry for them if that was their fate.

Cyrus called the generals over and started talking. Xenias and Pasion dipped out on us, he said, but they shouldn't think they’re off the hook. I know where they’re hiding, and they won't get away with it. I’m sending warships to snag their boats if I want. But seriously!

"I’m not about turning a blind eye to people just because they stick around, only to grab everything from them when they want to leave. Not cool. Let them go knowing we treated them way better than they treated us." He paused.

"And yeah, their kids and wives are safe in Tralles right now, but I’m not taking those away either. They’re getting those back because of how good they used to be to me."

He finished speaking, and the Greeks - even those who were feeling down about marching inland - were suddenly way more pumped after hearing about Cyrus’s fairness. They were totally ready to follow him.

After that, Cyrus kept moving, covering about twenty miles - that’s four stages - to the river Chalus. That river is about sixty feet wide, and it’s full of calm fish that the Syrians think are gods and won’t let anyone hurt. They feel the same way about the pigeons there.

The villages where they camped belonged to Parysatis, part of her dowry. From there, he traveled another fifteen miles - five stages - to where the river Dardas started, also about sixty feet wide.

That’s where Belesys, the ruler of Syria, had his palace, with a huge, gorgeous park full of plants and trees from every season. But Cyrus chopped down the park and burned the palace.

Then, he moved on for another seven and a half miles - three stages - to the Euphrates River, which is almost half a mile across. A big, thriving city called Thapsacus stood on its banks. They stopped there for five days.

That’s where Cyrus called for the Greek generals and told them they were heading to Babylon to fight the great king. He told them to tell the soldiers and get them to follow. The generals called a meeting and told the soldiers the news.

The soldiers were seriously ticked off and angry at the generals, saying they’d known this for a while and kept it secret. They refused to go unless they got a big cash bonus, like the one their predecessors got when they went to visit Cyrus’s dad - not to fight, but as a friendly visit.

The generals told Cyrus what they said, and he agreed to give each soldier five silver coins - that’s a mina - as soon as they got to Babylon, and pay them everything they were owed until he got them safely back to Ionia. That’s how they convinced the Greek forces - most of them, anyway.

Menon, before it was clear if the other soldiers would follow Cyrus or not, gathered his own troops and gave them this speech: Guys, he said, if you’re listening to me, there’s a way you can win Cyrus’s special favor without any risk or hard work. You’re wondering what it is, right? I’ll tell you.

Cyrus is practically begging the Greeks to follow him to fight the king. So, cross the Euphrates now, before we know what the others will decide. If they vote to follow, you’ll get the credit for being the first to step up, and Cyrus will be grateful.

He’s going to see you as his biggest supporters, and he’s going to reward you - better than anyone else. If the others vote against crossing, we’ll just go back. But as the only ones he can truly trust, it’s you Cyrus will rely on - as commanders or officers.

"Just ask him for what you want, and he’ll give it to you, because you’re his friends."

"The men heard and followed orders, and before anyone else could even respond, they were already across. But when Cyrus saw that Menon's troops had made it, he was stoked and sent Glus to that group with this message: "Soldiers, thanks for now; you’re gonna thank me later.

Seriously, I’ll make sure of it, or I'm not Cyrus. The soldiers totally started praying for his success - their hopes were seriously high. But to Menon, Cyrus sent gifts - he was being super generous. After that, Cyrus started crossing too, and everyone else followed."

As they waded through, no one got more than chest-deep wet. The guys from Thapascus said they'd never seen the river crossed on foot like that before - boats were always needed. But Abrocomas, trying to stop Cyrus, had burned them all.

So, people thought it was like a miracle - the river seemed to pull back as if bowing to Cyrus, their future king. From there, he marched through Syria for nine days - fifty parasangs - and they reached the Araxes River.

They found several villages packed with corn and wine, so they stopped for three days to restock the army.