Book 1 · Chapter 8

It was almost time for the main market, and the army was close to reaching their camp when Pategyas, a Persian and a trusted member of Cyrus’s team, rode up super fast on his horse, which was soaked in sweat.

He yelled in Greek and Persian to everyone he saw, as quickly as he could: "The king is coming with a huge army ready to fight! Chaos broke out. Everyone expected an attack right away, before they could even get into formation. Cyrus jumped out of his carriage and put on his armor.

Then, leaping onto his horse, with javelins gripped tight, he ordered everyone to arm themselves and get into their positions. The orders were followed quickly; the lines formed. Clearchus led the right wing, which stretched along the Euphrates. Proxenus was next, followed by the rest.

Menon and his troops held the Hellenic left. On the right, beside Clearchus, were one thousand Paphlagonian cavalry, and with them, the Hellenic peltasts. Ariaeus, Cyrus’s second in command, was on the left, with the rest of the non-Greek troops.

Cyrus was with his six hundred-strong cavalry bodyguard, all wearing armor like Cyrus, with cuirasses and helmets - except Cyrus himself, who went into battle without a helmet. All the horses with Cyrus also had forehead and chest protection, and the soldiers carried short Greek swords.

It was midday, but the enemy wasn’t in sight yet. But as afternoon approached, a cloud of dust appeared, followed by a dark haze spreading far and wide across the plain. As they got closer, flashes of bronze and spear tips were visible, and the formations were clear.

On the left were soldiers wearing white armor. "That’s Tissaphernes in charge," they said, "and next to them, soldiers with wicker shields, and then heavily armed infantry with long wooden shields reaching their feet."

They said these were the Egyptians, followed by more cavalry and archers - each nation marching in tightly packed squares.

And all along their front was a line of chariots spaced out - the famous scythe-chariots, with their scythes fitted to the axles, stretching out at an angle, and others pointing downwards, facing the ground, designed to cut through anything they hit.

The plan was for them to charge into the Hellenic ranks at full speed and cut them apart. Interestingly, Cyrus’s hope that the Hellenes wouldn’t worry about the shouts of the Asiatics didn’t pan out. Instead of shouting, they advanced in deep silence, moving slowly and steadily.

At that moment, Cyrus, riding by with Pigres, his interpreter, and a few others, yelled to Clearchus to attack the enemy’s center, because that’s where the king was. "If we hit them there," he added, "we’re done."

Clearchus, though he could see the large group in the center and had been told by Cyrus that the king was outside the Hellenic left (because of their larger numbers, the king could overlap Cyrus’s extreme left while holding his own center), still hesitated to pull his right wing away from the river, fearing he’d be attacked on both sides.

He simply replied, assuring Cyrus that he’s taking care of things.

Right then, the barbarian army was steadily moving forward, and the Greek troops were still getting into position, with different units arriving. Cyrus, riding a little way back from the lines, scanned the battlefield, checking out both friend and foe.

When Xenophon the Athenian spotted him, he rode over to ask if there were any orders. Cyrus, reining in his horse, told him to announce that the sacrifices - both inside and out - looked really good. While he was still talking, he heard a confused buzz going through the ranks and asked what was up.

The other guy said it was the password being passed down for a second time. Cyrus wondered who gave the order and asked what it was. When he heard it was "Zeus our Savior and Victory," he said, "Sounds good to me, let's go with it," and rode off to his position.

Now, the two armies were only about three-quarters of a mile apart, and the Greeks started chanting a celebratory song, while also moving toward the enemy. But as they moved forward, a section of the line surged ahead, like a wave, and the rest sprinted to catch up.

At the same time, a wild cry burst from everyone's lips - like a shout for the war god - "eleleu! eleleu!" and the sprinting became a full-on run. Some say they clashed their shields and spears, which totally freaked out the horses.

And before they even got close enough to shoot arrows, the barbarians turned and ran. Now, the Greeks gave chase with everything they had, only being held back by shouts to stay together and not race off.

The enemy’s chariots, abandoned by their drivers, kept rolling forward, some through the enemy lines, others past the Greeks. They saw them coming and opened a gap to let them pass. One guy, like a totally stunned runner, got tripped up, but even he, they said, wasn’t hurt.

And aside from one guy on the left wing who got nicked by an arrow, no Greek was injured in this battle. Cyrus, seeing the Greeks totally crushing it and chasing after the enemy, was super pleased.

But even though he was stoked and people around him were congratulating him like he was already king, he didn’t join the pursuit. Instead, he kept his squadron of six hundred horsemen tightly together and waited to see what the king would do.

He knew the king was holding the center of the Persian army. It's a thing for Asian kings to be in the center during battles - it’s the safest spot, with troops on either side, and messages can reach them faster.

So, the king was holding the center, but he was actually to the left of Cyrus’s left wing. Seeing that nobody was challenging them, he started to turn, like he was trying to circle the enemy. That’s when Cyrus, worried that the king might get behind them and cut them to pieces, charged to meet him.

Attacking with his six hundred, he took down the troops in front of the king and sent six thousand running, reportedly cutting down their general, Artagerses, with his own hand.

But as soon as things went totally sideways, Cyrus’s own six hundred soldiers, caught up in the chase, got scattered. Almost everyone was gone, except for a few who stayed with Cyrus - mostly his dinner buddies, so they were called.

Alone with these guys, he spotted the king and the crowd around him. He couldn't hold back any longer, so he yelled, "I see him!" and charged forward, swinging at his chest and hitting him through his armor. According to Ctesias the surgeon, who also says he patched the guy up, that’s what happened.

As Cyrus landed the blow, someone threw a javelin and hit him right under his eye - it was a bad hit. Then a huge fight broke out between the king, Cyrus, and everyone trying to protect one or the other. Ctesias, who was right there, gave an account of how many people died on the king’s side.

Cyrus himself went down, and eight of his best friends were piled on top of him. The story goes that Artapates, the most reliable of Cyrus’s magic users, saw Cyrus fall and jumped off his horse, wrapping his arms around him.

One story says the king told someone to kill him as a worthy sacrifice for his brother. Others say Artapates pulled out his curved sword and ended his own life. He had a gold sword, it’s true.

He also wore a collar and bracelets and all the fancy stuff that the wealthiest Persians wore - his kindness and loyalty had earned him honors from Cyrus.