those who received me. Now if I am forced to destroy either of you, I am persuaded I shall have entered to the detriment of the Carians. But if I give you peace, so that you can till your lands in safety, I imagine I shall have come for your welfare. Therefore from this day forwards you must meet on friendly terms, cultivate your fields without fear, give your children to each other, and if any one offends against these laws, Cyrus and ourselves will be his enemies.'
[6] At that the city gates were flung wide open, the roads were filled with folk hurrying to one another, the fields were thronged with labourers. They held high festival together, and the land was full of peace and joyfulness.
[7] Meanwhile messengers came from Cyrus inquiring whether there was need for more troops or siege- engines, but Adousius answered, on the contrary his present force was at Cyrus' service to employ elsewhere if he wished, and so drew off his army, only leaving a garrison in the citadels. Thereupon the Carians implored him to remain, and when he would not, they sent to Cyrus begging him to make Adousius their satrap.
[8] Meanwhile Cyrus had sent Hystaspas with an army into Phrygia on the Hellespont, and when Adousius came back he bade him follow, for the Phrygians would be more willing to obey Hystaspas if they heard that another army was advancing.
[9] Now the Hellenes on the seaboard offered many gifts and bargained not to receive the Asiatics within their walls, but only to pay tribute and serve wherever Cyrus commanded. [10] But the king of Phrygia made preparations to hold his fortresses and not yield, and sent out orders to that effect. However, when his lieutenants deserted him and he found himself all alone, he had to put himself in the hands of Hystaspas, and leave his fate to the judgment of Cyrus. Then Hystaspas stationed strong Persian garrisons in all the citadels, and departed, taking with him not only his own troops but many mounted men and targeteers from Phrygia. [11] And Cyrus sent word to Adousius to join Hystaspas, put himself at the head of those who had submitted and allow them to retain their arms, while those who showed a disposition to resist were to be deprived of their horses and their weapons and made to follow the army as slingers.
[12] While his lieutenants were thus employed, Cyrus set out from Sardis, leaving a large force of infantry to garrison the place, and taking Croesus with him, and a long train of waggons laden with riches of every kind. Croesus presented an accurate inventory of everything in each waggon, and said, as he delivered the scrolls:
'With these in your possession, Cyrus, you can tell whether your officers are handing over their freights in full or not.'
[13] And Cyrus answered:
'It was kindly done, Croesus, on your part, to take thought for this: but I have arranged that the freights should be in charge of those who are entitled to them, so that if the men steal, they steal their own property.'
With these words he handed the documents to his friends and officers to serve as checks on their own stewards.
[14] Cyrus also took Lydians in his train; allowing some to carry arms, those, namely, who were at pains to keep their weapons in good order, and their horses and chariots, and who did their best to please him, but if they gave themselves ungracious airs, he took away their horses and bestowed them on the Persians who had served him from the beginning of the campaign, burnt their weapons, and forced them to follow the army as slingers. [15] Indeed, as a rule, he compelled all the subject population who had been disarmed to practise the use of the sling: it was, he considered, a weapon for slaves. No doubt there are occasions when a body of slingers, working with other detachments, can do excellent service, but, taken alone, not all the slingers in the world could face a mere handful armed with steel.
[16] Cyrus was marching to Babylon, but on his way he subdued the Phrygians of Greater Phrygia and the Cappadocians, and reduced the Arabians to subjection. These successes enabled him to increase his Persian cavalry till it was not far short of forty thousand men, and he had still horses left over to distribute among his allies at large.
At length he came before Babylon with an immense body of cavalry, archers, and javelin-men, beside slingers innumerable.
[C.5] When Cyrus reached the city he surrounded it entirely with his forces, and then rode round the walls himself, attended by his friends and the leading officers of the allies. [2] Having surveyed the fortifications, he prepared to lead off his troops, and at that moment a deserter came to inform him that the Assyrians intended to attack as soon as he began to withdraw, for they had inspected his forces from the walls and considered them very weak. This was not surprising, for the circuit of the city was so enormous that it was impossible to surround it without seriously thinning the lines. [3] When Cyrus heard of their intention, he took up his post in the centre of his troops with his own staff round him and sent orders to the infantry for the wings to double back on either side, marching past the stationary centre of the line, until they met in the rear exactly opposite himself. [4] Thus the men in front were immediately encouraged by the doubling of their depth, and those who retired were equally cheered, for they saw that the others would encounter the enemy first. The two wings being united, the power of the whole force was strengthened, those behind being protected by those in front and those in front supported by those behind. [5] When the phalanx was thus folded back on itself, both the front and the rear ranks were formed of picked men, a disposition that seemed calculated to encourage valour and check flight. On the flanks, the cavalry and the light infantry were drawn nearer and nearer to the commander as the line contracted. [6] When the whole phalanx was in close order, they fell back from the walls, slowly, facing the foe, until they were out of range; then they turned, marched a few paces, and then wheeled round again to the left, and halted, facing the walls, but the further they got the less often they paused, until, feeling themselves secure, they quickened their pace and went off in an uninterrupted march until they reached their quarters.
[7] When they were encamped, Cyrus called a council of his officers and said, 'My friends and allies, we have surveyed the city on every side, and for my part I fail to see any possibility of taking by assault walls so lofty and so strong: on the other hand, the greater the population the more quickly must they yield to hunger, unless they come out to fight. If none of you have any other scheme to suggest, I propose that we reduce them by blockade.'
[8] Then Chrysantas spoke:
'Does not the river flow through the middle of the city, and it is not at least a quarter of a mile in width?'
'To be sure it is,' answered Gobryas, 'and so deep that the water would cover two men, one standing on the other's shoulders; in fact the city is even better protected by its river than by its walls.'
[9] At which Cyrus said, 'Well, Chrysantas, we must forego what is beyond our power: but let us measure off at once the work for each of us, set to, and dig a trench as wide and as deep as we can, that we may need as few guards as possible.'
[10] Thereupon Cyrus took his measurements all round the city, and, leaving a space on either bank of the river large enough for a lofty tower, he had a gigantic trench dug from end to end of the wall, his men heaping up the earth on their own side. [11] Then he set to work to build his towers by the river. The foundations were of palm- trees, a hundred feet long and more--the palm-tree grows to a greater height than that, and under pressure it will curve upwards like the spine of an ass beneath a load. [12] He laid these foundations in order to give the impression that he meant to besiege the town, and was taking precautions so that the river, even if it found its way into his trench, should not carry off his towers. Then he had other towers built along the mound, so as to have as many guard-posts as possible. [13] Thus his army was employed, but the men within the walls laughed at his preparations, knowing they had supplies to last them more than twenty years. When Cyrus heard that, he divided his army into twelve, each division to keep guard for one month in the year. [14] At this the Babylonians laughed louder still, greatly pleased at the idea of being guarded by Phrygians and Lydians and Arabians and Cappadocians, all of whom, they thought, would be more friendly to themselves than to the Persians.
[15] However by this time the trenches were dug. And Cyrus heard that it was a time of high festival in Babylon when the citizens drink and make merry the whole night long. As soon as the darkness fell, he set his men to work. [16] The mouths of the trenches were opened, and during the night the water poured in, so that the river-bed formed a highway into the heart of the town.
[17] When the great stream had taken to its new channel, Cyrus ordered his Persian officers to bring up their thousands, horse and foot alike, each detachment drawn up two deep, the allies to follow in their old order. [18] They lined up immediately, and Cyrus made his own bodyguard descend into the dry channel first, to see if the bottom was firm enough for marching. [19] When they said it was, he called a council of all his generals and spoke as follows:
[20] 'My friends, the river has stepped aside for us; he offers us a passage by his own high-road into Babylon.
