The head and right hand of Cyrus were cut off by command of Artaxerxes, and carried through the ranks on the point of a long spear. And when Ariæus, who commanded the right wing of the rebel army, saw that Cyrus was dead, he sought safety in flight. Thus the battle which had begun so well for Cyrus, turned in a moment quite unexpectedly, and all the hopes of his followers were dashed to the ground.
But for the javelin thrust which ended the life of Cyrus, the future history of Persia might have been very different. Artaxerxes, the indolent, was not the man to save his country. From him no effort could be expected, no attempt to improve his subjects, or check the luxurious selfishness which was bringing the country to ruin. But had Cyrus, the brave, wise, and generous Cyrus, become King, he might have been able, not only to arrest the ruin, but even to restore the empire to something of its former greatness. For since the time of Cyrus I., the throne of Persia had never been occupied by a man so worthy and so able to govern a great nation as was his young namesake.
Had it been Artaxerxes who had fallen in the battle, the Queen-mother Parysatis would hardly have wept other than tears of joy, for then Cyrus would have been sure of the throne. But now that her best-beloved son was killed, the grief of Parysatis was only equalled by her burning desire for vengeance on all who had had any part in his death. She contrived to get into her power the Carian archer by whose javelin her son had been wounded, and the soldier who had carried through the ranks his head and hand, and caused them both to be tortured to death.
TOMB OF DARIUS I. NEAR PERSEPOLIS.
See [page 5].
XVII
THE TREATY WITH ARIÆUS
Terrible indeed must have been the despair of the Hellenes on hearing of the death of Cyrus, for by this one blow their whole position was changed, their every hope was shattered. Instead of being able to cherish pleasant dreams of future happiness made possible by the bounty of Cyrus, they had now before them nothing but a dark and dreary prospect of toil and danger, through which if they barely escaped with their lives, it was as much as they could dare to hope.
Hitherto Cyrus, who had studied in advance every mile of the road, had been their leader, and had always brought them by the best way. Now they found themselves a thousand miles distant from their home, without the slightest knowledge of the countries through which they would have to pass. Hitherto they had been free from all care with regard to their daily food, for the liberal pay which they had received from Cyrus had enabled them to supply their wants without difficulty. Now they had nothing to fall back upon but their savings, and when these were spent, they would be reduced to the most extreme distress.
They were, in fact, like men lost in some primeval forest, surrounded by every kind of danger, with no human being to help them, no landmark to point out the way, but nevertheless struggling to escape from among its gloomy shades.