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“The greater part of this wide plain is the country of the Massagetae, against whom Cyrus was eager to lead his army. For there were many weighty reasons that impelled and encouraged him to do so: first, his birth, because of which he seemed to be something more than mortal; and next, his victories in his wars: for no nation that Cyrus undertook to attack could escape from him.”
HERODOTUS, HISTORIES; BOOK 1.204; A. D. GODLEY TRANSLATION
Summary
After Babylon was conquered, Cyrus next set his sights on the Massagetae, a people who lived on the other side of the Araxes river. Across the western shore of the Araxes stretched the Caucasus mountains, while along the eastern shore stretched a plain as far as the eye could see. It was here the Massagetae lived under the rule of Queen Tomyris (her husband had died, leaving her to rule).
Cyrus first asked Tomyris to marry her, but she rejected him, knowing he wanted to marry her only to take over her lands. When the marriage proposal failed, Cyrus then began building a bridge across the Araxes. Tomyris told Cyrus to stop what he was doing and be content with what he already ruled over. However, if he was still insistent on trying to conquer the Massagetae, she gave him two proposals: 1) Allow the Massagetae to withdraw a three days’ journey from the Araxes, and then Cyrus could cross; or, 2) Cyrus withdraws from the Araxes and the Massagetae will come to him.
Cyrus calls a council and asks his advisors what he should do. Most of the advisors tell Cyrus to let the Massagetae come to him. However, Croesus told Cyrus that would be a bad decision. If the Massagetae beat the Persian army, nothing would stop them from conquering the rest of Cyrus’ empire. However, if the Persians beat the Massagetae, they would still have to cross the Araxes and conquer their territory. Instead, Cyrus should cross the Araxes and allow the Massagetae to move back. Then, the army should have a lavish feast, then withdraw, leaving behind the least valuable parts of the feast. Since the Massagetae are not well off people, when they see what’s left behind they’ll feast on it. Then Cyrus can attack them.
Cyrus agrees to Croesus’ plan. When he crosses the Araxes, though, he has a dream about a man named Darius with wings sprouting out of his shoulders. One wing covered Asia, the other Europe. Cyrus calls in Darius’ father and accuses his son of plotting a rebellion against him. Darius’ father is perplexed and vows that, if Darius is plotting a rebellion, he will give him over to Cyrus. Cyrus then sends him back to Persia to keep an eye on Darius.
Meanwhile, Cyrus sets Croesus’ plan into motion. He has the army march a day’s journey from the Araxes, hold a feast, then leaves behind a part of the army that was useless, along with what was left of the feast, and returns across the Araxes. A third of the Massagetae army, led by Tomyris’ son, attack and defeat the Persian army left behind and partake of the leftover feast, getting drunk and falling asleep. Cyrus then attacks the Massagetae, kills many of them, and captures many more, including Tomyris’ son. When Tomyris’ son comes to his senses, he asks to be freed, which Cyrus grants. He then kills himself.
Tomyris tells Cyrus not to be proud of his victory because he used trickery rather than strength to achieve victory and warns him to leave immediately. If he does, the Massagetae will not pursue him. If he refuses, he’ll regret antagonizing the Massagetae.
Cyrus ignores Tomyris’ warning, so the Massagetae attack the Persians. For a long time, the two armies fight to a stalemate. However, the Massagetae eventually get the upper hand and Cyrus is killed in battle. Tomyris fills up a wineskin full of human blood, finds Cyrus’ body, and presses his head into the skin, telling him she made good on her threat that he would get his fill of blood.
With that, the reign of Cyrus comes to an end and his son Cambyses takes over.
Cyrus Reaches His Limit
“Men’s fortunes are on a wheel, which in its turning does not allow the same man to prosper forever”
Croesus; Herodotus, Histories, Book 1.207; A. D. Godley translation
Cyrus had just conquered Babylon—one of the toughest cities to conquer in the region. I bet he was riding high on that victory. And rather than leaving it at that, Cyrus immediately turned his attention to another people—the Massagetae. He was warned multiple times to give it up, but he didn’t listen. He conquered the unconquerable Babylon after all! So, he went after the Massagetae—and was defeated.
Cyrus’ ambition ended up costing him his life.
Ambition implies not being content with your current circumstances. When is this a good thing? When is it a bad thing? When should someone continue moving forward? When should someone be content? What are the indicators that one has reached their limit and should go no further?
I admit I’m not a terribly ambitious person, so ambition is difficult for me to understand. I don’t have a lot of money, or a lot of connections, or a lot of influence. And I’m fine with that. As long as I have enough time and money to survive and enjoy my past time activities, I’m content. I won’t be remembered in history, and I’m okay with that.
Anyway, Croesus ended up being right in the end. He knew how suddenly fortunes could turn. He knew painfully well what happens when ambition blows up in your face. And he only survived his ambition because of divine intervention—though it meant being a servant to the Persian royal family for the rest of his life.
What is the legacy of Cyrus? His life almost ended as immediately as it began, but thanks to the mercy of a simple couple, he got to grow up, find out about his heritage, get his revenge, make the lives of his own people better, and become one of the most recognized leaders in human history. For better or worse, that’s quite the testament about compassion toward the powerless.
Cyrus was someone who really believed in his ability to conquer and rule. He did not take his life for granted. I wish I had that kind of belief in my own abilities—minus the conquering the world stuff. I wish I could stop taking my life for granted.
On the other hand, Cyrus didn’t know when to quit. He greed for more ended up costing him his life and the lives of many others. Would that I know when to quit when the time comes.
Cambyses and Croesus
Well, we did it. We got to the end of Book 1 of Histories.
I want to say that we’ll continue with the story and look at Cambyses’ and Croesus’ relationship (which is a very interesting one since Cambyses was a bit crackers), but Herodotus is going to spend almost the entirety of Book 2 talking about the Egyptians.
That’s right. Herodotus, in usual fashion, is going to go off on a tangent. A really big tangent. There will be tangents within the tangent. At least some of the stories are pretty interesting.
And then there’s his hilarious description of the hippopotamus.
Anyway, we won’t really return to Persia until Book 3. I’ll be sure to provide a brief refresher at that time about what happened in Book 1.
That's all for the Histories, Book 1.201-16.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
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Thumbnail: Head of Cyrus Brought to Queen Tomyris by Peter Paul Rubens, 1622-23. Public domain.