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Cyrus (Kuruš) the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia
Darius II of Persia

Darius II , originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus , was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 BC.Artaxerxes I, who died shortly after December 24, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II....
 (Darayavahuš) and Parysatis
Parysatis

Parysatis was the 5th century BCE illegitimate daughter of Artaxerxes I, Emperor of Persia and Andia of Babylon.She was the half-sister of Xerxes II, Sogdianus and Darius II....
, was a Persian prince and general
General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
. The time of his birth is unknown, but he died in 401 BC. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of the Greeks is told by Xenophon
Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates....
 in his Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)

Anabasis is the most famous work of the Ancient Greece professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment....
. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus, was used by Ephorus
Ephorus

Ephorus or Ephoros , of Kyme in Aeolis, in Asia Minor, was an Ancient Greece historian. Information on his biography is limited; he was the father of Demophilus, who followed in his footsteps as a historian, and to Plutarch's claim that Ephorus declined Alexander the great's offer to join him on his Alexander the great#Period_of_conque...
. Further information is contained in the excerpts from Ctesias
Ctesias

Ctesias of Cnidus was a Hellenic civilization physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who flourished in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes II, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....
 by Photius; also Plutarch
Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
’s lives of Artaxerxes II and Lysander
Lysander

Lysander was a Spartan General and the commander of the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which was victorious against the Ancient Athens at battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC....
.






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Cyrus (Kuruš) the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia
Darius II of Persia

Darius II , originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus , was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 BC.Artaxerxes I, who died shortly after December 24, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II....
 (Darayavahuš) and Parysatis
Parysatis

Parysatis was the 5th century BCE illegitimate daughter of Artaxerxes I, Emperor of Persia and Andia of Babylon.She was the half-sister of Xerxes II, Sogdianus and Darius II....
, was a Persian prince and general
General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
. The time of his birth is unknown, but he died in 401 BC. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of the Greeks is told by Xenophon
Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates....
 in his Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)

Anabasis is the most famous work of the Ancient Greece professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment....
. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus, was used by Ephorus
Ephorus

Ephorus or Ephoros , of Kyme in Aeolis, in Asia Minor, was an Ancient Greece historian. Information on his biography is limited; he was the father of Demophilus, who followed in his footsteps as a historian, and to Plutarch's claim that Ephorus declined Alexander the great's offer to join him on his Alexander the great#Period_of_conque...
. Further information is contained in the excerpts from Ctesias
Ctesias

Ctesias of Cnidus was a Hellenic civilization physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who flourished in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes II, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....
 by Photius; also Plutarch
Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
’s lives of Artaxerxes II and Lysander
Lysander

Lysander was a Spartan General and the commander of the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which was victorious against the Ancient Athens at battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC....
. These are the only sources of information for Cyrus the Younger.

According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was born after the accession of his father in 424 BC. In 408 BC, after the victories of Alcibiades
Alcibiades

Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides , was a prominent History of Athens statesman, oratory, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War....
, Darius II decided to continue the war against Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 and give strong support to the Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
ns. He sent the Cyrus the Younger into Asia Minor, as satrap
Satrap

Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Medes and Persian Empire empires, including the Achaemenid Empire and in several of their heirs, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic civilization empires....
 of Lydia
Lydia

Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkey provinces of Manisa Province and inland Izmir Province....
 and Phrygia
Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges, changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont....
 Major with Cappadocia
Cappadocia

Cappadocia, Wikipedia:IPA for English /k?p?'do???/ , was an extensive inland district of Asia Minor . The name continued to be used in western sources and in the Christianity tradition throughout history and is still widely used as an international Tourism in Turkey concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders characterized by...
, and commander of the Persian troops, "which gather into the field of Castolos", i.e. of the army of the district of Asia Minor.

In the Spartan general Lysander, Cyrus found a man who was willing to help him; as Lysander himself hoped to become absolute ruler of Greece, by the aid of the Persian prince. So Cyrus put all his means at the disposal of Lysander in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War which lasted from 431-404BC was an Ancient Greece military conflict, fought by Athens and its Athenian empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta....
, but denied them to his successor Callicratidas
Callicratidas

Callicratidas was a Spartan naval commander in the Peloponnesian War. In 406 BC, he was sent to the Aegean Sea to take command of the Spartan fleet from Lysander, the first navarch....
.

At the same time Darius fell ill and called his son to his deathbed; Cyrus handed over all his treasures to Lysander and went to Susa
Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian Empire and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 250 km east of the Tigris River.The modern town of Shush, Iran is located at the site of ancient Susa....
. After the accession of Artaxerxes II in 404 BC, Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes

Tissaphernes was a History of Persia soldier and statesman, grandson of Hydarnes.In 413 BC he was satrap of Lydia and Caria, and commander in chief of the Persian army in Asia Minor....
 (Ci?rafarna) denounced the plans of Cyrus against his brother but, by the intercession of Parysatis, was pardoned and sent back to his satrapy.

Lysander won the battle of Aegospotami
Battle of Aegospotami

The naval Battle of Aegospotami took place in 405 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. In the battle, a Spartan fleet under Lysander completely destroyed the Athenian navy....
 and Sparta became more influential in the Greek world. Cyrus managed to gather a large army by beginning a quarrel with Tissaphernes, satrap of Caria
Caria

Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians and Dorians Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there....
, about the Ionia
Ionia

Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest Izmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Hellenes settlements....
n towns; he also pretended to prepare an expedition against the Pisidia
Pisidia

Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey)....
ns, a mountainous tribe in the Taurus, which was never obedient to the Empire.

In the spring of 401 BC, Cyrus united all his forces into the group now called the "Ten Thousand
Ten Thousand (Greek)

The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Ancient Greece, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II....
" and advanced from Sardis
Sardis

Sardis, also Sardes , modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine Empire times....
, without announcing the object of his expedition. By dexterous management and large promises he overcame the scruples of the Greek troops against the length and danger of the war; a Spartan fleet of thirty-five trireme
Trireme

File:Romtrireme.jpgThe trireme is a class of warships used by the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece and ancient Rome....
s sent to Cilicia
Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia now known as ?ukurova, was a commonly used name of the south coastal region of the Anatolian peninsula, and a political entity in Roman times....
 opened the passes of the Amanus into Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 and conveyed to him a Spartan detachment of 700 men under Cheirisophus. The king had only been warned at the last moment by Tissaphernes and gathered an army in haste; Cyrus advanced into Babylonia, before he met with an enemy. In October 401 BC, the battle of Cunaxa
Battle of Cunaxa

The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 BC between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had inherited the Persian Empire throne as Artaxerxes II in 404 BC....
 ensued. Cyrus had 10,400 Greek hoplites
Hoplite

The word hoplite derives from hoplon , meaning an item of armour or equipment, thus 'hoplite' may approximate to 'armoured man'. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greece City-states....
 and 2,500 peltasts
Peltast

A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Greece who often served as skirmishers....
, and an Asiatic army of approximately 10,000 under the command of Ariaeus
Ariaeus

Ariaeus was a Persian Empire general who fought alongside Cyrus the Younger at the Battle of Cunaxa and later was involved in the assassination of Tissaphernes....
.

Cyrus saw that the outcome depended on the fate of the king; he therefore wanted Clearchus, the commander of the Greeks, to take the centre against Artaxerxes. Clearchus, out of arrogance, disobeyed. As a result the left wing of the Persians under Tissaphernes was free to engage the rest of Cyrus' forces; Cyrus in the centre threw himself upon Artaxerxes, but was slain in a desperate struggle. Tissaphernes pretended to have killed the rebel himself, with the result that Parysatis took cruel vengeance upon the slayer of her favorite son. The Persian troops, instead of attacking the Greeks via a direct assault, decoyed them into the interior, beyond the Tigris
Tigris

The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq....
, and then attack through trickery. It was a solid and clever plan but, after their commanders had been taken prisoners, the Greeks managed to force their way to the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
. This achievement demonstrated the potential superiority of Greek soldiers against their Persian adversaries. It is thought that this was the reason why Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon,...
 formulated his strategy of defeating the Persian Empire
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
 by means of a compact and well-trained army: a feat accomplished by his son, Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greeks King of Macedon . He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle....
.

Modern Appearances

Cyrus is a principal character in The Warriors (novel)
The Warriors (novel)

The Warriors is a novel written by Sol Yurick in 1965. It became the inspiration for the cult classic movie The Warriors . Compared to the movie, the novel takes a closer look at the concepts of sexuality, reputation, family, and survival....
, The Warriors (film), and The Warriors (video game)
The Warriors (video game)

The Warriors is a beat 'em up video game published by Rockstar Games. It was released on October 17, 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and February 12, 2007 for PlayStation Portable....
, all of which are based on Anabasis
Anabasis

The Greek term anabasis referred to an expedition from a coastline up into the interior of a country. The term katabasis referred to a trip from the interior down to the coast....
.

External links