On 3 September 401 BCE, the Battle of Cunaxa was fought between Cyrus the Younger and Artaxerxes II during the Persian Civil War.
Why did it happen?
In 423 BCE, Darius II became king of the Persian Empire. While Darius kept his eldest son, Artaxerxes, in Babylon to teach him how to administrate, he appointed his younger son, Cyrus, as satrap of Anatolia in 407 BCE. Following Darius’s death in 404 BCE, Artaxerxes succeeded him, and when Tissaphernes falsely accused Cyrus of plotting against the new king, their mother, Parysatis, intervened and returned Cyrus to his governorship of Anatolia. However, Cyrus felt humiliated and betrayed by his brother’s charges and began plotting to make himself king of the Persian Empire. He gathered his forces from all areas of his province, including a large contingent of Greek mercenaries which, according to Xenophon, “he proceeded to collect it with the utmost secrecy, so that he might take the King as completely unprepared as possible” (Xen. Anab. 1.1.6). By 401 BCE, his preparations were complete and used the pretext of driving the Pisidians out of his lands to justify the mustering of his army. However, Tissaphernes alerted Artaxerxes II of his brother’s plan and began counter-preparations while Cyrus marched east from Sardis on 28 May. By 20 August, Cyrus had reached the Euphrates River and marched his army down the right bank until it met his brother's army on 3 September.
Who was involved?
The army of Cyrus the Younger at Cunaxa numbered 22,900 infantry, 1,600 cavalry and 20 scythed chariots. Cyrus commanded 600 cavalry and 20 scythed chariots in the centre, with Ariaeus leading 10,000 Persian infantry on the left wing. On the right wing was stationed 1,000 cavalry and 12,900 Greek mercenaries: 2,500 peltasts under Proxenus and 10,400 hoplites under Clearchus. The army of Artaxerxes II at Cunaxa numbered 40,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 150 scythed chariots. Artaxerxes II was positioned in the centre with most of his cavalry; Gobryas commanded 10,000 Persian infantry and the scythed chariots next to him on the left wing, along with the remaining cavalry under Tissaphernes. Arbaces led the remaining Persian infantry on the right wing, numbering 30,000 men.
What happened?
The battle began when Cyrus’ Greek hoplites attacked Artaxerxes’ left wing and routed it with just one Greek soldier wounded. After the Greeks pursued Artaxerxes’ left wing off the battlefield, Cyrus charged the Persian king himself with his bodyguard of 600 cavalry. Despite routing part of Artaxerxes’ cavalry, Cyrus was killed by a javelin. At that point, Arbaces led the Persian right wing against Cyrus’ left wing, routed it and pushed it back towards the late prince’s camp. Meanwhile, the Persian cavalry under Tissaphernes charged through the Greek peltasts and attacked the Greek baggage camp. When the Greek hoplites returned to the battlefield, they found Cyrus dead and their baggage camp looted. They then repelled Artaxerxes’ right wing near the village of Cunaxa and forced it to retreat. During the battle, Cyrus’s army suffered 600 casualties while Artaxerxes lost 6,000 killed.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Cunaxa was a strategic victory for Artaxerxes II. On 4 September, Clearchus offered to make Ariaeus the new pretender to the Persian throne, but he refused. After an offer to surrender from Tissaphernes was rejected, an agreement was reached with Tissaphernes and Ariaeus whereby they would escort the Greek mercenaries back to their homeland. However, Ariaeus and Tissaphernes betrayed the Greeks and murdered their leaders, leaving them isolated within the Persian Empire. At that point, the Greeks elected Xenophon as their new leader. They began a journey known as the “Retreat of the Ten Thousand” (Anabasis), whereby they faced insurmountable odds against enemy forces, lack of provisions and harsh weather. After two years, the remaining 6,000 Greeks reached the shores of Anatolia and Greece, but Sparta then employed some of them in an attack on Tissaphernes, who was made satrap of Lydia. This led Artaxerxes II to incite Sparta’s enemies against her, leading to the Corinthian War in 394 BCE.
Bibliography
Holmes, Richard. & Marix Evans, Martin. A Guide to Battles: Decisive Conflicts in History. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009.
Webb, Jonathan. “Battle of Cunaxa, 401 BC.” The Art of Battle. Last revised 2018. www.theartofbattle.com/battle-of-cunaxa-401-bc/
Xenophon. Anabasis. Translated by Carleton L. Brownson. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1922.
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