The Historians' History of the World 01

Quintus Curtius thus describes the march of a Persian army: The signal was given from the tent of the king, on the top of which, so as to be seen by all, was placed an image of the sun, in crystal. The holy fire was borne on altars of silver, surrounded by the priests, chanting their sacred hymns. They were followed by three hundred and sixty-five youths, according to the number of the days in the year, dressed in purple garments. The chariot, dedicated to the supreme deity, or to the sun, was drawn by snow-white horses, led by grooms wearing white garments, and carrying golden wands. The horse especially consecrated to the sun was chosen from its size. It was followed by ten chariots, embossed with gold and silver, and by the cavalry of twelve nations, dressed in their various costumes, and carrying their peculiar arms. Then came the Persian immortals, ten thousand in number, adorned with golden chains, and wearing robes embroidered with gold, and long-sleeved tunics, all glittering with precious stones. At a short interval fifteen thousand nobles, who bore the honourable title of relations of the king, walked in garments which, in magnificence and luxury, more resembled those of women than of men. The doryphori (a chosen company of spearmen) preceded the chariot in which the king himself sat, high above the surrounding multitude. On either side of this chariot were effigies of the gods in gold and silver. The yoke was inlaid with the rarest jewels. From it projected two golden figures of Ninus and Belus, each a cubit in length. A golden eagle with outspread wings was placed between them. The king was distinguished, from all those who surrounded him, by the magnificence of his robes, and by the cidaris, or mitre, upon his head. By his side walked two hundred of the most noble of his relations. Ten thousand warriors, bearing spears whose staffs were of silver and heads of gold, followed the royal chariot. The king’s led horses, forty in number, and thirty thousand footmen, concluded the procession. At the distance of one stadium followed the mother and wife of the king, in chariots. A crowd of women, the handmaidens and ladies of the queens, accompanied them on horseback. Fifteen cars, called armamaxæ, carried the children of the king, their tutors and nurses, and the eunuchs. The king’s three hundred and sixty concubines, who accompanied him, were adorned with royal splendour. Six hundred mules and three hundred camels bore the royal treasury, guarded by the archers. The friends and relations of the ladies were mingled with a crowd of cooks and servants of all kinds. The procession was closed by the light-armed troops.

The Enemy asking Quarter of Assyrian Horsemen

The armies were provided with the engines and materials necessary for the siege of the cities they might meet with in their expedition. If any natural obstructions impeded the approach to a castle, such as a forest or a river, they were, if possible, removed. Rivers were turned out of their courses, if they impeded the operations of the army; and warriors are frequently represented in the sculptures cutting down trees which surround a hostile city.

The first step in a siege was probably to advance the battering-ram. If the castle was built, as in the plains of Assyria and Babylonia, upon an artificial eminence, an inclined plane, reaching to the summit of the mound, was formed of earth, stones, or trees, and the besiegers were then able to bring their engines to the foot of the walls. This road was not unfrequently covered with bricks, forming a kind of paved way, up which the ponderous machines could be drawn without much difficulty.

This mode of reaching the walls of a city is frequently alluded to by the prophets, and is described by Isaiah: “Thus saith the Lord, concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.” Similar approaches were used by the Egyptians. They not only enabled the besiegers to push their battering-rams up to the castle, but at the same time to escalade the walls, the summit of which might otherwise have been beyond the reach of their ladders.