Battle of Cunaxa
Cunaxa, on the Euphrates north of Babylon, Iraq
What happened
Cyrus the Younger, with a large force of Greek soldiers for hire, fought his elder brother, the Persian king Artaxerxes II. Cyrus wanted to take the Persian throne from his brother. At Cunaxa the Greeks broke the enemy wing facing them, but Cyrus fell while charging toward his brother's bodyguard. With their leader dead, his uprising collapsed.
Why it matters
Why it matters: Cyrus's death ended his bid for the throne. The Greeks, who had won their part of the fight, were left stranded deep inside the Persian Empire.
What came next
The Greeks, later called the Ten Thousand, chose new leaders, including Xenophon, and marched north across deserts and snowy mountains to the Black Sea. Xenophon told their story in his book, the Anabasis.
Did you know?
When the Greeks finally saw the Black Sea, they shouted 'Thalatta! Thalatta!', which means 'The sea! The sea!'
Timeline
- 401 BCEThe Ten Thousand begin their march to the Black Sea.
- c. 370 BCEXenophon writes the Anabasis.
- 1979The film The Warriors is released, based on a novel inspired by the Anabasis.