Ten Thousand Greeks Marched Into Persia's Heart and Walked Out Alive | Ancient Greek History 95
In 401 BC a Persian prince hired ten thousand Greek mercenaries and lied to them about where they were going. By the time the truth came out they were deep in Asia, marching on Babylon to tear the Great King off his throne. They won their battle at Cunaxa and lost their cause in the same afternoon, when the prince who was paying them was killed. What followed — a leaderless army fighting its way home a thousand miles through hostile country — became the story that convinced Greece the Persian Empire was hollow.
Key concepts covered:
Cyrus the Younger's bid for his brother's throne, and the deception that filled his ranks with Greek hoplites
The long march from Sardis across Anatolia and down the Euphrates to Cunaxa
Victory on the field and ruin in the same hour: the Greeks unbeaten, their paymaster dead
The murder of the generals by treachery, and the assembly that elected new ones — among them Xenophon
The fighting retreat north through mountains and snow, and the shout that went down the column at the sight of the sea
The Anabasis: why the book mattered more than the march
The conclusion every reader drew — that what ten thousand strays survived, a united Greece could conquer
Isocrates and the argument from poverty: civil war, mercenary camps, and a proposal to take Persia's wealth
Why no Greek city could lead such a campaign, and why Isocrates finally turned to Philip of Macedon
The three rival claims to the Greek cities of Asia: Persian treaty, Spartan garrison, and the cities' own demand for autonomy
Sparta's Asian war fought almost without Spartans — allies, mercenaries, and the neodamodeis
Conon in exile, Evagoras of Cyprus, and the three hundred ships the Great King agreed to build
Agesilaus, the lame king, and the sacrifice at Aulis that Thebes broke up — the insult behind a lifetime of policy
Winning every battle and losing the war: why hoplite victories inland decided nothing
Cnidus in 394 and the destruction of the Spartan fleet, which closed the road to overseas empire for good
The decade's two lessons — Persia could be invaded, and Persian gold still ruled the Greek sea
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SOURCE MATERIALS
The source materials for this video are from • 22. The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Ce...