ce, and a body of Assyrian heavy infantry from Comania, and
some Hyrcanian cavalry (6), the latter also being mercenaries of the
king. There were eighty of them, and another detachment of light
troops, about eight hundred, and more from Parthenium, and more again
from Apollonia and the neighbouring places, also cavalry.

(6) The Hyrcanian cavalry play an important part in the "Cyropaedeia."
They are the Scirites of the Assyrian army who came over to Cyrus
after the first battle. Their country is the fertile land touching
the south-eastern corner of the Caspian. Cf. "Cyrop." IV. ii. 8,
where the author (or an editor) appends a note on the present
status of the Hyrcanians.

It was now high time to consider how they were to beat a retreat. So
seizing all the cattle and sheep to be had, with the slaves, they put
them within a hollow square and proceed to drive them off. Not that
they had a thought to give to the spoils now, but for precaution's
sake and for fear lest if they left the goods and chattels behind and
made off, the retreat would rapidly degenerate into a stampede, the
enemy growing bolder as the troops lost heart. For the present then
they retired as if they meant to do battle for the spoils. As soon as
Gongylus espied how few the Hellenes were and how large the attacking
party, out he came himself, in spite of his mother, with his private
force, wishing to share in the action. Another too joined in the
rescue--Procles, from Halisarna and Teuthrania, a descendant of
Damaratus. By this time Xenophon and his men were being sore pressed
by the arrows and slingstones, though they marched in a curve so as to
keep their shields facing the missiles, and even so, barely crossed the
river Carcasus, nearly half of them wounded. Here it was that Agasias
the Stymphalian, the captain, received his wound, while keeping up a
steady unflagging fight against the enemy from beginning to end. And
so they reached home in safety with about two hundred captives, and
sheep enough for sacrifices.

The next day Xenophon sacrificed and led out the whole army under the 20
cover of night, intending to pierce far into the heart of Lydia with a
view to lulling to sleep the enemy's alarm at his proxmity, and so in
fact to put him off his guard. But Asidates, hearing that Xenophon had
again sacrificed with the intention of another attack, and was
approaching with his whole army, left his tower and took up quarters
in