d down for the sake of their
stones and timber, parties of women with ropes dragging the latter to
the walls in readiness to be hurled down upon the heads of the enemy.
Even the children joined in the work, carrying small baskets of earth
to those portions of the wall which Amusis had ordered to be
strengthened.

The position of the city had been chosen with a view to defense. It
stood on a plateau of rock raised some fifty feet above the plain.
The Caspian washed its eastern face; on the other three sides a high
wall, composed of earth roughly faced with stones, ran along at the
edge of the plateau; above it, at distances of fifty yards apart, rose
towers. The entire circuit of the walls was about three miles. Since
its foundation by the grandfather of the late king the town had never
been taken, although several times besieged, and the Rebu had strong
hopes that here, when the chariots of the Egyptians were no longer to
be feared, they could oppose a successful resistance to all the
efforts of the enemy.

At noon the Egyptian army was seen advancing, and, confident as the
defenders of the city felt, they could not resist a feeling of
apprehension at the enormous force which was seen upon the plain. The
Egyptian army was over three hundred thousand strong. It moved in
regular order according to the arms or nationality of the men. Here
were Nubians, Sardinians, Etruscans, Oscans, Dauni, Maxyes, Kahaka, a
race from Iberia, and bodies of other mercenaries from every tribe and
people with whom the Egyptians had any dealings.

The Sardinians bore round shields, three or four spears or javelins, a
long straight dagger, and a helmet surmounted by a spike, with a ball
at the top. The Etruscans carried no shields, and instead of the
straight dagger were armed with a heavy curved chopping-knife; their
headdress resembled somewhat in shape that now worn by the Armenians.
The Dauni were Greek in the character of their arms, carrying a round
shield, a single spear, a short straight sword, and a helmet of the
shape of a cone.

The Egyptians were divided according to their arms. There were
regiments of archers, who carried, for close combat, a slightly curved
stick of heavy wood; other regiments of archers carried hatchets. The
heavy infantry all bore the Egyptian shield, which was about three
feet long. It was widest at the upper part, where it was semicircular,
while the bottom was cut off straight. The shields had a boss near