Bibliotheca Historica

​When Democleides was archon in Athens, the Romans established Gaius Junius and Quintus Aemilius as consuls, and the hundred and sixteenth Olympiad was celebrated, in which Deinomenes the Laconian won the stadium race.

​About these times, Antigonus, having moved his army from Mesopotamia, came into Babylonia and there entered into a common agreement with Seleucus and Peithon; and having received additional soldiers from them also, he bridged the Tigris River with boats, and having crossed his forces, he set out against the enemy.

​But Eumenes and his men, when they learned what had been done, ordered Xenophilus, who was guarding the citadel in Susa, neither to give any of the money to Antigonus nor to enter into negotiations with him, while they themselves, taking up their forces, set out for the Tigris River, which is a day’s journey distant from Susa, and flows from the mountainous country held by the independent people whom they call Uxians. Its width is in many places three stadia, and sometimes even four, and its depth in the middle of the current is comparable to the height of elephants; and flowing from the mountainous country for seven hundred stadia, it empties into the Red Sea, and it contains many sea fish and marine monsters, which appear especially about the rising of the Dog Star.

​Having placed this river before themselves as a barrier, and having stationed guards along the whole riverbank from the sources to the sea, they awaited the attack of the enemy. But since the defense required no small number of soldiers because of its length, Eumenes and Antigenes requested Peucestas to send for ten thousand archers from Persis.

​At first, he paid no attention to them, grumbling because he had not obtained the chief command; but later, having reasoned with himself, he agreed, realizing that if Antigonus should conquer, it would result in his losing his satrapy and running into danger concerning his life.

​Anxious, therefore, on his own behalf, and thinking that he would be more likely to obtain the chief command if he had as many soldiers as possible, he brought the ten thousand archers, just as they had requested. Although some of the Persians were thirty days’ journey away, they heard the command on the very same day because of the ingenious arrangement of the guard posts;

​which indeed it is not well to pass over. For since Persis is ravine-like and has high and closely spaced lookout posts, the men with the loudest voices among the inhabitants were stationed upon these; and since the places were divided within earshot of a voice, those who received the command passed it on in like manner to others, and then those again to others, until the given command was delivered to the boundary of the satrapy.