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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.47.1-16.47.7

Division of Persian Forces and Defense of Nectanebo

Passage 555 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Persian king divides his Greek forces into three commands led by Greek and Persian generals, while Nectanebo of Egypt prepares his extensive defense, only to fail quickly due to his own lack of wisdom.

§16.47.1τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς τρία μέρη τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν δύναμιν μερίσαντος ἑκάστη μερὶς εἶχε στρατηγὸν Ἕλληνα καὶ τούτῳ παρακαθεσταμένον ἡγεμόνα Πέρσην, ἄνδρα προκεκριμένον ἐπʼ ἀρετῇ τε καὶ εὐνοίᾳ.
On the following day, when the king had divided the Greek force into three parts, each part had a Greek general, and stationed alongside him a Persian commander, a man pre-eminent for valor and loyalty.
§16.47.2τὴν μὲν οὖν πρώτην τάξιν ἐπεῖχον οἱ Βοιωτοὶ στρατηγὸν μὲν ἔχοντες Λακράτην τὸν Θηβαῖον, ἡγεμόνα δὲ Πέρσην Ῥωσάκην· οὗτος δὲ ἀπόγονος μὲν ἦν ἑνὸς τῶν ἑπτὰ Περσῶν τῶν τοὺς μάγους καταλυσάντων, σατράπης δὲ Ἰωνίας καὶ Λυδίας· συνείπετο δʼ αὐτῷ πολλὴ μὲν ἵππος, οὐκ ὀλίγη δὲ πεζικὴ στρατιὰ τῶν βαρβάρων.
Now the first division was held by the Boeotians, who had as general Lacrates the Theban, and as commander the Persian Rhosaces; the latter was a descendant of one of the seven Persians who deposed the Magi, and was satrap of Ionia and Lydia; he was accompanied by a large body of cavalry and no small force of barbarian infantry.
§16.47.3δευτέρα δʼ ἦν μερὶς ἡ τῶν Ἀργείων Νικοστράτου στρατηγοῦντος καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ Πέρσου συνάρχοντος Ἀρισταζάνου· οὗτος δʼ ἦν εἰσαγγελεὺς τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ πιστότατος τῶν φίλων μετὰ Βαγώαν· προσωρίσθησαν δʼ αὐτῷ στρατιῶται μὲν ἐπίλεκτοι πεντακισχίλιοι, τριήρεις δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα.
The second part belonged to the Argives, with Nicostratus acting as general, and alongside him as Persian joint-commander Aristazanes; the latter was the king's usher and the most faithful of his friends after Bagoas; assigned to him were five thousand elite soldiers and eighty triremes.
§16.47.4τῆς δὲ τρίτης μερίδος ἐστρατήγει Μέντωρ ὁ τὴν Σιδῶνα παραδούς, ἔχων τοὺς προϋπάρχοντας αὐτῷ μισθοφόρους· συνεστρατεύετο δʼ αὐτῷ Βαγώας, ᾧ μάλιστα βασιλεὺς ἐνεπίστευε, τόλμῃ καὶ παρανομίᾳ διαφέρων· εἶχε δʼ οὗτος τοὺς τοῦ βασιλέως Ἕλληνας καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἱκανὸν πλῆθος καὶ ναῦς οὐκ ὀλίγας.
The third part was commanded by Mentor, who had betrayed Sidon, having the mercenaries who previously belonged to him; Bagoas, whom the king trusted most of all, a man outstanding in boldness and lawlessness, campaigned with him; the latter had the king's Greeks, a sufficient multitude of barbarians, and no small number of ships.
§16.47.5αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν λοιπὴν δύναμιν ἔχων ἐφήδρευε τοῖς ὅλοις πράγμασι.
The king himself, holding the rest of the force, directed the overall operations.
τοιαύτης δὲ τῆς διαιρέσεως γενομένης παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις ὁ μὲν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεὺς Νεκτανεβὼς οὔτε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμίων οὔτε τὴν ὅλην διάταξιν τῶν Περσῶν κατεπλάγη, καίπερ πολὺ λειπόμενος τοῦ πλήθους.
Although such a division had taken place among the Persians, Nectanebo, the king of the Egyptians, was not dismayed by either the multitude of the enemy or the overall arrangement of the Persians, although he was far inferior in numbers.
§16.47.6εἶχε γὰρ Ἕλληνας μὲν μισθοφόρους δισμυρίους, Λίβυας δὲ παραπλησίους τούτοις, Αἰγυπτίους δὲ τοὺς μαχίμους παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὀνομαζομένους ἑξακισμυρίους, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις πλοίων ποταμίων πρὸς τὰς κατὰ τὸν Νεῖλον μάχας καὶ συμπλοκὰς εὐθέτων ἄπιστον πλῆθος.
For he had twenty thousand Greek mercenaries, Libyans close to them in number, and sixty thousand of the Egyptians who are called among them the 'Warriors,' and besides these, an unbelievable multitude of river boats well suited for battles and skirmishes along the Nile.
§16.47.7ὠχύρωτο δʼ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὴν Ἀραβίαν νεύουσα πλευρὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, πεπυκνωμένη πολίσμασιν, ἔτι δὲ τείχεσι καὶ τάφροις πᾶσα διειλημμένη.
The side of the river facing towards Arabia had also been fortified for him, strengthened with numerous towns, and moreover entirely divided by walls and trenches.
ἔχων δὲ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας παρασκευὰς πάσας πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἱκανὰς διὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀβουλίαν ταχὺ τοῖς ὅλοις ἔπταισεν.
Although he had all the other preparations sufficient for the war, because of his own lack of wisdom, he quickly met with total failure.

Notes

  1. 16.47.1τοῦ βασιλέως ... μερίσαντος — A genitive absolute construction with the subject τοῦ βασιλέως differing from that of the main clause (ἑκάστη μερὶς), indicating the temporal background of the main action.
  2. 16.47.3Νικοστράτου στρατηγοῦντος καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ Πέρσου συνάρχοντος Ἀρισταζάνου — A coordinate double genitive absolute construction. The pronoun in the prepositional phrase μετʼ αὐτοῦ (with him) refers back to Nicostratus, describing the joint-command of Nicostratus and the Persian Aristazanes.
  3. 16.47.6Λίβυας δὲ παραπλησίους τούτοις — The adjective παραπλησίους (close to, approximately equal) governs the dative demonstrative pronoun τούτοις (referring to the twenty thousand Greek mercenaries), indicating that the Libyans were equal in number to the Greeks.
  4. 16.47.7ὠχύρωτο δʼ αὐτῷ — The dative pronoun αὐτῷ functions either as a dative of advantage ('for him') or as a dative of agent/possession with the pluperfect passive verb, indicating that the fortification of the Arabian side was done under King Nectanebo's authority.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.47.1-16.47.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.47.1-16.47.7

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