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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §1.54.1-1.54.6

Administrative Division and Preparations for War by Sesoosis

Passage 55 of 406 · Greek

Summary

King Sesoosis, preparing for his world conquest, secured domestic support by granting favors and releasing debtors, divided the land into thirty-six nomes, organized a massive army, and appointed his lifelong companions as commanders, rewarding them with fertile lands.

§1.54.1πρὸς δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἐπιβολὴν πρῶτον μὲν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν εὔνοιαν κατεσκεύασε πᾶσι τοῖς κατʼ Αἴγυπτον, ἡγούμενος δεῖν τοὺς μὲν συστρατεύοντας ἑτοίμως ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡγουμένων ἀποθνήσκειν, τοὺς δʼ ἀπολειπομένους ἐπὶ τῶν πατρίδων μηδὲν νεωτερίζειν, εἰ μέλλει τὴν προαίρεσιν ἐπὶ τέλος ἄξειν.
With a view to this undertaking, he first of all established goodwill toward himself among all the people of Egypt, supposing that those who went on the campaign ought to die readily for their leaders, and those who were left behind in their homelands should make no innovations, if he was to bring his purpose to completion.
§1.54.2διὸ καὶ πάντας ἐκ τῶν ἐνδεχομένων εὐηργέτει, τοὺς μὲν χρημάτων δωρεαῖς ἐκθεραπεύων, τοὺς δὲ χώρας δόσει, τινὰς δὲ τιμωρίας ἀπολύσει, πάντας δὲ ταῖς ὁμιλίαις καὶ τῇ τῶν τρόπων ἐπιεικείᾳ προσήγετο· τῶν τε γὰρ βασιλικῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἅπαντας ἀθῴους ἀφῆκε καὶ τοὺς πρὸς ἀργύριον συγκεκλειμένους ἀπέλυσε τοῦ χρέους, ὄντος πολλοῦ πλήθους ἐν ταῖς φυλακαῖς.
Therefore he also benefited everyone as far as was possible, courting some with gifts of money, others with grants of land, and some with remission of punishments, and he won over all of them by his conversation and the gentleness of his character; for he released everyone unpunished from royal accusations and freed from debt those who had been imprisoned for money, though there was a great multitude in the prisons.
§1.54.3τὴν δὲ χώραν ἅπασαν εἰς ἓξ καὶ τριάκοντα μέρη διελών, ἃ καλοῦσιν Αἰγύπτιοι νομούς, ἐπέστησεν ἅπασι νομάρχας τοὺς ἐπιμελησομένους τῶν τε προσόδων τῶν βασιλικῶν καὶ διοικήσοντας ἅπαντα τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας μερίδας.
And having divided the whole country into thirty-six parts, which the Egyptians call nomes, he placed over them all governors who were to take care both of the revenues of the king and to manage all affairs in their own districts.
§1.54.4ἐπελέξατο δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοὺς ταῖς ῥώμαις διαφέροντας καὶ συνεστήσατο στρατόπεδον ἄξιον τοῦ μεγέθους τῆς ἐπιβολῆς· κατέγραψε γὰρ πεζῶν μὲν ἑξήκοντα μυριάδας, ἱππεῖς δὲ δισμυρίους καὶ τετρακισχιλίους, ζεύγη δὲ πολεμιστήρια δισμύρια καὶ ἑπτακισχίλια.
And he also chose those of the men who excelled in physical strength and organized an army worthy of the magnitude of the undertaking; for he enrolled sixty ten-thousands of infantry, twenty-four thousand cavalry, and twenty-seven thousand war-chariots.
§1.54.5ἐπὶ δὲ τὰς κατὰ μέρος ἡγεμονίας τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἔταξε τοὺς συντρόφους, ἐνηθληκότας μὲν ἤδη τοῖς πολέμοις, ἀρετὴν δʼ ἐζηλωκότας ἐκ παίδων, εὔνοιαν δὲ ἀδελφικὴν ἔχοντας πρός τε τὸν βασιλέα καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὄντας τὸν ἀριθμὸν πλείους τῶν χιλίων καὶ ἑπτακοσίων.
And over the individual commands of the soldiers he appointed his companions, who were already trained in wars, had emulated virtue from childhood, and possessed brotherly goodwill toward both the king and one another, being more than one thousand seven hundred in number.
§1.54.6πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις κατεκληρούχησε τὴν ἀρίστην τὴς χώρας, ὅπως ἔχοντες ἱκανὰς προσόδους καὶ μηδενὸς ἐνδεεῖς ὄντες ἀσκῶσι τὰ περὶ τοὺς πολέμους.
And to all the aforementioned he allotted the best of the land, so that having sufficient revenues and being in want of nothing, they might practice the arts of war.

Notes

  1. 1.54.1εἰ μέλλει — The subject of the verb μέλλει is contextually the king Sesoosis, meaning 'if he intended to bring his purpose to completion.' While it could be taken impersonally ('if it were to be brought'), attributing the subject to Sesoosis is more natural given the context of his deliberate actions.
  2. 1.54.2ὄντος πολλοῦ πλήθους — A genitive absolute construction, serving here as a background explanation or concession ('although there was a great multitude in the prisons') related to those who were confined in prison mentioned immediately before.
  3. 1.54.3τοὺς ἐπιμελησομένους ... καὶ διοικήσοντας — Attributive future participles with the article. They express purpose or destiny ('those who were to take care of... and manage...'), standing in apposition to and describing the preceding noun νομάρχας.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §1.54.1-1.54.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:1.54.1-1.54.6

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