CHAPTER 19: The Massagetae  

Wasting no time, Cyrus quickly and firmly established his rule in Babylon. The Babylonian king, Labynetus and all of his family were quietly but efficiently killed; he could not risk the chance of an heir to the throne gathering local sentiment and rising against him. Labynetus’ most senior officers were also executed; but those of lower ranks were given a similar choice to the one which Pactyas had been given. Although they had not been given the choice, King Labynetus and his executive officers, even if they had, would most certainly have chosen to die rather than to live as slaves in the land they had once ruled. Most of his lower-ranked officers, however, chose to live; and immediately swore fealty to Cyrus with the most sacred of blood oaths in the most sacred temple in the land; the temple on the very top of their tower; where they sacrificed their own blood by cutting their upper arms and offering it to Cyrus to drink; and besides this sacrifice they also sacrificed a dozen of every kind of sacrificial animal. Most of them were even allowed to continue in their previous offices.  

By thus using the Assyrians’ own bureaucracy and official institutions, Cyrus saved much time and effort and greatly facilitated the management of the general populace; having reasoned that they would respond to the instruction of their own bureaucrats and officials more readily than they would to a foreign authority. Essentially, from the perspective of an ordinary Babylonian citizen, all that had changed, apart from the fact that Persians now guarded and policed the city, was that their own bureaucrats and city officers now reported to supervisors placed over them all by Cyrus.  

To ensure that none of his new Babylonian subjects rebelled against him he immediately installed a large permanent garrison of sufficient Medes and Persians to ensure that any such attempt would be swiftly and thoroughly suppressed. As soon as he had established order in his new capital Cyrus received a messenger from Harpagus. At the same time a second messenger arrived from the land of the Getae, who were currently being quickly assimilated into the rapidly-expanding Persian Empire in the east. These messengers were escorted into the war-room of the Great King’s palace, which Cyrus had taken, along with the title of Great King, for himself, following the tradition of Babylon’s previous rulers. This would be his new centre of operations, he decided as he surveyed, with great satisfaction, the most magnificent palace he had ever seen.  

“So, what news is there from Harpagus?” Cyrus asked the herald, “How goes it in Ionia and Aeolia?”  

“Your majesty’s devoted servant, Harpagus, sends word that all has gone as you would wish,” the herald began, with an ingratiating smile and a deep bow. “The Prienians who revolted against your majesty have been taken and sold into slavery;” Pactyas reddened slightly at this reminder of his own rebellion against Cyrus, but the king said nothing and the messenger continued, “the Phocaeans he defeated by building earthen mounds to overtop the walls the Tartessian king Arganthonius had built for them, but the Phocaeans fled the city in their ships before they could be captured; in spite of the mild terms Harpagus had offered them; and the people of Teos did the same.”  

Cyrus merely nodded his appreciation of this news; the strategic position and the territorial expansion represented by these two coastal cities, as well as the access their ports now gave him to their shipping lanes and trade routes was, he decided, of more use to him than their inhabitants, whom he regarded as no great loss. Taking a deep breath the herald continued, “When the men of Xanthus were finally overpowered, they gathered all their women, children and slaves together within the citadel and burned them all to death, rather than yield; then they fought to the death and were all slaughtered.”  

The news of this massacre saddened Cyrus; he felt that the Xanthians were an ancient and very noble people; they had really deserved a better fate; he had even harboured some hope that they might join him voluntarily. He had little time to dwell on this sad thought however, as the herald was still speaking, “Thus continental Ionia was again reduced to servitude; and when the Ionians of the islands saw their brethren upon the mainland thus subjugated, they too surrendered to your majesty, dreading the same fate. After he subdued Ionia and Aeolia, Harpagus forced them to serve in his army; then he defeated the Carians, the Caunians and the Lycians.”  

“Wonderful!” Cyrus declared, elated by such tremendous successes. Persian territory now stretched all the way to the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea and right around that coast from Troy as far as the Sinai. He was even beginning to contemplate overrunning the Sinai and invading Egypt; but first he wanted to secure his frontiers from the wild, nomadic Scythian tribes to the north and east of his realm. If he could win over the Massagetae, he thought, it could gain him many important allies among the other Scythian tribes and this, he knew, would save him many troublesome years. Cyrus’ plans for the expansion of his empire seemed to happen perfectly naturally in an uninterrupted flow, one after the other; just as his military victories had.  

Now that he had a vision of a united world, he was perfectly prepared to do whatever was necessary to achieve it. With this latest news from Harpagus; on the verge of subduing both the Scythians on the eastern and the Egyptians on the western extremities of his empire; Cyrus felt that his most precious goal was at last in sight. His general had achieved far more even than Cyrus had either ordered or expected and still remained his true and faithful servant; his tribute wagons arrived punctually every year just after harvest-time, together with a complete record of Harpagus’ own accounts, continually replenishing Cyrus’ granaries and the royal treasury. Overall, Cyrus decided, when the herald fallen silent, that he was quite delighted with Harpagus’ progress. Now, he thought, would be the perfect time to give him his reward.  

Keeping Harpagus happy would not only reward his best friend and most trusted ally, but it would also ensure the safety of his western region, Cyrus thought, while I subdue the east. Harpagus already acted as Cyrus’ viceroy in the western region, but Cyrus decided that now was the right time to make his authority permanent. Handing the herald a small purse full of coins as a reward for his services, Cyrus said, “When you return, you may tell Harpagus that he may now choose a capital for himself and use the title of Satrap of Ionia and Aeolia…”  

Then, turning to the second messenger, who had just returned from the land of the Getae, he asked, “Now, what news from the east?”  

“Bactria, the Sacae and the Getae have been completely subdued, majesty.” the messenger reported, “We now hold all the territory east of Babylon as far as the Araxes. Across this river is the land of the Massagetae. Lord, we have heard that their king died some months ago; his widow, Tomyris has ascended their throne…”  

Cyrus was intrigued, “Indeed? Interesting…” he said pensively; a few moments later he asked, “What is this queen like?”  

“Scythian women are as fierce as their men, Lord…” the herald responded, “And the Massagetae are among the most warlike tribes of their race; but it is said that she is a great beauty.”  

“The territory of the Massagetae is vast; and rich…” Cyrus mused, almost to himself, “…and I have need of a queen…” After a few moments of thoughtful silence, he turned to the messenger once again, ”You are to take generous gifts of gold, silver and purple to this queen and, acting as my go-between, you must court her for me.” The herald nodded as the king continued, speaking now primarily for the benefit of Pactyas, Hystaspes and the other officers who were present, “If possible, I’ll marry this queen and win her territory peacefully!” Then he turned again to the herald, to give him his final instructions, “Inform Tomyris of my victories and tell her that it is my destiny as the Son of Heaven to unite all the tribes and nations of the whole world into one vast empire which she may rule beside me!” For a very brief moment a dreamy look glazed Cyrus’ eyes and his voice almost faltered as he dared finally to give voice to his greatest ambition.  

The generals too were awed at the magnificence of the vision which had just been revealed to them. The moment passed quickly, however, and the vision was gone and Cyrus and his generals were all businesslike once again as he continued, “In the meantime, Hystaspes; have the army prepare to march; I wish to inspect the Getae territory and I have a desire to see the Araxes.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “And if Tomyris accepts my proposal, I want to be close at hand, so that I will not seem tardy; like a reluctant suitor!”  

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