Cyrus the Younger

Cyrus the Younger was an Achaemenid prince, a son of Darius II and Parysatis and younger brother of Artaxerxes II. As satrap in western Anatolia he developed strong military and political connections with Greek cities and mercenary commanders.

As satrap in western Anatolia, Cyrus cultivated Greek mercenaries and political allies before marching against Artaxerxes II in 401 BCE. He was killed at Cunaxa despite the tactical success of his Greek troops, whose retreat was later narrated by Xenophon in the Anabasis.

In Xenophon’s The Persian Expedition, Xenophon’s Persian Expedition, or Anabasis, is the main ancient source for Cyrus the Younger’s expedition against Artaxerxes II, the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BCE and the retreat of the Ten Thousand. In Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s The Lost Army, in 401 BC, Cyrus the Younger hires thousands of Greek mercenaries for a campaign whose true purpose is concealed until they are deep inside the Persian Empire. Abira follows the Athenian soldier Xenophon and witnesses the army's advance toward Cunaxa, where Cyrus's attempt to seize the throne ends in defeat and leaves the Greeks isolated far from the sea. In Michael Curtis Ford’s The Ten Thousand, in 401 BCE, Xenophon joins the Greek mercenary army hired by Cyrus the Younger, a Persian prince preparing to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II.