Cyrus and the Battle of Babylonia

Cyrus' army crossed the Euphrates and pressed southeast towards Babylon. The troops ultimately agreed to stand by Cyrus because he promised them that when they were victorious and entered Babylon triumphantly, he would give every man five men eye of silver,. plus daily wages for their service until they returned Ionia. After a grilling thirteen days in the scorching heat, Cyrus' army finally came upon the prosperous city of Charmonday where they could buy new supplies. Along the way, Cyrus noticed that the enemy was burning fodder, and anything else that might have been useful for an invading army. So a Persian nobleman named Arontus asked Cyrus for a force of a thousand cavalry to ride ahead with