The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Greek, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401 BC-399 BC) was recorded by Xenophon (one of its leaders) in his work, The Anabasis. For other uses, see Mercenary (disambiguation). ... Cyrus the Younger, son of Darius II and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. ... Persia redirects here. ... Artaxerxes II (c. ... The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 BC between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had seized the Persian throne as Artaxerxes II in 404 BC. Cyrus gathered an army of Greek mercenaries under the Spartan general Clearchus, and met Artaxerxes at Cunaxa on the left... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 406 BC 405 BC 404 BC 403 BC 402 BC - 401 BC - 400 BC 399 BC... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC - 390s BC - 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC Years: 404 BC 403 BC 402 BC 401 BC 400 BC - 399 BC - 398 BC 397 BC... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ... The Persian Expedition, Penguin Classics edition of Xenophons Anabasis, translated by Rex Warner Anabasis Aνάβασις is the most famous work of the Greek writer Xenophon. ...

Route of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand.

According to Xenophon, the Ten Thousand were composed of: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (971x741, 78 KB) Summary The Persian Empire in 490 BC. Created by the Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (971x741, 78 KB) Summary The Persian Empire in 490 BC. Created by the Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ...

• 4000 hoplites under Xenias the Arcadian, until he left the army in Syria
• 1500 hoplites and 500 light infantry under Proxenus the Boeotian, until he left the army in Syria
• 1000 hoplites under Sophaenetus the Stymphalian
• 500 hoplites under Socrates the Achaean (not to be confused with the philosopher)
• 300 hoplites and 300 peltasts under Pasion the Megaran
• 1000 hoplites, 800 Thracian peltasts, and 200 Cretan archers (and more than 2000 men who came from Xenias and Proxenus when they deserted) under Clearchus of Sparta,
• 300 hoplites under Sosis the Syracusan (Anabasis book 1, chp 2, IX)
• 1000 hoplites under Sophaenetus the Arcadian
• 700 hoplites under Chirisophus the Spartan
• 400 Greek deserters from Artaxerxes' army

In addition, they were backed up by a fleet of 35 triremes under Pythagoras the Spartan and 25 triremes under Tamos the Egyptian, as well as 100,000 Persian troops under Ariaeus the Persian (although Xenophon lists them as 100,000, most modern historians believe Ariaeus' troops were only around 20,000). Warfare in Hellenic Greece centered mainly around heavy infantrymen called hoplites. ... This article is about a region of Greece. ... Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Βοιωτια; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Silver obolus from Stymfalia depicting Heracles on obverse, Stymphalian bird and inscription ΣΤΥΜΦΑΛΙΑ on reverse. ... Achaea (Greek: , Achaïa; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the... A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Greece who often served as skirmishers. ... Pasion was a slave in the 4th century BC. He was owned by the Antisthenes and Archestratus Banking and Loan Company, located at Piraeus, the harbor five miles out of Athenians. ... Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα (Big Houses); see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak  Thrace (Bulgarian: , Greek: , Attic Greek: ThrāíkÄ“ or ThrēíkÄ“, Latin: , Turkish: ) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... Clearchus (Greek: Κλέαρχος), the son of Rhamphias, was a Spartan general and mercenary. ... Syracuse (Italian, Siracusa, ancient Syracusa - see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse, Italy. ... This article is about a region of Greece. ... A Greek trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ...

Until shortly after the Battle of Cunaxa, the Spartan general Clearchus was recognized as the commander of the army. When Tissaphernes arrested and executed Clearchus, Proxenus, Menon, Agias (possibly the same person as Sophaenetus), and Socrates, their places were taken by Xenophon, Timasion, Xanthicles, Cleanor, and Philesius, with the Spartan Chirisophus as the general commander. The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 BC between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had seized the Persian throne as Artaxerxes II in 404 BC. Cyrus gathered an army of Greek mercenaries under the Spartan general Clearchus, and met Artaxerxes at Cunaxa on the left... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... Clearchus (Greek: Κλέαρχος), the son of Rhamphias, was a Spartan general and mercenary. ... Tissaphernes (Pers. ...

Cultural influences

The book The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford is a fictional account of this group's exploits. Michael Curtis Ford is an American historical novelist, writing novels about Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. ...

The 1979 film The Warriors transposed Xenophon's story to the gang scene of New York. After a gang meet ends with an assassination, the falsely accused 9 man Warriors gang have to get home to Coney Island by travelling through territory controlled by hostile gangs like The Orphans, The Baseball Furies, The Boppers, The Hi-Hats and even The Hoplites. The Warriors is a 1979 film directed by Walter Hill and based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick. ...

Harold Coyle's 1993 novel The Ten Thousand shows the bulk of the US Forces in modern Europe fighting their way across and out of Germany instead of laying down their weapons when the Germans stole nuclear weapons that were being removed from Ukraine. The operational concept for their move was based on Xenophon's Ten Thousand. Harold Coyle is an American author of historical, speculative fiction and war novels. ...

References

• Xenophon Anabasis

Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ... The Persian Expedition, Penguin Classics edition of Xenophons Anabasis, translated by Rex Warner Anabasis Aνάβασις is the most famous work of the Greek writer Xenophon. ...

Further reading

• The Project Gutenberg EText
• Anabasis at The University of Adelaide