The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe
Chapter 44 The Benevolent Art of Medicine

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 The Benevolent Art of Medicine

Despite their tension, the Greeks understood that only a bloody battle could lead to survival. Cleanor, watching the enemy close in, noted they were entering the range of the slingers. He immediately issued an order: "Slingers, prepare!"

The slingers in the rearguard quickly began swinging their slings. Though the accuracy and force of their stones were weaker at a distance of over 300 meters, the sheer number and density of the Persian forces meant nearly every stone hit someone. Chaos broke out in the Persian center, halting their advance.

"Governor, the enemy’s attack is too fierce! Should we temporarily fall back and let the flanking forces close in first?" a deputy suggested to Tissaphernes.

Tissaphernes’ expression was equally grim, but he rejected the idea without hesitation. Although he had been appointed by the King as the overall commander of this mission to drive out the Greeks, Orontes was only assisting, and the King’s brother Syiternes was merely helping out of goodwill. Both were influential figures—one was the King’s son-in-law, and the other was his brother. If Tissaphernes didn’t give it his all, why would they? Moreover, their close ties to the King could result in them undermining his hard-won favor with Artaxerxes.

Tissaphernes glared at his deputy and immediately ordered, "Accelerate the advance!"

This time, he commanded nearly 50,000 troops. Manpower was not an issue. If the Greeks wanted to compete in ranged firepower, so be it. He wasn’t planning to engage in melee combat anyway. The memory of the Greek heavy infantry easily breaking through the Persian left flank at Cunaxa was still fresh in his mind.

The Persians advanced amid cries and chaos, with Tissaphernes even deploying his personal guards to enforce discipline, executing deserters on the spot. Under these conditions, the Persian flanks quickly moved to encircle the mercenaries. Due to the overwhelming Persian numbers and the mercenaries’ square formation, the Persian forces extended their line, nearly surrounding the mercenaries completely.

Juleios had already dismounted, and his horse was taken to the baggage train in the center of the phalanx. Facing the advancing enemy, he no longer felt as nervous as before. "Raise the shield wall!"

Asistes and two of his messengers relayed Juleios’ order throughout the left wing.

The four ranks of heavy infantry moved closer together, shields overlapping, forming a long, continuous bronze wall. The round shields of Greek heavy infantry were unique among Mediterranean forces. With a diameter of one meter, a wooden core covered in bronze, and arm straps rather than handgrips, they were both sturdy and efficient, making them difficult for arrows to penetrate.

Archers positioned behind the heavy infantry moved closer to the shield wall to minimize exposure to enemy arrows. Following their victory over Artozous’ 6,000 troops, the mercenaries had not only acquired Persian composite bows but also recruited skilled archers from the heavy infantry and light shield bearers. This increased their number of archers to 500, spread across the rear and the wings.

As the Persian forces approached within 100 meters, both sides began firing their arrows almost simultaneously.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! The sound of bowstrings releasing filled the air. Countless arrows soared upward, forming a dark cloud that temporarily blotted out the sun. So dense was the volley that many arrows collided mid-air. When the bulk of this "cloud" descended on the mercenaries, it was met with a cacophony of clang! clang! clang!—shields deflecting the projectiles—with occasional screams of pain. Meanwhile, the smaller portion that fell on the Persian lines elicited cries of anguish.

Arrows flew back and forth between the two sides.

The Persians pushed their lines to within 50 meters but advanced no further. They knew that moving closer would bring them within the range of Greek light shield bearers.

The archery battle lasted for a while.

Except for the ground beneath the Greek shield wall, which remained relatively clean, the surrounding area was littered with countless arrows. Greek archers, with empty quivers, had no need to worry; they simply pulled arrows from the ground to continue firing.

Juleios had grown accustomed to the sound of arrows striking shields, but what worried him were the occasional groans of pain, signaling another casualty. His left arm was sore and numb from holding his shield steady in the same position, yet he dared not relax. The battle now hinged on endurance—who could last the longest

Now, Tissaphernes found himself in a difficult position. For this attack, he had specially prepared many large shields. However, his light infantry made up too large a portion of his forces—less than half were properly protected. Moreover, the excessive number of soldiers caused the formation to become overly dense, making nearly every stone and arrow from the mercenaries deadly. While his soldiers barely maintained their morale under his strict command, the injured cavalry horses were neighing and rearing uncontrollably, crashing into soldiers and disrupting the formation. Eventually, most of the cavalry had retreated to the rear.

Tissaphernes surveyed his thinning ranks, filled with the groans of the wounded, and then glanced at the Greek shield wall, which was no longer as tight as before. No matter how well the Greek heavy infantry shielded themselves, they couldn’t completely avoid casualties from close-range arrow fire. Should he continue the assault? He hesitated: withdrawing now after suffering losses but achieving no significant results would harm morale and invite criticism and disdain from other commanders. But continuing the archery battle would lead to greater losses, and his troops might collapse before the Greeks did.

At this moment, a messenger arrived: "Governor, Lord Syiternes says his losses are too heavy. He requests either an immediate assault or a retreat."

Tissaphernes let out a long sigh and decisively ordered, "Retreat!"

The exhausted Greek soldiers, seeing the Persians retreating like a receding tide, couldn’t believe their eyes. After waiting for a while and confirming that the Persians weren’t coming back, they began cheering.

In this battle, the Persian army suffered over 4,000 casualties, while the mercenaries had over 900 casualties, though most were injuries—mainly arrows to the limbs.

After this grueling fight, the soldiers were physically and mentally drained. They hastily cleaned the battlefield and marched north for a short distance. Before noon, they set up camp to rest.