Page 500 was furnish'd with an incredible Number of River-Boats, fitted to fight in the River Nile. Moreover, he had defended that side of the River towards Arabia, with many Castles and Garisons, exactly fortify'd with Trenches and Strong Walls; and was prepar'd with Plenty of all other things necessary for the War. But through Imprudence and want of good Advice he lost all. The chief Cause of the Miscarriage was his Ignorance how to manage Warlike Affairs, and his security, upon the account he had before beaten the Persians; for at that time of his Success, having had most expert Commanders, Diaphantus the Athenian, and Lanius the Spartan, who were both Valiant and Experienc'd Soldiers, all things succeeded according to his Heart's desire. But being now conceited of his own Sufficiency and Ability, to Command and Order the Army, he would admit of no other Assistant; and therefore through want of Skill and Experience, nothing was manag'd to advantage, as became an Expert-Commander.
Having therefore strongly Garison'd the Towns, he himself, with Thirty thousand Aegyptians, Five thousand Graecians, and half of the Lybians, kept the Passages which lay most open and easie to Invasions.
Things thus ordered on both sides, Nicostratus, who Commanded the Argives (having got some Aegyptian Guides, (whose Wives and Children the Persians kept as Hostages) through a certain Cut or Ditch, pass'd over with his Fleet to a Place as far out of fight as he could, and having landed his Men there, Encamp'd. Those who kept the Neighbouring Aegyptian Garisons, as soon as they came to know where the Enemy were thus Encamp'd, speedily made out against them with no less than Seven thousand Men, under the Command of Cleinius of the Isle of Coos, who drew up his Men in Battalia, in order to fight them: On the other side, those lately Landed, likewise put themselves into a Posture of Defence. Whereupon was a sharp Engagement, in which the Grecians on the Persians side so gallantly behav'd themselves, that they kill'd Cleinius the General, and above Five thousand of the rest of his Army.
Upon hearing of this Defeat, Nectabanus was in a terrible Fright, for that he believ'd the rest of the Persian Troops would easily pass over the River. Being therefore afraid lest the Enemy would bend all his force against Memphis the Seat-Royal, he made his chief Care and Concern to secure this Place, and thereupon march'd away with the Army he had to Memphis, to prevent the Besieging of it.
In the mean time, Lacrates, the Theban, the Commander of the First Brigade, pushes on the Siege of Pelusium; and having drain'd the Water out of the Trench, and turn'd it another way, he rais'd a Mount, and there plac'd his Engines of Battery against the City. And after a great Part of the Walls were batter'd down, the Pelusians rais'd up others in their stead, and speedily made high Wooden Towers.
These Conflicts upon the Walls continu'd for some days, during which time the Graecians that defended the Place, stoutly oppos'd the Assailants. But as soon as they heard of the King's departure to Memphis, they were so afrighted that they sent Messengers to Treat upon Terms of Surrender. Whereupon, Lacrates agreeing with them upon the Sacred Tye of an Oath, That upon delivery up of Pelusium, they should return to Greece with whatever they brought with them out of the Town, they surrender'd the Place. Then Artaxerxes sent Bagoas with a Garison of Persians to take Possession of Pelusium, whose Soldiers as soon as they enter'd the Town, took away from the Grecians as they were going out, many of those things that they brought along with them.
Being thus abus'd they took it hainously, and with great Complaints call'd upon the Gods, as Witnesses and Revengers of Perjury and Breach of Faith.
Lacrates being stirr'd up to just Indignation by this base Dealing, fell upon the Barbarians, and kill'd some of them, and put the rest to flight, and so protected the Greeks thus injur'd, contrary to the Agreement confirm'd by Oath. And though Bagoas, who fled amongst the rest, and return'd to the King, accus'd Lacrates, for what he had done, yet the King adjudg'd, that Bagoas his Soldiers were dealt with according to their desert, and punish'd those Persians that were Authors of the Rapine. And in this manner came Pelusium into the Hands of the Persians.
But Mentor, Commander of the Third Brigade, recover'd Bubastus, and many other Cities, to the Obedience of the Persian King by his own Stratagem. For whereas all these Cities were Garison'd by two sorts of People, Grecians and Aegyptians, Mentor caus'd a Report to be spread abroad, That Artaxerxes would receive all those most graciously, and pardon them, that of their own accord should give up their Cities into the King's Hands; and on the other Hand, That all those that he should take by force, should fare no better than Sidon. He commanded also, That all the Gates should be open'd, and that all that would should be permitted to go away. So that all the Aegyptian Captives
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.