The Capture of Babylon Flashcards
ὁ Κῦρος ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. οἱ δὲ Βαβυλώνιοι
Cyrus was marching onto Babylon. And the Babylonians
ἐκστρατευσάμενοι ἔμενον αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐγένετο ἐλαύνων
having marched out (to battle) were waiting for him. And when he, riding,
ἀγχοῦ τῆς πόλεως, συνέβαλόν τε οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι καὶ ἡττηθεντες τῇ
was near the city, the Babylonians joined in battle and, having been defeated
μάχῃ κατειλήθησαν ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, ᾗ᾽εἶχον σιτία ἐτῶν κάρτα πολλῶν.
in battle, they were forced back into the city, where they had food for very many years.
ἐνταῦθα οὗτοι μὲν λόγον εἶχον τῆς πολιορκίας οὐδένα, Κῦρος δὲ
There they were paying no attention at all to the siege, but Cyrus
ἀπορίαις ἐνείχετο. τέλος δὲ ἐποίει δὴ τοιόνδε.
was in trouble. Finally he did then the following.
τάξας τὴν στρατιὰν ᾗ ὁ ποταμός εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσβάλλει, καὶ
Having set up the army where the river flows into the city, and
αὗθις ὄπισθε τῆς πόλεως τάξας ἑτέρους, ᾗ ἐξίησιν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως
again/in their turn having set up the others behind the city, where the river
flows out of the city
ὁ ποταμός, προεῖπε τῷ στρατῷ, ὅταν διαβατὸν τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἴδωσι
he ordered his army, when they saw that the river had become passable,
γενόμενον, εἰσιέναι ταύτῃ εἰς τὴν πόλιν. οὕτω τε δὴ τάξας καὶ
to go into the city by that way. Having thus then set up and
παραινέσας ἀπήλαυνεν αὐτὸς σὺν τῷ ἀχρείῳ τοῦ στρατοῦ.
advised (the army) he himself rode off with the non-combat part of the army.
ἀφικομενος δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν λίμνην, οὖσαν ἕλος, τὸν ποταμὸν διώρυχι
Having arrived at the lake, while/as it was a marsh, he, having diverted the river
through a channel,
εἰσαγαγών, το ἀρχαῖον ῥεῖθρον διαβατὸν εἶναι ἐποίησεν,
caused the old river to be passable (made the old river passable),
ὑπονοστήσαντος τοῦ ποταμοῦ.
after the river had dropped down.
γενομένου δὲ τούτου τοιούτου, οἱ Πέρσαι οἵπερ τεταγμένοι
And after that this of that sort had happened, the Persians who had been drawn up
ἦσαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τούτῳ, ὑπονενοστηκότος τοῦ Εὐφράτου
for that very same thing, after the river Euphrates had dropped,
ποταμοῦ, ἀνδρὶ ὡς εἰς μέσον μηρὸν μάλιστα, κατὰ τὸ ῥεῖθρον
to as far as roughly the thigh for a man, they went across the river
εἰσῇσαν εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα.
into Babylon.
εἰ μέν νυν προεπύθοντο ἤ ἔμαθον
If at this point/now the Babylonians had found out in advance or learnt
οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Κύρου ποιούμενον, περιιδόντες τοὺς
that which was done by Cyrus, they, having looked around for the Persians
going into the city,
Πέρσας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν διέφθειραν ἂν κάκιστα:
(they) would have utterly destroyed them.
κατακλεισαντες γὰρ πάσας τὰς πυλίδας τὰς ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν
For if they had closed all the gates leading to the river,
ἀγούσας, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ τὰς αἱμασιὰς ἀναβάντες τὰς παρὰ τὰ
and they themselves had climbed up onto the rock-walls which
τοῦ ποταμοῦ χείλη ἐληλαμένας, ἔλαβον ἂν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐν κύρτῃ.
had been built beside the river’s edges, (then) they would have captured them
like in a fish-trap/-net.
νῦν δὲ ἐξ ἀπροσδοκήτου αὐτοῖς παρέστησαν οἱ Πέρσαι.
But at this point the Persians unexpectedly stood in front of them.
ὑπὸ δὲ μεγέθους τῆς πόλεως, τῶν περὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς πόλεως
Due to the size of the city, and after they had been caught near the outskirts
ἑαλωκότων, οἱ τὸ μέσον οἰκοῦντες τῆς Βαβυλῶνος οὐκ
of the city, they who lived in the centre of Babylon,
ἐμανθάνον ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ (ἔτυχε γὰρ σφι οὖσα ἑορτή), ἐχορεύον τε
did not learn of these things, but (for there happened to be a festival going on),
they were dancing
τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καὶ ἐν εὐπαθείαις ἦσαν, εἰς ὃ δὴ καὶ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐπύθοντο.
during this time and having a good time, up to the point until they learnt the truth.
