Euphrates Side The Brunt Of That Huge Multitude To 'Bide, Of Whose Great Numbers Their Intelligence Was Gather'D By The Dust That Rose From Thence, Which Like A Mighty Cloud Darkned The Sky, And Black And Blacker Grew, As They Drew Nigh: But When Their Order And Their Silence Saw, That, More Then Multitudes Their Hearts Did Awe; For Tumult And Confusion They Expected, And All Good Discipline To Be Neglected. But Long Under Their Fears They Did Not Stay, For At First Charge The Persians Ran Away, Which Did Such Courage To The Grecians Bring, They All Adored Cyrus For Their King: So Had He Been, And Got The Victory, Had Not His Too Much Valour Put Him By. He With Six Hundred On A Squadron Set, Of Thousands Six Wherein The King Was Yet, And Brought His Souldiers On So Gallantly, They Ready Were To Leave Their King And Fly; Whom Cyrus Spies Cryes Loud, I See The Man, And With A Full Carreer At Him He Ran: And In His Speed A Dart Him Hit I'Th' Eye, Down Cyrus Falls, And Yields To Destiny: His Host In Chase Knows Not Of This Disaster, But Treads Down All, So To Advance Their Master; But When His Head They Spy Upon A Lance, Who Knows The Sudden Change Made By This Chance Senseless & Mute They Stand, Yet Breath Out Groans, Nor Gorgons Head Like This Transform'D To Stones. After This Trance, Revenge New Spirits Blew, And Now More Eagerly Their Foes Pursue; And Heaps On Heaps Such Multitudes They Laid, Their Arms Grew Weary By Their Slaughters Made. The King Unto A Country Village Flyes, And For A While Unkingly There He Lyes. At Last Displays His Ensigne On A Hill, Hoping By That To Make The Greeks Stand Still; But Was Deceiv'D. To Him They Run Amain, The King Upon The Spur Runs Back Again: But They Too Faint Still To Pursue Their Game, Being Victors Oft, Now To Their Camp They Came. Nor Lackt They Any Of Their Number Small, Nor Wound Receiv'D, But One Among Them All: The King With His Disperst, Also Incamp'D, With Infamy Upon Each Forehead Stamp'D. His HurrI'd Thoughts He After Recollects, Of This Dayes Cowardize He Fears Th' Effects. If Greeks In Their Own Country Should Declare, What Dastards In The Field The Persians Are, They In Short Time Might Place One In His Throne; And Rob Him Both Of Scepter And Of Crown; To Hinder Their Return By Craft Or Force, He Judg'D His Wisest And His Safest Course. Then Sends, That To His Tent, They Streight Address, And There All Wait, His Mercy Weaponless; The Greeks With Scorn Reject His Proud Commands Asking No Favour, Where They Fear'D No Bands: The Troubled King His Herrld Sends Again, And Sues For Peace, That They His Friends Remain, The Smiling Greeks Reply, They First Must Bait, They Were Too Hungry To Capitulate; The King Great Store Of All Provision Sends, And Courtesie To Th' Utmost He Pretends, Such Terrour On The Persians Then Did Fall, They Quak'D To Hear Them, To Each Other Call. The King Perplext, There Dares Not Let Them Stay; And Fears As Much, To Let Them March Away, But Kings Ne're Want Such As Can Serve Their Will, Fit Instruments T' Accomplish What Is Ill. As Tyssaphernes Knowing His Masters Mind, Their Chief Commanders Feasts And Yet More Kind, With All The Oaths And Deepest Flattery, Gets Them To Treat With Him In Privacy, But Violates His Honour And His Word, And Villain Like There Puts Them All To Th' Sword. The Greeks Seeing Their Valiant Captains Slain, Chose Xenophon To Lead Them Home Again: But Tissaphernes What He Could Devise, Did Stop The Way In This Their Enterprize. But When Through Difficulties All They Brake, The Country Burnt, They No Relief Might Take. But On They March Through Hunger & Through Cold O're Mountains, Rocks And Hills As Lions Bold, Nor Rivers Course, Nor Persians Force Could Stay, But On To Trabesond They Kept Their Way: There Was Of Greeks Setled A Colony, Who After All Receiv'D Them Joyfully. Thus Finishing Their Travail, Danger, Pain, In Peace They Saw Their Native Soyle Again. The Greeks Now (As The Persian King Suspects) The Asiaticks Cowardize Detects, The Many Victoryes Themselves Did Gain, The Many Thousand Persians They Had Slain, And How Their Nation With Facillity, Might Gain The Universal Monarchy. They Then Dercilladus Send With An Host, Who With The Spartans On The Asian Coast, Town After Town With Small Resistance Take, Which Rumour Makes Great Artaxerxes Quake. The Greeks By This Success Encourag'D So, Their King Agesilaus Doth Over Goe, By Tissaphernes Is Encountered, Lieftenant To The King, But Soon He Fled. Which Overthrow Incens'D The King So Sore, That Tissaphern Must Be Viceroy No More. Tythraustes Then Is Placed In His Stead, Commission Hath To Take The Others Head: Of That Perjurious Wretch This Was The Fate, Whom The Old Queen Did Bear A Mortal Hate. Tythraustes Trusts More To His Wit Then Arms, And Hopes By Craft To Quit His Masters Harms; He Knows That Many Towns In Greece Envyes The Spartan State, Which Now So Fast Did Rise; To Them He Thirty Thousand Tallents Sent With Suit, Their Arms Against Their Foes Be Bent; They To Their Discontent Receiving Hire, With Broyles And Quarrels Sets All Greece On Fire: Agesilaus Is Call'D Home With Speed, To Defend, More Then Offend, There Was Need, Their Winnings Lost, And Peace Their Glad To Take On Such Conditions As The King Will Make. Dissention In Greece Continued So Long, Till Many A Captain Fell, Both Wise And Strong, Whose Courage Nought But Death Could Ever Tame 'Mongst These Epiminandes Wants No Fame, Who Had (As Noble Raileigh Doth Evince) All The Peculiar Virtues Of A Prince; But Let Us Leave These Greeks To Discord Bent, And Turn To Persia, As Is Pertinent. The King From Forreign Parts Now Well At Ease, His Home-Bred Troubles Sought How To Appease; The Two Queens By His Means Seem To Abate, Their Former Envy And Inveterate Hate: But The Old Queen Implacable In Strife, By Poyson Caus'D, The Young One Lose Her Life. The King Highly Inrag'D Doth Hereupon From Court Exile Her Unto Babilon: But Shortly Calls Her Home, Her Counsells Prize, (A Lady Very Wicked, But Yet Wise) Then In Voluptuousness He Leads His Life, And Weds His Daughter For A Second Wife. But Long In Ease And Pleasure Did Not Lye, His Sons Sore Vext Him By Disloyalty. Such As Would Know At Large His Warrs And Reign, What Troubles In His House He Did Sustain, His Match Incestuous, Cruelties Of Th' Queen, His Life May Read In Plutarch To Be Seen. Forty Three Years He Rul'D, Then Turn'D To Dust, A King Nor Good, Nor Valiant, Wise Nor Just. Dorius Ochus. Ochus A Wicked And Rebellious Son Succeeds In Th' Throne, His Father Being Gone. Two Of His Brothers In His Fathers Dayes (To His Great Grief) Most Subtilly He Slayes: And Being King, Commands Those That Remain, Of Brethren And Of Kindred To Be Slain. Then Raises Forces, Conquers Egypt Land, Which In Rebellion Sixty Years Did Stand: And In The Twenty Third Of'S Cruel Raign Was By His Eunuch The Proud Bagoas Slain. Arsames Or Arses. Arsames Plac'D Now In His Fathers Stead, By Him That Late His Father Murthered. Some Write That Arsames Was Ochus Brother, Inthron'D By Bagoas In The Room Of Th' Other: But Why His Brother 'Fore His Son Succeeds I Can No Reason Give, 'Cause None I Read. His Brother, As Tis Said, Long Since Was Slain, And Scarce A Nephew Left That Now Might Reign: What Acts He Did Time Hath Not Now Left Pen'D, But Most Suppose In Him Did Cyrus End, Whose Race Long Time Had Worne The Diadem, But Now'S Divolved To Another Stem. Three Years He Reign'D, Then Drank Of 'S Fathers Cup By The Same Eunuch Who First Set Him Up. Darius Codomanus. Darius By This Bagoas Set In Throne, (Complotter With Him In The Murther Done) And Was No Sooner Setled In His Reign, But Bagoas Falls To'S Practices Again, And The Same Sauce Had Served Him No Doubt, But That His Treason Timely Was Found Out, And So This Wretch (A Punishment Too Small) Lost But His Life For Horrid Treasons All. This Codomanus Now Upon The Stage Was To His Predecessors Chamber Page. Some Write Great Cyrus Line Was Not Yet Run, But From Some Daughter This New King Was Sprung If So, Or Not, We Cannot Tell, But Find That Several Men Will Have Their Several Mind; Yet In Such Differences We May Be Bold, With Learned And Judicious Still To Hold; And This 'Mongst All'S No Controverred Thing, That This Darius, Was Last Persian King, Whose Wars, And Losses We May Better Tell, In Alexander'S Reign Who Did Him Quell, How From The Top Of Worlds Felicity, He Fell To Depth Of Greatest Misery. Whose Honours, Treasures, Pleasures Had Short Stay, One Deluge Came And Swept Them All Away. And In The Sixth Year Of His Hapless Reign, Of All Did Scarce His Winding Sheet Retain: And Last, A Sad Catastrophe To End, Him To The Grave Did Traitor Bessus Send.