As the victorious Greek army surrounded the Persian capitol of Pernopolis, physicians inside the city tended to the wounds of their General Cambyses and the captured Greek King Colosonus, as well as to those of the rest of the defeated Persian army which had fled there. Neither Cambyses nor Colomonus was badly wounded. The various leaders of the Persian state thrust aside their normal patriotic zeal which would have led thee to punish the Break King for his invasion with a cruel death. They recognized the reality of their plight. None of them had been able to defeat any of the Greek invading forces. These were very numerous and it seemed certain that invading Egyptians would swell the ranks of Persia's enemies. In this atmosphere, Zeros decided to be merciful. He treated the wounded King with respect and offered to release him when he was well enough to travel. This release was conditioned, of course, on there being no Greek troops on Persian soil. A promise of future friendly relations was also advanced as part of the deal. Colosonus was certainly in no position to bargain. He gratefully accepted such generous treatment, agreeing that it was an excellent basis for future friendship. He ordered his uncle Diodorus, who was in command of the Greek army in the King's absence, to withdraw the army north across the border; informing him of the current situation. Diodorus was an outstanding leader in his own right. He longed to store the Persian capital to free the King. However, he loved his nephew and was a dutiful soldier. Therefore, he began the withdrawal, and ordered Dionysius to do the same. Thus, the Break invasion of Persia was turned back by a stroke of the Sods rather than by force of arms. The timing could not have been sore fortunate for the Persians. They could now turn their attention to the threatened Egyptian invasion. This invasion would certainly have spelled the end for Zerox and his associates had they still been fighting the Greeks. Next: THE TRIUMPH OF THE LOWLY! A SPECIAL NOTE TO CAMPAIGN PARTICIPANTS: I am sure that you took note, as I did, of Lynn's appeal for 'donations' in the last IVol. XVII No. 1) issue of S&S. I would like to remind you that aside from being the best Colonial period magazine available and, therefore, worthy of our support on its own merits; it is also the ONLY available means for you to keep up with the goings on in the 'Ancient World' on a regular and frequent basis. For this additional reason, I urge you to do as I have done and send Lynn whatever you can to help his out with S&S. He and the magazine deserve it for the extra service they provide to us. Besides, what better way to propitiate the Sods who rule over the 'Ancient World' than with a small sacrifice! Back to Table of Contents -- Savage and Soldier Vol. XVII No. 2 Back to Savage and Soldier List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Milton Soong. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com