Antiquity of Jat Race by US Mahil/Manda Empire
Text Wikified By : Ch. Reyansh Singh
Manda Empire
Section 1
(Deioces)
(Deioces)
I must now begin the account of the greatest Jat Empire of antiquity which according to Historians’ History of the World, Volume II page 588, was the greatest in mere Geographical extent that the world had ever seen, far greater than Egypt’s, greater than the Assyrian Empire at its widest reach and greater than any empire that was to succeed it until modern times. It must be remembered that Persian Empire was an offshoot of Jat Empire and Persian kings had Jat blood running in their veins. About 27 centuries ago, the Jat population of their native country Scythia swelled and they burst into the ancient kingdom of Ellipi, they annihilated that kingdom and occupied their capital Ecbatana (modern Hamdan). They effected quickly the organisation of a state which was recognized as a danger to Assyria as far back as the reign of Esarhaddon. This came to be known as Manda Empire. As mentioned in chapter I, this word Manda by a philological mistake was changed into Mada and Medes. According to Herodotus Jats of Manda Empire were divided into several kingdoms just like Punjab states of Patiala, Nabha etc. The leader of one of those kingdoms was Deioces (700 B.C.) who was well known for his wisdom; because he always did justice in the disputes. Although his kingdom was weaker, still all the Jats of the neighbouring kingdoms came to him for getting justice, and he thus became a Judge for all the surrounding kingdoms. This honour prompted him to administer pure justice, and for this lie became celebrated in the whole country and the men of neighbouring states who came to him for justice began to compare his justice with the injustice of their own officers, and never went to any other officer for justice excepting Deioces. This state of affairs continued for some time; but could not last
long. It was impossible for a just man like Deioces to control the affans of territories other than his own. The officer of other states became envious of Deioces, although the general public worshiped him. The result, was confusion and unrest. Deioces had only moral and spiritual influence upon his neighbouring territories upto the present times has proved that moral and spiritual influence what is called soul force has very inefficient and unsatisfactory power in human affairs. What was require political power to deal adequately with the situation. It is very interesting to know from Herodotus, how the Jats of that remote antiquity dealt with the unrest prevailing at that time. A public assembly for the purpose of considering the remedy. The idea appears to be quite modern. It was decided in that assembly that the prevailing situation was unbearable and therefore a king should be elected so that a regular Government may be established. By that time Deioces had become so popular for justice that he was unanimously elected as king. After election he demanded that a palace fit for his royal splendour should be built and for his protection a guard should be appointed. This was accomplished and he was allowed to appoint a guard of his own liking. After being enthroned as a king, Deioces compelled Jats to build a suitable capital. The city of Ecbatana was promptly built. The ruins of that city are situated near the city of modern Hemdan. According to Herodotus the walls of the city of Ecbatana were in several concentric circles one within the other, and were situated on a high mound and therefore the inner walls appeared to be higher than the outer ones. The palace and the treasury of the king was situated within the innermost wall which was covered with gold and silver plate like the Golden Temple of Amritsar. All other walls were of different colours. The standard of wisdom of Deioces is fortunately preserved by the chronicle of his royal orders which he issued in the beginning of his reign. He rightly thought that he could not keep up his royal pomp the mixed freely with his subjects. He therefore passed an order that he should be interviewed through an agent. He seldom appeared in public. His
idea was that if he mixed too much with his caste fellows and equals, it would excite their envy, and they would respect him if he remained aloof. He passed an edict that it was a misdemeanour to smile or to spit in the presence of the king. For the purpose of dealing justice in criminal cases he appointed spies and informers in different parts of his kingdom.
By such wise rules Deioces organised Jats into a very strong nation. He reigned for 33 years.
Section 2
(Frawarti and Cyaxares)
(Frawarti and Cyaxares)
Deioces was succeeded by his son Frawarty (647 B.C) By long peace and wise rule the Jat nation had become very prosperous. They felt that they had no scope to display their bravery. They were itching for fresh fields and pastures new. Frawarti therefore led them into Persia and Elam. The conquest was an easy one and they were made into the provinces of Manda
Empire. After that Asia minor was over-run. Frawarti then rashly attacked Assyria, but was killed in the fighting.
He was succeeded by his son Cyaxares (625 B.C.) who continued the invasion of Assyria. In bravery Cyaxares was greater than his ancestors. He taught military tactices to his army including tent pegging and archery. He organized separate companies of Cavalry. He was also superstitious which defect deprived him of the success in the conquest of Lydia. When he was
fighting in Lydia, there was complete eclipse of the Sun. The day became dark like night. He considered this to be bad omen. He felt God’s hand in the event and gave up the fight and making a treaty with the states beyond the river Halys established friendly relations with them. The date of this eclipse is 28th May. 585 B.C. which is perhaps the oldest date of a great event of which the exact day is known to history. Before this Cyaxares in 610 B.C. attacked Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Sin-Sher-ishken, king of Assyria, had attacked Nabopolassar of Babylon who called upon the rising power of the brave Manda Jats to help him to repell the invaders.
This was a God-sent message to Cyaxares. The great Babylonian Empire was weakening and dissolving quite like the subsequent Roman Empire. It was a great opportunity for the Jat Empire to intervene and share the spoils. Cyaxares was also prompted by the desire to take revenge for the death of his father. He immediately responded and attacked Nineveh which fell in 607 B.C. He took possession of the old kingdom of Assyria as far as the Babylonian frontier. Calah the well known city of antiquity, was burnt. This victory at Calah is so outstanding in Jat history that they never forgot it. In modern Punjab there are two villages of the name of Calah. One is Calah Sanglia in Kapurthala State and other is Calah Bakra in Jullundur district near Adampur. After this great victory the Jats under Cyaxares swept over the land as far as the border of Egypt where Pasamthik, the king of Egypt, being terrified by their superb bravery paid them considerable amount of tribute and thus turned them back. After tasting the fruits of these victories the Jats could not sit still. They then turned their attention to the North and Cyaxares made war on Lydians, Urartu, Media, Minni and others when the above mentioned eclipse of the Sun intervened and cut short the progress of victory owing to the effect of the superstitious fear.
Section 3
(Ishtuvegu)
(Ishtuvegu)
Cyaxres was succeeded by his son Astyages alias Ishtuvegu (585 B.C). He was married to Aryenis, the daughter of Allyattes the king of Lydia at the time of treaty after the Lydian fight. This Ishtuvegu was an eccentric fellow of queer personality. Bis mental defects were so serious that they cost the Jats their Empire. In the beginning of his reign however the Jats extended their Empire to the north-west upto the river Halys under the effect of the momentum caused by the wisdom and bravery of Cyaxares. The rest of the reign of Ishtuvegu is a sorry reading. It must however be told to show how from so remote an antiquity the Jats have lost the fruits of their unique bravery owing to serious mental defects of their kings and princes.
The defective brain of Ishtuvegu was subject to curious dreams. He had a daughter named Mandane, Ishtuvegu saw in his dream that she made so much water that not only the whole city but entire Asia was drowned In that superstitious age the kings employed learned men called Magi for the purpose of interpreting the dreams. The court Magi interpreted that the issue of this daughter would usurp the kingdom and would conquer the whole Asia: Hearing this Ishtuvegu refused to marry Mandane to any Jat equal in status to the Royal family and married her to the Persian Cambyses who was his vassal being the prince of the province of Elam and having a peaceful temper although he was lower in status to all the Jat dignitaries. About one year after the marriage of his daughter Ishtuvegu again saw a curious dream that a Vine Creeper sprang from the womb of Mandane, which spread over the whole Asia. Magi was again consulted and he interpreted it as most dreadful involving the whole Asia in a huge destruction. At that time Mandane was an expectant mother. When the time of delivery approached near, Ishtuvegu ordered that his daughter should be brought from Elam to his palace. It is still the custom in the Punjab that the daughter is brought to the house of the father at the time of first delivery. Mandane was kept under strict guard. The intention was to destroy the new born child; because the Magi had predicted that her son would dethrone him. In due course a son was born who was named Cyrus. The Commander-in-Chief of the Jat arrny was Harpagus who was the most outstanding figure in Jat history. He was not only the bravest but the wisest man in Manda Empire He was most reliable and managed all the affairs of the state. Ishtuvegu like his father had full confidence in him and consulted him in all his internal affairs. Ishtuvegu said to Harpagus that he had to depute him to an important business and warned him that if he disclosed the secret or deputed somebody else to do the work, then he would repent his treachery. Harpagus said that he never made the mistake of failing in his duties before, nor he would give any chance to His Majesty for any displeasure. Ishtuvegu ordered him to take the son of
Mandane to his house and to kill him and bury him there. Harpagus was surprised by this cruel order; but he wisely did not show any sign of amazement and replied that he would obey the order with all diligence. Harpagus took the boy to his house and fell in deep thoughts. He considered that Ishtuvegu had no son who could succeed him and the child Cyrus was the only male successor who could succeed him. He therefore became afraid of the revenge which Mandane would take from him after the death of the king. Moreover his normal brain revolted from the responsibility of the bloodshed of the innocent child. He therefore made over the child to a shepherd named Mithridates with the instruction that the child should be thrown in some
deserted place in the jungle. It so happened that the wife of Mithridates had given birth to a dead child on the previous day. When she saw the beautiful child Cyrus and came to know about his high family, she suggested to her husband that Cyrus should be exchanged for her dead child who should be thrown in the jungle instead. Mithridates agreed and clothing his own dead child with the precious dress of Cyrus threw him in the jungle. Proof of this was sent to Harpagus in due course. Harpagus buried the dead child who had naturally been disfigured by the exposure to wild life. The beautiful Cyrus was brought up with great care by the wife of the Shepherd under some other name,
When Cyrus became 10 years of age, it so happened that the king met by accident the boy and his stepfather in the way. He was thunderstruck to see Cyrus alive. On being questioned Mithridates became terrified and confessed the whole story. The king called Harpagus and interrogated him about the affair. Harpagus being quite ignorant about the exchange of the boy, told the king of what happened according to his knowledge. The king confronted Harpagus with the confession of the Shepherd. He, however, concealed his own anger and said to Harpagus that it was all right that the child was alive; that he was very much anxious about the safety of the boy, and that he could not bear the rebukes of his daughter Madane. The king said that as the whole affair was absolutely correct, so Harpagus should
send his own son to the boy Cyrus, and he himself should come to his palace for enjoying feast which he was giving in the worship of the gods who intervened to save the boy from death. Harpagus was highly pleased to hear this. He hurried to his house and burst with joy on thinking that instead of being punished he had the rare honour of being invited to the Royal feast. He at once ordered his only son who was 13 years old to go to the palace of Ishtuvegu and to obey whatever order was issued to him. Being highly pleased he also related the whole story to his wife. This jubilation was short-lived. As soon as the boy reached the palace, the degenerate and mentally defective king ordered that he should be murdered and cut into pieces; that a portion of his flesh should be roasted and the other portion should be boiled; and that the whole should be prepared for the feast. At the time of feast Harpagus also joined the guests. Other guests were served with the cooked flesh of goats; but Harpagus was served with the whole flesh of his son. The head, hands and feet of the boy were not cooked and were kept separately in a basket. When unsuspecting Harpagus had his full meal, Ishtuvegu asked him how he liked his feast. Harpagus expressed his great pleasure when according to pre-arrangement the royal servants brought the said basket containing the head and limbs of his son. Ishtuvegu asked Harpagus to eat that also. Harpagus uncovered the basket and saw in it the head and limbs of his son. He then understood what happened. He was one of the bravest and wisest generals the world has ever seen as will be shown by his future exploits later on. He could control not only the biggest armies, but also his own passions and emotions. He did not show any extraordinary feeling at that time. The foolish Ishtuvegu wanted full satisfaction for his revengeful animal nature. He, therefore, asked Harpagus whether he knew of what wild animal’s flesh he had eaten. The brave and wise Harpagus replied in the affirmative and added that king’s wish was always a matter of great pleasure for him. Saying this he collected the remains of the dead body of his son and carried them home for the purpose of funeral ceremony. When a king emperor happens to be a fool, his foolish-
ness exceeds all bounds. The unfortunate result is not only his downfall, but the downfall of the whole empire. This had happened again and again in both ancient and modern history. Harpagus at once realized that a monster like Ishtuvegu was hardly fit to rule a great and promising Empire. The iron thrust in his soul by the fate of his only son was also prompting him to take revenge. It at once flashed in his big brain that Cyrus was the only man who was fit to dethrone Ishtuvegu; because he was Heir Apparent as Ishtuvegu had no male issue. Cyrus grew to be the most powerful and handsome boy in Persia.
Ishtuvegu was not free from fear under the influence of the prediction of the Magi. He, therefore, ordered a strict censorship upon the correspondence of both the provinces. Harpagus began to send presents to Cyrus. Ishtuvegu who was unique tyrant used to inflict extreme hardship upon his subjects. Harpagus used to cultivate friendship with the agrieved leaders among Jats and continued to hint that the miseries of the country could not be avoided without dethroning Ishtuvegu and enthroning Cyrus. In this way when he felt that public opinion was sufficiently developed in his favour, he organised a conspiracy for the purpose of acquainting Cyrus about his own thoughts and the conditions of the kingdom. It is interesting to know how he arranged to avoid censorship. He got a hare and ripping its abdomen put a letter there. The abdomen was then carefully sewed. This hare with some nets was sent to Persia with such a servant who was most reliable. He was ordered to hand over the hare personally to Cyrus requesting him to open it with his own hands without the presence of any witness. Cyrus himself ripped open the hare and took out the letter which read as follows:--
- “Son of Cambyses! Heaven evidently favours you, or you never could have risen thus superior to fortune. Astyages meditated your death and is a just object of your vengeance. He certainly determined that you should perish. The gods and my humanity preserved you. With the incident of your life, I believe, you.
- are acquainted, as well as with the injuries which I have received from Astyages for delivering you to the herdsman instead of putting you to death. Listen but to me and the authority and dominion of Astyages shall be yours. First prevail upon the Persians to revolt and then undertake expedition against Manda. If I shall be appointed by Astyages the leader of the forces which oppose you, our object will be instantly accomplished which I may also venture to affirm of each of our first nobility. Theye are already favourable to your cause and wait but the opportunity of revolting from Astyages. All things being thus prepared, execute what I advise without delay.”
Reading this letter Cyrus began to think earnestly. He worked out a scheme according to which a royal letter was got prepared which showed that Ishtuvegu had appointed him General of Persia. Next he collected an assembly of Persians in which the letter was read. After this he passed an order that all should come with axes in their hands. They all brought axes and Cyrus ordered them to clear 18 or 20 Furlongs of jungle within one day. They had to work very hard and overtime. They had to take whatever dry food they could nibble during such a hard work. When the work was accomplished, Cyrus invited all of them to a feast to be held next day. Cyrus got all the goats, sheep and cattle of his father, slaughtered for the purpose of that feast. He provided liquors and many kinds of sweet dishes for that feast. Next day he fed them all those tasty foods to their complete satisfaction and told them to lie down on the grass and to enjoy the pleasure. When all this enjoyment was finished, they were asked the food of which of the two days they liked most. They replied that there was no comparison between those meals; that the food of the first day was very bad while that of the second day was very good. Cyrus said, “O! Persians if you obey my orders, you will enjoy such foods and get such comfort, and if you refuse to obey my orders, you will have to undergo far worse hardships than those of
yesterday. I order you to revolt against Ishtuvegu." The Persians were very much pleaded with their leader and sounded the bugle of revolt. Ishtuvegu also came to know about the schemes of Cyrus and ordered him to present himself before His Majesty. Cyrus replied that he probably himself would come for interview. Upon this Ishtuvegu collected all the Jats, and organized a big army. Under the influence of fatal idea he appointed Harpagus as the Commander-in-Chief of the army. Perhaps there was no other experienced General to till that high post. At any rate Ishtuvegu totally forgot all the injury which he had inflicted upon Harpagus. Failure of memory was also an ingredient of his serious mental defects. Any man of normal brain could never dream of appointing such an aggrieved person upon such a responsible job. The big army was collected and Persia was invaded. Those Jats who were not in the
conspiracy fought with great bravery. Others joined with persians. A great part of the army voluntarily repeated from the light. It was a complete debacle.
When Ishtuvegu came to know about the treachery of his army and his defeat, his defective brain did not realise the true situation, and he continued to threaten
Cyrus that he would be dealt with and that he should not indulge in premature jubilations. In that crisis his first mad act was to crucify the Magi who had interpreted his dreams and who had advised him to send Cyrus out. After that he armed all his subjects including children and oldmen and again invaded Persia. Only a weakling like Ishtuvegu could hope to defeat the trained and disciplined army of Harpagus who was now in Command of the forces of Cyrus with such a rabble of old men and children. He suffered a crushing defeat and was taken prisoner (550 B.C). It was now time for Harpagus to unburden his aggrieved mind. He met Ishtuvegu in his prison to taunt him and asked him whether he had reformed his opinion about that feast in which he had obliged a father to eat the flesh of his son, and on account of which feast he had been degraded from a king to a slave. Ishtuvegu asked Harpagus whether he was the cause of the victory of Cyrus. Harpagus replied in the affirmative and related
to him the whole conspiracy which he said was the onty way open to him for righting the wrong done to him. Ishtuvegu forgetting his own folly and wickedness unburdened his miserable mind to Harpagus in the following words:--
- “You are the most foolish and wicked of mankind, most foolish in acquiring for another the authority he might have enjoyed himself; most wicked for reducing his countrymen to servitude to gratify his private revenge. If he thought a change in the government really necessary, and was still determined not to assume the supreme authority himself, justice should have induced him to have raised a Jat to that honour rather than a Persian The Jats who were certainly not accessary to the provocation given had exchanged situations with their servants. The Persians who were formerly the servants were now the masters.’’
We should overlook the grammatical mistakes in this quotation of old English. It is interesting to see how a king who himself acted as the most wicked monster accuses his victim of wickedness. Harpagus was right in his determination to change the monstrous occupant of the throne who was spreading misery right and left. He was too wise to think of assuming the supreme authority himself. Jat nation could not tolerate that. As for any other Jat, there was probably none fit to fill that high position. Throughout all these centuries upto the present time there has been scarcity of able men capable of filling high positions among Jats. Moreover Jat blood was running in the veins of Cyrus. He was the son of Ishtuvegu’s own daughter and was Heir Apparent as the king had no male issue. I think it was a very wise choice for Harpagus as subsequent exploits of Cyrus would show. At any rate the loss of pure Jat power was entirely due to the cruelty of temper of Ishtuvegu.
Section 4
(Cyrus)
(Cyrus)
It must me remembered that Cyrus was the head of Manda Jat Empire of Ecbatana. This city of remote
antiquity had been known by different names in different periods of history. It was also called Agbatana. In old Persian it was called Hagmatana from which the modern name of Hamadan was derived. In Bible this city is named Achmetha Under Cyrus the whole organisation of the Empire was the same as under Manda Jat Emperors. All high administrative officers were Jats. The army consisted of Jats and the Commanding Officer was Harpagus the brave and vise Jat who had to win so many victories under Cyrus.
The victories won by Jats under Harpagus were astounding. Xenophon says that Cyrus attached to himself so many nations as it would be a labour to enumerate. H. G. Wells says that when Cyrus succeeded the throne, he was ruling over an empire that reached from the boundaries of Lydia to Persia and perhaps to India. He further says that for two thirds of a century the Second Babylonian Empire lay like a lamb within the embrace of the median lion (The Outline of History Chapter 21, Sec. 5). In this quotation we must correct the word median into Manda as discussed in Chapter 1, Sec. 5 Supra. The first to fall to the sword of Jats was Croesus of Lydia. When Ishtuvegu the relative of Croesus was overthrown by Cyrus, Croesus was in great mourning, because at that time his son had been killed in a very tragic manner. After the period of mourning Croesus who was already smarting on account of the fate of his brother-in-law Ishtuvegu who had been imprisoned by Cyrus, became afraid of the new power that lay in the hands of Cyrus. He, therefore, began to think seriously about cutting short that dangerous power. I here quote Herodotus about that interesting story. Says Herodotus:--
- “For two years then, Craesus remained quiet in great mourning because he was deprived of his son, but after this period of time, the overthrowing of the rule of the son of Cyaxares by Cyrus, and the growing greatness of the Persians, caused Craesus to cease from his mourning and led him to a care of cutting short the power of the Persians if by
- any means he might, while yet it was in growth and before they should have become great”.
He then made trial of the various oracles.
- “To the Lydians who were to carry these gifts to the temples Craesus gave charge that they should ask the Oracles this question: whether Craesus should march against the Persians, and if so, whether he should join with himself any army of men as his friends. And when the Lydians had arrived at the places to which they had been sent and had dedicated the votive offerings, they inquired of the Oracles, and said: Craesus, king of the Lydians and of other nations, considering that these are the only true Oracles among men, presents to you gifts such as your revelations deserve, and asks you again now whether he shall march against the Persians and if so, whether he shall join with himself any army of men as allies. They inquired thus and the answers of both the Oracles agreed in one, declaring to Craesus that if he should march against the Persians he should destroy a great empire. So when the answers were brought back and Craesus heard them, he was delighted with the Oracles and expecting that he would certainly destroy the kingdom of Cyrus, he sent again to Pytho, and presented to the men of Delphi, having ascertained the number of them, two staters of gold for each man and in return for this the Delphians gave to Craesus and to the Lydians precedence in consulting the Oracle and freedom from all payments, and the right to front seats at the games, with this privilege also for all time, that any one of them, who wished should be
allowed to become a citizen of Delphi.” So Craesus made a defensive alliance both with the Lacedemonians and the Egyptians. And Herodotus Continues,” while Craesus was preparing to march against the persian, one of the Lydians, who even before
this time was thought to he a wise man but in consequence of this opinion got a very great name for wisdom among the Lydians, advised Craesus as follows:--
“O King, thou art preparing to march against men who wear breeches of leather, and the rest of their clothing is of leather also; and they eat food not such as they desire, but such as they can obtain, dwelling in a land which is rugged and moreover, they take no use of wine but drink water; and no figs have they for dessert, nor any other good thing. On the one hand, if thou shalt overcome them, what wilt thou take away from them, seeing they have nothing ? and, on the other hand, if thou shalt be overcome, consider how many good things thou wilt lose: for once having tasted our good things, they will cling to them fast, and it will not be possible to drive them away. I, for my own part, feel gratitude to the gods that they do not put it into the minds of the Persians to march against the Lydians. Thus he spoke not persuading Craesus; for it is true indeed that the Persians before they subdued the Lydians had no luxury nor any good thing."
Craesus and Cyrus fought an indecisive battle at Pteria, from which Craesus retreated. Cyrus followed him up, and he gave battle outside his capital town of Sardis. The chief strength of the Lydians lay in their cavalry, they were excellent, if undisciplined horsemen, and fought with long spears.
“Cyrus, when he saw the Lydians being arrayed for battle, fearing their horsemen, did on the suggestion of Harpagus, a Mede, as follows:--
All the camels which were in the train of his army carrying provisions and baggage he gathered together and he took off their burdens and set men upon them provided with equipment of cavalry; and, having thus furnished them, forth he appointed them to go in front of the rest of the army towards the horsemen of Craesus, and after the camel troop he ordered the infantry to
follow; and behind the infantry he placed his whole force of cavalry. Then when all his men had been placed in their several positions, he charged them to spare
none of the other Lydians, slaying all who might come in their way, but Creasus himself they were not to slay, not even if he should make resistance when he was being captured. Such was his charge, and he set the camels opposite the horsemen for this reason — because the horse has a fear of the camel and cannot endure either to see his form or to scent his smell, for this reason then the trick had been devised in order that the cavalry of Craesus might be useless, that very force wherewith the Lydian king was expecting most to shine. And as they were coming together to the battle, so soon as the horses scented the camels and saw them, they turned away back, and the hopes of Craesus were at once brought to nought.”
In fourteen days Sardis was stormed and Craesus taken prisoner......
“So the Persians having taken him brought him into the presence of Cyrus; and he piled up a great pyre and caused Craesus to go up upon it bound in fetters, and along with him twice seven sons of Lydians, whether it was that he meant to dedicate this offering as first fruits of his victory to some god, or whether he desired to fulfil a vow, or else had heard that Craesus was a god-fearing man, and so caused him to go up on the pyre because he wished to know if anyone of the divine powers would save him, so that he should not be burnt alive. He, they say, did this; but to Craesus as he stood upon the pyre there came, although he was in such evil case, a memory of the saying of Solon, how he had said with divine inspiration that no one of the living might be called happy. And when this thought came into his mind, they say that he sighed deeply and groaned aloud, having been for long silent, and three times he uttered the name of Solon. Hearing this, Cyrus bade the interpreters ask Craesus who was this person on whom he called; and they came near and asked. And Craesus for a time, it is said, kept silence when he was asked this, but afterwards, being pressed, he said, one whom more than much wealth I should have desired to have speech with all monarchs. Then, since his words were of doubtful import, they asked again of that which
he said, and as they were urgent with him and gave him no peace, he told how once Solon. An Athenian, had borne and having inspected all his wealth had made light of it, with such and such words, and how all had turned out for him according as Solon had said, not speaking at all especially with a view to Craesus himself, but with a view to the whole human race, and especially those who seem to themselves to be happy men. And while Craesus related these things, already the pyre was lighted and theedges of it round about were burning. Then they say that Cyrus, hearing from the interpreters what Craesus had said, changed his purpose and considered that he himself also was but a man, and that he was delivering another man. who bad been not inferior to himself in felicity, alive to the fire; and moreover, he feared the requital, and reflected that there was nothing of that which men possessed which was secure, therefore, they say he ordered them to extinguish as quickly as possible the fire that was burning and to bring down Craesus and those who were with him from the pyre; and they, using
endeavours, were not able now to get the mastery of the Barnes. Then it is related by the Lydians that Craesus, having learned how Cyrus had changed his mind, and seeing that every one was trying to put out the fire, but they were no longer able to check it, cried aloud, entreating Apollo that if any gift had ever been given by him which was acceptable to the god, he would come to his aid and rescue him from the evil which was now upon him. So he with tears entreated the god, and suddenly, they say, after clear sky and calm weather clouds gathered and a storm burst, and it rained with a very violent shower, and the pyre was extinguished.
“Then Cyrus, having perceived that Craesus was a lover of the gods and a good man, caused him to be brought- down from the pyre and asked him as follows:--
- “Craesus, tell me who of all men was it who persuaded time to march upon my land and so to become an enemy to me instead of a friend ? And he said:
- O king! I did this to thy, felicity and to my own misfortune, and the cause of this was the god
- of the Hellenes, who incited me to march with my army. For no one is so senseless as to choose of his own will war rather than peace, since in peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons. But it was pleasing. I suppose, to the divine powers that these things should come to pass thus.”
This conquest of Lydia and defeat of Craesus cleuly proves the bravery of Jat army under Harpagus and strategy of Cyrus in defeating Lydian cavalry. Craesus was the richest monarch of Asia minor. He was the owner of proverbial wealth. All that fell in the hands of Jats as spoils of war. The empire was, now at its Zenith. Harpagus took Lycia on the mediterranean coast very easily in 545 B.C. and thus all Asia minor upto the western coast fell into the possession of Cyrus. He then turned his attention to the south where king Nabonidus a remnant of Babylonian empire was ruling. Why should he spare this Semitic king who may; eventually become a thorn in his side. Jat army tinder Harpagus invaded Babylon in 539 B.C. and defeated the Babylonian army under Belshazzar and took possession of that kingdom. Nabonidus the well-known Emperor of Babylon fled away. Thus the great Babylonian Empire of antiquity which was perhaps the, first empire in the world found by history was finally overthrown by Jats. Syria and Phoenicia also surrendered. Tasting the fruits of so many victories Manda Jats could not sit still. They conquered Samarkand and Bukhara in Sogdiana which was the ancient name of that country: They also conquered Khiva and a large part of 'Afghanistan." According to H.G. Wells (Outline of History Chap. 28 Sec. 1) the empire of Cyrus reached, from the Helespont to the Indus and had high standard of Civilization; and its homelands remained unconquered and fairly prosperous for over two hundred years "Elated with so many successive victories Cyrus turned his attention to the country of Massagetae which was another ancient kingdom of Jats. At that time a Jat, queen named Tomyris was occupying the throne of Massagetoe. Cyrus sent messengers and proposed his marriage with her. The wise queen at once understood that he covered
her kingdom. She, therefore, refused the offer. Cyrus then invaded her country and advanced up to the river Araxes where he got prepared a boat-bridge. The queen then sent the following massage to Cyrus:--
- “Sovereign of Medes, uncertain as you must be of the event, we advise you to desist from your present purpose. Be satisfied with the dominion of your own kingdom and let us alone seeing how we govern our subjects. You will not, however, listen to this salutary counsel loving anything rather than peace. If then you are really impatient to encounter the Massagetoe, give up your present labour of constructing a bridge, we will retire three days' march into our country and you shall pass over at your leisure; or if you had rather receive us in your own territory, do you as much for us.”
Getting this message Cyrus called a meeting of his council of which Craesus was also a member. It was proposed that out of the two alternatives suggested b the Queen second should be chosen and the Persian army should retreat 3 days’ march and wait for the army of the queen. Craesus who was now a councillor of Cyrus was against this proposal. His opinion was that no body is always fortunate in this capricious world, that if he allowed the enemy to advance in his Country and, God forbid, there was a defeat, he would lose his whole kingdom, because the victorious Massagetoe would advance in his kingdom, and if he was victorious, the time and distance spent in the pursuit of his enemy would be lost. How could Cyrus' son of Cambyses think of retreat from a female enemy without dishonour, and bad name, he said, therefore in his opinion he should advance to the country of the enemy with victory and honour. Craesus further said that he had come to know that Massagetoe led very poor life and were quite strangers at the rich foods of Persia; therefore, his suggestion was that nice precious foods and wine cups should he kept ready in the camp and weak part of the army should be kept there and with the remainder of the army they should retreat towards the
river, the enemy would advance towards the rich foods and would give them chance of victory.
Cyrus liked this opinion and replied to the queen that he would advance in her kingdom. The queen honestly performed her promise and retreated as arranged. Cyrus gave all his Regal authority to his son Cambyses as his regent and sent him with Craesus to Persia, so that if the expedition was unsuccessful, he might control the Empire. Cyrus himself crossed the river and at night saw in his dream that the eldest son of Hystaspes had two wings on his shoulders one of which was spread over the whole of Asia and the other upon Europe. That boy Darius was in Persia because he was too young for military service. Cyrus called Hystaspes and secretly mentioned the dream and said that it appeared that his son had rebelled against him. He ordered Hystaspes to go to Persia, and when after victory he himself returned to Persia, he should get full explanation of the act of his son Darius.
Hystaspes said that no Persian could rebel against the king, and if one did, his punishment was death. Saying this he returned to Persia and began to supervise his son. Cyrus in his campaign acted according to the advice of Craesus. Massagetoe army attacked the weak portion of the Persian army and slaughtered all of them'. Then they saw the nice foods and wine and engaged themselves in feasting and drinking. Being dead drunk, They slept. In that condition the Persians attacked them. Some of them were slaughtered and the remaining
were taken prisoners. Spargapises the son of the queen Tomyris was one of them. As soon as the queen heard the news of her defeat, she again sent a message to Cyrus as follows:--
- “Cyrus insatiable as you are of blood, be not too elate with your recent success. When you yourself are overcome with wine what follies do you not commit? By entering your bodies it renders your language more insulting. By this poison you have conquered my son, and neither by your prudence, nor by your valour. I venture a second time to advise what it will
- be certainly your interest to follow. Restore my son to liberty and satisfied with the disgrace you have put upon a third part "of the Massagetoe depart from these realms unhurt. If you will not do this. I swear by the sun the great god of Massagetoe that insatiable as you are of blood I will give you your fill of it”
This message had no effect upon Cyrus. When Queen son who was dead drunk came to his senses, he committed suicide. The queen then in desperation gathered all her forces. The battle which followed was most ferocious. On both sides were 'brave Jats. They fought to the finish. Herodotus says that of all the wars of antiquity this was the most blood’. Massagetoe gained the final and complete victory (529 B.C). Cyrus himself was killed in action. The Jat queen ordered his dead body to be searched for in the battlefield. After obtaining the dead body she cut the head of Cyrus and placed it in a vessel full of blood and said, “here take fill of blood according to my promise.”
This was the first and crucial defeat and end of Great Cyrus by the hands of great Jats. (Massagetoe means great Jats). A similar first defeat was suffered by Alexander the Great at the hands of Sogdiana Jats as we shall see in a later Chapter. We may all regret very much that Cyrus was not wise enough to attend' to the messages of the Great Jat Queen and to escape the sad Fate Which befell him owing to unprovoked aggression against a woman. The result was that the northern boundary of the Great Empire was now fixed at the river Araxes.
It reflects, a great credit upon the Jat Queen that she did not follow the victory upon a great and greedy empire and did not pursue the enemy in his own territory. Evidently she was a contented woman quite happy within the bounds of her own kingdom. She did not believe in the, greed of expansion by vicious aggression. She had full knowledge of the risks of War. Her philosophical temper is quite evident from the two
messages which she sent to Cyrus. Prediction in the messages became literally true as Cyrus was given his “fill of blood”.
I am disposed to finish the story of Manda Jat Empire with the end of Cyrus. Although the army was essentially Jat army commanded by Jat generals, the throne was occupied by Persians. In future Emperors Jat blood was progressively diluted by Persian blood. The Jat army played the same roll which was played by Jat Sikh Army under the British Crown in modern times. We may regret with considerable pains that Persian Prince? of Elam who were first the vassals of Assyrian Empire, and afterwards became the vassals of
Manda Jat Empire were raised to the dignity of Imperial throne by the defective mind of a Jat Emperor. In this book about Jat race I am not particularly concerned with the pedigree and exploits of Persian Empire, except mentioning that it was merely an offshoot of the Jat Empire, although authors of Historians' History of the World (Vol. 2 page 571) say that the Jat kingdom continued to exist transformed into the Persian Empire. We may say so, because all future Persian valour was the valour of Jat army. History, however, persistently
ignores to recognise the prowess of arms and ascribes all the meed to the head. I, therefore, finish this chapter by merely mentioning the outstanding exploits of Jat forces under Persian Emperors.
Section 5
Successors of Cyrus.
Successors of Cyrus.
Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cainbyses who took the Jat army into Egypt (525 B.c.). There was a bloody battle in the delta. Herodotus declares that he saw the bones of the slain still lying on the field fifty or sixty years later and comments on the comparative thinness of the Persian skulls After this battle Cambyses took Memphis and most of Egypt. On his way back to Susa Cambyses died in Syria of an accidental wound leaving no heir to succeed him. Here the dream of Cyrus proved to be true. Cambyses was succeeded by Darius the Jat (521 B.C). who was the son of the wise Jat Hystaspes one of the chief councillors
of Cyrus. The extent of the empire of Darius was astounding. In 515 B.C. he invaded Scythia and annexed several cities of Thrace. He also took tribute from the king of Macedonia. He overran upto Indus river and annexed all the kingdoms to the north of Kabul. He made that territory a Satrapy of the Empire. He also fought battles in Greece. According to the dream of Cyrus he spread one of his wings upon Asia and the other upon Europe. In short, his empire was larger than any one of the preceding empires known to history upto that time. It included all Asia minor and Syria, that is to say, the ancient Lydian and Hittite Empire, all the old Assyrian and Babylonian empires, Egypt, the
Caucasus and Caspian regions, Media, Persia and it extended upto Indus river. The organization of this great empire was on a much higher level of efficiency than any of its predecessors. Great arterial roads joined province to province and there was a system of royal posts. The Greek cities of the mainland of Asia also paid the tribute and shared in this Persian peace.
After securing so much of Asia Darius turned his attention towards Europe. He led his big army consisting mostly of Jats to Thrace. He then crossed the Danube to invade the Jat kingdom of southern Russia. He, however, met there his superiors both in bravery and strategy. For the second time the Imperial hosts had to retreat in a shattered condition. The rout was complete. Darius fled for bis life accross Danube. Eventually he returned to Susa leaving an army in Thrace under a brave general Megabazus who set himself to the subjugation of Thrace. Among other States he also subjugated the kingdom of Macedonia which later on, produced Alexander the Great.
After subjugating some islands the first attack on Greece proper was made in 490 B.C. If was a sea-attack upon Athens. This invasion of Greece was a failure. Darius died in 485 B. C. He was succeeded by his son Xerxes. He led the second Persian attack on Greece by crossing at Hellespont (Dardanelles). After some encounters Athens was occupied by the Persians and burnt in 480 B. C. Persian fleet was, however, defeated and utterly scattered, sunken and destroyed by
the Greek fleet. Xerxes was afraid of the destruction of the bridge of boats at Hellespont. He, therefore, retreated being disgusted with his European campaigns. He was murdered in his palace in 465 B. C.
After this follows a multitude of Persian emperors in the period of decay which followed the great defeat in Greece. We are not concerned with so many kings named again and again as Artaxerxes, Xerxes, Darius, etc. Free from incessant campaigns the Persians had nothing to do excepting murders, revolts, punishment, cunning alliances and base betrayals. The liberated energy engaged itself upon its own destruction and waited for the hammer blow of Alexander the Great for shaping itself into a temporary Greek Empire.