being the purpose of the Athenians, their ambition, which had already devoured in conceit this island, was on the sudden well nigh choked with a greater morsel, to snatch at which they let Cyprus alone, which they might easily have swallowed and digested. For Inarus king of the Libyans, confining Egypt, having found how greatly the country was exhausted by the late wars, and how weakly defended by very slender Persian garrisons, conceived rightly, that if such small forces as the satrapa or viceroy could make on the sudden of his own guards, or levy out of the ordinary garrisons, were by him defeated, the naturals of the country, not long since oppressed by Cambyses, and after a revolt very lately subdued by Xerxes, would soon break faith with him who had no other title to that kingdom than a good sword. Further, he persuaded himself that the people, unable to defend themselves against the Persian without his assistance, would easily be drawn to accept him, the author of their deliverance, for king. Neither did this hope deceive him; for having taken and cruelly slain Achæmenes the viceroy, divers cities forthwith declared themselves for him, and proclaiming him king, shewed the most of their endeavour for prosecution of the war. But he considering his own weakness, and that the means of the Egyptians his adherents were not answerable to their desires, perceived well, that to resist the power of Artaxerxes far greater forces than his and theirs were to be procured, at what price soever he obtained them. Therefore hearing of the great Athenian fleet, and knowing well the virtue of the soldiers therein embarked, he invited the commanders to share with him the kingdom of Egypt, as a far greater reward of their adventure than such an addition as that of Cyprus could be to their estate. Whether he or they (if things had wholly sorted according to their expectation) would have been contented with an equal share, and not have fallen out in the partition, were perhaps a divination unnecessary: he was possessed of the people's love; they were of most power. But the issue of those affairs was such as left them nothing to communicate

but misfortunes, which they shared somewhat equally. Yet had the beginnings of their enterprise very good and hopeful success; for they entered the land as far as to Memphis, the principal city; and of the city itself they took two parts; to the third part, which was called the White Wall, they laid such hard siege, that neither those forces of the Persians which then were in Egypt were strong enough to remove them, neither could Artaxerxes well devise what means to use for the recovery of that which was lost, or for the preservation of the remainder. The best of his hope was by setting the Lacedæmonians upon Athens, to enforce the Athenians to look homewards to their own defence. This was the first time that the Persian sought to procure assistance of the Greeks one against the other, by stirring them up with gold to the entertainment of private quarrels, for the good of their common enemy. To this purpose he sent Megabazus to Sparta with much treasure; who, after great expense, finding that the Lacedæmonians were nothing forward in employing their whole force against the Athenians, whom in many conflicts of great importance they had found to be their matches, notwithstanding the absence of their army in Egypt; he thought it his wisest way to employ the rest of his money and means to their relief, who had now the space of six years defended his master's right in Egypt. Therefore he hastily despatched another of his name, the son of Zopyrus, who arriving in Egypt was first encountered by the revolted people; over whom he obtained a victory, which made him master of the country, whilst the Athenians lay busied about Memphis the great city. It cannot be doubted, that long abode in a strange air, and want of supply, had much enfeebled the Athenians; sure it is, that when Megabazus, having reduced the country to obedience, attempted the city itself, whether his former success had amended the courage of the Persians, or want of necessaries made the Athenians inferior to themselves, he chased them out of Memphis, and pursued them so near, as they were

forced to fortify themselves in the isle of Prosopites, where Megabazus, after eighteen months siege, turning away one part of the river by divers trenches, assaulted the Athenians without impediment of waters, took their galleys, and put all to the sword, save a few that saved themselves by flight into Libya: the same entertainment had fifty other galleys, which they sent to the succour of the first two hundred. For those Athenians, having heard nothing that their fleet and army was consumed, entered by the branch of Nilus called d Mendesium, and fell unawares among the Phœnician galleys and the Persian army, so as the Persians recovered all Egypt, but that part held by Amyrtæus, and Inarus the king of Libya being by them taken and hanged. This was the end of the Athenians six years war in Egypt, and the reward of their vanity and indiscretion to undertake many enterprises at once.

SECT. VI.

Of other wars made by the Athenians, for the most part with good success, about the same time.

NOTWITHSTANDING these overthrows in Egypt, yet the Athenians in their home wars waded through many difficulties, and held the reputation of their forces against the Lacedæmonians, Corinthians, and others, rather to their advantage than otherwise. For as they were beaten near unto Halia by the Corinthians and Epidaurians, so they obtained two great victories soon after; the one over the Peloponnesians, near unto Cecryphalia; the other over the Æginets, near unto Ægina; where they sunk and carried away threescore and ten galleys of their enemies. Furthermore, they landed their forces on the sudden, and besieged Ægina, from whence they could not be moved, notwithstanding that the Corinthians, to divert them, invaded

с

Prosopites, an island between the rivers of Taly and Pharmutiacus, two of the outlets of Nilus towards Alexandria.

mouth of Nilus, between the outlet called Busiriticus and Diolcos. But the branch of Nilus called Mendesium runneth into the sea by the city

d Mendesius is an island in the Panæphysis.

Megara; where, after a great fight with equal loss, the Corinthians, when they returned again to set up their trophy, as victors in the former battle, were utterly broken and slaughtered by the Athenian garrisons and Megarians, to their great loss and dishonour.

Again, as the Athenians were discomfited near to Tanagra by the Lacedæmonians, who returned from the succour of the Dorians against the Phocians, (at which time the Thessalian horsemen turned from their allies the Athenians, and fought against them,) so about threescore days after, the Athenians entered Boeotia under the conduct of Myronides, where, beating that nation, they won Phocis on the gulf Œteus, and evened the walls of Tanagra to the ground. Finally, they enforced Ægina to render upon most base conditions; as, to beat down the walls of their city, and to give them hostages for tribute; the siege whereof they had continued, notwithstanding all their other brabbles and attempts elsewhere. Besides these victories, they sacked and spoiled many places upon the sea-coast of Peloponnesus belonging to the Lacedæmonians, won upon the Corinthians, and overthrew the Sicyonians that came to their succour. These were the undertakings of the Athenians, and their allies, during the time of those six years that a part of their forces made war in Egypt. In the end whereof they attempted Thessaly, persuaded thereunto by Orestes, but were resisted by the king Pharsalus, who had chased Orestes out of his dominions. They also landed in Sicyonia, and had victory over those that resisted; after which they made truce with the Peloponnesians for five years, and sent Cimon into Cyprus with two hundred ships, but they were again allured by Amyrtæus, one of the race of their former kings, who held the marish and woody parts of Egypt from the Persians, to whom they sent sixty of their ships. The rest of their army, failing in their enterprise of Cyprus, and their fortunate and victorious leader Cimon dying there, as they coasted the island, encountered a fleet of the Phoenicians and Cilicians, over both which na

tions they returned victorious into Greece; as also those returned safe which were sent into Egypt.

SECT. VII.

Of Artaxerxes Longimanus, that he was Ahasuerus, the husband of queen Esther.

THESE Egyptian troubles being ended, the reign of Artaxerxes continued peaceable; whereof the length is by some restrained into twenty years, but the more and better authors give him forty; some allow unto him four and forty. He was a prince of much humanity, and noted for many examples of gentleness. His favour was exceeding great to the Jews, as appeareth by the histories of Esdras and Nehemiah, which fell in his time.

To prove that this was the king who gave countenance and aid to that great work of building the temple, it were a needless travail; considering that all the late divines have taken very much pain to shew, that those two prophets were licensed by him, and succoured in that building, in such sort as appears in their writings..

This was likewise that king Ahasuerus who married Esther; whereof if it be needful to give proof, it may suffice, that Ahasuerus lived in Susa, reigning from India to Ethiopia, and therefore must have been a Persian; that he lived in peace, as appears by the circumstances of the history, and used the counsel of the seven princes, the authority of which princes began under Darius the son of Hystaspes; wherefore he could be neither Cyrus nor Cambyses.

The continual wars which exercised king Darius the son of Hystaspes, together with the certainty of his marriages with sundry wives, from none of whom he was divorced, but left his first wife Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, alive in great honour, she being mother to Xerxes the succeeding king, do manifestly prove that Esther was not his. Whereunto is added by Philo the Jew, that at the persuasion of Mardochæus, Joiakim the high priest, the son of