Herodotus The Second Fall of Babylon

The Babylonians revolted very well prepared for it. And when they revolted they
did it in this way; having taken away their mothers, each man chose in addition
one woman whom he wanted from his own household; having gathered together
all the remaining women, 5they throttled them; each man took for himself one
bread-maker; they throttled the others so that they would not use up their food.
When he had learned of these things, Darius, having also gathered together all of
his force, went on a campaign against them, but having marched against the
city, he besieged the Babylonians who thought nothing of

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the siege. For having

mounted the ramparts of the wall, they danced defiantly and mocked Darius and
his army, and one of them said these words [lit. this word]: Why have you sat
here, O Persians, but not departed? For you will capture us as soon as mules give
birth. A certain

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Babylonian said this in no way believing that a mule would give

birth. Seven months and a year had already passed, Darius and all his army were
frustrated, not being capable of capturing the Babylonians. And yet Darius had
used all the tricks and all the devices against them. But even so he could not
capture them, and he attempted it by

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other tricks too, even that by which

Cyrus captured them. For the Babylonians were terribly on guard, and it was not
possible to capture them. Then on the twentieth month for Zopyrus of
Megabyzon this sign occurred: one food-bearing mule gave birth. When this was
reported to him, due to disbelief, Zopyrus himself saw

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the baby, forbidding

anyone who had seen it from reporting the event, he formed a plan. And with
regards to the words of the Babylonian, Zopyrus decided that Babylon was able
to be captured; for both that man in speaking and the mule in giving birth stood
with god. But when he decided it was fated that Babylon would be captured now,
having approached Darius he enquired whether

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he valued highly the capture of

Babylon. Having found how greatly he valued it, he made a plan, so that he
himself would be the captor of the city and that it would be his own task. Then
he did not consider it to be otherwise possible to bring the city under their
power, unless he mutilated himself and deserted to the enemy. Then,

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bearing it

easily, he mutilated himself with irreversible mutilations. For having cut off his
own nose and ears, and having badly shaved off his hair, and having whipped
himself he went to Darius. Darius bore it especially heavily, seeing the very
worthy man having been mutilated, and having jumped up from his throne, he

shouted and

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asked him who was the mutilator. He said There is no other man

(apart from you) in whom there is such great power to treat me in this way. It
was not a certain foreigner, o king, who did these things, but I myself did this
unto me, considering it a terrible thing that the Assyrians mock the Persians. But
he replied O most wretched of men, you have placed

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a very glorious name on

the most shameful deed, saying that on account of the besieged you have
treated yourself in this appalling way. But why, o foolish man, after you had
mutilated yourself, would the enemy surrender more quickly; how have you not
set sail from your senses having destroyed yourself? But he said If indeed I
disclosed to you the things which I intended to do, you would not have allowed
me [to do it].

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But now, having thrown it upon myself I did it. And so now, if

there is nothing lacking on your part, we will capture Babylon. For I just as I am
will desert to the wall and will say to them that I have suffered these things by
your hand; and I believe having persuaded them that these things are so, an
army will be obtained. But you, on the tenth day draw

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up a thousand men

against the gates called Semiramis; again on the seventh and tenth day draw up
another two thousand men for me against the gates of Nineveh; after these
things, having left a gap of twenty days, then station another four thousand,
having led them against the gates named for the Chaldaeans. And let neither the
first nor the

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last have weapons except daggers; after the twentieth day

immediately order the other army to attack the wall all around, and arrange the
Persians for me against the gates of Baal and Cissias. For so I believe, since I
shall have displayed a great deed, the Babylonians will entrust

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to me other

things, but especially the keys to the gates; after that it will be a concern for
both me and the Persians to do the things which are necessary. Having given
these orders he went to the gates, looking over his shoulder just as if he truly
was a deserter. Having seen him, those drawn up in this sector ran down from
the towers and turning aside a certain one of the gates

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a little, they asked him

who he was and what he had come to ask for. And he said to them that he was
Zopyrus and he had deserted to them. When they had heard these things, the
gate-keepers led him to the Babylonian authorities. Having established that he
was worthy of pity from these thing, saying that

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he had suffered at the hand of

Darius the things which he had suffered by his own hand, and that he had
suffered these things because he had advised him to withdraw the army, since a
path to capture the city appeared to no one. And now he said speaking, I have
come to you, O Babylonians, for the greatest good, but for Darius and his army

and the Persians [I have come] for the greatest bad.

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For indeed this one having

wounded me thus should not get off scot free. For I understand all the outlets of
his designs. He spoke in such a way. And the Babylonians, seeing a highly
honoured man of the Persians having been deprived of his nostrils and ears,
having been defiled with a whip and with blood, absolutely believed that he said
the truth and that he had

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come to them as an ally, and they were ready to

entrust [to him] all he asked for; he asked for an army. When he had received
this from them he did the very things he had agreed upon with Darius. For on the
tenth day, having led out the army of the Babylonians and having surrounded
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the thousand which he had first ordered Darius to draw up,

he slaughtered

them. And the Babylonians, having learnt that he produced deeds equal to his
words, being absolutely overjoyed, were completely ready to serve him. And
having left a gap of the [number of] agreed days, again he chose some of the
Babylonians and he led them out and slaughtered two thousand of Dariuss
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soldiers. And having seen this deed, all the Babylonians had [the name of]

Zopyrus on their lips praising. And again having left the agreed [number of] days
he led out the [men] to the appointed [place], and having surrounded them he
slew the four thousand. But when he achieved this, Zopyrus was indeed
everything in the minds of the

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Babylonians, and he was appointed general of

this army and of the wall guard. And when Darius had made an attack in
accordance with the agreed things around the wall, then indeed Zopyrus made
known all his treachery. For when the Babylonians mounted the wall, they
resisted the attacking army of Darius, but Zopyrus opened

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the gates named

for Cissia and Baal and let the Persians into the wall. When some of the
Babylonians saw what had been done, they fled to the temple of the god Baal.
But those who had not seen it stayed each at his own station, until these men
also learnt that they had been betrayed. Babylon was captured

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in this way for

the second time. And when Darius conquered the Babylonians, he took away the
wall all around and tore away all the gates. (For when Cyrus captured Babylon
previously he did neither of these two things). He impaled the leaders of the
men, almost three thousand of them, and to the remaining Babylonians, he gave
back

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the city to live in. And in the opinion of Darius as a judge, none of the

Persians before or after exceeded Zopyrus in good service, except for Cyrus
alone. (For no one of the Persians yet thought it fitting to compare themselves
with this man). Often it is said that Darius displayed this opinion, that he would
prefer Zopyrus

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to be unharmed by mistreatment rather than twenty Babylons

being added to this one. He honoured him greatly, for he gave him gifts every
year which the Persians valued very greatly, and he gave him Babylon to live in
without taxes as long as he lived, and he gave many other things in addition.