DARIUS' EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SCYTHIANS.
Aftfer the reduction of Babylon,.Darius made great preparations for the war against the Scythians, who inhabited that large tract of land which lies between the Danube and the Tanais. His pretence for undertaking this war was to be revenged of that nation for the invasion of Asia by their ancestors: a very frivolous pretext; and a very ridiculous ground for reviving an old quarrel, which had ceased an hundred and twenty years before. Whilst the Scythians were employed in that irruption, which lasted eight and twenty years, the Scythian wives married their slaves. When the husbands were on their return home, these slaves went out to meet them with a numerous army and disputed their entrance into their country. After some battles, fought with pretty equal loss on both sides the slaves were conquered.
I have already observed, that the pretence used by Darius, for undertaking this war against the Scythians, was the irruption formerly made by that people into Asia: but in reality he had no other end therein, than to satisfy his own ambition, and to extend his conquests. He departed from Susa at the head of an army of seven hundred thousand men; and his fleet, consisting of six hundred sail of ships, was chiefly manned with Ionians, and other Grecian nations, that dwelt upon the sea coasts of Asia Minor and the Hellespont. He marched his army towards the Thracian Bosphorus, which he passed upon a bridge of boats after which, having made himself master of all Thrace, he came to the banks of the Danube, otherwise called the Ister, where he had ordered his fleet to join him. In several places on his march he caused pillars to be erected with magnificent inscriptions, and when the army had passed the Danube upon a bridge of boats, the king was for having the bridge broken down, that his army might not be weakened by leaving so considerable a detachment of his troops, as were necessary to guard it.
Darius, weary of these tedious and fatiguing pursuits, sent an herald to the king of the Scythians, whose name was Indathyrsus, with this message in his name: "Prince of the Scythians, wherefore dost thou continually fly before me? Why dost thou not stop somewhere or other,
