Ten Thousand

The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Greek, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece 401 BC-399 BC was recorded by Xenophon, one of its leaders, in his work, The Anabasis.

According to Xenophon, the Ten Thousand were composed of:

• 4000 hoplites under Xenias the Arcadian
• 1500 hoplites and 500 light infantry under Proxenus the Boeotian
• 1000 hoplites under Sophaenetus the Stymphalian
• 500 hoplites under Socrates the Achaean
• 300 hoplites and 300 peltasts under Pasion of Megara
• 1000 hoplites, 800 Thracian peltasts, and 200 Cretan archers under Clearchus of Sparta
• 3000 hoplites under Sosis of Syracuse
• 1000 hoplites under Sophaenetus of Arcadia
• 700 hoplites under Chirisophus the Spartan

In addition, transport on the Mediterranean was provided by a fleet on 35 triremes under Pythagoras the Spartan and 25 triremes under Tamos the Egyptian