March of the 10,000
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 6 October 2022
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Recorded by Xenophon, the 10,000 were a force of Greek mercenaries employed by Cyrus the Younger, with the aim of taking back the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxexes. Travelling over 1,766 miles to the north of Babylon, where forces eventually clashed at the Battle of Cunaxa, Cyrus ultimately perished in the battle leaving the Greeks stranded and leaderless.
Choosing to flee the scene rather than see themselves become slaves to the Persians, the Greeks began the perilous journey back to their homeland.
In this episode, Tristan is joined by Owen Rees from Manchester Metropolitan University, to talk about the March of the 10,000 and the carnage they left in their wake.
For more Ancients content, subscribe to our Ancients newsletter here. If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the Entrance on History Hit. |
| 0:13.5 | I'm Tristan Hughes your host and in today's podcast, I'm very excited about this one |
| 0:18.0 | because we've got this incredible, extraordinary military adventure story from ancient history. |
| 0:25.3 | It survives in the account of a Greek writer called Zenaphon. |
| 0:29.5 | Occurring in the late 5th, early 4th centuries BC, in the Near East, it's called The March |
| 0:35.6 | of the 10,000. |
| 0:37.4 | This amazing adventure story which sees these soldiers battling in lowlands and highlands |
| 0:42.6 | against a variety of enemies in their bid to escape, to flee. |
| 0:49.0 | It's a remarkable story and joining me on the podcast today to give a whirlwind account |
| 0:55.3 | of the March of the 10,000. |
| 0:58.0 | Great detail still kept in there and so much enthusiasm. |
| 1:01.9 | I was delighted to go and interview once again Dr. Owen Rees from Manchester Metropolitan |
| 1:07.9 | University. |
| 1:08.9 | Owen, he's been on the podcast before to talk about combat trauma, to talk about dogs |
| 1:12.9 | and ancient Greece. |
| 1:13.9 | But he's got a special place in his heart for the story of the March of the 10,000 because |
| 1:18.4 | it's such an incredible, brilliant military adventure story from ancient history. |
| 1:25.6 | So that further ado to talk through the March of the 10,000, is Owen. |
| 1:32.0 | Owen, great to be back on the podcast. |
| 1:43.5 | Thank you so much for having me back. |
| 1:44.5 | It's always a pleasure to rest in them. |
| 1:45.9 | Very exciting one today. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.