Book VII

side bows that bent backward of great length. The Ethiopians had skins of leopards and lions tied upon them, and bows made of a slip of palm-wood, which were of great length, not less than four cubits, and for them small arrows of reed with a sharpened stone at the head instead of iron, the same stone with which they engrave seals: in addition to this they had spears, and on them was the sharpened horn of a gazelle by way of a spearhead, and they had also clubs with knobs upon them. Of their body they used to smear over half with white, when they went into battle, and the other half with red. Of the Arabians and the Ethiopians who dwelt above Egypt the commander was Arsames, the son of Darius and of Artystone, the daughter of Cyrus, whom Darius loved most of all his wives, and had an image made of her of beaten gold. 70. Of the Ethiopians above Egypt and of the Arabians the commander, I say, was Arsames; but the Ethiopians from the direction of the sunrising (for the Ethiopians were in two bodies) had been appointed to serve with the Indians, being in no way different from the other Ethiopians, but in their language and in the nature of their hair only; for the Ethiopians from the East are straight-haired, but those of Libya have hair more thick and woolly than that of any other men. These Ethiopians from Asia were armed for the most part like the Indians, but they had upon their heads the skin of a horse’s forehead flayed off with the ears and the mane, and the mane served instead of a crest, while they had the ears of the horse set up straight and stiff: and instead of shields they used to make defences to hold before themselves of the skins of cranes. 71. The Libyans went with equipments of leather, and they used javelins burnt at the point. These acknowledged as their commander Massages the son of Oarizos. 72. The Paphlagonians served with plaited helmets upon their heads, small shields, and spears of no great size, and also javelins and daggers; and about their feet