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After this, discord set in amongst the commanders, causing the failure of the enterprise. For Iphicrates, learning from the captives that Memphis,1 the most strategically situated of the Egyptian cities, was undefended, advised sailing immediately up to Memphis before the Egyptian forces arrived there, but Pharnabazus thought they should await the entire Persian force; for in this way the campaign against Memphis would be less dangerous. [2] When Iphicrates demanded that he be given the mercenaries that were on hand and promised if he had them to capture the city, Pharnabazus became suspicious of his boldness and his courage for fear lest he take possession of Egypt for himself. Accordingly when Pharnabazus would not yield, Iphicrates protested that if they let slip the exact moment of opportunity, they would make the whole campaign a failure. Some generals indeed bore a grudge against him and were attempting to fasten unfair charges upon him. [3] Meanwhile the Egyptians, having had plenty of time to recuperate, first sent an adequate garrison into Memphis, and then, proceeding with all their forces against the ravaged stronghold at the Mendesian mouth of the Nile and being now at a great advantage owing to the strength of their position, fought constant engagements with the enemy. With ever-increasing strength they slew many Persians and gained confidence against them. [4] As the campaign about this stronghold dragged on, and the Etesian winds had already set in, the Nile, which was filling up and flooding2 the whole region with the abundance of its waters, made Egypt daily more secure. The Persian commanders, as this state of affairs constantly operated against them, decided to withdraw from Egypt. [5] Consequently, on their way back to Asia, when a disagreement arose between him and Pharnabazus, Iphicrates, suspecting that he might be arrested and punished as Conon3 the Athenian had been, decided to flee secretly from the camp. Accordingly, having secured a ship he covertly got away at night and reached port at Athens. [6] Pharnabazus dispatched ambassadors to Athens and accused Iphicrates of being responsible for the failure to capture Egypt. The Athenians, however, replied to the Persians that if they detected him in wrong-doing they would punish him as he deserved, and shortly afterward appointed Iphicrates general in command of their fleet.

1 See Book 1.50.3 ff.

2 See Book 1.39.

3 When Antalcidas, the Spartan, went to Tiribazus, satrap of Ionia, in 392, to enlist the aid of Persia against the growing power of Athens, Tiribazus arrested Conon (Xen. Hell. 4.8.16; Book 14.85), who was acting with the confidence of Pharnabazus. According to one authority Conon was put to death by the Persians in prison, according to another he took refuge with Evagoras in Cyprus, where he died of sickness.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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