Across the Mediterranean Sea, there was a war being fought for centuries. A war within Greece, a war fought between the Spartans and the Trojans. But along with that, they were also at war with the Persian empire. Sparta and Troy, along with all of Greece, had been enemies, yet allies.
After the death of Darius II, king of the Persian Empire, his eldest son Artaxerxes had claimed the throne. However, Artaxerxes' younger brother Cyrus the Young had a power struggle against his older brother, and this is what sparked the Battle of Cunaxa.
401 B.C., the Battle of Cunaxa
Over two milleniums ago, an army of Greek soldiers found themselves isolated in the middle of the Persian Empire. One thousand miles from safety, one thousand miles from the sea, one thousand miles, with enemies on all sides. Theirs' was a story of desperate forced-march, theirs' was a story of courage...
Cyrus had a plan to unite the Persians and the Greeks in order to conquer the Persian Empire. He had caught the imaginations of the Greeks, and managed to recruit an army of Spartan mercenaries to aid him in his battle. Unfortunately, Cyrus was killed by Artaxerxes on the battlefield, and Clearchus, general of the Spartans, had taken charge and led the retreat back to the sea.
Illustrated Dictionary To Xenophon's Anabasis By John Williams White