Anabasis, prose narrative, now in seven books, by Xenophon, of the story of the Greek mercenary soldiers who fought for Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to seize the Persian throne from his brother, Artaxerxes II. It contains a famous account of the mercenaries’ long trek (“the march of the 10,000”) from near Babylon to the Euxine (Black Sea) after Cyrus’s defeat at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 bc). Xenophon, who had accompanied the force in a private capacity, was largely responsible for their successful retreat through his resourcefulness and courage.
It is likely that the Anabasis, which was initially published under the pseudonym Themistogenes of Syracuse, was composed some 20 years after the events it describes. Textual evidence suggests that it was subsequently revised.