Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1918 — GREAT ARMIES OF THE PAST [ARTICLE]

GREAT ARMIES OF THE PAST

Darius of Persia brought more than a million soldiers to Arbela. Terah, king of Ethiopia, had 1,000,000 soldiers to call to his standards. Tamerlane is said to have met Bajazet’s 1,400,000 with a force of 1,600,000. Ancient Thebes, It is said, could send 10,000 fighting men out of each of its hundred gates. Artaxerxes had at one time, before the battle of Cunaxa, an army nearly a million and a quarter strong. Linus, the Assyrian king, In the-twen-ty-second century B. C M led against the Bactrians 1,700,000 soldiers on foot and 200,000 mounted. Hannibal is recorded as having destroyed 300,000 men during his campaign in Italy. Just before his time that country could send 1,000,000 men into tiie field. The old historians credit Xerxes with land and sea forces counting up to 2,641,000, with enough attaches, hangerson, women, suttlers, etc., to make a host of more than 5,000,000. Compared with the extended battle line of today in Europe the array of forces at ancient Canna was but a skirmish formation. There were 36,000 Romans and allies against 50,000 Cartliagenlans.