Note 30 — Chapter III · THE EARLY ACHÆMENIANS AND THE ELAMITES, CYRUS AND CAMBYSES

[The exact fortunes of the expedition to Ethiopia have always been a matter of historical dispute. Dr. Prasek has recently made a most critical examination of all the ancient accounts, and concludes: “There seems to be no good reason to doubt that Cambyses reached Napata, and overthrew the old Ethiopian kingdom, which to be sure was later re-established at Meroë. But, returning through the sandy desert in the terrible heat of the summer, the Persian army had to endure the agonies of thirst, and its ranks were decimated.”—Kambyses und die Ueberlieferung des Altertums.]