ZOPYRUS

                Here is a story from Herodotus.  In the 6^th Century B.C., the city of Babylon rebelled against Persian rule.  When Darius I approached the city to restore control, the city gates were closed to him and he had to begin a siege of the city.  The Babylonians were confident the massive walls of the city would never fall and they would stand on the top of the walls and taunt the Persians.  “Why are you Persians sitting there?  You are wasting your time.  You’ll capture our city when mules have foals.”  That insult was equivalent to saying “when pigs fly” since mules never gave birth.  Several frustrating months passed by and every plan by Darius failed.  One day a nobleman in his army named Zopyrus had a mule who had a foal.  Assuming this to be a sign from the gods, Zopyrus hatched a plan to take the city.  He proceeded to cut off his nose and ears and have a servant whip him until he was in terrible shape. He then went to see Darius.  The Emperor was shocked at the appearance of his friend and demanded to know who had done this to him.  He was shocked when Zopyrus revealed he had done it to himself!  Zopyrus asked Darius to trust him because he had a plan.  He asked Darius to send 1,000 men to assault the north gate of the city ten days from then, but be prepared to lose all 1,000.  Then send 2,000 men to attack the east gate a week later, but again accept the loss of all.  And another week later, do the same to the south gate with 4,000 men.  One week later, assault the west gate with the whole army and the gate would be open and he could surprise the city.  Darius was skeptical, but agreed to the scheme because he had nothing to lose (other than 7,000 men).  Zopyrus proceeded to run to the city as though pursued.  The guards took one look at him and accepted his tale that he was a deserter.  When he identified himself, he was taken to the leaders of the city.  He told a story of being unjustly tortured by Darius and his desire for revenge by helping the Babylonians.  Knowing his reputation as a leader of warriors, the Babylonians gave him a small unit to command.  One week later, he laid an ambush for the 1,000 Persians and wiped them out.  The Babylonians were impressed and gave him more men to command.  One week later, he laid an ambush for the 2,000 with similar results.  And then he destroyed the 4,000-man attack.  With this latest success, he was promoted to overall commander of the city and given the keys to all the gates.  When Darius made his full-scale assault on the west gate, Zopyrus was there to open the gate and let his army in.  The city was sacked and Darius gratefully rewarded the man who was most responsible for his victory.

–  The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes by Max Hastings  pp. 13-17