0,000 men. But this account,
which probably came from Ctesias, and is wholly without corroboration
from other writers, has the air of a gross exaggeration; and we may
conclude from the general tenor of ancient history that the Cadusians
were more indebted to the strength of their country, than to either
their numbers or their prowess, for the freedom and independence which
they were still enjoying. It seems that they were at this time under the
government of a certain king, or chief, named Aphernes, or Onaphernes.
This ruler was, it appears, doubtful of his position, and, thinking it
could not be long maintained, made overtures of surrender to Astyages,
which were gladly entertained by that monarch. A secret treaty was
concluded to the satisfaction of both parties; and the Cadusians, it
would seem, passed under the Medes by this arrangement, without any
hostile struggle, though armed resistance on the part of the people, who
were ignorant of the intentions of their chieftain, was for some time
apprehended.

The domestic relations of Astyages seem to have been unhappy. His
"marriage de convenance" with the Lydian princess Aryenis, if not wholly
unfruitful, at any rate brought him no son; and, as he grew to old
age, the absence of such support to the throne must have been felt very
sensibly, and have caused great uneasiness. The want of an heir perhaps
led him to contract those other marriages of which we hear in the
Armenian History of Moses--one with a certain Anusia, of whom nothing
more is known; and another with an Armenian princess, the loveliest of
her sex, Tigrania, sister of the Armenian king, Tigranes. The blessing
of male offspring was still, however, denied him; and it is even
doubtful whether he was really the father of any daughter or daughters.
Herodotus, and Xenophon, indeed give him a daughter Mandane, whom they
make the mother of Cyrus; and Ctesias, who denied in the most positive
terms the truth of this statement, gave him a daughter, Amytis, whom he
made the wife, first of Spitaces the Mede, and afterwards of Cyrus the
Persian. But these stories, which seem intended to gratify the vanity of
the Persians by tracing the descent of their kings to the great Median
conqueror, while at the same time they flattered the Medes by showing
them that the issue of their old monarchs was still seated on the Arian
throne, are entitled to little more credit than the narrative of the
Shahnameh, which declares that Iska