iddle. The shaft, which was of cornel wood, tapered gradually from
bottom to top, and was ornamented at its lower extremity with a ball,
sometimes carved in the shape of an apple or a pomegranate. [PLATE
XXIX., Fig. 3.]

The Persian bow, according to Herodotus and Xenophon, was of unusual
size. According to the sculptures, it was rather short, certainly not
exceeding four feet. It seems to have been carried strung, either on the
left shoulder, with the arm passed through it, or in a bow-case slung at
the left side. It was considerably bent in the middle, and had the ends
slightly turned back. [PLATE XXX., Fig. 1.] The arrows, which were of
reed, tipped with metal, and feathered, were carried in a quiver, which
hung at the back near the left shoulder. To judge from the sculptures,
their length must have been about two feet and a half. The arrow-heads,
which were either of bronze or iron, seem to have been of various
shapes, the most common closely resembling the arrow-heads of the
Assyrians. [PLATE XXX., Fig. 3.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXX.]

Other offensive weapons carried occasionally by the Persian foot-men
were, a battle-axe, a sling, and a knife. The battle-axe, which appears
in the sculptures only in one or two instances, is declared to have been
a common Persian weapon by Xenophon, who, upon such a point, would seem
to be trustworthy. The use of the sling by the Persian light-armed is
quite certain. It is mentioned by Curtius and Strabo, no less than by
Xenophon; and the last-named writer speaks with full knowledge on the
subject, for he witnessed the effect of the weapon in the hands of
Persian slingers during his return with the Ten Thousand. The only
missiles which the Persian slingers threw were stones; they did not,
like the Rhodians, make use of small lumps of lead.

The knife seems also to have been a Persian weapon. Its blade appears to
have been slightly curved, like that of a pruning-hook. It was worn in a
sheath, and was probably thrust into the belt or girdle like the similar
weapon, half knife, half dagger, of a modern Persian.

The ordinary defence of the Persian against the weapons of his enemy was
a shield of wicker-work, which covered him almost from head to foot,
and which probably differed little from the wattled shield of the
Assyrians. [PLATE XXX., Fig. 2.] This he commonly planted on the ground,
supporting it, perhaps, with a crutch, while he shot his arrows from
behind it. Occasional