Josippon

King Cyrus (Coresh) reigned over all the kingdoms of the earth, and our God strengthened his right hand, conquering nations before him, opening for him iron gates and breaking copper doors, giving him buried treasures just as He said through His servant Isaiah the prophet: "For the sake of Jacob, His servant, and Israel, whom He has chosen." Cyrus fought in the East and captured all the passes to Hodu (India) and in the south throughout the land of Kush (Ethiopia) and all the nations who live at the southernmost regions and in the west as far as Sepharad (Spain) and in the north all the land of Makedon and all the land of Caphtor (Cappadocia) and all the land of Alan and Elasar (Pontus) and the mountains of ALEPH, which is the mountain of the bull, as far as the mountains of snow, which cannot be crossed. The rest of his deeds are written in the books of the kings of the Medes and Persians and in the book of Joseph the priest, who is Joseph ben Gurion, who was exiled from Jerusalem in the days of Vespasian and Titus, his son, and in the book of the kings of the Romans.

Cyrus fought again with the king of the Scythians. He went to Scythia, for they had rebelled against him. The Scythians went toward him, and they fought a great battle; the Scythians were routed and turned their backs to flee, but their king fell in that battle and Cyrus slew all the warriors of his camp. He pursued the survivors and came unto the citadel cities of Tamira, the queen, and her son. Cyrus saw that the Scythians had entered their cities: no one exited or entered, so Cyrus acted cunningly: he rose and, abandoning his camp, fled. The Scythians exited their cities with their king's son to pursue Cyrus. When Cyrus realized that the Scythians went out into the plain, the king wheeled about and, falling upon the Scythians, smote three hundred of them; the king's son, Tamira's son, also fell among them. While the Scythians retreated to the mountains with Tamira, Cyrus captured their citadel cities and ruined them; he appointed commissioners in the provinces that he captured; then he set about to leave the land.

When the queen saw that her son was dead, the woman grieved exceedingly; hardening and setting her soul to die, she went and set an ambush and captured the mountain passes of the Scythians. It so happened that Cyrus, leaving the land of the Scythians confidently, paid no heed to an ambush; all his army crossed, and but only a handful remained with him; he passed the night there between two mountains and lay in that place. During that night, the woman suddenly fell upon Cyrus's camp and smote the camp of Cyrus, killing two hundred thousand Persian warriors along with their king, Cyrus, in the battle. The woman was very cruel: she came upon the corpse of Cyrus like a wild beast, a bereaved she-bear whose cubs were killed. She cut off his head and put it in a goatskin that she filled with blood of the slain and said: "Drink and be sated, King Cyrus. Drink your fill of the blood you loved; for thirty years you have spilled blood without measure." King Cyrus found the end of his life fighting in the Scythian steppe, and this is no surprise, for Saul, God's anointed, found the end of his life in war, and Yoashyahu (Josaiah), God's friend, ended his days in war as well.

King Cyrus was gathered to his people, and Cambysa (Cambyses), his son, reigned after him. He waged war against the kingdom of the Scythians and captured all the land of the Scythians; he killed Tamira, the queen, by sword, and all her descendants he eradicated and extirpated from the land. He ruled mightily over the Medes and Persians, and, capturing Damascus, he killed her chiefs by sword, for they had rebelled against him. Next, he went against Armenia and fought against them and subjected them under his rule, taking their sons from them as hostages. He fought against Egypt and captured it, subjecting the land, and he reigned mightily; fear of him was widespread throughout his kingdom. Our fathers served King Cyrus and all the kings of Persia who succeeded him in "sweet service," for they did not harm them nor oppress them; rather, they assisted them with silver and gold, with wheat, barley, and wine, rams and he-goats, given annually, for the kings of Persia loved the Sanctuary of our God that is in Jerusalem.