The king of Persia, Darius \u2013 self-proclaimed as the \u201cKing of Kings\u201d\u2013 jerked aside the flap of his elaborately decorated campaign tent and strutted out in splendid war regalia. King Darius\u2019 soothsayer Macumba had just informed him after inspecting some dots in the sand that the number of soldiers in King Darius\u2019 army would tell whether his coming battle against the Greeks would be victorious or not.<\/p>\n
Outside the campaign tent stood Zopyrus, his chief general, looking over the vast field of soldiers who were getting ready for battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeneral Zopyrus, how many men do we have in my army,\u201d King Darius demanded to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly, O King of Kings,\u201d replied general Zopyrus, but I will surely find out.<\/p>\n
\u201cLine them all up in columns of two,\u201d said King Darius.<\/p>\n
General Zopyrus instructed his aide Mortius to carry out the order. Mortius returned, reporting: \u201cO King of kings, there are many columns of two, but alas one soldier remains unpaired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen line them up in columns of three,\u201d said King Darius. Mortius ran off to comply, almost tripping over his dangling sword.<\/p>\n
Mortius returned, reporting: \u201cO King of kings, there are many columns of three, but two soldiers remain in excess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I have to do all the thinking,\u201d shouted King Darius. \u201cContinue with four, five, six, etc. and let me know when there are no soldiers in excess,\u201d barked King Darius.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, O King of kings,\u201d Mortius ran off again to comply, general Zopyrus shuffling his feet nervously.<\/p>\n
Mortius returned: \u201cO King of kings, columns of four left three soldiers in excess, columns of five left four, columns of six left five, columns of seven left six, columns of eight left seven, columns of nine left eight, columns of ten left nine, columns of eleven left ten, columns of twelve left eleven, and columns of thirteen left zero in excess, \u201d he reported breathlessly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then, that should be sufficient information to determine the total number of soldiers in my army,\u201d said King Darius. \u201cGeneral Zopyrus, have your aide get busy at once. This information is vital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO King of kings, I will ask the court astrologer, Leonardis,\u201d said general Zopyrus. \u201cHe is good with numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReport the result to me immediately,\u201d the King of kings Darius swept aside the tent flap and returned into his campaign tent, awaiting the result of the battle.<\/p>\n
How many soldiers do you think Darius had in his army?<\/em><\/p>\n Did King Darius win the battle with the Greeks?<\/em><\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>