The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t31.3

c6.s3.t31.3

According to this account the capital of Magadha in the time of Seleukos Nikator was 220 stadia, or 25¼ miles, in circuit. This is about the size of the modern city of Patna, which when surveyed by Buchanan was 9 miles in length by 2¼ miles in breadth,† or 22½ miles, in circumference. In the the Lacedaemonians, who had been waiting for the signal, now attacked the city. The Plataeans, seeing the enemy already inside and their own men falling, and knowing nothing of the plot, were seized with panic and, thinking that the Thebans were far more numerous than they really were, surrendered at discretion. But when they discovered that the Thebans were few, they took heart and, resolving to attack them, closed the gates and fell upon them.