This first book is devoted to Cyrus' descent, education and his stay at the court of his maternal grandfather, the [[Medes|Median]] dynast [[Astyages]]. It has been noted by scholars that Xenophon's description of Persian education in their pre-imperial time is strikingly unusual, and appears to be based upon the traditions of [[Sparta]], the subject of Xenophon's own work the ''[[Constitution of the Lacedemonians]]''.
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=== Buku 2–7===
BooksBuku 2 throughsampai 7 covermeliput Cyrus'kehidupan life while stillKoresh, anketika importantmasih vassalmenjadi oftaklukan thepenting [[:en:Medes|Kerajaan Madai]], onkemudian hiskariernya careermenuju towardspembentukan establishingkekaisaran theterbesar largestyang empirepernah thedikenal worlddunia hadsaat known until that dateitu. ItIni isadalah inbagian thisutama mainkarya parttersebut ofdi themana worktokoh thatKoresh thesering characterditunjukkan Cyrussebagai iscontoh oftenkebajikan shown as an example of classical virtueklasik, buttetapi ispada alsosaat atyang thesama samejuga timesering oftenmenunjukkan seen as showingtendensi [[:en:Machiavellian|Machiavellian]] tendencies.<!-- In this version of events, Cyrus is a faithful vassal to the Medes, someone who initially helps them as a general to defend themselves from a much more powerful and assertive [[Babylonia]]n empire, which was being ruled by the tyrannical son of a more respected king. He does this partly by carefully building up alliances with nations such as the [[Armenians]], their neighbours whom he referred to as [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Hyrcanians]], [[Cadusians]], [[Saka]], and [[Susians]]. The remaining allies of Babylon included many nations of Asia Minor, as well as a corps of Egyptian infantry. For their final great field battle, [[Croesus]] of [[Lydia]] was general. Cyrus then returns with an increasingly international army to Babylon, and is able to avoid a long siege by deflecting the course of the river through it, and then sending soldiers in over the dry bed, during a festival night. That Babylon was conquered on the night of a festival by diverting the Euphrates River from its channel is also stated by Herodotus (1.191). (This is significantly different to the events as they are currently understood.)
