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In using a background of historical fact for fiction an author invariably lays himself open to criticism, and the reason is easy to find. Over a period of time, supposition can come to be accepted as truth, even by historians, regardless of the fact that there is no evidence to support the assertions. The result of this is that historians themselves are often at loggerheads, each writer endeavouring to prove that the others are wrong, pointing out that there is no evidence to support their statements, glossing over the fact that there is no evidence to support his own, either. When dealing with episodes which are unsupported by evidence, the imagination is apt to run riot.

Of the assumed facts round which the present book is written we know very little. We know that Jupiter Ammon existed, and we know precisely where the famous Oracle was situated, because the ruins are there to prove it. But when we have said that, we have said all. It is fairly certain that Cambyses’ army was lost in the desert. But where? From its last camp the ill-fated army might have ended up anywhere within a radius of a thousand miles. If, as we are told, it started off with the avowed intention of sacking Jupiter Ammon, we can visualize its probable line of march—but that is not to say that it adhered to it. Of the alleged Lost Oasis we know nothing. There may not be one. It is therefore manifestly impossible for anyone to say that a remnant of the army did, or did not, reach this legendary refuge. The oasis, if it exists, might be anywhere within an area of more than 50,000 square miles.

Let us, then, be clear on this point. There is not a scrap of evidence to prove that the lost army ever reached the Lost Oasis; conversely, there is no evidence to show that it did not. Yet the two, over a period of years, have become closely associated. In the following pages I have, quite frankly (and pardonably, I think), assumed the lost army and the Lost Oasis to be where they best suited my purpose. If this seems improbable, or at variance with common belief, it should be remembered that from the historical viewpoint we are dealing not so much with facts as with theories—and theories can be proved, or disproved, with equal facility.

W. E. J.