THE STATE OF DARIUS.
The perseverance and vigour of Darius had succeeded in re-establishing
and extending the kingdom of Cyrus. In the west he had reached Mount
Olympus and the great Syrtis, in the east the course of the Indus, high
up among the Himalayas; in the north the boundaries were the Caucasus
and the Jaxartes, in the south the tribes of Arabia and the negroes
above Nubia. He set himself to give a regulated administration to this
empire, which had been acquired by such vast conquests, and which in its
wide extent threw the empire of the Assyrians completely into the shade.
He made the first attempt known to history to organize his conquests and
govern them on a fixed plan. Thus he became the real founder of the
Persian empire. He succeeded so far that an empire, the like of which
had not been seen upon earth, which enumerated the most various nations
among its subjects, was really governed, and the foundations which he
laid were so firm that in spite of many serious rebellions, the empire
never fell from internal disorganization.
The chief support of the kingdom lay in the proud feeling of the
Persians that they were the ruling nation of Asia, and governed the
nations through their king and with their king. They saw with
satisfaction how the tribute, the contributions, the prisoners of the
subject nations came from the furthest distance to their mountains, how
the palaces of their king rose in ever-increasing splendour on their
native soil, what brilliance and magnificence surrounded their ruler,
the king of kings. From the Persians were chosen the magistrates who
governed the provinces, and the generals who commanded their
contingents; Persians surrounded the king and were his counsellors and
judges. The court, the administration, and the army opened the most
brilliant prospect to every Persian who was in a position to distinguish
himself in the eyes of the king; and service in war offered acceptable
pay to the man of the people. Persian troops, excellently appointed,
protected the person of the king; they formed the garrisons of the
fortresses, they were the nucleus of the army, and marched before the
rest of the troops. In solemn processions and parades, the Persians were
always on the right of the king.[316] They were not only free from tax
and tribute of every kind, but largesses of money were made whenever the
king entered Pasargadae (V. 357). Plato's Laws maintain that Darius
established as law the allotments which Cyrus promised the Persians; in
this way he had shown his inclination to the Persians and had
established a common feeling between the ruler and the nation.[317]
However this may be, every one, even the meanest Persian, felt that he
had a share in the government of Asia.
It was a principle of the king of Persia from the time of Cyrus to grant
to the leading families of the Persians and the Persian nobility a rich
share in the fruits and advantages of the empire, but at the same time
to accustom them to dependence and subjection, and to train up in them a
vigorous class of magistrates and officers. If the wealthy families of
Persia remained in their old mode of life in the country, with their
flocks, such a position might keep up a feeling of independence and
freedom which was hardly compatible with the unlimited power of the king
and the interests of the empire. It was desirable to bring them to the
court, and keep them under supervision, to make them dependent on the
favour of the king, and habituate them to constant service. The Median
court had been numerous; the Persian court was even more extensive, not
merely for the sake of magnificence, or to display the splendour and
greatness of the ruler, and so impose upon the Persians and the subject
nations, but also with a view of educating the nobility in court life.
No one could count on advancement who did not show himself at the gate
of the king; indeed it was difficult for any one whom the king did not
see to obtain a hearing from him. Those whose duty it was to appear at
court were urged not to fail in their appearance.[318] In this way they
learnt not merely behaviour and conduct, modesty and self-control,[319]
but were accustomed to live in the shadow of the throne, and to seek the
sun of royal favour. In the immediate neighbourhood of the king men
could look up with obedience and respect to the greatness of the ruler.
If in this way the nobility were linked round the court, and instructed
to strive for the favour of the king as the highest honour, if the
strict ceremonial of the court reduced them to constant obedience, the
king on the other hand had opportunity to select, from personal
knowledge and confidence, the magistrates to whom important posts might
be entrusted.[320]
The officers round the person of the king, and employed in the service
of the state and court, were numerous. Next to the throne came the six
tribal princes, who wore the upright kidaris, the sign of royalty, and
to them, as we often find, the most difficult duties in war, and the
most important expeditions and provinces were entrusted. Next to the
tribal princes were the seven supreme judges of the kingdom, who watched
over the hereditary customs, and the controller of the empire, "the
king's eye." Less influential, but nevertheless important owing to their
personal relation to the king, were the "quiver-bearer" and the
"lance-bearer"; we find the persons who filled these offices at the time
depicted on the relief at Behistun beside the king. The office of
"bearer of the king's footstool" is also mentioned. The great
court-offices, of the "chief staff-bearer," "messenger," "announcer,"
"chief butler," "master of the horse," and "master of the chase,"
together with various other honourable offices, and many subordinate
places, gave an opportunity of uniting a large number of Persians
closely with the court life, and employing as viceroys and generals
those whom the king had found to be excellent servants.[321] But Medes
were employed in the service of the kingdom as well as Persians. If
Media was treated in other respects like the rest of the provinces (it
had to pay yearly 450 talents of tax, and furnish 100,000 sheep for the
court), the system of Cyrus, who by entrusting important commissions to
eminent Medes, had attempted to reconcile Media to the new position of
affairs, was followed by Darius in spite of the rebellion. From other
nations only those who had been specially tested were in rare cases
entrusted with high offices.
Cyrus had introduced the custom of rewarding loyalty and devotion to the
king and service to the kingdom by distinctions, marks of honour, and
gifts conferred in the most marked and distinctive manner,--of exciting
ambition and emulation by favour and liberality. Who makes such
presents, said Xenophon, as the king of the Persians?--armlets, chains,
and horses with golden bridles; no one could possess such things unless
they were presented to him by the king.[322] Who could compare with the
decorated friends of the king of Persia?--he alone appeared in more
splendid array. The sending of a portion from the royal table was no
slight honour.[323] The present of the kaftan (kandys) was a common
distinction; more important were the golden armlets, the golden chain,
the golden crown, the golden wreath, the golden sabre, the horse with
golden harness. Other presents were also made, as plane-trees and vines
of gold, golden millstones more than 300 pounds in weight.[324] There
were also gifts of property, and allocations of the produce of certain
cities and districts. Pre-eminent services were rewarded by the title
"Benefactor"; we remember that the Avesta requires the good thought, the
good word, and the good act. Besides these distinctions, advancement to
the upper classes of the kingdom counted as the highest honour. The
"table companions" of the king, and above them "the kinsmen" of the king
had the first portion in the kingdom after the tribal princes and the
great officers. The bestowal of the rank of the table companion
conferred the right to eat at or near the table of the king, and
occasionally to make merry with him. The elevation to be a "kinsman of
the king" conferred the rank of an Achaemenid, a prince of the house.
Like the king, the kinsmen wore a pale blue band round the tiara, and
had the right to kiss the king, a custom which was usual in Persia among
persons of equal rank.[325]
According to the statements of Herodotus, the boys of the Persians were
instructed from their fifth to their twentieth year (Xenophon and Strabo
assert till their twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth year) in riding,
shooting with the bow, and speaking the truth.[326] In the Laws we are
told that the boys of the Medes were entrusted to the women, and those
of the Persians to free men. According to the assertion of Nicolaus of
Damascus, Cyrus was already instructed in the philosophy of the Magians,
in justice and truthfulness, as the hereditary laws prescribed for the
leading Persians.[327] Plato tells us that the sons of the kings of the
Persians were attended by eunuchs till their seventh year; from that
time till the fourteenth year they learned to ride, shoot, and hunt.
Then they received distinguished teachers, of whom the first instructed
them in the wisdom of Zoroaster, and the business of the crown, the
second in the duty of truthfulness, the third in temperance, the fourth
in courage and bravery.[328] Plutarch observes that a Magian presided
over the education of the princes and instructed them even in
magic.[329] Xenophon narrates that the princes and the children of the
leading Persians were brought up "at the gate" of the king, where they
learned temperance and prudence and saw nothing unbecoming. They
observed what men were honoured by the king and whom he punished, and
thus learned even in their boyhood to command and obey. Modesty and
obedience were counted as a distinction among these boys. In this way
they learned to be excellent riders, to throw the javelin, and use the
bow. At a later time they became so skilful in hunting that they
ventured to encounter a bear.[330] Even now, he says in another passage,
it is the custom to educate children at the court, but the exercise in
riding has fallen into disuse, because they no longer go where they
could gain reputation by skill in the art; and if in former days they
seemed to learn justice when they listened to just sentences, they now
see that he obtains justice who gives most. And if they formerly learned
the nature of all plants in order to avoid what was noxious, they now
seem to have acquired this knowledge in order to do as much mischief as
possible.[331] In Strabo's account the education seems arranged even
more systematically. He tells us that the Persian boys were brought up,
fifty together, with one of the sons of the king, or with the sons of
the satraps. Intelligent men were appointed to teach them, who
instructed them in the legends of the gods, sometimes with and sometimes
without song, and also recounted to them the noblest deeds of men,
besides those of gods.[332] At the same time the boys and young men
were rendered hardy. They were aroused early in the morning by the sound
of a gong, and for food commonly received barley or wheaten bread, and
water to drink; when hunting or keeping the flocks, they were compelled
to live on wild fruits, acorns, and forest berries, and to pass the
night in the open air. They had also to learn to distinguish wholesome
and noxious herbs, to plant trees, and prepare hunting nets.[333]
Putting this evidence together, and remembering that even in the fourth
century the kings and their retinue undertook long hunting expeditions
on horseback, without permitting themselves to be checked by weariness,
heat or cold, hunger or thirst,[334] there seems to be no doubt that the
Persian kings introduced a system of education for the officers on the
basis of the old mode of life and the customs of the nation, and in this
system their own sons, so far as seemed good, had a part. Riding and
shooting were national exercises among the Persians; hunting was
necessary for the protection of the flocks, and was therefore carried on
as a religious duty no less than as a pleasure; from all antiquity the
keeping of flocks and the protection of them against beasts of prey was
assigned to the youth. If these exercises were systematized, and regard
was paid to the prospect of military service in some official capacity,
if the young men were also accustomed to unhesitating obedience, such a
school might be expected to supply capable and active officers and good
generals. A hardy and vigorous life was the more necessary for the sons
of the Persians as luxury began to spread among the higher classes
after the successes of Cyrus. We may believe the accounts of the Greeks
that instruction in religion formed a part of the system; the Avesta
requires such instruction, and it is usual among the Parsees at the
present day (V. 196, 202). But the Greeks are wrong in supposing that
these cadet schools were the general mode of education among the
Persians, and maintaining that the Persian boys received a training like
those of the Spartans. It was only for political reasons that a number
of young men from the eminent families were educated to be generals and
viceroys. Xenophon has perceived that the education was limited to the
higher classes, and states this distinctly in the "Anabasis." This
education went on partly under the eyes of the king at court, partly at
the courts of the satraps, which were arranged on the pattern of the
royal household.[335] Even under the Sassanids the sons of the nobles
were educated at court; we have special mention of the teachers of the
horsemen.[336]
It was not the intention of Cyrus or Darius to interfere with the life
and habits of the subject nations more than was necessary in order to
maintain their supremacy and to secure obedience. The ancient dynasties
in Babylon and Egypt were removed; Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes
are called kings of Babylon in numerous inscriptions;[337] in Egypt, as
the native inscriptions have shown us, they received the style and title
of the Pharaohs. In both countries they take the place of the native
monarchs, and not in name only, for at the same time they undertake the
protection of the national religion and law. The peculiar ordinances and
the law, the political and administrative arrangements of the subject
lands, are said to have continued under the Persian empire to the widest
possible extent. In some cases, indeed, old native families remained at
the head of affairs, as in Cilicia, the Phenician and Cyprian cities; in
Bactria native princes governed the districts (V. 236); in the cities of
the Greeks and the subjugated islands of the AEgean Sea, the Persian
kings had set up princes from the native population. The nomad tribes of
the empire could only be ruled by keeping up relations with their
chiefs. But in whatever way the various parts of the subject territory
were arranged, whether there were princes or a more popular
administration, their communities, their lands and cities, were left to
govern themselves in their hereditary manner, according to their own
customs, laws, and rules, provided that they paid tribute and furnished
a contingent in war. Darius appears even to have taken upon himself the
development of the national law; we have seen that the Egyptians called
him their sixth law-giver (p. 300).
The gods, the modes of religion and worship, were interfered with even
less than the custom and law of the subject nations, notwithstanding
that Cyrus and Darius with the Persians and Arians of Iran may have been
convinced that there could be none but lying gods and false worship
beside Auramazda and Mithra, and the gods of the Arians. The kings of
the Persians were not even content with this liberal tolerance which
forms the chief glory of their rule; they promoted the worship of the
subject nations. The inscription on the brick at Senkereh,[338]
mentions Cyrus as the restorer of the great temple of Merodach at
Babylon (the tower of Belus), and of the temple of Nebo at Borsippa
(Bit-Zida); we found Cambyses with the Egyptian title of the new
sun-god, and celebrated as the restorer of the worship of Neith at Sais;
he is also represented in adoration before the Apis which died in his
reign. And in this matter Darius did not remain behind his predecessors.
We have already heard from the Egyptian Uzahorsun that he was sent to
Egypt soon after the accession of Darius, in order to take care of the
habitations of the gods and their festivals, _i.e._ to support and
maintain the religious worship. In his temple at the Oasis of El
Charigeh, Darius, adorned with the title "rival of the sun," offers
prayer to Ammon with the ram's head. Darius caused the Apis which died
in the fourth year of his reign to be buried (p. 301), and in spite of a
recent rebellion, a sepulchre was built, "to endure for ever," for the
Apis which appeared in the thirty-first year of his reign, _i.e._ in 491
B.C.; to make room for this the gallery of Psammetichus was extended.
Darius, it is said, proposed a prize of 100 talents of gold for the
discovery of this new Apis.[339]
Nor was it Egypt only which experienced the care of Darius for the
national worship of the subject nations. The Samaritans had hindered the
restoration of the temple and walls of Jerusalem, which the exiles from
Babylonia had taken in hand, by threats and by warnings to the court of
Cyrus (p. 99). When Darius ascended the throne, the prophets Haggai and
Zechariah called upon their countrymen to finish the restoration of the
temple. Haggai reproved the indifference to solemn duties and the
selfishness which allowed panelled houses to rise for men, while the
house of God was desolate: "therefore the heavens restrained their dew,
and the earth her increase." He reminded them of the punishments which
had come upon their fathers for neglecting the will of Jehovah: he
demanded vigorous action from Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua; he
pronounced the blessing of Jehovah, if the temple were finished and
proclaimed to Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, to whom, eighteen years
before (p. 93), Cyrus had entrusted the leadership of the "sons of
captivity," that Jehovah would keep him as his seal-ring if the work
were finished. To Joshua Zechariah promises royal splendour and long
posterity in return for the building of the temple.[340] When the temple
is restored, the scattered remnants of Israel would return, and if the
walls of Jerusalem were not restored, Jehovah would be a wall of fire to
his city. "Many people and mighty nations will come to seek Jehovah at
Jerusalem, and make supplication in the presence of the Lord."[341] The
exhortations of the prophets had such effect that the building of the
temple and the city-walls was taken up again in the second year of
Darius (520 B.C.). When the satrap of Syria, who is called Thathnai in
the book of Ezra, and his subordinates raised the question--who had
given permission for the building--the Jews fell back on the written
permission of Cyrus. The satrap referred the matter to the king.
According to the narrative of the Jews Darius caused a search to be made
for this document in Babylon and Ecbatana, and when it was found in the
archives at Ecbatana, he sanctioned the building by a new royal
rescript. The work was carried on under repeated exhortations of the
two prophets, and after four years and five months it was completed. In
the sixth year of Darius (516 B.C.), seventy years after Nebuchadnezzar
had pulled it down, the temple was rebuilt. The dedication was made by a
sin-offering of twelve goats from the twelve tribes of Israel, and a
thank-offering of 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs.[342] The walls of
the city and the ancient citadel of David by degrees rose once
more.[343]
In the place of the governorships which Cyrus and Cambyses had
established as the need arose, Darius introduced fixed departments.
About the year 515 B.C. the kingdom was divided into twenty satrapies.
Asia Minor was broken up into four satrapies. The first included the
west coast of Asia Minor; it was the narrow strip of coast in which lay
the Greek cities from the Sigean promontory as far as Caria; the
territory of the Carians also, and that of the Lycians, the Solymi, and
Pamphylians, under the Taurus on the south coast, were attached to this
satrapy. The second satrapy, of which the metropolis was Sardis,
comprised Mysia and Lydia, together with the southern strip of Phrygia.
To the third satrapy, the satraps of which resided at Dascyleum on the
Hellespont, the Greek cities on the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the
Bosphorus were allotted; the Thracians in Asia, _i.e._ the Bithynians,
the Paphlagonians, the Phrygians as far as the Halys, and the
Cappadocians beyond the Halys as far as the border of Armenia. Cilicia
with its metropolis of Tarsus was the fourth satrapy. Between Asia Minor
and the highlands of Iran there were six satrapies. The Tibarenes,
Mosynoeci, Macrones, and Moschians on the Pontus, formed the first (the
eighteenth in Herodotus' reckoning); the nations who dwelt to the east
of them in the valley of the Araxes, the Saspeires and Alarodians, along
with the western part of Armenia, formed the second (the eleventh); the
rest of Armenia the third (the thirteenth); Syria and Phoenicia and the
island of Cyprus the fourth (the fifth);[344] Assyria and Babylonia,
with the metropolis, Babylon, the fifth (the ninth); the land of the
Cissians (Susiana) on the left bank of the Tigris the sixth (the
eighth). Egypt with Cyrene and Barca, the subject tribes in Ethiopia and
Libya, formed a separate satrapy (the sixth); the satrap resided at
Memphis. The table-land of Iran was broken up into nine satrapies. These
were the satrapy of Media (the tenth); the satrapy of the Caspians,
which comprised the lands to the north of the Medes on the Caspian Sea,
the valley of the Cyrus, and the lands of the Cardusians, the Mardians,
the Tapurians and Hyrcanians (the nineteenth); the satrapy of the
Parthians, Arians, Chorasmians, and Sogdians (the sixteenth); the
satrapy of the Sacae (the fifteenth); the satrapy of the Bactrians, to
which the Margians also seem to have belonged (the twelfth);[345] the
satrapy of the Sattagydae (Thataghus) and the Gandarians, _i.e._ of the
Gedrosians, the Arachoti, and the Gandharas, on the south bank of the
Cabul (the seventh);[346] the satrapy of the Sagartians and Sarangians,
which extended in the east of Persia as far to the south as the Persian
Gulf, and included the islands belonging to it (the fourteenth); the
satrapy of the Paricanians and Ethiopians in Asia; _i.e._ the
inhabitants of the southern edge of the table-land on the east,
including the black tribes in the delta of the Indus (the seventeenth);
and finally the satrapy of the Indians, which included all the tribes on
the right bank of the Indus, from the summits of the Himalayas to the
junction of the Cabul and the Indus (the twentieth).[347]
The viceroys whom Darius placed over these districts had to keep the
aggregate of the various political bodies, of which the satrapies
consisted, in obedience to the empire and in peace towards each other;
to collect the taxes and tribute, to summon and organize the military
levies. The satrap was the highest authority in his province--the
supreme appeal in law, administration, and military affairs. The king
alone was superior. He was the judge before whom could be laid appeals
from the judgment of the princes and local boards, if the claimant had
not preferred to go to him in the first instance; he was the only judge
between the princes, the districts, the tribes and cities of his
province. His arrangements must be obeyed. He was to take measures for
the advancement of cultivation and the increase of the population in his
province, both as fullfilling the rules of the Avesta, and in the
interest of the kingdom. He kept watch over trade and currency, over the
military roads, the stations, the harbours, the canals and dams; he had
the right to strike silver coins for his province. He had charge of the
military affairs of the province; and was responsible for the weapons
and ships when required for the levy. The apportionment of the taxes and
tributes to the districts and communities of the province, the
collection of these, and the despatch of the proper revenues to the king
were among his duties. He had royal scribes to assist him in these
matters, who read to him the commands of the king and drew up his
reports to the king. It was not likely to escape Darius that the great
powers in the hands of the satrap would lead him to use his delegated
power independently and even against his chief. The attempt of Oroetes
to found an independent monarchy in Asia Minor, had caused him great
anxiety in a time of difficulty. He could not always expect that such
tendencies in distant provinces could be known in time, or that
rebellions on the part of satraps could be prevented. The king withdrew
from them the nomination of the commanders of the castles, which
controlled the main roads of the provinces, the more important
fortresses and citadels of the provinces, _e.g._ the citadels at
Ecbatana, Babylon, and Memphis, that, as Xenophon says, "a satrap who
trusting to his power and the number of his subjects should refuse
obedience, might find opponents in his province"; and he even nominated
the commanders of the Persian battalions, which formed the garrisons of
the fortresses,[348] but limitations of this kind were insufficient
against the power which their office gave to the satrap, if the royal
power was unable to make itself felt with force and rapidity. The
central power must be in vigorous operation against the satraps, if the
feeling of dependence and responsibility were to be kept alive among
them. Appeals from the jurisdiction of the satraps to the king were
possible for the adjacent provinces and did occur, but for the
inhabitants of more distant provinces they were extremely difficult; yet
these were the provinces chiefly in point. If months elapsed before an
order of the kings reached Memphis or Sardis, the Indus or the Caucasus,
or the satraps of these provinces received an answer to their questions,
the necessary result would be that these men would regard themselves as
independent, withdrawn from all authority and obedience. And the distant
provinces, no less than the satraps, had to be kept in order. If
reinforcements were to be sent to them the march must not be too long;
if the borders were to be defended at the right time, the advance of the
army from the inner provinces must not occupy too much time. The larger
the empire the more urgently were rapid communications required to give
reality to the operation of the central force and secure the kingdom
within and without. The distance from the Strymon to the Indus was
enormous; from Ephesus to the Hindu Kush was 3000 miles, and from
Memphis to Sogdiana 2500 miles.
Darius perceived that the kingdom could not be governed or maintained
without good communications. When the western border of the empire
touched the Hellespont, the palaces in Persia were too far to the east;
and the difficulty was increased when Africa, as far as the greater
Syrtis, and the Thracian coast and Macedonia in Europe had been
conquered. Reasons of this kind must have induced Darius to place the
centre of administration as nearly as possible in the centre of the
kingdom; yet he dared not venture to move too far from Persia. He did
not hesitate to move his residence further to the west out of the native
territory into Susiana, a region occupied by subjects of alien race and
language, and make Susa the centre and metropolis of the kingdom. Strabo
tells us that Cyrus and the Persians saw that, after the subjugation of
the Medes, their land lay at the remote edge, while Susiana was more in
the centre, and nearer the Babylonians and the other nations. For this
reason they transferred the seat of the monarchy there, availing
themselves of the proximity of the land and the fame of the city. The
change was the more desirable because Susiana had never pursued an
ambitious course of policy, but had always been part of a larger state,
except perhaps in the times of the heroes.[349] It is a mistake in
Strabo, which however Herodotus and Aeschylus had already made, to say
that Cyrus transferred the residence from Persia to Susa. Aeschylus
speaks of Darius as the Susa-born god of Persia; and Herodotus places
the palace and government of the Pseudo-Smerdis at Susa; it is from the
tower of the walls of the citadel of Susa that Prexaspes throws
himself; there the Magian is assassinated, Darius is raised to the
throne, and resides from the very beginning of his reign. But this is an
anticipation of the residence which was erected here by Darius with the
intention that it should be the fixed abode of himself and his
successors, the centre of the kingdom and the government. Pliny and
Aelian tell us definitely that Darius built Susa the royal citadel of
the Persians, and the inscriptions confirm this statement.[350] Not less
incorrect is the remark of Strabo, that Susiana had always formed part
of a larger kingdom, and had never pursued an ambitious policy. On the
contrary we saw how Elam, after an independence of 1500 years, became
subject first to Assyria for a few decades, and then to Media and
Persia. And the Elamites had so little forgotten their ancient days that
they rose three times against Darius.[351]
The intention to keep the Semitic lands in check, to be nearer Babylon,
without giving up the communication with the native land, must have
contributed to the resolution of Darius to transfer the residence to
Susa. If Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried a road from his
metropolis in a slanting direction through the desert to Syria (III.
365), works of this kind were far more urgently needed for the immensely
greater extent of the Persian empire. Great roads must be made from Susa
in all directions to the borders of the empire, and maintained. Though
Cyrus and Cambyses may have made some steps in this direction, it was
Darius who carried out the plan and founded the great system of roads
which traversed Persia in all directions, and were now carried from
Susa. "Who," asks Xenophon, "could so quickly strike down opponents,
separated from him by a road of many months, as the king of the
Persians?"[352] At the close of his "Persian History" Ctesias gave a
sketch of the Persian roads, which led from Ephesus to Bactria and
India, with an account of the stations, days'-journey, and parasangs.
This is lost. We know but one member of the system, the road which led
from Susa, past Sardis, to Ephesus. Of this road, which interested the
Greeks most, Herodotus gives the following account: "From the Greek sea
to Susa is a distance of 14,040 stades (1755 miles). From Ephesus to
Sardis is a distance of 540 stades (67-1/2 miles), which can be
traversed in three days. From this point there are royal stations and
the most excellent inns: the whole road passes through inhabited lands
and is secure. First, it passes through the region of the Lydians, who
inhabit a fruitful land and are rich in silver; then through the region
of the Phrygians, who are rich in cattle and fruits of the field; these
make up 20 stations, 94-1/2 parasangs. Then the Halys has to be crossed;
there are gates here through which you must pass in order to go over the
river, and a strong guard-house. Beyond the river you are in Cappadocia,
and to the borders of Cilicia is a distance of 28 stations and 104
parasangs. On the borders of Cappadocia and Cilicia are two gates and
two guard-houses: passing through Cilicia in three stations, a distance
of 15 parasangs, you reach the border of Armenia which is formed by the
Euphrates. The Euphrates is crossed by a ferry. In Armenia, which
possesses much cattle, there are 15 stations provided with guard-houses,
and 56-1/2 parasangs. Then follows the Tigris, and two other rivers
bearing the same name (the Greater and the Lesser Zab); and finally the
Gyndes, which Cyrus diverted from its channel: these have to be crossed
in boats. From Armenia you pass to the Matieni, the neighbours of the
Armenians; here there are 34 stations and 137 parasangs to be traversed;
from the borders of the Matieni and the Cissians (_i.e._ the Susiani) to
the Choaspes, where Susa is built upon it (this river has also to be
crossed by a ferry), are 11 stations and 42-1/2 parasangs, making a
total of 111 stations and 450 parasangs, or 13,500 stades (1687-1/2
miles). Hence if the royal road has been rightly measured, and a
traveller makes 150 stades (five parasangs, 19 miles) a day, he goes
from Sardis to Susa in 90 days, and to Ephesus (if we add in the
distance from Ephesus to Sardis) in 93 days."
From this description we see that the road has been accurately measured,
well-kept, guarded, and provided with stations about every 15 miles, in
which the travellers could find shelter. As Herodotus calls these inns
very beautiful, we must assume that after the Persian fashion they were
provided with plantations, and this is confirmed by other evidence. We
are told that a station on the royal road in Cadusia, in a wholly bare
and treeless region, was surrounded by a park of high pines and
cypresses. The Indians also were accustomed to plant their roads and
provide them with shady resting-places. The road from Sardis to Susa did
not take the shortest route; the object was to escape the Syrian and
Phrygian desert, and carry the road through regions which could support
the army on the march. Hence it ran from Susa in the valley of the
Tigris on the left bank of the river through Susiana and the native land
of the Assyrians, for 600 miles in a north-westerly direction, to the
mountains of Armenia. The region between the Tigris and the Zagrus to
the north of the satrapy of Cissia (Susiana) is called by Herodotus the
land of the Matieni, and he extends this name, which is elsewhere used
only for the tribes dwelling round the Lake of Urumiah, to the Tigris.
Armenia proper was then crossed by the road in a straight line from east
to west, from the upper Tigris to the upper Euphrates. Of Cilicia it
touched merely the north-east corner, and then cut through Cappadocia in
a north-westerly direction to the Halys. It crossed the river in the
neighbourhood of Pteria, passed in a south-westerly direction through
Phrygia, leaving the desert to the south, and Lydia to Sardis.[353] From
this great road to the west then branched off between the Gyndes (Diala)
and the Physcus (Adhem) the road to Babylon, and at Physcus the road to
Ecbatana.
The royal roads through the kingdom secured before all things the rapid
operation of the central power and the king on the representatives of
his power in the provinces. The stations were used for a postal
arrangement, the duty of which it was to carry the commands of the king
and the reports and questions of the satraps. Thanks to this post the
king was in the possession of a means of communication far superior to
that within the reach of any of his subjects. At the stations on all the
roads of the kingdom, at intervals of 15 miles or a little more, horses
and riders (Astandae, Angari) were placed, whose sole business it was to
carry the royal messages and errands. One of these postmen must always
be in attendance, in order to carry a letter as soon as it arrived, at
the full speed of his horse, by day or by night, in heat or in snow, to
the next station. Among the Greeks it was said that the Persian couriers
travelled swifter than cranes; Herodotus also assures us that nothing in
the world was more rapid than these horsemen.[354] Thus the king's
commands travelled on well-built and carefully-guarded roads by this
post in the shortest space of time to the most remote provinces. They
were brought from Susa to Sardis in five or six days and nights. The
commands of the king to the satraps were always given in writing, and
accredited by the impression of the king's seal.[355] This seal presents
to us king Darius with the covered tiara on his head standing on the
chariot behind the charioteer; a lion, struck by his arrow, lies beneath
the hoofs of the horses which are leaping forward. The king is about to
shoot a third arrow at a second huge lion, which has reared himself up
in self-defence, and has already received two arrows from the king. At
the side a date palm is visible; over the king hovers Auramazda. The
inscription, which is in three languages, says: "I am Darius, the great
king."[356] The rapidity with which the king's commands reached even the
satraps of the most distant lands, kept the authority of the king before
them. The fortresses and guard-posts on the roads not only served to
maintain security on and near them, and to make commerce safe; they were
also used to control trade, and travelling, and any correspondence among
the subjects. The fortresses were placed at points which could not be
avoided, in narrow passes, or on the bridges of great rivers. Those in
command dared not allow any one to pass who did not establish his right,
as above suspicion. The scribes assigned to the commanders looked over
all the letters, which were carried through by messengers.[357] As the
fortresses in which these guard-posts lay were placed in the most
important divisions of the country, the roads could be closed by the
posts. If a rebellion arose in this or that quarter, the effect on the
neighbouring province was checked by closing the roads by means of the
forts, or the road was defended from post to post. And if an enemy
invaded from outside he found in them points of resistance, and the
Persians points of support.
The guidance and control of the viceroys was not confined to the rapid
and lively communications between them and the king. The Greeks tell us
that the king travelled every year to this or that province in order to
review the troops, and examine the cultivation of the soil. Where the
king did not make a visitation in person, he did so by confidential
ministers. We are further informed that these visitations were
entrusted to the princes of the royal house.[358] Where the king found
that the land was populous and well cultivated, the forests in good
order, and the fields full of the fruits which the land produced, he
distinguished the governor by gifts and honours. But where he found the
land thinly populated and badly cultivated, whether it was owing to the
severity, the neglect, or the extortion of the satrap, the satrap was
punished and removed from his place.[359] The charge of the whole
country lay on the chief overseer, the high official who bore the title
of the "king's eye." In the Persians of Aeschylus, the chorus inquire of
Xerxes, "Where his faithful eye has remained?" Herodotus notices as an
arrangement of the Median kingdom, that the king named a man especially
devoted to him, his "Eye." We see that unexpected inspections were made
by the "Eye" of the Persian king, and that his subordinates, who were
not known to be such, carried on a minute superintendence over the
conduct of the satraps, the other officers, and the subject people.[360]
Still more mysterious was the work of the officers who were known as the
king's "Ears." They cannot have been far removed from spies. We saw to
what an extent the princes of India carried on the system of secret
espionage. Herodotus told us in regard to Deioces that his spies and
informers were in every land, and a Persian proverb said, "The king has
many eyes and ears." The Greeks declare that the Persian spies did not
always content themselves with relating what they had heard, but told
much besides in order to show their zeal. Accusation was received with
favour by the king and rewarded by distinctions and presents.[361] We
saw what control was exercised on the great roads, the arteries of
communication. Owing to the number of guard-houses in each road, which
repeated the inquiries of the first, any one at the court was in a
position to compare the accounts of the commanders, and to control them.
No one passed even the borders of Babylonia without proving who he was,
and of what city, and why he was travelling.[362] In this way every
suspicious circumstance was brought to light, and it was certain that no
conspiracy or rebellion could be contrived without some indications
being received at the court of the king.
What could not be prevented by the control of the higher and lower
officers, and the police supervision of the subjects, was suppressed by
the severe exercise of punishment, which was intended to strike fear
into magistrate and subject alike by the force of terrible examples. The
terrorist use of punishment which the Brahmans on the Ganges knew how to
prove to be a divine right, and a duty of the royal office, was in
Persia regarded as an indispensable means for supporting the state. And
as a fact obedience to the absolute ruler rested, in the magistrates and
the ruling tribe, more decidedly on the apprehension of punishment than
on any personal interest or common share in the maintenance of the
kingdom; and in the subject nations it rested on the fear of the ruler
and the interests which the Persian kings gained in those districts.
Those entrusted with the power of office must also be the most obedient
and submiss. Above all, the feeling must be kept alive in the satraps of
the provinces that the enormous powers delegated to them were given on
the condition of absolute obedience. The severe penalties which overtook
any resistance, or the careless execution of a royal command, were only
the reverse of the favours which fell to their lot in other
circumstances. However earnestly the religion of Zarathrustra preached
the regard for life, the rules of religion were compelled, even in
Persia, to give way to reasons of state. We find Darius no less than
Cambyses inflicting severe penalties for trifling offences. If the
satraps gave any grounds for suspicion, they were either secretly or
openly removed out of the way.[363] But even in the judges and on those
who were not officers every transgression and act of disobedience to the
wish of the king was cruelly punished. Darius, who was not considered a
harsh ruler, did not content himself with the execution of Intaphernes;
he caused nearly all the males of the house to be put to death, though
Intaphernes had taken such a prominent part in the assassination of the
Magian. The leaders of the rebellions in the provinces were punished by
crucifixion or hanging. Khsathrita, who caused the Medes to revolt, and
Chitratakhma, the leader of the Sagartians, had their noses and ears cut
off before execution, and in this state were exposed to public
view.[364] When Darius marched against the Scythians, Oeobazus, a
distinguished Persian, entreated that one of his three sons might remain
behind. The king considered that this wish was not in harmony with the
devotion which every Persian owed to the kingdom; he replied that all
his sons should remain, and at once ordered them to be executed.
Sandoces, one of the royal judges, had been bribed to give a false
judgment; Darius caused him to be crucified; he was already placed on
the cross when the king remembered that he had done more good than evil
to the royal house, and ordered him to be taken down again. He lived,
and remained in the service, but not in the highest court of the
kingdom.[365] One of the mildest forms of punishment was banishment to
the islands of the Persian Gulf. Common punishments were the loss of
eyes, nose, ears, tongue; the cutting off of hands, arms, and feet;
scourgings were frequent, and they were inflicted even by the
satraps.[366] The king pronounced the sentence of death by touching the
girdle of the accused, or occasionally allowed it to be pronounced in
his presence by the seven judges. The sentence was then carried out by
crucifixion or decapitation.[367] In later times we hear of grinding
between stones, incisions in the body while alive, and painful
imprisonment in troughs; Xenophon indeed tells us that one of those who
took part in the rebellion of the younger Cyrus was tortured for a whole
year.[368]
If we compare the practice of the princes of Persia with the conduct of
the Assyrian kings, and the later rulers of the East, we cannot fail to
recognize that the officers under the Achaemenids were in a better
position and more richly paid, but also better controlled and kept in
greater dependence than was the case afterwards. The subjects, in spite
of acts of cruel caprice which affected certain persons, were
incomparably better off than those of the Assyrians, or of the dynasties
which afterwards ruled the East. They were governed with more
intelligence and clemency than the subjects of the Porte, or the
Khedive, or the Shah of Persia, or the Emirs of Cabul and Herat. It was
no small thing that the Persian kings established peace in all Asia from
the shores of the Hellespont to the Belurdagh, and maintained order and
security from the Nile to the Himalayas. Moreover, the religion and
worship of the subject nations, of whatever kind they might be, were not
injured, but rather protected and held in honour. Law, justice, and
manners remained the same, and the subjects preserved their local
self-government. Agriculture in the provinces received attention, trade
and commerce went on along the roads and rivers of the vast empire, and
was not only unmolested but protected.
FOOTNOTES:
[316] Herod. 7, 55; 8, 113; 9, 31. Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 3, 10, 25.
[317] "Laws," p. 695. Vol. V. 390 _n._ 2.
[318] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 5, 6, 17-20.
[319] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 33.
[320] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 11.
[321] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 9.
[322] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 40; 8, 2, 7-9.
[323] Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 9, 25; "Cyri Instit." 8, 2, 3.
[324] Herod. 3, 130. 8, 118; Ctes. "Pers." 22; Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8,
3, 3, 4; "Anab." 1, 2; Plut. "Artaxerxes," c. 10-14.
[325] Herod. 1,134; Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 9, 31; "Cyri Instit." 8, 3, 13;
Arrian, "Anab." 7, 11; Curtius, 3, 3, 19.
[326] Herod. 1, 136; Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 1, 2, 13; 8, 8, 7; Strabo,
p. 733.
[327] Nicol. Damasc. fragm. 67, ed. Mueller; "Laws," p. 695.
[328] "Alcib. I." p. 121, 122.
[329] Plut. "Artax." c. 3.
[330] Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 9.
[331] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 8, 13.
[332] Themistocles also was instructed in the doctrine of the Magians,
when he was trained for a place at the Persian court; Plut. "Themist."
c. 29.
[333] Strabo, p. 733, 734.
[334] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 1, 33; 8, 6, 10, 13, 14. Plut. "Artax."
c. 5, 24.
[335] Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 9, 3.
[336] Noeldeke, "Tabari," s. 389, 443.
[337] G. Smith, "Discoveries," p. 387, 388; Boscawen, "Transactions
Bibl. Arch." 6, 61 ff.
[338] Above, p. 109.
[339] Mariette, "Athen. Franc,." May, 1855, p. 48; Brugsch, "Hist. of
Egypt," 2, 291. Above, p. 301, _n._ 3.
[340] Haggai i. 4, 10; ii. 16-20; Zechariah vi. 11-13.
[341] Zechariah ii. 4, 5; viii. 23.
[342] Ezra c. vi.; Psalm lxvi. appears to refer to this.
[343] Nehemiah i. 3.
[344] In the three lists of nations in the inscriptions of Darius, Syria
and Phenicia are not specially mentioned; they must be included in the
names Babylonia and Arabia; in the same way Lydians, Phrygians, Carians,
and Mysians are included in the name Cparda, _i.e._ Sardis.
[345] Behistun, 3, 11 ff.
[346] The inscription of Behistun specially designates Arachosia and
Bactria as satrapies, 3, 13, 14, 54, 55.
[347] Herodotus (3, 89) places this arrangement into satrapies
immediately after the accession. This is impossible, owing to the
rebellions, which continued down to the year 517 B.C. But from the fact
that Herodotus includes the Indians in this arrangement, and represents
the Thracians and the islands as added subsequently (3, 94, 96), we may
conclude that it was made after the Indian conquests and before the
successes of Megabyzus and Otanes, _i.e._ about 515 B.C. The arrangement
of Darius was not retained without changes. Babylonia and Assyria were
afterwards separated; Babylonia formed one satrapy, Syria and Assyria a
second, Phoenicia and Arabia a third. The satrapy of the Ionians
revolted after the battle of Mycale; in the Peloponnesian war, we find,
as in the time of Cyrus, two satrapies in hither Asia, Sardis and
Dascyleum. Xenophon ("Anab." _in fine_) enumerates six satrapies in Asia
Minor: Lydia, Phrygia, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia and Lycaonia,
Cilicia. Arrian, ("Anab." 1, 12) enumerates five: Phrygia on the Pontus,
Greater Phrygia, Lydia, Cappadocia, Cilicia; and, finally, in these
later periods several satrapies were united in one hand.
[348] Above, p. 110. Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 6, 1, 9, 10; Curtius, 5,
1, 20. There is no doubt that the satraps commanded the troops of their
districts; at a later time they even carried on independent wars. That
the garrisons of the fortresses were bound to obedience follows from
Herod. 3, 128. The limitations, which Xenophon ascribes to Cyrus, must
belong to Darius; "Cyri Instit." 7, 5, 34, 69, 70; "Oecon." 4, 6.
[349] Strabo, p. 727.
[350] Plin. "H. N." 6, 27; Ael. "Hist. Anim." 1, 59. Ardeshir also found
Fars too distant; he made Shahabad near Susa the second city of the
kingdom.
[351] Vol. I. 252. Vol. III. 175. Above, p. 253.
[352] "Cyri Instit." 8, 2, 9.
[353] Kiepert has convincingly shown how the lacuna in Herodotus (5, 52)
is to be filled up ("Monatsberichte der Berliner Akademie," 1857, s.
123). Xenophon gives twelve short marches and about ten parasangs from
the foot of the Carduchian mountains to the Greater Zab--_i.e._ about 60
parasangs; from the Zab to the Physcus is 50 parasangs; from the Physcus
to the bridge of the Tigris at Sittace is 20 parasangs. The territory
which he traversed in this region he considers to be part of Media
("Anabasis," 2, 4 ff.). Hence there can be no doubt that the length of
the royal road from the point where it crossed the Tigris to the borders
of Susiana was 137 parasangs. If Xenophon passed beyond the point at
which the royal road crosses the Tigris, to the north, this is amply
compensated by the greater distance from the bridge at Sittace to the
Gyndes and the borders of Susiana. At Opis the column of the Greeks came
upon the Persians who were marching from Ecbatana to Babylon. So the
road from Ecbatana must have joined the great royal road at Physcus, and
then it ran past Sittace to Babylon. Alexander also, in order to come
from Babylon to Susa, first marched north-east to Sittace, and after
crossing the Tigris proceeded south-east to Susa: Diod. 17, 65, 66.
[354] Herod. 5, 14; 8, 98; Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 6, 17. Suidas and
Hesychius [Greek: Astandes, Angaros]. Plut. "Artax." 25; "Alex." 18.
Xenophon ascribes even this arrangement to Cyrus, but it could only be
made effectual by a network of first-rate roads.
[355] Herod. 3, 128; Ezra i. 23; vi. 2; Esther iii. 9, 12-15; Arrian,
"Anab." 3, 11.
[356] In Layard; cf. Brandis, "Muenzwesen in Vorderasien," s. 231.
[357] Herod. 5, 35, 49-52. 7, 239.
[358] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 6, 16.
[359] Xenoph. "Oecon." 4, 8-12.
[360] Herod. 1, 114; Aesch. "Pers." 980; Plut. "Artax." 12. Suidas and
Hesych. [Greek: ophthalmos]; Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 6, 16; 8, 2, 11.
[361] Xenoph. "Cyri Instit." 8, 2, 10; Brisson, "De Reg. Pers." 1, 190.
[362] Herod. 5, 35, 49-52; 7, 239; Brisson, _loc. cit._ 1, 180.
[363] Herod. 3, 129; 4, 166; Plut. "Artax." 23.
[364] Above, p. 247, 248.
[365] Herod. 4, 84; 7, 194.
[366] Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 9; Brisson, "de Reg. Pers." 2, 227 ff.
[367] Xenoph. "Anab." 1, 6; Plut. "Artax." 29; Curtius, 3, 2, 16-19;
Diod. 17, 30.
[368] Plut. "Artax." 14, 16, 17, 19; Xenoph. "Anab." 2, 6.