Darius Hystaspis, or Darius I, reigned from 521 to 485 B. C., and was a
great and able monarch. He finished the work which Cyrus had begun, by
setting in order the affairs of the vast empire which Cyrus and Cambyses
had conquered.
[Illustration: =A PORTRAIT OF DARIUS THE GREAT=
Here “The Great King,” with state umbrella and attendants, as carved on
one of the door-jambs of the palace of Darius I. at Persepolis. The
original bears considerable traces of color.]
Darius is credited with the establishment of highroads and swift postal
communication between the provinces and the court. The kings of Persia
resided in the winter at Susa, a warm place in the plain east of the
Lower Tigris; in the summer at Ecbatana, in Media, by the mountains; and
Babylon was a third capital of occasional residence in winter. From
these different centers of power the Persian monarchs, according to
their measure of energy and resolution, controlled the conduct of the
satraps in every quarter of their widespread dominions.