Early European History. Hutton Webster
his gold mines that his name has passed into the proverb, "rich as Croesus." He viewed with alarm the rising power of Cyrus and rashly offered battle to the Persian monarch. Defeated in the open field, Croesus shut himself up in Sardis, his capital. The city was soon taken, however, and with its capture the Lydian kingdom came to an end.
CAPTURE OF BABYLON, 539 B.C.
The downfall of Lydia prepared the way for a Persian attack on Babylonia. The conquest of that country proved unexpectedly easy. In 539 B.C. the great city of Babylon opened its gates to the Persian host. Shortly afterwards Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jewish exiles there to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed. With the surrender of Babylon the last Semitic empire in the East came to an end. The Medes and Persians, an Indo-European people, henceforth ruled over a wider realm than ever before had been formed in Oriental lands.
CAMBYSES, 529–522 B.C.
Cyrus was followed by his son, Cambyses, a cruel but stronghanded despot. Cambyses determined to add Egypt to the Persian dominions. His land army was supported by a powerful fleet, to which the Phoenicians and the Greeks of Cyprus contributed ships. A single battle sufficed to overthrow the Egyptian power and to bring the long rule of the Pharaohs to a close. [12]
DARIUS THE GREAT, 521–485 B.C.
The reign of Darius, the successor of Cambyses, was marked by further extensions of the frontiers. An expedition to the distant East added to the empire the region of the Punjab, [13] along the upper waters of the Indus. Another expedition against the wild Scythian tribes along the Danube led to conquests in Europe and brought the Persian dominions close to those of the Greeks. Not without reason could Darius describe himself in an inscription which still survives, as "the great king, king of kings, king of countries, king of all men."
[Illustration: DARIUS WITH HIS ATTENDANTS Bas-relief at Persepolis. The monarch's right hand grasps a staff or scepter, his left hand, a bunch of flowers. His head is surmounted by a crown, his body is enveloped in the long Median mantle. Above the king is a representation of the divinity which guarded and guided him. In the rear are two Persian nobles, one carrying the royal fan, the other the royal parasol.]
[Illustration: ROCK SEPULCHERS OF THE PERSIAN KINGS The tombs are those of Darius, Xerxes, and two of their successors. They are near Persepolis.]
ORGANIZATION OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
It was the work of Darius to provide for his dominions a stable government which should preserve what the sword had won. The problem was difficult. The empire was a collection of many peoples widely different in race, language, customs, and religion. Darius did not attempt to weld the conquered nations into unity. As long as the subjects of Persia paid tribute and furnished troops for the royal army, they were allowed to conduct their own affairs with little interference from the Great King.
THE SATRAPAL SYSTEM
The entire empire, excluding Persia proper, was divided into twenty satrapies, or provinces, each one with its civil governor, or satrap. The satraps carried out the laws and collected the heavy tribute annually levied throughout the empire. In most of the provinces there were also military governors who commanded the army and reported directly to the king. This device of intrusting the civil and military functions to separate officials lessened the danger of revolts against the Persian authority. As an additional precaution Darius provided special agents whose business it was to travel from province to province and investigate the conduct of his officials. It became a proverb that "the king has many eyes and many ears."
PERSIAN ROADS
Darius also established a system of military roads throughout the Persian dominions. The roads were provided at frequent intervals with inns, where postmen stood always in readiness to take up a letter and carry it to the next station. The Royal Road from Susa, the Persian capital, to Sardis in Lydia was over fifteen hundred miles long; but government couriers, using relays of fresh horses, could cover the distance within a week. An old Greek writer declares with admiration that "there is nothing mortal more swift than these messengers." [14]
UNION OF THE EAST UNDER PERSIA
The political history of the East fitly ends with the three Persian conquerors, Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, who thus brought into their huge empire every great state of Oriental antiquity. Medes and Persians, Babylonians and Assyrians, Lydians, Syrians, and Egyptians—all were at length united under a single dominion. In the reign of Darius this united Orient first comes into contact with the rising power of the Greek states of Europe. So we may leave its history here, resuming our narrative when we discuss the momentous conflict between Persia and Greece, which was to affect the course, not alone of Persian or Greek, but of all European history. [15]
[Illustration: Map, THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT (About 500
BC)]
STUDIES
1. On the map Physical Map of Asia, section 7. Physical Asia, topic Grand Divisions of Asia, see what regions of Asia are less than 500 feet above sea level; less than 3000 feet; less than 9000 feet; less than 15,000 feet; over 15,000 feet.
2. On an outline map of the Orient indicate eight important rivers, two gulfs, three inland seas, the great plateaus and plains, the principal mountain ranges, two important passes, and the various countries and cities mentioned in this chapter.
3. On an outline map draw the boundaries of the Persian Empire under Darius, showing what parts were conquered by Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, respectively.
4. For what were the following places noted: Jerusalem; Thebes; Tyre; Nineveh; and Babylon?
5. For what were the following persons famous: Hammurabi; Rameses II; Solomon; Cyrus; Nebuchadnezzar; and Darius?
6. Define and illustrate these terms: empire, kingdom, province, tributary state, satrapy.
7. Identity these dates: 606 B.C.; 539 B.C.; and 540 B.C.
8. Why was India better known in ancient times than China?
9. What modern countries are included within the limits of ancient Iran?
10. Why was a canal through the isthmus of Suez less needed in ancient times than to-day?
11. Can you suggest any reasons why the sources of the Nile remained unknown until late in the nineteenth century?
12. What is the origin of the name Delta applied to such a region as Lower Egypt?
13. Comment on the statement: "Egypt as a geographical expression is two things—the Desert and the Nile. As a habitable country it is only one thing—the Nile."
14. Why did the Greek traveler, Herodotus, call Egypt "the gift of the Nile"?
15. Distinguish between Syria and Assyria.
16. What is the exact meaning of the words, Hebrew, Israelite, and Jew? Describe some features of Assyrian warfare (illustration, page 35).
17. What modern countries are included within the limits of the Persian Empire under Darius?
18. Trace on the map facing page 40 the course of the Royal Road, noting the countries through which it passed.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter ii, "The Founders of the Persian Empire: Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius."
[2] See page 16.
[3] See page 39.
[4] See page 125.
[5] Herodotus, i, 193.
[6]