sion of prisoners approaches, tied together, neckand-neck, by one rope, and with hands bound behind their backs. These are the nine principal rebels and impostors whom it took over six years and nineteen pitched battles to overcome. They were all captured alive. The last of the band is noticeable for his pointed cap; it is the Scythian Sakunka. Short inscriptions placed above the head of each leave us no doubt about their identity. Attached to the prostrate figure is the following declaration: "This Magian, Gaumata, lied; he spoke thus: 'I am Bardiya, the son of Kurush. I am the king."" Above the first standing figure we read: "This Atrina lied; he spoke thus: 'I am king of Susiana!'" and so on for every one.

13. In the introduction to this matchless piece of history, Dareios gives a list of the countries of which, by the grace of Ahura-Mazda, he had become king. There are twenty names. The number increases to thirty in the last of his inscriptions, that on his tomb, and includes such remote provinces towards the four quarters of the world as, in the east several districts of India (Hindush), in the west "the Ionians beyond the sea" (the people of the Greek islands, perhaps even of the Greek continent), the "Scythians beyond the sea" in the north (the people of Southern Russia), the Libyans and Kyrênians in the southwest. It stands to reason that many of these countries, situated on the extremest verge of the empire, even though visited and more or less. conquered by Dareios, and by him incorporated in the list of "Satrapies," i. e. provinces governed by

Satraps, did not really consider themselves his obedient subjects, scarcely his vassals; but they had all felt the great king's arm, and their name must needs grace the list of "the countries that belonged to him." In his tomb-inscription there is the following effective address to his successor or any one who may behold the monument: "If thou thinkest thus; 'how many were the lands which King Darayavush ruled?'-then look on this effigy: they bear my throne, that thou mayest know them. [See ill. 39 and 54.] Then shalt thou know that the Persian man's spear reaches far, that the Persian man has fought battles far away from Persia."

I. SIX years had been absorbed by the civil wars; all the provinces needed rest, and Dareios adjourned the plans of conquest which his ambitious spirit was maturing until the wounds of the state should be healed and the growing generation should have reached manhood. For seven years he devoted himself to works of peace, and showed a genius for administration and statesmanship, such as has never since been surpassed and seldom equalled by the greatest organizers and founders of states. His system was based on the simplest principle: the greatest possible prosperity of the subject, as conducive to the greatest possible power and wealth of the state, represented by a vigilant, active, and absolute central government. The means which he used, the institutions which he created in order to achieve this great result, are startlingly modern in spirit, and even in the technical details of execution. In the first place he divided the empire into twenty provinces or "satrapies;" for, in the words of an eminent modern historian," the insurrections which had marred the beginning of his reign had shown him how apt a bun* Justi, O Geschichte des alten Persiens."

dle of countries with such utterly divergent nationalities and interests is to fall apart, and that the huge empire could be held together only by the uniform rule of a class of devoted officials, controlled and directed in all their actions by the king and his councillors." Such a class was formed of the Satraps and their subordinate officers. The king appointed them from the highest nobility of Persia, whose young sons were carefully educated for this special purpose under the king's own eyes. The power entrusted to the Satraps was very great, and an extraordinary latitude of action was very wisely allowed to those of the remote provinces, who could at any moment be called upon to face some unexpected emergency, when the delay of communication with the central authority could have dangerous and even fatal consequences. Yet they were never suffered to forget the duty that bound them on one side to the sovereign whom they represented, and on the other to the people whose welfare was given into their care. Thus a Satrap of Egypt was put to death by order of Dareios because he had presumed to coin money in his own name. The king, too, frequently undertook tours of inspection through the empire; and woe to the Satrap whose province was found in a poor condition, the people needy, oppressed, and despoiled, the fields neglected, the plantations uncared for, the villages and buildings in bad repair, while favors and honors were liberally bestowed on those who could show the master a prosperous land and contented population. As the language, religion, and national peculiarities of each country were scru

pulously respected, the local customs and institutions in no case interfered with, there was nothing to prevent such a result but deliberate misrule or mismanagement on the part of the Satraps and their officials, who were accordingly held responsible.

2. Not that Dareios was at all neglectful of the interests of the crown or over-indulgent in the matter of taxation. He was, on the contrary, very keen in all that concerned the income of the exchequerso much so, that-so Herodotus tells us those who had called Kyros "father" and Kambyses "master," nicknamed Dareios "huckster," because “he looked to making a gain in every thing," and more especially because he introduced a system of regular taxation, instead of the voluntary gifts which his two predecessors had been content to accept from the provinces. Yet, in this, as in all things, he proceeded with real moderation, justice, and caution. He had the entire empire surveyed and every mile of ground appraised according to its capacities for production; on this valuation he based an impartially graded land-tax. It is ever to be regretted that these estimates perished, for in them we have lost the earliest known specimen of statistical work. It was probably from the original official documents that Herodotus drew his list of taxes, which is evidently genuine. We gather from it that, over and above ground-tax in gold, silver, or gold dust, most countries paid a special tribute in kind, according to their respective staple produces-horses, mules, sheep, grain, ivory, slaves, etc., besides tolls on sluices, and dues on mines, forests, and fishing. The