Darius

the title of several Persian monarchs. It is not a personal name, but is akin in meaning to emperor, pharaoh, czar, and caesar. Darius I was one of the greatest Persian kings. He ruled 521-486 B. C. He organized the great Persian empire by dividing it into twenty provinces. Each province was ruled by a satrap. In order that the satrap might not have the means to set up an independent kingdom, the military force of the province was placed in charge of a commander, who reported to Darius independently. In each province a royal secretary, called the king's ear, sent letter after letter by special messenger, reporting on the state of affairs; and finally a royal commissioner, a sort of inspector, called the king's eye, appeared now and then with a military escort to see that all was going well. A complete system of taxgathering was established. Excellent post roads were built, along which couriers, peasants and their donkeys, endless caravans, and armies might pass. The longest-the east and west road from Sardis to Susa-was 1,500 miles in length. Babylon attempted to revolt, but in vain. The empire was reduced to order in every direction. The first great work of Darius may be summarized as the most perfectly organized Asiastic government the world has ever seen. It was essentially the form of government of the Turkish Empire today.

His second service was the repulse of the barbarian tribes of the north. Just what these were, whether Hun, Turk, or Tartar, no one knows. Under the name of Scythians, they had pushed their way repeatedly into the heart of western Asia-some authorities say even as far as Egypt. Darius led immense armies against them and set up stone pillars to mark the boundaries within which they were forbidden to enter. Following the subjugation of Babylon this great king led an immense host across the Bosporus on a bridge of boats, to attack the Scythians in the southern steppes of what is now Russia. Thrace was added to the empire, thus bringing Persia within Europe to the very foot of the mountain barries of Greece. Nevertheless the barbarians were effectually checked and repulsed from the frontier of civilization.

The third great enterprise of Darius ended in disaster. Persian arms had annexed India as far as the Indus. The Mediterranean coast was now Persian from the Nile to the mountains of Thessaly. The Aegean Sea, the center of Greek activity, was practically "a Persian lake." Whether or not Darius had a previous intention of attacking Greece is not known, but the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor revolted. Darius reduced them with fire and sword, and in 492 B.C. sent an army and a fleet under Mardonius to subjugate the Greeks. The barbarians of Thrace mishandled his army and a storm off Mount Athos wrecked his ships. In rage he sent messengers to the Greek cities to demand earth and water, the symbols of submission. Many of the weaker cities complied. Athens and Sparta threw the envoys into pits and wells and told them to help themselves to all the earth and water they cared for. The story of the great king's discomfiture may be read under MARATHON. See also XERXES.