"
=The Persian Empire.=--Darius then subjected the peoples in revolt and
reestablished the empire of the Persians. He enlarged it also by
conquering Thrace and a province of India. This empire reunited all
the peoples of the Orient: Medes and Persians, Assyrians, Chaldeans,
Jews, Phoenicians, Syrians, Lydians, Egyptians, Indians; it covered
all the lands from the Danube on the west to the Indus on the east,
from the Caspian Sea on the north to the cataracts of the Nile on the
south. It was the greatest empire up to this time. One tribe of
mountaineers, the last to come, thus received the heritage of all the
empires of Asia.
=The Satrapies.=--Oriental kings seldom concerned themselves with
their subjects more than to draw money from them, levy soldiers, and
collect presents; they never interfered in their local affairs.
Darius, like the rest, left each of the peoples of his empire to
administer itself according to its own taste, to keep its language,
its religion, its laws, often its ancient princes. But he took care to
regulate the taxes which his subjects paid him. He divided all the
empire into twenty[34] districts called satrapies.
Pages:
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114