was thus proclaimed king; and, except the Arabians, all the nations of Afia who had been fub 10 dued first by Cyrus, and afterwards by Cambyfes, Ph 99 acknowledged his authority. The Arabians were never reduced to the subjection of Perfia ", but were in its alliance: they afforded Cambyfes the means of penetrating into Egypt, without which he could never have accomplished his purpose. Darius first of all married two women of Perfia, both of them daughters of Cyrus, Atoffa who had first been married to Cambyfes, and afterwards to 99 Never reduced to the fubjegion of Perfia.]—The independence of the Arabs has always been a theme of praife and admiration, from the remoteft ages to the prefent. Upon this fubject the following animated apoftrophe from Mr. Gibbon, includes all that need be faid. The arms of Sefoftris and Cyrus of Pompey and Trajan, could never atchieve the conquest of Arabia. The prefent, fovereign of the Turks may exercife a thadow of jurifdi&tion, but his pride is reduced to follicit the friendship of a people whom it is dangerous to provoke, and fruitless to attack. The obvious caufes of their freedom are infcribed on the character and country of the Arabs; the patient and active virtues of a foldier are infenfibly nurfed in the habits and difcipline of a paftoral life. The long memory of their independence is the firmeft pledge of its perpetuity; and fucceeding generations are animated to prove their defcent, and to maintain their inheritance. When they advance to battle, the hope of victory is in the front, and in the rear the affurance of a retreat. Their horfes and camels, who in eight or ten days can perform a march of four or five hundred miles, difappear. before the conqueror: the fecret waters of the defart elude his fearch; and his victorious troops are confumed with hunger, thirft, and fatigue, in the purfuit of an invifible foe, who fcerns his efforts, and fafely repcfes in the heart of the burning folitude." 128 1 the magus, and Antystone a virgin. He then married Parmys, daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and that daughter of Otanes who had been the inftrument in difcovering the magus. Being firmly established on the throne, his firft work was the erection of an equestrian statue, with this infcription: "Darius, fon of Hyftafpes, obtained the "fovereignty of Perfia by the fagacity of his horfe, "and the ingenuity of bares his groom." The name of the horfe was alfo inferted. LXXXIX. The next act of his authority was to divide Perfia into twenty provinces, which they call fatrapies, to each of which a governor was appointed. He then ascertained the tribute they were feverally to pay, connecting fometimes many nations together, which were near each other, under one diftrict; and fometimes he paffed over many which were adjacent, forming one government of various remote and scattered nations. His particular divifion of the provinces, and the mode fixed for the payment of their annual tribute, was this: They whofe payment was to be made in filver, were to take the Babylonian talent 100 for their ftandard; 100 Babylonian talent.]-What follows on the fubject of the talent, is extracted principally from Arbuthnot's tables of ancient coins. The word talent in Homer, is used to fignify a balance, and in general it was applied either to a weight or a fum of money, differing in value according to the ages and countries in which it was used. Every talent confifts of 60 minæ, and every mina of ftandard; the Euboic talent was to regulate those who made their payment in gold; the Babylonian talent, it is to be obferved, is equal to feventy Euboic minæ. During the reign of Cyrus, and indeed of Cambyfes, there were no fpecific tributes 101, but prefents were made to the fovereign. On account of thefe and fimilar innovations, the Perfians call Darius a merchant, Cambyses a despot, but Cyrus a parent. Darius feemed to have no other object in view but the acquifition of gain; Cambyfes was negligent and fevere; whilft Cyrus was of a mild and gentle temper, ever ftudious of the good of his fübjects. XC. The Ionians and Magnesians of Afia, the of 100 drachmæ, but the talents differed in weight according to the mine and drachmæ of which they were compofed. What Herodotus here affirms of the Babylonian talent, is confirmed by Pollux and by Ælian. The Euboic talent was fo called from the island Euboea; it was generally thought to be the fame with the Attic talent, because both these countries used the fame weights; the mina Euboica, and the mina Attica, each confifted of 100 drachmæ. According to the above, the Babylonian talent would amount, in English money, to about £. 226; the Euboic or Attic talent to £. 193. 15 5.-T. 101 No Specific tributes.]—This feemingly contradicts what was faid above, that the magus exempted the Perfians for three years from every kind of impoft. It must be observed that thefe impofts were not for a conftancy, they only fubfifted in time of war, and were rather a gratuity than an impoft. Thofe imposed by Darius were perpetual; thus Herodotus does not appear at all to contradict himself.--Larcher. Æolians, Æolians, Carians, Lycians, Melyeans 102, and Pamphylians, were comprehended under one district, and jointly paid a tribute of four hundred talents of filver; they formed the first fatrapy. The fecond, which paid five hundred talents, was compofed of the Myfians, Lydians, Alyfonians, Cabalians, and 330 Hygennians 10. A tribute of three hundred and fixty talents was paid by those who inhabit the right fide of the Hellefpont, by the Phrygians and Thracians of Afia, by the Paphlagonians, Mariandynians 14, and Syrians; and these nations constituted the third fatrapy. The Cilicians were obliged to pro-4/2 duce every day a white horse, that is to lay, three hundred and fixty annually, with five hundred talents of filver; of thefe one hundred and forty were appointed for the payment of the cavalry ftationed for the guard of the country; the remaining three 102 Melyeans.]-Thefe people are in all probability the fame with the Milyans of whom Herodotus speaks, book i. c. clxxiii. and book vii. c. clxxvii. They were fometimes called Mi-, nyans, from Minos, king of Crete.-T. 103 Hygenians.]-For Hygennians Weffeling proposes to read Obigenians.-T. 104 Mariandynians.]-Thefe were on the coaft of Bithynia, where was faid to be the Acherufian cave, through which Hercules dragged up Cerberus to light, whofe foam then produced aconite. Thus Dionyfius Periegetes, 1. 788. That facred plain where erft, as fablers tell, The deep-voic'd dog of Pluto, ftruggling hard hundred hundred and fixty were received by Darius: these formed the fourth fatrapy. 165 XCI. The tribute levied from the fifth fatrapy was three hundred and fifty talents. Under this district was comprehended the tract of country which extended from the city Pofideium, built on the frontiers of Cilicia and Syria, by Amphilochus, fon of Amphiaraus ; as far as Egypt, part of Arabia alone excluded, which paid no tribute. The fame fatrapy, moreover, included all Phoenicia, the Syrian Paleftine, and the isle of Cyprus. Seven hundred talents were exacted from Egypt, from the Africans which border upon Ægypt, from Cyrene and Barce, which are comprehended in the Ægyptian district. The produce of the fishery of the lake Moeris was not included in this, neither was the corn, to the amount of feven hundred talents more; one hundred and twenty thoufand measures of which were applied to the maintenance of the 105 Amphilochus, fon of Amphiaraus.]-For an account of Amphiaraus, fee book the first, chap. xlvi. The name of the mother of Amphilochus, according to Paufanias, was Eriphyle. He appears to have obtained an esteem and veneration equal to that which was paid to his father. He had an oracle at Mallus, in Cilicia, which place he built; he had also an altar erected to his honour at Athens. His oracle continued in the time of Plutarch, and the mode of confulting it was this:-The perfon who wished an anfwer to fome enquiry paffed a night in the temple, and was fure to have a vifion, which was to be confidered as the reply. There is an example in Dion Caffius, of a picture which was painted in the time of Commodus, defcriptive of an anfwer communicated by this oracle.-T. |