Kitap 3
So Darius son of Hystaspes was made king, 521 B.C. and the whole of Asia (continent) Asia , which Cyrus first and Cambyses after him had conquered, was subject to him, except the Arabians; these did not yield as of slaves to the Persians, but were united to them by friendship, having given Cambyses passage into Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt , which the Persians could not enter without the consent of the Arabians.
Darius took wives from the noblest houses of Iran [53,32] (nation), Asia Persia , marrying Cyrus' daughters Atossa and Artystone; Atossa had been a wife of her brother Cambyses and afterwards of the Magus; Artystone was a virgin.
He also married a daughter of Cyrus' son Smerdis, whose name was Parmys, and the daughter of Otanes who had discovered the truth about the Magus; and everything was full of his power. First he made and set up a carved stone, upon which was cut the figure of a horseman, with this inscription: “Darius son of Hystaspes, aided by the excellence of his horse” (here followed the horse's name) “and of Oebares his groom, got possession of the kingdom of Iran [53,32] (nation), Asia Persia .”
Having done these things in Iran [53,32] (nation), Asia Persia , he divided his dominions into twenty provinces, which they call satrapies;On the following list see the introduction to this book. and having divided his dominions and appointed governors, he instructed each people to pay him tribute, consolidating neighboring peoples and distributing outlying peoples among different provinces, passing over those adjoining.
I will now show how he divided his provinces and the tributes which were paid him yearly. Those that paid in silver were required to render the weight of a Babylonian talent; those that paid in gold, of a Euboic talent; the Babylonian talent being equal to seventy-eight Euboic minae.
In the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses after him there was no fixed tribute, but payment was made in gifts. It is because of this fixing of tribute, and other similar ordinances, that the Persians called Darius the merchant, Cambyses the master, and Cyrus the father; for Darius made petty profit out of everything, Cambyses was harsh and arrogant, Cyrus was merciful and always worked for their well-being.
The Ionians, Magnesians of Asia (continent) Asia , Aeolians, Carians, Lycians, Milyans, and Pamphylians, on whom Darius laid one joint tribute, paid a revenue of four hundred talents of silver. This was established as his first province. The Mysians, Lydians, Lasonians, Cabalians, and Hytennians paid five hundred talents; this was the second province.
The third comprised the Hellespontians on the right of the entrance of the straits, the Phrygians, Thracians of Asia (continent) Asia , Paphlagonians, Mariandynians, and Syrians; these paid three hundred and sixty talents of tribute.
The fourth province was Cilicia [34.333,36.666] (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Cilicia . This rendered three hundred and sixty white horses, one for each day in the year, and five hundred talents of silver. A hundred and forty of these were expended on the horsemen who were the guard of Cilicia [34.333,36.666] (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Cilicia ; the three hundred and sixty that remained were paid to Darius.
The fifth province was the country (except the part belonging to the Arabians, which paid no tribute) between Posideion, a city founded on the Cilician and Syrian border by Amphilochus son of Amphiaraus, and Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt ; this paid three hundred and fifty talents; in this province was all +Phoenicia (region (general)), Asia Phoenicia , and the part of +Syria [38,35] (nation), Asia Syria called +Palestine [35.333,31.916] (region (general)), Asia Palestine , and Cyprus [33,35] (island), Asia Cyprus .
The sixth province was Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt and the neighboring parts of Libya [17,25] (nation), Africa Libya , and Shahhat [21.866,32.833] (inhabited place), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya, Africa Cyrene and +Al Marj [20.833,32.5] (inhabited place), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya, Africa Barca , all of which were included in the province of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt . From here came seven hundred talents, besides the income in silver from the fish of the Birkat Qarun [30.666,29.466] (salt lake), Egypt, Africa lake Moeris ;
besides that silver and the assessment of grain that was given also, seven hundred talents were paid; for a hundred and twenty thousand bushels of grain were also assigned to the Persians quartered at the White Wall of Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa Memphis and their allies.
The Sattagydae, Gandarii, Dadicae, and Aparytae paid together a hundred and seventy talents; this was the seventh province; the eighth was Shush [48.333,32.2] (inhabited place), Khuzestan, Iran, Asia Susa and the rest of the Cissian country, paying three hundred talents.
From Babylon [44.4,32.55] (deserted settlement), Babil, Iraq, Asia Babylon and the rest of Assyria came to Darius a thousand talents of silver and five hundred castrated boys; this was the ninth province; +Hamadan [48.583,34.766] (inhabited place), Hamadan, Iran, Asia Ecbatana and the rest of Media, with the Paricanians and Orthocorybantians, paid four hundred and fifty talents, and was the tenth province.
The eleventh comprised the Caspii, Pausicae, Pantimathi, and Daritae, paying jointly two hundred;
The twelfth, the Bactrians as far as the land of the Aegli; these paid three hundred and sixty. The thirteenth, the Pactyic country and Armenia (region (general)), Asia Armenia and the lands adjoining as far as the Black Sea [38,42] (sea) Euxine sea ; these paid four hundred.
The fourteenth province was made up of the Sagartii, Sarangeis, Thamanaei, Utii, Myci, and the inhabitants of those islands of the southern sea on which the king settles the so-called displaced people;The regular term for the peoples of individuals who were transplanted from the western into the eastern parts of the Persian empire; the ἀνα‐ implying removal from the sea to the highlands. these together paid a tribute of six hundred talents.
The Sacae and Caspii were the fifteenth, paying two hundred and fifty. The Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdi, and Arii were the sixteenth, paying three hundred.
The Paricanii and Ethiopians of Asia (continent) Asia , the seventeenth, paid four hundred; the Matieni, Saspiri, and Alarodii were the eighteenth, and two hundred talents were the appointed tribute.
The Moschi, Tibareni, Macrones, Mossynoeci, and Mares, the nineteenth province, were ordered to pay three hundred. The Indians made up the twentieth province. These are more in number than any nation of which we know, and they paid a greater tribute than any other province, namely three hundred and sixty talents of gold dust.
Now if these Babylonian silver talents be calculated in Euboic money, the sum is seen to be nine thousand eight hundred and eighty Euboic talents:
and the gold coin being thirteen times the value of the silver, the gold-dust is found to be worth four thousand six hundred and eighty Euboic talents. Therefore it is seen by adding all together that Darius collected a yearly tribute of fourteen thousand five hundred and sixty talents; I take no account of figures less than ten.
This was Darius' revenue from Asia (continent) Asia and a few parts of Libya [17,25] (nation), Africa Libya . But as time went on he drew tribute also from the islands and the dwellers in Europe (continent) Europe , as far as +Thessaly [22.25,39.5] (region), Greece, Europe Thessaly .
The tribute is stored by the king in this fashion: he melts it down and pours it into earthen vessels; when the vessel is full he breaks the earthenware away, and when he needs money coins as much as serves his purpose.
These were the governments and appointments of tribute. The Persian country is the only one which I have not recorded as tributary; for the Persians live free from all taxes.
As for those on whom no tribute was laid, but who rendered gifts instead, they were, firstly, the Ethiopians nearest to Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt , whom Cambyses conquered in his march towards the long-lived Ethiopians; and also those who dwell about the holy +Nysa [28.1667,37.8667] (Perseus) Nysa ,Probably the mountain called +Barkal [92.433,22.75] (inhabited place), Chittagong, Bangladesh, Asia Barkal in Upper +Nubia [34,22] (region (general)), Africa Nubia ; this is called “sacred” in hieroglyphic inscriptions. where Dionysus is the god of their festivals. These Ethiopians and their neighbors use the same seed as the Indian Callantiae, and they live underground.
These together brought every other year and still bring a gift of two choenixesThe choenix was a measure of about the capacity of a quart. of unrefined gold, two hundred blocks of ebony, five Ethiopian boys, and twenty great elephants' tusks.
Gifts were also required of the Colchians and their neighbors as far as the +Bol'soj Kavkaz [46.833,42] (mountain range), Asia Caucasus mountains (which is as far as the Persian rule reaches, the country north of the +Bol'soj Kavkaz [46.833,42] (mountain range), Asia Caucasus paying no regard to the Persians); these were rendered every four years and are still rendered, namely, a hundred boys and as many maids.
The Arabians rendered a thousand talents' weight of frankincense yearly. Such were the gifts of these peoples to the king, besides the tribute.
All this abundance of gold, from which the Indians send the aforementioned gold-dust to the king, they obtain in the following way.
To the east of the Indian country is sand. Of all the people of Asia (continent) Asia whom we know - even those about whom something is said with precision - the Indians dwell nearest to the dawn and the rising sun; for on the eastern side of +India [77,20] (nation), Asia India all is desolate because of the sand.
There are many Indian nations, none speaking the same language; some of them are nomads, some not; some dwell in the river marshes and live on raw fish, which they catch from reed boats. Each boat is made of one joint of reed.Not the bamboo, apparently, but the “kana,” which sometimes grows to a height of 50 feet.
These Indians wear clothes of bullrushes; they mow and cut these from the river, then weave them crosswise like a mat, and wear them like a breastplate.
Other Indians, to the east of these, are nomads and eat raw flesh; they are called Padaei. It is said to be their custom that when anyone of their fellows, whether man or woman, is sick, a man's closest friends kill him, saying that if wasted by disease he will be lost to them as meat; though he denies that he is sick, they will not believe him, but kill and eat him.
When a woman is sick, she is put to death like the men by the women who are her close acquaintances. As for one that has come to old age, they sacrifice him and feast on his flesh; but not many reach this reckoning, for before that everyone who falls ill they kill.
There are other Indians, again, who kill no living creature, nor plant anything, nor are accustomed to have houses; they eat grass, and they have a grain growing naturally from the earth in its husk, about the size of a millet-seed, which they gather with the husk and boil and eat. When any one of them falls sick, he goes into the desert and lies there, and no one notices whether he is sick or dies.
These Indians whom I have described have intercourse openly like cattle; they are all black-skinned, like the Ethiopians.
Their semen too, which they ejaculate into the women, is not white like other men's, but black like their skin, and resembles in this respect that of the Ethiopians. These Indians dwell far away from the Persians southwards, and were not subjects of King Darius.
Other Indians dwell near the town of Caspatyrus and the Pactyic country,N.E. Afghanistan . Caspatyrus (or Caspapyrus) is said to be probably Cabul. north of the rest of +India [77,20] (nation), Asia India ; these live like the Bactrians; they are of all Indians the most warlike, and it is they who are sent for the gold; for in these parts all is desolate because of the sand.
In this sandy desert are ants,It is suggested that the “ants” may have been really marmots. But even this does not seem to make the story much more probable. not as big as dogs but bigger than foxes; the Persian king has some of these, which have been caught there. These ants live underground, digging out the sand in the same way as the ants in Greece [22,39] (nation), Europe Greece , to which they are very similar in shape, and the sand which they carry from the holes is full of gold.