The Kingdom of Darius

When Darius was established in his kingdom he divided it into twenty provinces, and set rulers in each, calling them satraps. And to each province he appointed a set tribute, either of gold or silver; for before his days, when Cyrus was king, and afterwards in the days of Cambyses, there was no set tribute, but the nations brought gifts to the King. For this reason the Persians were wont to say that Darius was a trader, and Cambyses a master, and Cyrus a father; for that Darius made a trade of everything, and Cambyses was violent and harsh, but that Cyrus was gentle as a father is gentle to his children, and devised for his people all manner of good things.

Darius ruled over all Asia, only that the Arabians were not subject to him but friends; and indeed, but for their friendship, the Persians had not conquered Egypt. Nevertheless they brought gifts to the King, a thousand talents of frankincense by the year. The other nations brought a tribute of gold or silver according to their power. But the people of Cilicia brought also three hundred and sixty white horses, one for every day in the year. And the manner of the King with his tribute is this. He causeth it to be melted down; and when it is melted it is poured into earthen vessels, which being broken away there remains a mass of gold or silver. And if the King need money he takes as much as he will, and it is coined. But of all the nations there is none that payeth more tribute than the Indians, for these furnish three hundred and sixty talents of gold dust by the year.

Of these Indians there are many strange things to be told. There is a tribe among them called the Padæans that has this custom. If one of them be sick, either man or woman, they deal with him after this fashion. The man's friends come together to kill him, saying that if he be suffered to pine and waste away with sickness, his flesh will suffer damage. And though the man protest most vehemently that he is by no means sick, they pay no heed to his words, but slay him and make a feast of his flesh. And if it be a woman that is sick, then the women that commonly consort with her deal with her in the same way. And if it so chance that any one live to old age, him they sacrifice to the Gods and so devour. But of these there are but few, seeing that every one that falleth into any kind of disease is slain. Other Indians there are that will kill no manner of living creature. These live on a seed that groweth in their country of about the bigness of millet.

The Indians that gather the gold are the most warlike of all; and the way of gathering it is this. There is near to this people a sandy desert, and in this desert dwell great ants, somewhat smaller of size than dogs but bigger than foxes. (The Persian King keepeth some of these ants which the hunters have caught for him.) These ants make their dwellings by burrowing under the earth in the same manner as do the ants in Greece, to which indeed they are very much like in shape. Now the sand which they throw up is full of gold. The Indians therefore go into the desert after this sand, each man having with him three camels, yoked together side by side, a she-camel in the middle and a male camel on either side. The man rides on the she-camel and chooseth for himself one that has at home a young foal. Now the she-camels are as swift to run as horses, and for the bearing of burdens much better.

When the Indians have thus equipped themselves, they set out to seek for the gold. And they so order the time of their going that the time of seeking may be that when the day is at its hottest, for then the ants hide themselves in the sand by reason of the heat. And in these lands the sun is hottest in the morning, and not as he is wont to be elsewhere, at noon, but rather from his rising to the time of the closing of the market. Then indeed he scorcheth more furiously than he doth in Greece at the noonday, so that the men of that country are fain, it is said, to drench themselves with water. But at midday he burns the Indians as much and no more than he doth other men. But in the afternoon the heat is as the heat of the morning elsewhere, and at sunset there is great cold. So soon as the Indians are come to the gold country, they fill with sand the wallets which they have with them, and so depart with all the speed they may. For the ants find out their coming by the smell, and pursue. And these creatures, say the Persians, are swifter than anything else in the world; nor would any of the Indians escape but that that they are already far upon their way before that the ants have gathered themselves together. And they say that in the flight the male camels, which indeed are not so fleet of foot as the she-camels, begin to drag behind both the one and the other, but the she-camels never slacken their speed one wit, for they remember the young ones which they have left behind them. Thus do the Indians get the most part of their gold, but some they dig out of the earth, only of this there is no great plenty.

A Lion Hunt.

Such countries as are at the ends of the world bear all things, it would seem, of the very best and largest, even as Greece, which is in the centre of the world, has its seasons most excellently well tempered. So in India, which lieth more to the east than all other countries, the four-footed beasts and the birds are bigger than may be seen elsewhere. Here also there is much gold, of which some is dug from the earth, and some washed down by the rivers, and some, as has been said, stolen from the ants. Also there is in this country a tree which hath a fruit like unto wool; from the fruit of which tree the Indians make their garments.

Arabia lieth farther to the south than all other lands; and in this land only are found frankincense, and cassia, and cinnamon. All these spices the Arabians get not without much trouble and danger; for the trees on which the frankincense grows are guarded by flying serpents, of which there is a great multitude round about each tree. These are small and of various colours; and they drive them from the trees by burning the gum styrax beneath them.

As to the cassia, they gather it thus: they cover their whole bodies and faces with ox-hide and other skins, but the eyes they leave uncovered, and so go seeking the cassia. Now this cassia groweth in a lake, and the lake is not deep, but about it dwell certain winged beasts, very like to bats. These screech in horrible fashion and are fierce exceedingly, and the men keep them from their eyes, and so gather the cassia.

But as to the gathering of the cinnamon, there is something yet more wonderful to be told. For where it groweth and what manner of country beareth it they know not. But they affirm, though the thing indeed is scarcely to be believed, that it groweth in the same land in which Bacchus was reared. The Arabians say that great birds carry the sticks (which the Greeks call cinnamon, having learnt this word from the Phœnicians) for the building of their nests, and that these nests are fastened with mud to the face of cliffs that are very steep and such as a man can by no means approach. But the Arabians devise this way of getting the sticks. They cut up the oxen and asses and other beasts that die in their land into pieces as great as may be, and carry these pieces of flesh to the country of the cinnamon, and having laid them down near to the cliffs, so depart. Then the birds fly down and lay hold of the pieces of flesh, and carry them up to their nests; but these, not being able to bear the weight, are broken down and come to the earth. Then the men return and gather the sticks of cinnamon, and send it out to other countries.

So many are the spices that grow in this land of Arabia that the whole country hath a marvellously sweet smell. It hath also two strange kinds of sheep, such as are not to be found elsewhere. The one kind have long tails, three cubits long at the least. And that these tails may not get wounded, as indeed they would were they dragged along upon the earth, the shepherds do so much carpenter's work as to make trucks for the tails. The tails are put upon trucks, each sheep having a truck for himself. The other kind have their tails very broad, even to the breadth of a cubit.

There is a plain in the land of Asia that is shut in with mountains on every side, but through the mountains there are five passes. This plain once belonged to the Chorasmians, but since the Persians have had the rule of Asia it hath belonged to the Great King. Now from the mountains wherewith this plain is shut in there floweth a great river, and the name of this river is Aces. Now in old times this river was divided into seven streams, and these watered the countries of the five nations that dwell round about the plain, for a stream flowed through each of the passes. But since the Persians have had the rule of Asia it hath fared otherwise with these nations. For the Great King hath built up the passes of the mountains, and set at each one of them great gates. And so, the water being shut off from the channels whereby it was wont to flow, the whole plain within the mountain hath become a great sea, for the river runneth into it, but has no way by which it may run out. Wherefore these nations, that were wont of old times to use the water, are grievously troubled. In the winter, indeed, they have rain from heaven as do other men, but in summer, when they have sown their millet and sesame, they have need of water. Then as no water is given to them, they come with their wives to the land of the Persians, and stand round about the doors of the Great King, and make a great wailing, and the King commandeth that they should open the doors that lead to the land of those that need the water the most. And when this land hath drunk enough, then the doors are shut, and the King gives command that the doors of those that need rain most of them that are left should be opened. But indeed it is said that the King granteth not the waters till he shall have received great gifts over and above the tribute.