bpon the throne, giving out that he was the true Smerdis, the fon of Cyrus; and immediately difpatched heralds into all the parts of the empire, to give notice of Smerdis's acceffion, and to require all the fubjects thereof to pay him their obedience. (1) Cambyfes caufed the herald, that came with these orders into Syria, to be arrested; and having frictly examined him in the prefence of Prexafpes, who had received orders to kill his brother, he found that the true Smerdis was certainly dead, and he, who had ufurped the throne, was no other than Smerdis the Magian. Upon this he made great lamentations, that, - being deceived by a dream, and the identity of the names, he had been induced to destroy his own brother; and immediately gave orders for his army to march, and cut off the ufurper. But, as he was mounting his horfe for this expedition, his fword flipped out of its fcabbard, and gave him a wound in the thigh, of which he died foon after. The Egyptians remarking, that it was in the fame part of the body, where he had wounded their god Apis, reckoned it as a judgment upon him for that facrilegious impiety. 1 (u) While he was in Egypt, having confulted the oracle of Butus, which was famous in that conntry, he was told, that he should die at Ecbatana; which understanding of Ecbatana in Media, he refolved to preferve his life by never going thither but what he thought to avoid in Media, he found in Syria. For the town, where he lay fick of this wound, was of the fame name, being alfo called Ecbatana. Of which when he was informed, taking it for certain that he muft die there, he affembled all the chief of the Perfians together, and reprefenting to them the true ftate of the cafe, that it was Smerdis, the Magian, who had ufurped the throne, earnestly exhorted them not to fubmit to that impoftor, nor to fuffer the fovereignty to pafs from the Perfians again to the Medes, of which nation the Magian was, but to take care to fet up a king over them of their own people. The Perfians, thinking he had faid all this out of hatred to his brother, had no regard to it; but upon his death quietly fubmitted to him, whom they found on the throne, fuppofing him to be the true Smerdis. (x) Cambyfes reigned feven years and five months. In fcripture he is called Ahafuerus. When he firft came to the crown, the enemies of the Jews made their addresses directly to him, defiring him to hinder the building of their temple. And their application was not in vain. Indeed he did not openly revoke the edict of his father Cyrus, perhaps out of fome remains of refpect for his father's memory, but in a great meafure (3) Her, 1. iii, c, 62—64. (2) Cap. 64-66. (x) 1 Efd. iv. 4, 6. fure fruftrated its intent, by the many difcouragements he laid the Jews under; so that the work went on very flowly during his reign. CHA P. III. The HISTORY of SMERDIS, the MAGIAN. HIS prince is called in fcripture Artaxerxes. As foon as he was fettled in the throne, by the death of Cambyfes, (y) the inhabitants of Samaria wrote a letter to him, fetting forth what a turbulent, feditious and rebellious people the Jews were. By virtue of this letter they obtained an order from the king, prohibiting the Jews from proceeding any farther in the rebuilding of their city and temple. So that the work was fufpended till the fecond year of Darius, for about the Space of two years. The Magian, fenfible how important it was for him, that the impoftor should not be difcovered, affected, according to the custom of the eastern monarchs in those times, never to appear in publick, but to live retired in his palace, and there tranfa&t all his affairs by the intercourfe of his eunuchs, without admitting any but his most intimate confidents to his prefence. (x) And, the better to fecure himself in the poffeffion of the throne he had ufurped, he ftudied from his first acceffion to gain the affections of his fubjects, by granting them an exemption from taxes, and from all military fervice for three years; and did fo many things for their benefit, that his death was much lamented by the generality of the Perfians, on the revolution that happened afterwards. (a) But thefe very precautions, he made use of to keep himfelf out of the way of being discovered either by the nobility or the people, did but make it the more fufpected, that he was not the true Smerdis. He had married all his predeceffors wives, and among the reft Atoffa a daughter of Cyrus, and Phedyma a daughter of Otanes, a noble Perfian of the first quality. This nobleman fent a trufty meffenger to his daughter, to know of her, whether the king was really Smerdis, the fon of Cyrus, or fome other man. She answered, that having never seen Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, fhe could not tell. He then by a fecond meffage, defired her to enquire of Atoffa, (who could not but know her own brother) whether this were he or not. Whereupon the informed him, that the present king kept all (y) A. M. 3482. Ant. J. C. 522. Efd, iv. 7-14. c. 67. (a) Cap. 69. his (x) Her. L. iii his wives apart, fo that they never could converse with one another, and that therefore she could not come at Atoffa, to ask this queftion of her. He fent her a third meffage, whereby he directed her, that when he should next lie with her, fhe fhould take the opportunity, when he was faft afleep, to feel whether he had any ears or no. For Cyrus having caufed the ears of Smerdis the Magian to be cut off for fome crime, he told her, that if the perfon the lay with had ears, the might fatisfy herself, that he was Smerdis the fon of Cyrus; but if not, he was Smerdis the Magian, and therefore unworthy of poffeffing either the crown or her. Phedyma, having received thefe inftructions, took the next opportunity of making the trial fhe was directed to, and finding that the perfon fhe lay with had no ears, she sent word to her father of it, whereby the whole fraud was difcovered. (b) Otanes immediately entered into a confpiracy with five more of the chief Perfian nobility; and Darius, an illuftrious Perfian nobleman, whofe father Hykafpes was governor of Perfia, coming very feafonably, as they were forming their plan, was admitted into the affociation, and vigorously promoted the execution. The affair was conducted with great fe. crecy, and the very day fixed, left it should be discovered. (c) While they were concerting their measures, an extraor dinary occurrence, which they had not the leaft expectation of, ftrangely perplexed the Magians. In order to remove all fufpicion, they had propofed to Prexafpes, and obtained a promife from him, that he would publickly declare before the people, who were to be affembled for that purpose, that the king upon the throne was truly Smerdis, the fon of Cyrus. When the people were affembled, which was on the very fame day, Prexafpes spoke from the top of a tower, and to the great aftonishment of all prefent, fincerely declared all that had paffed; that he had killed with his own hand Smerdis the fon of Cyrus, by Cambyfes's order; that the perfon who now poffeffed the throne was Smerdis the Magian; that he begged par don of the gods and men for the crime he had committed, by compulfion, and against his will. Having faid this, he threw himfelf headlong from the top of the tower, and broke his neck. It is eafy to imagine, what confufion the news of this accident occafioned in the palace. (d) The confpirators, without knowing any thing of what had happened, were going to the palace at this juncture, and were fuffered to enter unsuspected. For the outer guard, know (b) Her. l. iii. c. 70-730 The province fo called, ing whenever they would, and in all publick affairs were the fir to deliver their opinions. Whereas the Perfians wore their tiara or turban with the top bent backwards, except the king, who wore his erect; thefe lords had the privilege of wearing theirs with the top bent forwards, becaufe, when they attacked the Magi, they had bent theirs in that manner, the better to know one another in the hurry and confufion. From that time forwards, the Perfian kings of this family always had seven counsellors, honoured with the fame privilege. Here I fhall conclude the hiftory of the Perfian empire, referving the remainder of it for the following volumes. CHAP. IV. The manners and customs of the ASSYRIANS, BABYLONIANS, LYDIANS, MEDES, and PERSIANS. I SHALL give in this place a joint account of the manners and cuftoms of all thefe feveral nations, because they agree in feveral points; and if I was to treat them feparately, I fhould be obliged to make frequent repetitions; and that, excepting the Perfians, the ancient authors fay very little of the manners of the other nations. I fhall reduce what I have to fay of them to thefe four heads: I. Their government. II. Their art of war. III. Their arts and fciences: And IV. Their religion. After which I fhall lay down the caufes of the declenfion and ruin of the great Perfian empire.. ARTICLE I. Of GOVERNMENT. AFTER a fort account of of educating the of of Perfia, and the manner of educating the children of their kings, I fhall proceed to confider thefe few things: Their publick council, wherein the affairs of ftate were confidered; the adminiftration of juftice; their care of their provinces; and the good order obferved in their revenues. SECT. SECT. I. Their monarchical form of government. The refpe&t they paid their kings. The manner of educating their children. M ONARCHICAL, or regal government, as we call it, is of all others the most ancient, the moft univerfal, the best adapted to keep the people in peace and union, and the least exposed to the revolutions and viciffitudes incident to ftates. For these reasons the wifeft writers among the ancients, as Plato, Ariftotle, Plutarch, and, before them all, Herodotus, have thought fit to prefer this form of government to all others. It is likewife the only form, that was ever established among the eaftern nations, a republican government being utterly unknown in that part of the world. (b) Those people paid extraordinary honours to the prince. on the throne, because in his perfon they refpected the character of the deity, whofe image and vicegerent he was with regard to them, being placed on the throne by the hands of the fupreme governor of the world, and cloathed with his autho rity and power, in order to be the minifter of his providence, and the difpenfer of his goodness towards the people. In this manner did the Pagans themselves in old times both think and fpeak: (i) Principem dat Deus, qui erga omne hominum genus vice Jua fungatur. Thefe fentiments are very laudable and juft. For certainly the most profound refpect and reverence are due to the fupreme power; because it cometh from God, and is entirely appointed for the good of the publick: Befides, it is evident, that an authority not refpected according to the full extent of his commiffion, muft thereby either become ufelefs, or at least very much limited in the good effects, which ought to flow from it. But in the times of paganifm thefe honours and homages, though just and reasonable in themselves, were often carried too far; the chriftian being the only religion, that has known how to keep within bounds in that particular. * We honour the emperor, faid Tertullian in the name of all the Chriftians; but in fuch a manner, as is lawful for us, and proper for him; that is, as a man, who is next after God in rank and authority, from whom he has received all that he is, and whatever he has, and who knows no fuperior but God alone. For this reafon (b) Plut. in Themift. p. 125. ad Princ, indoc. p. 780. in Paneg. Traj. * Colimus Imperatorem, fic, quomodo & nobis licet, & ipfi expedit; ut hominem à Deo fecundum, & quicquid eft, à Deo Scap. he (i) Plin. confecutum, & Tertul. L. ad |