Darius the Great: Ancient Ruler of the Persian Empire

by Jacob Abbott

The chronicles of Darius the Great are some of the greatest annals in Persian history. In about 600 B.C., the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great was on a campaign to expand his dominion and obtain some additional glory by defeating certain uncivilized tribes to the north, beyond the Araxes. One night, after he had crossed a mighty river, on the way to his triumphs, he had a remarkable dream. His dream was that Darius, the son of one of his advisers, and a non-heir to the throne, appeared to him with vast wings growing from his shoulders, overshadowing the whole known world. To Cyrus, it seemed that Darius would eventually hold sway over his empire, and immediately sent for Hystaspes, the father of Darius, to keep a close eye on him until such a time as Cyrus could return. Cyrus, in fact, was killed in a battle, never to return. The heir-ship was passed to one of Cyrus' two rightful sons, Cambyses.

Under his new reign, Cambyses undertook to expand his empire and conquer new lands. He set his sights on Egypt, whose king he felt, had betrayed his father in a convoluted scheme. While there he achieved great victories against the people of Egypt, however, on his way back, he heard of a conspiracy that his brother Smerdis had been killed and an impostor had usurped the throne back in Susa, the capital city. A local magician also named Smerdis who bore a remarkable likeness to the heir, had taken his place. In his haste to return to the capital, and with great irony, Cambyses suffered a nasty wound while mounting his horse as his blade fell from its sheath. Unfortunately, the wound turned out to be fatal, and the impersonator was then firmly in power.

Amongst the conspirators that helped put the false Smerdis in power, was
the distant cousin of Cambyses, and thus of Cyrus, the same Darius who
appeared in the prophetic vision which Cyrus had dreamt of some time
before. In the end, a contest was decided to determine the next king of
the Persian Empire. As the story goes, Darius played a deception at the
competition, and thus succeeded to the throne, and the rest, as they
say, is history. The narrative of his achievements were first found,
engraved in multiple scripts, high on a rock wall in on Behistun
mountain, on the main highway between present-day Iraq and Iran. First
discovered in 1621 by an Italian traveler, it wasn't until the early
18th century that Sir Henry Rawlinson was able to use the trilingual
translation to finally unlock the secrets of cuneiform writing, and thus
the fertile history of the Middle East. 286 pages o illustrated

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Middle East, Historical, Ancient History, Asia

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1850

About the author

Abbott was born at Hallowell, Maine to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820; studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824; was tutor in 1824-1825, and from 1825 to 1829 was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.

He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.

His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Work, Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and the The Parent's Assistant.
Fewacres in 1906, Abbott's residence at Farmington, Maine

His brothers, John S.C. Abbott and Gorham Dummer Abbott, were also authors. His sons, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, both eminent lawyers, Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott, a clergyman, were also well-known authors.

Reviews

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrative carried me along and held my interest.

Random responses:

I hadn't known that Darius was *not* a descendant of Cyrus.

The story of Darius' ascent to power includes the dastardly deeds of Cyrus' son, Cambyses.

I enjoyed learning about the Greek physician, Democedes.

It was unusual to read about the Battle of Marathon from the perspective of the Persians.

Abbott encapsulates the life of Darius

Darius performed no great exploit, and he accomplished no great object while he lived; and he did not even leave behind him any strong impressions of personal character. There is in his history, and in the position which he occupies in the minds of man, greatness without dignity, success without merit, vast and long-continued power without effects accomplished or objects gained,
and universal and perpetual renown without honor or applause.

Onward to Xerxes!

[Mana.Fa]

هیچ ستاره ای بهش نمیدم کتاب اینقد مضخرف و جانب دار طرف یه پتک برداشته افتاده به جون ایرانیا و اینکه چرا باید ترجمه شه این چرتو پرتتتت

[Matin Pyron · Rating 1 out of 5]

کتاب بایستی اصل بی طرفی را رعایت کند ولی افسوس
کتاب یه تنه فقط ایرانیان رو تمسخر کرده و ما را از رشک و حسادت،وحشی و بربر نشان داده
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پر از اشتباهات و غلط های تاریخی غیر قابل بخشش بود ❗
۱) اول از همه اینکه ایرانیان بربر نبودند و هیچ وقت برده داری نمی کردند برخلاف گزافه گویی های هرودوت
۲) نویسنده از همان آغاز کتاب که منابع ایرانی را دروغ و تبلیغات پنداشت و هرودوت دشمن ایران را یگانه منبع معتبر انگاشت !
۳)این کتاب از پادشاهی کمبوجيه به بعد فقط به گزافه گویی و افسانه سرایی و دروغ بافی پرداخته و از خشایارشاه چهره ای زشت آفریده
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بنا به گواهی خود هرودوت گزافه گو، یونانیان پیوسته مثل اعراب تازی با هم در جنگ بودند و ایرانیان می کوشیدند میان ایشان صلح برقرار کنند ! دقیقا کاری که داریوش اول انجام داد و پیمان صلح با یونان بست که تا زمان اسکندر این پیمان همچنان برقرار بود و مهم تر از همه اینکه خشایارشا به هیچ عنوان آتن و آکروپلیس را نسوزاند و معبد آکروپل و دلفی در جنگ های داخلی و پلوپنزی سوزانده و ویران گردید
⚠️○●○●○●○●○
وقتی هرودوت از آمار ۵/۵ میلیون سپاه ایران سخن می گوید واضح است که خشایارشا کل جمعیت ایران رو با خودش به میدان جنگ برده بوده :)
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ترجمه کتاب فوق العاده بود ولی کتاب متاسفانه به تحقیر داریوش اول و کمبوجیه دوم پرداخته‌ 😕
خیلی برام جالبه نویسنده این کتاب گفت که تاریخ کسانی را چون اسکندر مورد ستایش قرار می دهد بعلت کارهای بزرگی که برای بشریت کردند و کسانی چون داریوش فقط بعلت مقام بزرگ بودند و نه شخصیت!؟
بله کاملا واضحه کسی مثل اسکندر چونکه خون مردم بی گناه را ریخت و به ناموس ایرانی ها تعدی ‌کرد و کتابخانه های پرسپولیس را سوزانید برای بشریت کارهای مفیدی کرد ولی کسی چون داریوش اول که پیمان صلح با یونان بست و سیاست حقوق بشر کورش کبیر را مسیر خود قرار داد آدم بدی بود!

نوسنده کتاب به هیچ عنوان اصل بی طرفی را رعایت نکرده و به شدت به تحقیر ایران و شاه های عادل هخامنشی پرداخته است

[Bmceuen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story and told well enough to keep you turning the page. However not the best telling of history by contemporary standards. Worth the read, but just know that it reflects the time in which it was written.

[Masen Production · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for light reading. I am thanks to him have downloaded the whole Makers of history on my Kindle.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darius I was a Persian King. He ruled from 522 to 486 BCE. During his reign, he encountered a series of revolts from all across the lands he absorbed into his kingdom. One of these revolts would eventually lead to the infamous Battle of Thermopylae, which the movie 300 is based off of. Darius I was the father of Xerxes I who would lead the drive to get revenge for his father against the revolting Greeks. This book was one I read for a paper I was writing in class, and it was full of useful information for that project. It was well written and was interesting to read, not at all a dry historical biography.

[Karleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying working my way through Jacob Abbott’s Makers of History series. Darius wasn’t a descendent of Cyrus, but through political dealings came to the throne after Cyrus’s terrible son fell on his sword. Darius wasn’t a great conqueror like many leaders of his day, but maybe that is what made him a great and stable monarch. He held Cyrus's enormous empire together, a real administrator. It is interesting to read history from the Persian point of view rather than from the Greek side. The battle of Marathon was discussed where Darius tried to invade Athens, but the Greek soldiers attacked first and won the battle despite being grossly out numbered by the persians. Darius died soon after.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked it had I read it. I just wastn't looking for a Persian ruler, I was looking for a Greek, or Roman.

[Therese]

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