Music Welcome to snoozecast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us at snoozecast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by Multitudes of Chariots. Tonight we'll read about the Persian Empire at the Zenith of its expansion from the book The Retreat of the 10,000 by Carl Witt, published in 1896. The ancient Persian or Iranian Empire was the largest empire the world had ever seen at its time, spanning from the Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. In the modern era, this empire has been recognized for its imposition of a successful model of centralized bureaucratic administration, its multicultural policy, building complex infrastructure such as road systems and an organized postal system, the use of

official languages across its territories and the development of civil services. Let's get cozy.

Close your eyes.

Relax your body into the softness of your bed.

Now take a few deep breaths. From time to time, in the course of the world's history, the title of great has been given to some monarch who has distinguished himself either by the splendor of his victories or by the value of his services to his fellowmen. We speak, for example, of Alexander the Great and amongst English kings of Alfred the Great. There was, however, one empire, that of Persia, in which the title of Great carried with it no distinction. For in this country, every king was called the Great King, not because it was supposed that his nature was more noble or his actions more splendid than those of other men, but because he was Lord of a vast empire, greater than had ever yet been seen upon the face of the earth. The Persian Empire had been founded about 150 years before the time of this story by Cyrus the Great, who, having succeeded by inheritance to the double throne of Persia and media, had conquered many of the surrounding nations. the kings who came after him extended their sway farther and farther, until at last, in the time of Darius I. There were no less than 56 countries subject to the Great King of Persia. The Great king was looked upon as little less than a god. Everyone who entered his presence threw himself flat upon the ground, as if in the presence of a divine being. It was supposed that a mere subject must of necessity be struck to the earth with sudden blindness on meeting the dazzling rays of such exalted majesty. The court of the Great King was on a scale of the utmost splendor. His chief residence was the city of Susa, but in the hot season he preferred the city of Ekbatana, which was higher and cooler, and he also stayed occasionally at Babylon and at Persepolis. At each of these places there was an immense palace adorned with every conceivable magnificence, and from the discoveries recently made amongst the ruins of Persepolis, we can form some idea of what the palace of the great king of Persia must have been like. The palace of Persepolis stood upon a terrace above the rest of the city, and all around it were houses of a simpler kind, used for lodging the soldiers and the civil and military officers who were attached to the king's person and to ate daily at his expense. Their must in all have been about 15,000 of them, including the 10,000 soldiers of the Royal Bodyguard. The gate of the palace was approached by two superb flights of marble stairs, which joined in front of the entrance, and were so wide that ten horsemen could ride a breast up each side. Within the gate was a square building with a front of more than 200 feet. The entrance hall was a magnificent room with a roof supported by a hundred pillars of richly carved stone. And on either side of it were other rooms with beautiful pillars. In all directions, lovely colors and ornaments of gold and silver met the eye. The walls were covered with gigantic sculptures, representing the great kings derriest the first and zirxes, who had built the palace with attendance, with wild beasts. Together with the sculptures were inscriptions which can be read even now. This is a translation of the beginning of one of them. I am Darius, the great king, the king of kings, the king of these many countries. When the great king gave an audience, he sat upon a golden throne with a canopy above him which was held in its place by four slender pillars of gold adorned with precious stones.

The whole effect was so dazzling that it would be hard to imagine anything more splendid, even in a fairy tale. On these occasions, and on all feast days, the king appeared in a purple robe with a magnificent mantle of the same purple color, richly embroidered. Round his waist was a golden girdle, and from it their hung a golden saber glittering with precious stones. On his head was a tiara, a sword of pointed cap worn by the Persians. Only the king might wear his tiara standing upright. All subjects were obliged to press down the point, or arrange the cap in some other way. The color of the royal tiara was blue and white, and it was encircled with a golden crown. It was only on rare occasions that the king walked, and then only within the precincts of the palace. On these occasions, carpets were spread before him, on which no foot but his might tread. When he rode beyond the palace, the right of helping him into his saddle was bestowed as a mark of great distinction upon one of the most highly favored lords of the Empire. More frequently, however, the king preferred to drive in his chariot, and at these times the road he intended to take was specially cleansed and strewn with myrtle as if for a festival and filled with clouds of incense. It was lined more over with armed men on both sides and guards who prevented any approach to the royal chariot. If a distant journey had to be undertaken, no less than 1,200 camels and a whole multitude of chariots, wagons, and other means of transport were required to convey the Great King, his countless attendants, and his endless baggage. All Persian men were allowed to have many wives, and the Great King had often a very large number. Darius, for example, had 360, almost as many as there are days in the year. Yet only one of these was the queen. All the rest were so far beneath her that, when she approached, they had to bow themselves to the ground before her. Like all Persians, the king only ate once a day, but the meal lasted a very long time. He sat at the center of the table, upon a divan framed in gold and covered with rich hangings. At his right hand was the Queen Mother, at his left the Queen Consort, the Queen consort.

The princes and intimate friends of the king, who were called his table companions, usually took their meal in an adjoining room. On feast days, however, they were permitted to dine in the royal presence. And on these occasions seats made of cushions or carpets were placed for them upon the floor. The power of the great king was bounded by no law. From his will there was no appeal. In the whole, there was only one person whom he was required to treat with any kind of respect. This was his mother. Under the vigorous rule of Darius I, the Empire of Persia had attained its utmost limits. At that time, 56 subject countries offered tribute to the Great King. But from this moment, it gradually declined in power and in extent. For the wisest head and the strongest arm, it would have been no easy task to govern such a dominion, and the successors of Darius were neither wise nor strong. Neither was the Persian nation what it had been in the time of the great Cyrus, when even the nobles were simple in their habits, and when every Persian made it his pride to ride well, to shoot well, and always to speak the truth. Now, nobles and people alike had become luxurious and pleasure-loving, caring for nothing but to increase their own power and wealth, no matter at what cost to the subject nations. The Empire was unwieldy in size, and moreover it lacked any real bond of union, the various this nation's of was composed differed in language, in manners, and in habits of life. Each province was interested in its own local affairs, but was profoundly indifferent to the fate of the Empire at large. In order to provide for the government of the Empire, it was subdivided into provinces, and each province, or group of two or three provinces, was placed under the charge of one of the great lords. It was the duty of these governors, or sautraps, as they were called, to act as the representative of the sovereign, and to maintain law and order. In order that the king might be informed as quickly as possible of any disturbances in the provinces, a very complete system of postal communication had been arranged. Besides the fortresses, there were stations all along the roads, at intervals of about 15 miles apart, where the traveler could find shelter for the night. Here the swiftest horses and horsemen were always waiting in readiness to carry on the post at full gallop without a moment's delay, whether in burning sun or blinding snow, and thus there came to be a saying that the Persian post-writers fly faster than the cranes. A messenger sent from Susa to Sardis, traveling at the ordinary speed, would take a hundred days to reach his destination. But by means of the King's Posts, a letter could be conveyed in six or seven days and nights. It must not be supposed, however, that ordinary letters were carried so fast. The King's posts were entirely reserved for the King's business, and by this means he had the advantage of getting news from the provinces and sending back his commands before anyone else knew what was going on. Beyond the Great Persian Empire, on the other side of the Ellis Pant, was the little country of Elos or Greece, The Elines or Greeks, as they are often called, were a race of men who had for centuries trained themselves in the art of noble thinking and noble living, and they looked down with some scorn on their less cultivated neighbors to whom they gave one in all the name of barbarians. In many respects, Elos was a complete contrast to Persia. The country was a very small one and it was further divided into a number of tiny states, each with a free government of its own and independent of all the rest. To the Eileen people, the one supreme necessity of life was freedom, and consequently in almost all the states the government was in the hands of men chosen by the people. Now and again a monarchy would be established in one or other of the states, but it never lasted long. The Alines were apt to overlook the advantages of a firm, stable government. The citizens themselves were free, and the Alines were convinced that honor, courage, and high-mindedness can only flourish among free men. About the year 423, before Christ, the throne of Persia was occupied by a king named Darius II. His queen, the beautiful parasautis, had borne him two sons, between whose ages there was a difference of no less than 30 years. The elder was called Arta Zerksis, the younger Cyrus. Parasautis was not an impartial mother. She loved Cyrus far better than Arta Zerksis and desired nothing more ardently than that he should succeed to the throne, rather than his elder brother. The queen was beautiful and wise and clever, and she had great influence over her husband, and seldom failed in persuading him to do as she wished. She hoped therefore to induce the king to name Cyrus as his successor, especially as there was much that could be urged in favor of her plan. It was certainly true that the throne of Persia descended as a rule from the Father to his first born son, but there was nothing to prevent an elder son being passed over in favor of a younger and such a course was not without precedent. the present case, an excuse might be found in the fact that the birth of Arctic Serccies had taken place before his father came to the throne, whereas Cyrus had been born in the purple, and moreover bore the honored name of the greatest of Persian sovereigns. But a much stronger argument was the difference in character between the two men. Artaz Xerxes was weak and indolent, and lived constantly at the King's court, hating exertion of any kind. Cyrus, on the contrary, was active and energetic, and had already given striking proofs of ability, both as a soldier and ruler of men. 4. At the age of 18, he had been appointed sahtrap of various provinces. Cyrus had many friends. He was a man just after the Persian heart, a bold rider, an unrivaled archer and spear-throer, and a passionate lover of the chase. He also excited the admiration of the Persians by his power of drinking an enormous quantity of wine without becoming intoxicated. This was looked upon as a sign of manliness and a great distinction. In the pleasant and peaceful occupation of gardening, Cyrus also took great delight. This charming pursuit had been raised almost to the rank of a religious duty by Zoraster, the founder of the Persian religion, who had taught his disciples that when occupied in the planting and tending of trees useful to men, they were engaged in a good action while pleasing to God. And in consequence

of this precept, almost every palace stood in the center of a large park or tract of enclosed

land covered with beautiful old trees. The palace of Cyrus stood in such a park called by the Persians a paradise. Here he might often be seen attending to the trees with the utmost diligence. Here too was a convenient hunting ground ready to his hand. For the forest was full of wild animals who found abundant pasture in the pleasant glades. As a friend, Cyrus was always generous and open-handed, and he delighted in making small presents as well as great. According to an old custom, every subject who came to his court brought with him gifts, and these Cyrus always accepted, but not for himself. He took them in order that he might divide them among his friends. Sometimes at a banquet, if he observed that the wine said before him was better than usual, would send away part of it to one of his friends with some such message as this. Drink this good wine today with your dearest friend. Or perhaps the gift would consist of half a goose or part of a loaf of bread, which would be taken to the friend with the message, Cyrus has enjoyed this and desires that you should taste it also. If he gave a promise or entered into an agreement, it was certain that he would keep his word. A friendship once formed he ever afterwards regarded a sacred. Anyone who did him a service, whether in war or in peace, was rewarded tenfold. Cyrus was full of hope that the influence of his mother and the favor with which he was regarded by the Persians generally would cause his father to bequeath the throne to him and not to Ardek's success. If the choice of their future sovereign had been left to the people, they would probably have chosen Cyrus. But in Persia, the naming of the successor was the right of the reigning king, and the hopes of Cyrus were doomed to disappointment. Cyrus had many friends at the court, but there was not one who dared to come forward in his behalf except his mother, Queen Parasatus. She indeed was ready to risk everything in order to save her favorite son, and being also the mother of the great king with a sacred claim upon his love and respect, she succeeded at last after endless entreaties in shaking his resolution and inducing him to at least pardon Cyrus.

Arta's circuses was far from being a great man, but he was at least easy-going and good natured, and now his mother so far prevailed upon him that he not only set Cyrus at liberty, also reinstateated him in his former dignities, and allowed him to depart to his own province. It was no small enterprise upon which the mind of Cyrus was now bent. And at first sight, it might well have been pronounced altogether

hopeless. How could a mere governor of a province hope to unseat from his throne, the great King with all the resources of the Empire at his command.

At the most, Cyrus could only reckon upon some 100,000 soldiers, whereas Articurcsese was able to bring more than a million men into the field. On the other hand, however, it might be urged that the Great King could

not at once assemble his whole force. So immense were the distances in this huge empire that a whole year of preparation would be required.

And Cyrus intended, if possible, to take his brother by surprise. He believed moreover that his disadvantage in point of numbers would be more than counterbalanced by the infinitely superior quality of at least a part of his army. It was from among the Helines that he hoped to enlist such troops as could not fail to ensure his success. Some years before this, as he had visited Aelos in the ship that went through the sails on the sea. you