BABYLON AND PERSIA

"KURUSH, THE KING. THE AKH/KMENIAN."29Iand the Medes were brought under the rule of thePersians." He was not beloved, and was accused ofhaving caused the disaster by his cruel and tyranni¬cal ways. Still Kyros, who was by nature magnani¬mous and mild, did his royal captive no injury, butkept him at his court until his death, honorablytreated and amply provided for.* This revolutiontook place in 549 B.C. The Median Empire, count¬ing from the fall of Nineveh, had lasted fifty-seven 'years.3. So far the narrative of Herodotus is proved bycontemporary monuments to be correct ; but only inportions and in substance. The details are histori¬cally as worthless as the Greek stories about Semir¬amis, and evidently derived from the same sourceand Persian epic ballads, largely mixedwith myth. This narrative, too widely known to beignored, must be briefly touched upon, even at therisk of .spoiling by condensation one of the mostentertaining, and best-told stories in the world. Theonly touch of reality about it is the statement thatAstyages had no son, which, however, immediatelybranches off into folk-lore. First of all the king hasa dream, which the Magi interpret as meaning thatthe son of his daughter Mandane would rule thewhole of Asia, whereupon he marries her away fromhis court to a Persian named Kambyses, a privateman, " of good family, indeed, but of a quiet temper,whom he looked on as much inferior to a Mede ofeven middle condition." In consequence of anotherdream, he sends for Mandane,'so as to have her and* See Herodotus, Book I., 123-130. ^,^^ J^'JKDf de /> ^