BABYLON AND PERSIA

364 MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA.tribes or clans, who were, in fact, the king's peers andenjoyed perfect equality with him, short only of theroyal power itself.They all wore the royal head¬dress, the tall kidaris or tiara ; they could enter theroyal presence at all times, unannounced ;they werethe king's companions and advisers by right of birth,and it was only from their families he could choosehis first wife, his queen, as it was into their familiesthat he married his own sons and daughters, hisbrothers and sisters. On this ancient and sacredcustom Dareios built his simple plan.The heads ofthe seven tribeshe being one of them and theirleader ^should present themselves at the palacegates, alone, without any followers ; the pretendercould not possibly deny himself tothem withoutviolating a fundamental law of the empire, and hewould, by so doing, arouse suspicion ; once inside thepalace, their own bravery and opportunity should dothe rest.The six chiefs agreed to stand by Dareiosand dare the venture with him.They could taketheir own time to mature the plot, for one who gavehimself out asa son of Kyros could not, without be¬traying himself, attempt any thing against the sevenprinces. Yet he seems to have felt some uneasi¬ness, since, asthe inscription tells us, he removedfrom Persia into Media, and there established him¬self not in the capital, Agbatana, but in a mountaincastle. This removal considerably increased thedifficulty and danger for the conspirators, since hewas there surrounded by his brotherrMagi, who, aswe have seen, formed a separate and powerful classin the country. Still, the plan arranged by the seven