BABYLON AND PERSIA

DAREIOS I.: YEARS OF PEACE. 385die of countries with such utterly divergent nationali¬ties and interests is to fall apart, and that the hugeempire could be held together only by the uniformrule of a class of devoted officials, controlled and di¬rected in all their actions by the king and his coun¬cillors." Such a class was formed of the Satraps andtheir subordinate officers. The king appointed themfrom the highest nobility of Persia, whose youngsons were carefully educated for this special purposeunder the king's own eyes.The power entrusted tothe Satraps was very great, and an extraordinarylatitude of action was very wisely allowed to thoseof the remote provinces, who could at any momentbe called upon to face some unexpected emergency,when the delay of communication with the centralauthority could have dangerous and even fatal con¬sequences.Yet they were never suffered to forgetthe duty that bound them on one side to the sover¬eign whom they represented, and on the other to thepeople whose welfare was given into their care.Thus a Satrap of Egypt was put to death by orderof Dareios because he had presumed to coin moneyin his own name. The king, too, frequently under¬took tours of inspection through the empire ; aiiidwoe to the Satrap whose province was found in apoor condition, the people needy, oppressed, anddespoiled, the fields neglected, the plantations un-Icared for, the villages and buildings in bad repair,while favors and honors were liberally bestowed onthose who could show the master a prosperous landand contented population. As the language, religion,and national peculiarities of each country were scru-2C