History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

8 HISTORY OF THE PARSTS. [CHAP. I.

mouths of the Indus and the Persian Gulf. Even Byzantium and Macedonia bowed submission to the Lord of Western Asia. The ambition of Darius Hystaspes was then directed to Europe, and Greece offered herself as the first mark and obstacle of his ambition. Though the famous battle of Marathon is alleged to have resulted in a victory for the Greeks, the Persian soldiers, under Mardonias, the general of Darius, are said to have fought with a bravery which elicited the praises of their enemies. Undismayed by this battle, Darius was preparing for a second invasion, and only death prevented his leading a fresh expedition in person. His energy, vigour, foresight, judicious management of his military expeditions, and his administrative ability in the consolidation and extension of the empire conquered by Cyrus, have been highly praised. The well-known historian of the five ancient monarchies has said that he was an organiser, general, statesman, administrator, builder, patron of art and literature, all in one. Xerxes (B.¢. 486) was another of the great kings of Persia. He caused the fate of Greece to tremble in the balance. Of his successes on land in his expedition against that country there is no question, though his naval force met with rude reverses.

When we come to the Sassanian dynasty (A.D. 226), most of the sovereigns of which were engaged in wars

with the Roman emperors, we meet with the great