Herodotus relates a curious anecdote of this queen, which, if true,
evinces in another way the peculiar originality of mind and the
ingenuity which characterized all her operations. She caused her tomb
to be built, before her death, over one of the principal gates of the
city. Upon the facade of this monument was a very conspicuous
inscription to this effect: "If any one of the sovereigns, my
successors, shall be in extreme want of money, let him open my tomb
and take what he may think proper; but let him not resort to this
resource unless the urgency is extreme."
The tomb remained for some time after the queen's death quite
undisturbed. In fact, the people of the city avoided this gate
altogether, on account of the dead body deposited above it, and the
spot became well-nigh deserted. At length, in process of time, a
subsequent sovereign, being in want of money, ventured to open the
tomb. He found, however, no money within. The gloomy vault contained
nothing but the dead body of the queen, and a label with this
inscription: "If your avarice were not as insatiable as it is base,
you would not have intruded on the repose of the dead."
It was not surprising that Cyrus, having been so successful in his
enterprises thus far, should now begin to turn his thoughts toward
this great Babylonian empire, and to feel a desire to bring it under
his sway. The first thing, however, was to confirm and secure his
Lydian conquests. He spent some time, therefore, in organizing and
arranging, at Sardis, the affairs of the new government which he
was to substitute for that of Croesus there. He designated certain
portions of his army to be left for garrisons in the conquered cities.
He appointed Persian officers, of course, to command these forces;
but, as he wished to conciliate the Lydians, he appointed many of the
municipal and civil officers of the country from among them. There
would appear to be no danger in doing this, as, by giving the command
of the army to Persians, he retained all the real power directly in
his own hands.
One of these civil officers, the most important, in fact, of all, was
the grand treasurer. To him Cyrus committed the charge of the stores
of gold and silver which came into his possession at Sardis, and of
the revenues which were afterward to accrue. Cyrus appointed a Lydian
named Pactyas to this trust, hoping by such measures to conciliate the
people of the country, and to make them more ready to submit to his
sway. Things being thus arranged, Cyrus, taking Croesus with him,
set out with the main army to return toward the East.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account