Other editions of book Darius the Great

ABOUT five or six hundred years before Christ, almost the whole of the interior of Asia was united in one vast empire. The founder of this empire was Cyrus the Great. He was originally a Persian; and the whole empire is often called the Persian monarchy, taking its name from its founder's native land. Cyrus was not contented with having annexed to his dominion all the civilized states of Asia. In the latter part of his life, he conceived the idea that there might possibly be some additional glory and power to be acquired in subduing certain half-savage regions in the north, beyond the Araxes. He accordingly raised an army, and set off on an expedition for this purpose, against a country which was governed by a barbarian queen named Tomyris. He met with a variety of adventures on this expedition, all of which are fully detailed in our history of Cyrus. There is, however, only one occurrence that it is necessary to allude to particularly here. That one relates to a remarkable dream which he had one night, just after he had crossed the river...

One of the greatest rulers of the majestic and powerful Persian Empire, Darius came to the throne after killing an usurper. His fate was destined to be that of ultimately a tragic ruler though, culminating in the battle of Marathon with the Greeks.Illustrated throughout to enhance the reading experience.Contents include:Cambyses.The End of Cambyses.Smerdis the Magian.The Accession of Darius.The Provinces.The Reconnoitering of Greece.The Revolt of Babylon.The Invasion of Scythia.The Retreat from Scythia.The Story of Histiæus.The Invasion of Greece and the Battle of Marathon.The Death of Darius.

Darius I was the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Also called Darius the Great, he ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, parts of the Balkans, portions of north and northeast Africa including Egypt, eastern Libya, coastal Sudan, Eritrea, as well as most of Pakistan, the Aegean Islands and northern Greece / Thrace-Macedonia.Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing Gaumata, the alleged magus usurper of Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt and subjugate Greece. Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon and invading Scythia, home of the Scythians, nomadic tribes who invaded Media and had previously killed Cyrus the Great.Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing satraps to govern it. He organized a new uniform monetary system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, focusing on Susa, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Babylon and Egypt. Darius devised a codification of laws for Egypt. He also had the cliff-face Behistun Inscription carved, an autobiography of great modern linguistic significance. Darius also started many massive architectural projects, including magnificent palaces in Persepolis and Susa.

The book "Darius the Great" by Jacob Abbott nowadays is in the public domain, but a great work has been done by Publisher to this version to make an electronic book that contrasts favorably to the original version. A lot of errors that exist in the free versions have been corrected; proper navigation is available or shortly, the ASCII text has been converted into a proper e-book. And the most important, in addition to original illustrations were added many new illustrations that help us to see how the History comes to Life.Jacob Abbott (1803 – 1879) was a prolific American writer with vast and complete bibliography. It was not until about 1848 that he and his brother John Stevens Cabot Abbott embarked on the idea of doing a series of biography targeted to young people. His target audience was age "15 to 25", and the Abbott brothers eventually produced a set of biographies that were critically acclaimed, and widely read. Within a few years of their publication, the Abbott biographies became standard reference works of history, and were available in libraries throughout America. They were originally published as the ‘Illustrated History’ series, but were republished many times during the next sixty years in various collections, entitled ‘Famous Characters of History’, ‘Famous Queens of History’, and others. They were most recently republished in the early 1900’s as the ‘Makers of History’ series. In addition to these series, Jacob Abbott wrote at least thirty additional children’s books, as well as many books and articles regarding education for the young, directed at parents and educators. He also wrote several explicitly Christian books, teaching the tenets of Christian theology and moral instruction to the young. Here is what Abraham Lincoln wrote of Abbott's historical series: "I want to thank you and your brother for Abbott’s series of Histories. I have not education enough to appreciate the profound works of voluminous historians, and if I had, I have no time to read them. But your series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have."

Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 – October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine. Abbott's father was Jacob Abbott and his mother was Betsey Abbott. Abbott attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. Abbott was tutor in 1824–1825. From 1825 to 1829 was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829–1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834–1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843–1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845–1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.

"I want to thank you and your brother for Abbott's series of Histories. I have not education enough to appreciate the profound works of voluminous historians, and if I had, I have no time to read them. But your series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have." -- Abraham Lincoln on Jacob and John Abbott's historic biographies.

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Darius I, known as Darius the Great, was the third "king of kings" (emperor) of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt, Balochistan, and parts of Greece. The decay and downfall of the empire commenced with his death and the coronation of his son, Xerxes I. Darius ascended the throne by assassinating the alleged usurper Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new emperor met with rebellions throughout his kingdom, and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt and subjugate Greece. Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon, and invading the Saka, Iranian tribes who had invaded Media and had previously killed Cyrus the Great.

The story of the founder of the Achaemenid, or the First Persian Empire, Darius I (c. 550–486 BC) is one of the best documented from that ancient time primarily because of a trilingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun which was written between the time of his coronation and his death.By drawing upon this record, and other primary sources, master storyteller Jacob Abbott takes the reader on a whirlwind account of a dramatic series of events in ancient Middle Eastern history—and some of the bloodiest.Filled with background tales of personal intrigue and shocking cruelty, the story follows Darius’s ascension after the end of his grandfather Cambyses’s reign, the difficult suppression of a series of internal revolts, the move of his seat of government to the world-famous capital city of Susa, and the expansion of his empire’s borders from the Caucasus to the Indus.It also tells the story of his disastrous attempt to conquer the Scythians and the first and second attempts to conquer the Athenians—the first of which ended with the loss of his fleet, and the second in the decisive defeat of his army at the Battle of Marathon.Finally, the story of Darius ends during the revolt of his Egyptian provinces, and in the midst of preparations for a third assault on the Athenians.“The greatness of Darius was the greatness of position and not of character. He was the absolute sovereign of nearly half the world, and, as such, was held up very conspicuously to the attention of mankind, who gaze with a strong feeling of admiration and awe upon these vast elevations of power, as they do upon the summits of mountains, simply because they are high.”Cover image: A frieze from the palace of Persepolis, an “Archer of Darius.”ContentsChapter I: CambysesChapter II: The End of CambysesChapter III: Smerdis the MagianChapter IV: The Accession of DariusChapter V: The ProvincesChapter VI: The Reconnoitering of GreeceChapter VII: The Revolt of BabylonChapter VIII: The Invasion of ScythiaChapter IX: The Retreat from ScythiaChapter X: The Story of HistiæusChapter XI: The Invasion of Greece and the Battle of MarathonChapter XII: The Death of Darius