from all the Medes. And when he
had obtained the rule over them, he compelled the Medes to make one
fortified city and pay chief attention to this, having less regard to
the other cities. And as the Medes obeyed him in this also, he built
large and strong walls, those which are now called Agbatana, standing
in circles one within the other. And this wall is so contrived that one
circle is higher than the next by the height of the battlements alone.
And to some extent, I suppose, the nature of the ground, seeing that it
is on a hill, assists towards this end; but much more was it produced
by art, since the circles are in all seven in number. 111 And within the
last circle are the royal palace and the treasure-houses. The largest
of these walls is in size about equal to the circuit of the wall round
Athens; and of the first circle the battlements are white, of the second
black, of the third crimson, of the fourth blue, of the fifth red: thus
are the battlements of all the circles coloured with various tints, and
the two last have their battlements one of them overlaid with silver and
the other with gold.

99. These walls then Deiokes built for himself and round his own palace,
and the people he commanded to dwell round about the wall. And after
all was built, Deiokes established the rule, which he was the first to
establish, ordaining that none should enter into the presence of the
king, but that they deal with him always through messengers; and that
the king should be seen by no one; and moreover that to laugh or to spit
in presence is unseemly, and this last for every one without exception.
112 Now he surrounded himself with this state 113 to the end that his
fellows, who had been brought up with him and were of no meaner family
nor behind him in manly virtue, might not be grieved by seeing him
and make plots against him, but that being unseen by them he might be
thought to be of different mould.

100. Having set these things in order and strengthened himself in his
despotism, he was severe in preserving justice; and the people used
to write down their causes and send them in to his presence, and he
determined the questions which were brought in to him and sent them out
again. Thus he used to do about the judgment of causes; and he also took
order for this, that is to say, if he heard that any one was behaving in
an unruly manner, he sent for him and punished him according as each act
of wrong deserved, and he had watch