civil war came thus to an end.

It had been severe, but it had brought into such prominence the
qualities of the sovereign that no one henceforth dared to dispute his
possession of the crown. A man of less energetic character and calm
judgment would have lost his head at the beginning of the struggle, when
almost every successive week brought him news of a fresh rebellion--in
Susiana, Babylon, Media, Armenia, Assyria, Margiana, Hyrcania, and even
Persia itself, not to speak of the intrigues in Asia Minor and Egypt;
he would have scattered his forces to meet the dangers on all sides
at once, and would assuredly have either succumbed in the struggle, or
succeeded only by chance after his fate had trembled in the balance for
years. Darius, however, from the very beginning knew how to single out
the important points upon which to deal such vigorous blows as would
ensure him the victory with the least possible delay. He saw that
Babylon, with its numerous population, its immense wealth and prestige,
and its memory of recent supremacy, was the real danger to his empire,
and he never relaxed his hold on it until it was subdued, leaving
his generals to deal with the other nations, the Medes included, and
satisfied if each of them could but hold his adversary in check
without gaining any decided advantage over him. The event justified his
decision. When once Babylon had fallen, the remaining rebels were
no longer a source of fear; to defeat Khshatrita was the work of a
few weeks only, and the submission of the other provinces followed as a
natural consequence on the ruin of Media.*

* Mention of some new wars is made towards the end of the
inscription, but the text here is so mutilated that the
sense can no longer be easily determined.

[Illustration: 174.jpg REBELS BROUGHT TO DARIUS BY AHURA-MAZD] This is
the scene depicted on the rock of Behistun.

After consummating his victories, Darius caused an inscription in
commemoration of them to be carved on the rocks in the pass of Bagistana
[Behistun], one of the most frequented routes leading from the basin of
the Tigris to the tableland of Iran.

[Illustration: 175.jpg THE ROCKS OF BEHISTUN]

Drawn by Boudier, from Flandin and Coste.

There his figure is still to be seen standing, with his foot resting on
the prostrate body of an enemy, and his hand raised in the attitude of
one addressing an audience, while nine figures march in file to meet
him, their