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And when, as he continued his journey, he[*](Cyrus arrives in Persepolis) came to the boundaries of Persia, he left the main body of his army there, while he went on with his friends to the capital; and he took along animals enough for all the Persians to sacrifice and make a feast, and brought with him such gifts as were appropriate for his father and mother and his friends besides and such as were suitable for the authorities and the elders and all the peers. And he gave presents also to all the Persians, men and women, such as even to this day the great king bestows whenever he comes to Persia.

Then Cambyses assembled the Persian elders[*](Cambyses’s address to his people) and the highest of the chief magistrates; he called in Cyrus also and then addressed them as follows: Toward you, my Persian friends, I cherish, as is natural, feelings of good-will, for I am your king; and no less toward you, Cyrus, for you are my son. It is right, therefore, that I should declare frankly to you what I think I recognize to be for the good of both.

In the past you advanced the fortunes of Cyrus by giving him an army and placing him in command of it. And at its head Cyrus has with the help of the gods given you, Persians, a good report among all men and made you honoured throughout all Asia. Of those who went with him on his campaigns he has enriched the most deserving and to the commoners he has given wages and support; and by establishing a Persian cavalry force he has made the Persians masters also of the plains.

If, therefore, you continue to be of the same mind also in the future, you will be the cause of much good to each other. But, Cyrus, if you on your part become puffed up by your present successes and attempt to govern the Persians as you do those other nations, with a view to self-aggrandizement, or if you, fellow-citizens, become jealous of his power and attempt to depose him from his sovereignty, be sure that you will hinder one another from receiving much good.

And that this may not befall you, but the good, it seems best to me for you to perform a common sacrifice and to make a covenant, first calling the gods to witness. You, Cyrus, on your part, must covenant that if any one sets hostile foot in Persia or attempts to subvert the Persian constitution, you will come to her aid with all your strength; and you, Persians, on your part, are to covenant that if any one attempts to put an end to Cyrus’s sovereignty or if any one of his subjects attempts to revolt, you will come to your own rescue as well as Cyrus’s in whatsoever way he may call upon you.

As long as I live, the Persian throne continues to be mine own. But when I am dead, it will, of course, pass to Cyrus if he survives me. And as often as he comes to Persia, it should be a sacred custom with you that he sacrifice on your behalf even as I do now. And when he is away, it might be well for you, I think, that that one of our family who seems to you the most worthy should perform that sacred office.

When Cambyses had finished speaking, Cyrus and the Persian magistrates accepted his proposal. And as they then covenanted, with the gods as their witnesses, so the Persians and their king still continue to this day to act toward one another. And when this had all been completed, Cyrus took his departure.

When, on his way back, he came to Media,[*](Cyrus marries his cousin)Cyrus wedded the daughter of Cyaxares, for he had obtained the consent of his father and mother. And to this day people still tell of her wonderful beauty. But some historians say that he married his mother’s sister. But that maid must certainly have been a very old maid. And when he was married he at once departed with his bride for Babylon.

When he arrived in Babylon, he decided to send[*](Cyrus institutes satrapies) out satraps to govern the nations he had subdued. But the commanders of the garrisons in the citadels and the colonels in command of the guards throughout the country he wished to be responsible to no one but himself. This provision he made with the purpose that if any of the satraps, on the strength of the wealth or the men at their command, should break out into open insolence or attempt to refuse obedience, they might at once find opposition in their province.

In the wish, therefore, to secure this result, he resolved first to call together his chief officers and inform them in advance, so that when they went they might know on what understanding they were going; for he believed that if he did so, they would take it more kindly; whereas he thought that they might take it ill, if any of them discovered the conditions after being installed as satraps, for then they would think that this policy had been adopted from distrust of them personally.

And so he called them together and spoke as follows: My friends, we have in the subjugated states garrisons with their officers, whom we left behind there at the time; and when I came away I left them with orders not to trouble themselves with any business other than to hold the forts. These, therefore, I will not remove from their positions, for they have carried out my instructions faithfully; but I have decided to send satraps there, besides, to govern the people, receive the tribute, pay the militia, and attend to any other business that needs attention.

I have further decided that any of you[*](The duties and privileges of satraps) who remain here, and to whom I may occasionally give the trouble of going on business for me to those nations, shall have lands and houses there; so that they may have tribute paid to them here and, whenever they go there, they may lodge in residences of their own.

Thus he spoke, and to many of his friends he gave houses and servants in the various states which he had subdued. And even to this day those properties, some in one land, some in another, continue in the possession of the descendants of those who then received them, while the owners themselves reside at court.

And then,Cyrus resumed, we must take care that those who go as satraps to such countries shall be men of the right sort, who will bear in mind to send back here what there is good and desirable in their several provinces, in order that we also who remain here may have a share of the good things that are to be found everywhere. And that will be no more than fair; for if any danger threatens anywhere, it is we who shall have to ward it off.

With these words he concluded his address on[*](Cyrus appoints the satraps) that occasion; and then he chose out from the number of his friends those whom he saw eager to go on the conditions named and who seemed to him best qualified, and sent them as satraps to the following countries: Megabyzus to Arabia, Artabatas to Cappadocia, Artacamas to Phrygia Major, Chrysantas to Lydia and Ionia, Adusius to Caria (it was he for whom the Carians had petitioned), and Pharnuchus to Aeolia and Phrygia on the Hellespont.

He sent out no Persians as satraps over Cilicia or Cyprus or Paphlagonia, because these he thought joined his expedition against Babylon voluntarily; he did, however, require even these nations to pay tribute.

As Cyrus then organized the service, so is it even to this day: the garrisons upon the citadels are immediately under the king’s control, and the colonels in command of the garrisons receive their appointment from the king and are enrolled upon the king’s list.

And he gave orders to all the satraps he sent[*](Further duties of satraps) out to imitate him in everything that they saw him do: they were, in the first place, to organize companies of cavalry and charioteers from the Persians who went with them and from the allies; to require as many as received lands and palaces to attend at the satrap’s court and exercising proper self-restraint to put themselves at his disposal in whatever he demanded; to have the boys that were born to them educated at the local court, just as was done at the royal court; and to take the retinue at his gates out hunting and to exercise himself and them in the arts of war.

And whoever I find has the largest number[*](He gives them instructions) of chariots to show and the largest number of the most efficient horsemen in proportion to his power,Cyrus added, him will I honour as a valuable ally and as a valuable fellow-protector of the sovereignty of the Persians and myself. And with you also, just as with me, let the most deserving be set in the most honourable seats; and let your table, like mine, feed first your own household and then, too, be bountifully arrayed so as to give a share to your friends and to confer some distinction day by day upon any one who does some noble act.

Have parks, too, and keep wild animals in them; and do not have your food served you unless you have first taken exercise, nor have fodder given to your horses unless they have been exercised. For I should not be able with merely human strength single-handed to ensure the permanence of the fortunes of all of you; but as I must be valiant and have those about me valiant, in order to help you; so you likewise must be valiant yourselves and have those about you valiant, in order to be my allies.