CHAP. IV. ASIA. ing this satrapy in a north-easterly direction from the confines of Gandaria and Bactria towards the desert of Shamo, thus approximating to the country now called the Punjab. Herodotus's account of the people. ants. The Indians of this satrapy were the most warlike of all the Indian nations. The desert abounded in Enormous ants, rather less than dogs, but larger than foxes, of which the king of Persia possessed some specimens.' These ants formed their habitations under ground, and heaped up the sand in a similar manner to the ants of Hellas, which they much resembled in shape. Ant-hills of The sand thus heaped up was mixed with gold, which sand and gold-dust. Mode of carrying off the gold. Identifica people with the Rajpoots of the Punjab. was thus obtained by the Indians. Each man took with him three camels, viz. a male on each side to carry the gold, and a female in the centre on which he sat; and he took care that the latter should be one that had recently foaled. During the hottest part of the day the ants burrowed themselves in their subterranean dwellings, and accordingly the Indians chose this time for carrying off the gold. On reaching the spot they filled their sacks and hastened away with all possible despatch; for the ants would discover them by their smell, and being the swiftest of animals, would overtake and destroy them, unless the gold-stealers had got a good start. It was thus, according to the Persians, that the Indians obtained the greatest part of their gold; at the same time the metal was found, though in less quantities, in mines and rivers.s Herodotus's remark already quoted, that the Intion of the dians comprised in this satrapy were the most warlike of all the Indian nations, at once leads us to identify them with the warrior-caste of Hindostan, the ancestors of the Rajpoots, of whom the Mahrattas and Sikhs are branches. The upper class of the inhabitants of the Punjab still consists of Rajpoots, who are stout and handsome, with aquiline noses 1 Marco Paulo relates that the Indians sent stuffed monsters into foreign countries to give countenance to the stories respecting them. If this fraud was practised in the time of Darius, it will account for the stuffed ants in the museum at Susa. ASIA. and Jewish features. The lower class consists of the little, dark-complexioned, and unsightly Jauts, who CHAP. IV. are plainly alluded to in Herodotus's account of the Independent Indians.' camels. In connexion with the account of India, we have Indian a notice of the Indian camels. These were as swift as horses, and much better able to carry burdens.2 The males however were inferior in speed to the females, and in the race from the ant-heaps were the soonest tired, whilst the female, being anxious to return to her young, never slackened her pace. As the camel was known to the Greeks, only two other facts are mentioned, namely, that it had four thighs and four knees in the hinder legs, or rather two thighs, two shins in each leg, and that the genitals of the male were turned towards the tail.3 the Indians. The Indians in the army of Xerxes wore cotton Costume of garments, and carried bows made of cane, (or bamboo,) and arrows of the same material, but tipped with iron.1 Their cavalry were equipped in the same manner, and besides saddle-horses, had chariots drawn by horses and wild asses." the twenty This account of the Indians who paid tribute to Revenue of Darius concludes the geography of the twenty satra- satrapies. pies. The revenue of the whole may be summed up as follows; it being remembered that Herodotus does not include sums smaller than a talent. 700 6. Aegypt and Libya. Also 120,000 measures of corn and fish from Lake Moe ris: the latter producing one talent a day for six months, and 20 minas a day for the remaining six months. 7. Sattagydae, Gandarii, Dadicae, and Aparytae 8. Cissia, or Susiana 10. Media, including the Paricanii and Orthocorybantii 11. Caspii, Pausicae, Pantimathi, and Dareitae 450 200 12. Bactria, including the Aeglae and the nations intervening 13. Armenia from Pactyica to the Euxine thraean isles 15. Sacae and Caspii 17. Paricanii and Asiatic Aethiopia 18. Matieni, Saspeires, and Alarodii 360 400 600 250 300 400 200 300 7740 error whilst talent to the standard. 14. Sagartii, Sarangae, Thamanaei, Utii, Myci, and Ery 16. Parthi, Chorasmii, Sogdi, and Arii 19. Moschi, Tibareni, Macrones, Mosynoeci, and Marsi Babylonian talents, each equal to 70 Euboic minas 20. Indians.. 360 talents of gold-dust, 13 times the value of 4680 Herodotus's The silver talents paid by the first nineteen satrareducing the pies were according to the Babylonian standard, Babylonian which Herodotus calculates to be equal to 70 Euboic Euboic minas.' But we have now to deal with one of those arithmetical errors so frequent in our author, and which are generally laid to the charge of faulty transcribers. The sum total paid by the first nineteen satrapies, reduced to Euboic talents, he calculates at 9540 talents. Now the Euboic talent was equal to 60 minas, being a proportion of 7 to 6 in comparison with the Babylonian talent. Consequently the case stand thus. Attempts to account for it. 7740 Babylonian talents according to Herodotus's calculation Ditto, according to our calculation, as 6 to 7 It is really impossible to account for this discrepancy, though it may be somewhat lessened by supposing, as Aelian asserts, that the Babylonian talent was really equal to 72 Euboic minas, and therefore 1 iii. 89. 2 The Euboic talent was really slightly heavier than the Attic talent, 70 Euboic minas being equal to 72 Attic minas. This however makes not the slightest difference in the calculation, as we reckon by Euboic and not by Attic minas. ASIA. sum total: paid in kind, etc. stood in proportion to the Euboic talent as 5 to 6; and that Herodotus merely said 70 minas for the CHAP. IV. sake of using round numbers, though in his calculation he reckoned it at 72 minas. This however will not explain the whole error, as, according to Herodotus's calculation, the Babylonian was to the Euboic talent nearly in the proportion of 4 to 5. Close upon the foregoing we have another unac- Error in the countable mistake. Herodotus calculates the 360 perhaps intalents of Indian gold-dust to be thirteen times the cluded taxes value of silver, and accordingly reckons the gold as tolls, gifts, equal to 4680 Euboic talents. Here, for a wonder, he appears to be correct; the gold was to be paid in according to the Euboic talent, and thirteen times 360 is really 4680. Next, in order to arrive at the sum total collected from the twenty satrapies, he adds the 4680 talents to the 9540 talents. The result ought to be 14,220 talents, but he makes it 14,560 talents. Some commentators have endeavoured to reconcile this difference, by supposing that Herodotus tacitly included in the sum total the 360 white Cilician horses mentioned in the fourth satrapy; the 240 talents produced by the fish in Lake Moeris, and the 120,000 measures of corn, mentioned in the sixth satrapy; the 500 eunuchs sent from the ninth satrapy; together with the exactions levied from the nations of the fourteenth and sixteenth, who dwelt round the enclosed plain, and paid toll for the water they obtained through the sluice-gates which blocked up the five mountain ravines.2 Amongst these additions might perhaps be included that branch of the revenue which was received in the shape of gifts, and was sent by the following nations. The Aethiopians on the borders of Aegypt, who were subdued by Cambyses, took every 3 years 2 choenices of unmolten gold, 200 blocks of ebony, 5 Aethiopian boys, and 20 large elephants' tusks. The Colchians and neighbouring nations, as far as Mount Caucasus, which bounded the Persian empire, furnished every five years 100 boys and 100 virgins. 2 See page 292. 1 iii. 95. ASIA. The Arabians also sent every year 1000 talents of CHAP. IV. frankincense. Subsequently the islands (probably those in the Aegean) paid tribute, together with the inhabitants of Europe as far as Thessaly. The Persians alone occupied their land without paying taxes, though indeed they brought gifts,' which were probably regarded as voluntary marks of homage. The money and gold When the tribute was all collected it was melted dust melted and poured into earthen jars; and these moulds down into were afterwards removed, and the king had the metal cut off as occasion required." ingots. |
