The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . is one of the most important documents of early history, throw-ing much light upon Persian life and ideals. 76. The Imperial Government. — The empires which camebefore the Assyrian had very simple machinery for theirgovernment. The tribu-tary states kept their oldkings and their separatelanguages, religions, laws,and customs. Two sub-ject kingdoms might evenmake war upon each other,without interference fromthe head king. Indeed,the different kingdomswithin an empire re-mained almost as separateas before they becameparts of the conqueringst
The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . is one of the most important documents of early history, throw-ing much light upon Persian life and ideals. 76. The Imperial Government. — The empires which camebefore the Assyrian had very simple machinery for theirgovernment. The tribu-tary states kept their oldkings and their separatelanguages, religions, laws,and customs. Two sub-ject kingdoms might evenmake war upon each other,without interference fromthe head king. Indeed,the different kingdomswithin an empire re-mained almost as separateas before they becameparts of the conqueringstate, except in three re-spects : they had to paytribute; they had to assistin war; and their kingswere expected, from timeto time, to attend the courtof the imperial master.^ Plainly, such an empirewould fall to pieces any disaster happenedto the ruling state, — if aforeign invasion or the unexpected death of a sovereign oc-curred,— the whole fabric might be shattered at a of the original kingdoms would become independent. Persian Queen : fragment of a bronzestatue. The dress seems very modern. iThe brief empire of the Jews, for instance, had been of this , the Book of Kings tells us, reigned over all the kingdoms . .U2to ti>e border of Egypt; they brought presents and served Solomon. 88 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§76 again; and then would follow years of bloody war, until someking built up the empire once more. Peace and security couldnot exist under such a system. Assyria, it is true, had begun to reform this system. Thegreat Assyrian rulers of the eighth century were not simplyconquerors. They were also organizers. They left the subjectpeoples their own laws and customs, as before; but they brokeup some of the old kingdoms into satrapies, or provinces, ruledby appointed officers (§ 40). The system, however, was still unsatisfactory. In theorythe satraps were wholly dependent upon the will of the im-perial king; but in practice they wer
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