Since the beginning of time, many intelligent and strong leaders were born. However, there was one man that was born and destined to be an emperor, who had earned the title of “The Great,” and his name was Darius The Great. Darius the great was the greatest emperor of all time because he had very advanced architecture, created great international connections across Persia, and had a very stabilized government. Darius was a great leader because he was very advanced in architecture.
A grand city, a city that was to become the richest city of one of the largest empires to ever exist in history, Persepolis. A city that was constructed and planned out carefully and wisely, by none other than Darius the Great.
Persepolis was one of the capitals of the Achaemenid Empire also known as the Persian Empire that had great riches, art, and structures built in it. However, Darius didn’t live to see the outcome and full view of Persepolis.
Instead, his son Xerxes carried on and finished it. Great structures that are still now in Persepolis such as the Apadana are still standing today. The Apadana, also known as “The Great Audience Hall” was built with seventy-two columns that were built twenty-four meters each. However, only fourteen remain standing today. On top of each column, there are structures of animals. These animals weren’t built as a design, they were built for a purpose and have a meaning. The animals gave a sign of authority showing that you were the royal king and leader, you were in control.
Some animals that were built on the columns were lions, eagles, two-headed bulls and more.
In the Apadana treasures were kept from conquered tribes Although Darius the great did construct Persepolis, it wasn’t the only city that he had built. There was another city that was called Susa. Susa was a city that was destroyed but was soon rebuilt by Darius the great. Darius was known for his great genius and intelligence. He was a great engineer and architect that knew how to construct and plan many structures, buildings, and places. Following the fact that Darius was a great engineer and architect, he had great international connections throughout Persia. Darius was a very impressive man that created one of the most important roads in history. This certain road was used to communicate with others throughout all of Persia and was soon to be used by many other empires. This certain road was the Royal Road. The royal road was one of Darius’s greatest creations that was not only used by the Persians, but it became so famous that it was used up until Roman times.
The royal road was a highway that was originally used to accelerate the communication from Susa to Sardis. It extended to up to more than 1,500 miles long. It extended from Susa all the way to India and went across Anatolia to the Aegean sea. When having this advanced highway it made it easier to be able to communicate considering how great and large size the Persian empire was. Through the royal road, they delivered messages and would also trade within seven days. In Persepolis, many clay tablets written in cuneiform were found containing information about the Royal Road. In 1866, some workers were digging along the Suez Canal when they found an inscription of Darius, in four different languages which were Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, and Egyptian. This significant highway was protected by Persian leaders and rulers and was soon used by the Romans.
Darius established a courier system which contained relays of horses and riders. Guard posts were positioned all along the road, and many Persians were sent to patrol the road and keep it safe. However, the royal road wasn’t just a simple plain pathway, but it also contained, rivers, canals, and trails. Darius the great was an intelligent leader that knew how to be able to communicate and send messages throughout all of Persia and still manage to protect it and keep it safe. Darius The Great was the best emperor who had great government control. Darius established twenty satrapies across the Persian empire. The satrapies were the heads of the administration province, they collected taxes, and were the supreme judicial authorities. The satrapies were in charge of internal security and safety, and they also raised and maintained the army.
Darius initiated a system of control over the satrapies. The satrapies would carry out commands from Darius in every province. They were either from a royal family or of Persian nobility. When sending out twenty satrapies Darius showed control and leadership as an emperor and made many improvements in the Persian Empire. Darius believed that they had to pay for soldiers and military training, he even made some changes in the army and navy. They kept their status, information, and records of Darius on clay tablets in Elamite. Darius took some of the Babylonian Hammurabi code of laws and followed them exactly as they were. The Babylonian Hammurabi code of laws was his model and by following some of them he improved the legal system. Darius knew how to keep things under control and organized.
Darius the great was the greatest emperor of all time because he had very advanced architecture, created great international connections across Persia, and had a very stabilized government. He was an intelligent leader that constructed two grand palace cities, Persepolis and Susa which became very important to history. He constructed the Apadana Audience Hall that held treasures from other tribes that were conquered. He created the royal road that was used to send messages across Persia and communicate and was used up until Roman times. Darius was able to keep the royal road safe when establishing many stations and guard posts all throughout this highway. He followed certain laws from the code of Hammurabi, improving the legal system keeping it civilized. He divided Persia into 20 separate provinces with twenty satrapies for each one and improved their government. Darius improved many things from Persia making it a better empire with advanced structures and systems.
Publication Persepolis Darius the Great. (2022, Feb 08). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/publication-persepolis-darius-the-great/