Page:Herodotus and the Empires of the East.djvu/92

86 while the enemy threatened the land could not have inspired admiration for him. It is wrong to suppose that Nabuû-na'id had neglected to construct temples and fortifications for his capital. Nabû-na'id speaks of himself, as well as of his predecessor, as the "restorer of Esagila and Ezida;" and the bricks which bear his name show that he expended great care upon the fortifications of Babylon.

The statements of Herodotus concerning the history of Darius are confirmed in all essential particulars by the great inscription of Behistan, which was compiled in three languages—Persian, Median-Elamite, and Babylonian that it might be understood all over the empire.

The chief events which come to our notice are the murder of Smerdis by his brother, Cambyses; the reign of the false Smerdis; the accession of Darius to the throne; the rebellions in the Persian empire, especially at Babylon; and the conquest of Babylon. After the death of Cyrus, Cambyses, the elder of his two sons, ascended the throne. Before his invasion of Egypt he had his younger brother, Smerdis, murdered. No one knew of his death except two magi, who