King Darius
History never repeats itself, but it
certainly rhymes.
Situations change but fundamental
principles rarely do.
Many important lessons have been
provided throughout history that guide
leaders aspiring to make their Society
and Nation great. If only we had
leaders possessing the character and
the willingness to learn.
Fortunately, such leaders have once
again begun to emerge in some
countries onto the world stage. Their
people will prosper.
The reign of Darius the Great marked
the zenith of the Persian Empire.
A federal empire where (nations)
states were ruled by smaller local
kings under the Shahan-Shah (King of
Kings).
Darius worked relentlessly on building
institutions and infrastructure,
incorporating systems, and protecting
the rights and liberty of the people in
the empire.
Darius was noble and just.
Under his rule of a strong central
government that valued the rights of
all people culturally diverse people
prospered. It respected the culture,
language and religion of constituent
nations.
Darius believed in justice and ensured
the weak should have no wrong done
to them by the mighty.
Darius was a nation-builder.
He built many roads, ports, banking
houses, elaborate underground
irrigation systems and a canal to link
the Nile to the Red Sea (an early
precursor of the Suez Canal).
Darius’s introduction of common
coinage the ‘Darik’ on a massive scale,
coupled with standardization of
weights and measures and the
codification of commercial laws,
stimulated world trade and elevated
the Persian Empire’s economy to very
high levels of prosperity.
Darius constructed the world’s longest
‘Royal Road’ (2400 km). He developed
the world’s leading communications
network. An efficient system of relays
ensured that postmen could traverse
the entire length of the road in six to
nine days, which normally took 90
days.
Reproduced here is the last will and
testament of Darius The Great who
ruled Persia (522 B.C. to 486 B.C):
“As I am about to depart this world,
twenty-five countries are part of the
Persian Empire. In all of these
countries, Persian currency is
accepted, and Persians enjoy a
particular respect in these countries.
“As I am about to depart this world,
twenty-five countries are part of the
Persian Empire. In all of these
countries, Persian currency is
accepted, and Persians enjoy a
particular respect in these countries.
My successor, Khashyar Shah (Xerxes
I) must, like me, work to retain these
countries. And the way to retain them
is to not interfere in their internal
affairs, and to respect each country’s
religion and ritual.”
“As I am about to depart this world,
you have twelve koroure in gold in the
royal treasury; this gold is one of the
pillars of your power. A king’s power is
not just dependent on the sword, but
on wealth as well. Remember that you
must add to this treasury and not
diminish it. I am not suggesting that
under dire circumstances, you should
not take gold out of it, as the rule for
this treasury gold is that it must be
used when necessary, but at the first
I am indebted to your mother Atousa,
so you must, at all times, ensure her
happiness and peace of mind.”
“For ten years, I have been busy
building grain silos all around the
country. I learned the method of
building these cone-like stone
structures in Egypt, and since the silos
are intermittently emptied, insects do
not thrive there and grain can be
stored in these silos for several years
without rotting. And you must continue
the work of building these silos until
the time when they can hold two to
three years’ reserve for the whole
country. And each year, after the
harvest, use the stored grain to
eliminate shortages and replenish the
silos after harvesting and this way, you
shall never worry about foodstuff in
this country, even if you face two or
three years of drought.”
“Never appoint your friends, or
intimate servants to governmental
posts, since for them the privilege of
your friendship should suffice. If you
appoint your friends and servants to
governmental posts, and they inflict
injustice on the people and abuse their
position, you will be unable to punish
them, since they are your friends, and
you must bear in mind this friendship.”
“The canal I wanted to build between
the Nile and the Red Sea is not yet
finished, and finishing this waterway is
very important from the perspective of
the military and commerce. You must
finish this canal, and the fees for
passage of ships must not be so steep.
that captains will prefer avoiding it.”
“I have sent an army to Egypt with the
task of bringing law and order to that
land; I still have not had the chance to
send a force to Greece. You must
finish this work. Attack the Greeks with
a powerful army, and make the Greeks
“My other recommendation to you is
that you should never allow
sycophants and liars in your
entourage, since they are both plagues
to monarchies; you should ruthlessly
turn away all liars.”
“Never allow government bureaucrats
to have dominion over the populace; in
order to prevent such domination, I
have passed tax laws, and limited the
contacts between the people and
bureaucrats; if you preserve these
laws, the contacts between the people
and government officials will be
minimal.”
“Keep officers and soldiers of your
army content, and never mistreat
them. If you mistreat them, they
cannot respond in kind, but instead,
they will take their revenge in the
theatre of war, even if such revenge
“Continue the education reforms that I
began, and allow your subjects to learn
how to read and write and increase
their intelligence; the more intelligent
they are, the more you can rule with an
easy mind. Always defend the faith of
worshipping Yazdan, but never force
any group to follow your faith, and
always bear in mind that everyone
should be free to pursue whatever
faith he or she desires.”
“When I bid farewell to life, wash my
body, and enwrap me in the shroud I
have prepared, and put me in a coffin
made of stone and place me in my
grave. But do not cover my grave, thus
allowing yourself the chance to
occasionally come to the tomb and
see my stone coffin, and remind
yourself that there lies my father, a
man who authoritatively ruled over
twenty five countries, and now he is
dead, and I too shall one day die like
him.”
“It is human fate to die, and it makes
no difference whether you are a king of
twenty-five countries or a poor wood-
gatherer, and no one remains eternally
in this world. If you do not visit my
tomb every time you have a chance
and see my coffin, pride and
selfishness will overcome you, but
when you are near your death, order
them to close my grave, and then in
your will, ask your son to keep your
grave open so that he can see the
coffin holding your body.”
“Never, never be a judge and a
prosecutor in the same case, and if
you have a claim against someone,
ask an impartial judge to adjudicate
the case, and issue a judgment. Since
if someone who is the claimant is also
the judge, he will invariably commit
injustice.”
“Never cease the work of developing
the country. If you cease the work of
development, the country will
inexorably fall into a state of disarray.
It is a rule that a country that is not
improving falls into desolation. In the
work of developing, the construction
of new aqueducts. (ghanats), the
building of new roads and the
establishment of cities must be given
top priority.”
“Never forget forgiveness and
generosity and know that after justice,
the highest quality for a king is
forgiveness and generosity. But mercy
must be offered when the injustice has
been committed against you; if the
offender has committed an injustice
against someone else and you pardon
the crime, you have committed an
injustice yourself, for you have ignored
someone else’s rights.”
“I will say no more. I have made these
statements in front of those who are
now, in your absence, in attendance; I
want them to know that I have made
these suggestions before my death,
and now to leave me alone, as I feel
the hour of my death is near…
~
King Darius