Priests could discharge their military tax obligations collectively by paying silver in the temple that would then transfer the money to the city governor. Temple dependents thus served next to free citizens or, more often, hirelings who were paid by the free citizens to carry out the labor duty on their behalf. The Urukean Eanna temple had flour ground in a workshop where predominantly female millers worked their fingers to the bone.
A flour tax or grinding duty does not turn up in our documentation before the Achaemenid period. Presumably, it was part of the provisioning duties imposed by the Persian overlords. The stay lasted for approximately 7 days.
This situation made the burden to provide for the court extra heavy. Already during the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire indirect taxes, such as harbor, bridge, and gate tolls, were raised. A sales tax was due on the transfer of real estate, registered by notaries in a land registry that probably served to assess the taxes charged on the possession of landed property.
These taxes were simply continued after the Persian conquest. In the Achaemenid period a sales tax on slaves was added. They consisted of a percentage of the transported goods. The few quantifiable data suggest that one-thirtieth of the value of the cargo was charged. These taxes were most often paid in silver, only rarely in kind; and it seems that the officials, who at least in the Hellenistic period were tax farmers, preferred silver payments Jursa , A payment for irrigation rights from canals was owed to the proprietor of the land, including temples, private persons, and the crown.
It is not certain whether there was a general water tax payable to the royal administration Jursa a , ; but cf. If so, it may have served the maintenance of the irrigation system. By at least three different Greek sources, Darius is remembered as the king who introduced taxation or as a reformer in the realm of taxation. In the passage discussed above, Herodotus Hist.
When they said it was moderate, Darius ordered that they should pay only half as much. Some historical truth may be reflected in the Greek statements as firsthand evidence from Babylonia corroborates the picture of Darius as reformer of the taxation system.
Furthermore, the differences in terminology that go back to the origin of a tax—and thereby the tax basis—become blurred from his reign onward for an overview of taxation terminology, see Jursa , —; b, f.
Furthermore, urban property also became part of that tax scheme. We cannot quantify anything, and therefore, we have no positive proof; but it is likely that this resulted in an increase in the overall tax burden Jursa , In b. But it was not only war that drove up the expenses: huge distances in the empire needed to be overcome and places of representation built. The investments in infrastructure to enhance spatial integration in the empire—in particular to connect Iran and the western parts, that is, the areas of the former Neo-Babylonian Empire that were separated by the Zagros Mountains—started already in the reign of Cyrus.
Royal domains with palaces were founded to serve the itinerant court as road stations. Later, Darius started expensive building programs in Susa and Persepolis. In view of the shortage in labor, this may have been a heavy drain of resources to the benefit of the center but to the detriment of Babylonia and other parts of the empire.
The suppression of this revolt was most likely violent, resulting in a disempowerment of the priestly elites. Their archives form a large part of our available sources, but these archives end, almost simultaneously, by b. Waerzeggers — It is likely that the archive owners, bearers and supporters of the rebellion, were dispossessed and possibly deported.
When our sources reappear after the reign of Xerxes, we see that the traditional pattern of fiscal administration had changed. Municipal officials appear rarely, which may indicate that they lost their former influence. More research is needed here, but it seems likely that through the course of time an imperial administrative layer was introduced, partially replacing previous power structures, partially simply forming a new administrative level on a higher tier with direct links to the satrapal, and partially including even royal administration.
Bae, Chul-Hyun. PhD diss. Find this resource:. Briant, Pierre. Translated by Peter T. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, Elusive Silver. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Henkelman, Wouter F. Akten des 2. Mai , edited by Bruno Jacobs and Robert Rollinger, — Classica et Orientalia 2.
Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales, Jursa, Michael. Briant and M. Chauveau, — Paris: de Boccard, Jursa, M. Payne, C Waerzeggers and M Weszeli. Alter Orient und Altes Testament Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, b. Kleber, Kristin. Klinkott, Hilmar. Der Satrap. Oikumene 1. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Verlag Antike, Olmstead, A.
History of the Persian Empire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Stolper, Matthew W. Entrepreneurs and Empire. Tolini, Gauthier. Tuplin, Christopher. Carradice, — British Archaeological Reports Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, Herodotus on Achaemenid Imperial Organisation.
Waerzeggers, Caroline. The project will tackle issues of taxation and administration that are still unknown. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice.
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But Persia would exist as a political entity for more than a thousand years, and many old Persian traditions endure to this day. All rights reserved. Culture Reference. Who was Darius I? Darius I BC assumed the throne of Persia at age He ruled for over 30 years and was admired for his organizational skills that were instrumental in building a more powerful Persian kingdom.
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Thereupon Cambyses went to Egypt. When Cambyses had departed into Egypt, the people became hostile, and the lie multiplied in the land, even in Persia and Media, and in the other provinces. On the fourteenth day of the month Viyaxana [11 March ] did he rebel. He lied to the people, saying: 'I am Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, the brother of Cambyses. He seized the kingdom [ Afterwards, Cambyses died of natural causes. They are undecided about the course they have to follow, until Darius arrives in Susa , one of the capitals of the Persian empire.
The newcomer, who is a distant relative of Cambyses his father Hystaspes and Cyrus had the same great-grandfather , joins the six. No guard dares to interfere when the six noblemen visit the royal palace, and in the end, Darius kills the false king.
After some debate, everyone accepts Darius as king. In the Behistun inscription, Darius tells essentially the same story, although he implies that he himself was the leader of the conspiracy:. Then I prayed to Ahuramazda ; Ahuramazda brought me help.
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