Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

divided the Achaemenid Empire into 20 districts for the purpose of tribute payments. The following is a description of the ethnic makeup of the districts and the amount they paid in taxes, translated from Herodotus' '' Histories''.

Accounting units

The quantities of silver are given in Babylonian talent (1 Babylonian talent = about 30.3 kg), while the quantities of gold (India only) are given in Euboïc/Euboean talent (1 Euboïc talent = about 26 kg). Only the

Hindush Hindush (Old Persian cuneiform: 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, , transcribed as since the nasal "n" before consonants was omitted in the Old Persian script, and simplified as ) was a province of the Achaemenid Empire in lower Indus Valley established a ...

paid in gold, the exchange rate of gold to silver being 1 to 13 by weight at the time of Herodotus.

Tax districts

The order of the districts given here follows Herodotus, ''Histories'', III.90–94. In hellenocentric way it starts with Ionia and Mysia. The official Persian order of the provinces, as devised under Darius I in 518 BCE, was different and started from the Empire's capital: 1. Media, 2. Susa, etc.Hermann Bengtson, Vladimir Milojčić (ed.), ''Grosser Historischer Weltatlas'', Erster Teil: Vorgeschichte und Altertum (München, Bayerischer Schulbuch-Verlag, 4th ed., 1963), p. 11, Map (b), "Reich der Meder und Perser". For comparison, it is given in the rightmost column.

Citations

General references

Darius: List of Satrapies
{{Achaemenid Provinces Herodotus

Accounting units

Tax districts

See also

Citations

General references