RECAPITULATION.
Xerxes, having re-conquered Egypt, and laid all his empire under contribution, led into Europe the largest army which the world has seen. He gained the pass of Thermopylæ by treachery, but his fleet was shattered by storms and utterly defeated at Salamis. The war ended, the following year, in the overthrow of Mardonius at Platæa, and the destruction of a Persian fleet and army at Mycale. The forty years’ reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus began the decline of the empire. A fresh immigration of liberated Jews re-fortified Jerusalem, and the books of the Old Testament were for the first time collected and arranged. The feud with the Samaritans was perpetuated by their building a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. In the reign of Darius II many provinces revolted, and Egypt remained independent sixty years. Upon the death of Darius, his younger son Cyrus, with the aid of 10,000 Spartan mercenaries, made war upon his brother Artaxerxes Mnemon, but he was defeated and slain at Cunaxa. A general war followed, in which Sparta was humbled by the combined forces of Persia and the minor states of Greece, and the treaty of Antalcidas made the great king arbiter in Grecian affairs. Artaxerxes III, having murdered all his kindred, re-conquered Syria, Phœnicia, and Egypt. He was destroyed, with all his children, by Bagoas, his minister, who conferred the sovereignty on Darius Codomannus. This last of the Achaemenidæ was defeated by Alexander the Great at Issus, and finally at Arbela; and all the dominions of Persia became parts of the Macedonian Empire.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.
Book II.
| 1. | Who and what were the Persians? | [§ 1.] |
| 2. | What were their relations with the Medes? | [Book I, 39]; [Book II, 2]. |
| 3. | What led to the revolution in the Medo-Persian dominion? | [3], [4]. |
| 4. | Describe the wars of Cyrus. | [5], [7], [9]. |
| 5. | His treatment of the Lydians. | [6.] |
| 6. | What led to the return of the Jews? | [8.] |
| 7. | What was the character of Cambyses? | [12.] |
| 8. | Describe his Egyptian campaign. | [13.] |
| 9. | His operations beyond Egypt. | [14], [15]. |
| 10. | His behavior at Memphis. | [17.] |
| 12. | The last days of Cambyses. | [18.] |
| 13. | The reign and dethronement of the false Smerdis. | [19.] |
| 14. | The revolts against Darius Hystaspes. | [20.] |
| 15. | His system of government. | [21], [22]. |
| 16. | His court and retinue. | [23], [24]. |
| 17. | Compare the religious systems of the Persians, Hindus, and Medes. | [25-28.] |
| 18. | What causes of corruption in the Persian court? | [29.] |
| 19. | Describe the wars of Darius I. | [30-32.] |
| 20. | The causes and incidents of the Ionian revolt. | [33], [34]. |
| 21. | The Persian measures of revenge against the Athenians. | [35-40.] |
| 22. | The memorials of Darius Hystaspes. | [41 and Note.] |
| 23. | Describe the beginning of Xerxes’ reign. | [42], [43]. |
| 24. | His preparations against Greece. | [44-46.] |
| 25. | The passage of the Hellespont. | [47.] |
| 26. | The magnitude of the army. | [48], [49]. |
| 27. | The first battle with the Greeks. | [51.] |
| 28. | The disasters by sea. | [52.] |
| 29. | What occurred at Delphi? At Athens? At Salamis? | [53-55.] |
| 30. | Describe the retreat of Xerxes, and his subsequent career. | [56], [58]. |
| 31. | The operations of Mardonius in Greece. | [57.] |
| 32. | The accession of Artaxerxes Longimanus. | [59.] |
| 33. | The revolts during his reign. | [60], [61]. |
| 34. | The affairs of the Jews under Artaxerxes. | [62-64.] |
| 35. | Who were the next three kings? | [65-67.] |
| 36. | What was the condition of the kingdom under Darius II? | [67], [68]. |
| 37. | Describe the enterprise of Cyrus the younger. | [69-71.] |
| 38. | Its results to the Greeks. | [72], [73]. |
| 39. | The reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon. | [74.] |
| 40. | The reign of Artaxerxes III. | [75-77.] |
| 41. | Who succeeded him? | [78.] |
| 42. | What was the character of Darius III? | [79.] |
| 43. | Compare the armies of Alexander and Darius. | [80], [82], [83]. |
| 44. | Describe the battles of Issus and Arbela. | [81], [84]. |
| 45. | The fate of Darius. | [85.] |
| 46. | How long had the Persian Empire continued? | |
| 47. | How many kings, commencing with Cyrus? | |
| 48. | What was its greatest extent, described by boundaries? | |
| 49. | What is meant by a satrapy? |
