The king’s throne was supported by rows of warriors and he wore the flowing Median garb, or the tight-fitting Persian doublet and hose. The master of ceremonies kept his hand before his mouth, and all who approached kept their hands hidden in their sleeves in token of peaceful intentions. The remains of the palace of Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of the Bible, have also been found, similar to, but not so fine as, those of Darius. The buildings were usually of one story and set on a terrace or platform, sometimes made of columns. Of the Great Hall of Xerxes Mr. Fergusson says: “We have no cathedral in England that at all comes near it in dimensions; nor indeed in France and Germany is there one that covers so much ground. Cologne comes nearest.”
Of the women’s appointed place we read:
“Between the porphyry pillars that upheld
The rich moresque-work of the roof of gold
Aloft the Haram’s curtained galleries rise
Where through the silken net-work glancing eyes,
From time to time, like sudden gleams that glow
Through autumn clouds, shine on the pomp below.”
The gardens attached to the palaces we may well believe favorite resorts of the queen and her attendant ladies. Shaded paths, sparkling fountains, retired resting places and beds ablaze with flowers, all these made a charming retreat. In the midst was usually a hall, kiosk or arbor, raised on several steps, a fountain in the centre making a musical murmur and spreading coolness around. It was enclosed with gilded lattices over which rioted in careless grace vines of jassamine, honeysuckle and other creepers—a fair green wall overhung and protected by tall trees. Here, too, doubtless the king enjoyed some of his hours of leisure, wrapped about with the perfume of violets and sipping a sherbet of violets and sugar, a favorite drink in Persia. We learn of a “Betel-carrier and Taster of Sherbets to the Emperor.” Lest poison might secretly be prepared for the royal palate it was always necessary to have a taster, the first victim in case of evil intent. To this other duties were added such as “Chief Holder of the Girdle of Beautiful Forms and Grand Nazir or Chamberlain of the Harem.” King Canute sat on the brink of the ocean and ordered it to come no further; King Darius or Xerxes laid a similar prohibition on the waxing proportions of his spouse—neither perhaps was strictly obeyed by Dame Nature. At least it appears to have been the duty of the “Holder of the Girdle of Beautiful Forms” to do what he could—“Permit me, most gracious Lady. Alas, one inch beyond the line of beauty!” Subsequently perhaps starvation and tears to insure return to the stipulated measure.
Costly materials rather than shape were prized by the Persians, and their ornaments were less ornate and elaborate than those of the Egyptians; rings and bracelets were of plain gold, collars of twisted gold, but comparatively unartificial. Their household utensils too seem to have been few and simple in pattern, a covered dish and a goblet with an inverted saucer over it are often pictured in the hands of the royal attendants. Occasionally, but rarely, we hear of Persian women indulging in manly sports, as Roxane, daughter of Idernes, and half sister of Terituchmes was skilled in the use of the bow and the javelin.