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Secondary sourcePainting1854

The Babylonians in their city deriding Darius

Jacob Abbott · 1854

An 1854 engraving illustrating the Herodotus story of the Babylonian revolt against Darius I.

A later engraving depicting Darius I confronting the rebellious Babylonians, based on Herodotus's account.

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Black-and-white engraving of a walled city on a hill. Robed figures line the high walls and towers. In the foreground, a helmeted man in armor gestures toward the city while a column of soldiers with raised spears advances. Camels and riders with lances cross a plain on the right.
Jacob Abbott, The Babylonians in their city deriding Darius, 1854.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white engraving made in 1854 by Jacob Abbott for a history book. It illustrates a scene from the ancient Babylonian revolt against the Persian king Darius I, showing the city walls lined with Babylonians and Darius's army approaching below.

Why it matters

The image is based on the ancient Greek historian Herodotus's account of Darius's reign, not on direct evidence from his own time. It shows how later writers and artists imagined and retold stories about Darius centuries after he lived, shaping how later generations pictured him as a ruler facing rebellion.

Look closer

  • What details in the picture suggest confidence or mockery from the people on the walls?
  • Why might a 19th-century illustrator choose this dramatic moment to depict?
  • What does this image tell us about Darius, and what does it leave out?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Darius the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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