thereby became Lord of all Asia minor. [ For Cœsus reigned
at Sardes over all Asia minor on this side the river Halys
except Cilicia & Lydia & his kingdom was rich & flourishing
as well as rich \potent/ & large. ] Afterwards Cyrus in y^e 21^th year
of his reign invaded Babylonia & the next year took Babylon
& put an . end to y^e Assyrian Monarchy & thenceforward
reigned almost nine years over all Asia on this side [of] India.
Xenophon says but seven years. |, | |meaning after the death of Darius|

Cambyses succed | [e] |ded his father Cyrus, reigned seven years
& five months, & in the t[hre]e last years on his reign invaded & sub-
dued Egypt & was succeeded by Smerdes the Magus |who feigned himself to [b]e Smerdes the brother of Cambyses. |

Smerdes reigned seven months & in y^e eighth month being dis
covered was slain w^th a great number of the Magi \For so the Persians called their Priests. &/ in memory
of the |his| the Persians kept an anniversary day w^ch they called The
[s | S]laughter of the Magi. Darius the son of Hystaspis succeeded in the
throne being chosen by y^e weighing of his horse & seems on this
occasion to have reformed the constitution of the Magi, making
his father Hystaspis their Master or Arch|i|magus. For Porphyrius tells
us that the Magi were a sort of men venerable amongst y^e Persians
that Darius son of Hystaspis wrote on y^e monument of his father
(amongst other things) that he had been the Master of y^e Magi. In this
reformation of the Mag[i] [Agathias ma] Hystaspis used was assisted by Zoroas|t|er. |or Zaradust|
So Agathias : The Persians at this day say simply that Zoroaster
lived under Hystaspis. And Apuleius : Pythagoram, aiunt, inter captivos
Cambysæ regis [ ex Ægypto Babylonem abductos ] doctores habuisse Persar[ud]
Magos ac præcipue Zoroastrem omnis divini arcani antistitem. By his
|Zoroaster's| conversing at Babylon he seems to have borrowed his skill from y^e
Chaldeans & to have for he \was skilled in Astronomy &/ used their year. So Q[. ] Curtius ^a 1 : Magi proxi
2 [m]i patrium carmen canebant. Magos trecenti sexaginta quin juvenes
sequebantur puniceis amiculis velati, diebus totius anni pares numero.
And Ammianus : [Scientiæ] multa ex Chald[æ]orum arcanis Bactrianus
addidit Zoroastres deinde Hystas[p]es rex prudentissimus Darÿ pater. From
his \Zoroaster's/ conversing in several places he is recconed a Chaldean an Assyrian
a Mede a Persian a Ba[ctr]ian. Suidas calls him a Perseo-Mede & saith
he was the most skilfull of Astronomers & Prince of the name
of the Magi rec[e]ived among them. ‡ < insertion from lower down f 114v > This skill in Astronomy shews that he had been instructed by the Chaldeans | , | but
Hystaspes travelled into India to be instructed by the Gymnosophists, & these \two/ con-
joy[ni]ng their skill & authority instituted a new set of Magi Priests called
Magi & instruct[e]d them in such ceremonies |&| mysteries of religion & philosophy
as they thought fit to establish \for the religion & philosophy of that Empire/ & there instructed others till from a small
number they grew to a great multitude. For Suidas tells us that Zoro-
aster gave a beginning to the name of the Magi, & Elmacinus that he
reformed the religion of the Persians w^ch before was divided into many
sects & Agathias that he introduced the religion of the Magi among the
Persians changing their ancient sacred rites & bringing in several
opinions. And Ammianus tells us: Magia divinorum incorruptissimus est cultus,
cui scientiæ seculis priscis multa ex Chaldæorum ar[c]anis Bact[r]ianus addidit
Zoroastres: deinde Hystaspes prudentissimus Darÿ pater, qui quum superio[r]is
Indiæ secreta fidentius penitraret, ad nemorosam quandam venerat
solitudin[e]m cujus tranquillis silentÿs praecelsa Brachman[o]rum ingenia
potiuntur, [e]orum monitu ration[a | e | u]s mundani motus et siderum, puros
sacrorum ritus quantum colligere potuit, e[ru]ditus, ex his qu[æ | a] didicit,
aliqua sensibus Magorum infudit; quæ illi cum disciplinis præs[e]ntiendi
futura per s[ua]m quis progeniem posteris ætati[b]us tradunt. Ex eo
per sæcula multa ad præseus, una eadem prosapia multituda [c]reata,
deorum cultibus dedicatur. Ferun[t] etiam, si justum est credi, ignem c[æ | œ]litus
lapsum apud se sempiter[n]is foculis custodiri, cujus p[ r |o| ]rtionem exiguam ut
faustam præisse quondam Asiaticis regibus dicunt. Hujus originis apud [v]eteres
numerus erat exilis, ejus mysterÿs Persicæ potestates in rebus faciendis divi-
nis solenniter uteba[n]tur. Erat piaculu[m] aras adire vel hostiam contrectare
antequam Magus conceptis precationibus lib[a]me[n]ta diffu[n]deret præcursoria.
Verum a[n]cti paulatim, in amplitudinem, gentis solidæ concesserunt & nomen:
villas [inhabitantes | in habitantes] nulla murorum firmitudine communitas, & legibus suis
uti permissi, religionis respectu sunt honorati. Ammian. l. 23. post med. < text from f 114r resumes > About y^e same time lived
also Hostanes another eminant Magus. ^a 3 Pliny places him under
Darius Hystaspis, & ^b 4 makes him y^e follower of Zoroastres. |He seems to be the Hotanes of Herodotus who discovered Smerdes & formed y^e conspiracy against him & for y^e service w[a]s honoured [above] by the [conspirators] & exempt from subjection to Darius. |

Darius began his reign in spring an. I. P. 4193 & reigned 36
years by the unanimous consent of all Chronologers. In the
second year of his reign the Iews began to build the Temple
by the Prophesying of Hagga[i] & Zechary & finished it in the
sixt. He fought the Greeks at Marathon in October an. I. P.
4224 ten years before the battel at Salamis & died in the
fift year following. The years of Cambyses & Darius are
determined by three eclipses of the Moon recorded by Ptolomy