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What did Darius I ask God to protect Persia from in his inscription at Persepolis?
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Persepolis
Ruins of the royal Achaemenid residence at Persepolis, Iran.
In his inscriptions at Persepolis and elsewhere, Darius I invoked the supreme god Ahura MazdÄ to protect his kingdom from three specific threats: the lie, famine, and hostile armies (or invasion).
Darius viewed the maintenance of order and truth as a divine mandate, often contrasting his rule with the chaos of rebellion. By calling upon Ahura MazdÄ to shield the land from these evils, he reinforced his role as the vicegerent of the divine, tasked with preserving stability and prosperity across the Achaemenid Empire.123