Ancient Spies of Persia

About 2,500 years ago, the Persian Empire was the largest the world had ever seen. It stretched from Egypt all the way to India. A king could not watch over so much land by himself, so the Persian rulers built one of the first great spy networks in history. The most famous of these secret watchers had a spooky nickname. People called them "the Eyes and Ears of the King."

In this lesson you will: - Discover who the "Eyes and Ears of the King" were. - Learn how a giant empire sent secret messages fast. - Find out how spies helped kings keep control. - Act as a royal messenger yourself.

King Darius the First ruled Persia around 500 BCE. He divided his empire into large regions, and each region was run by a governor called a satrap. But Darius worried a satrap might get greedy and try to rule on his own. So the king sent secret officials to travel through the regions, watch what the satraps did, and report back. These trusted spies were called the Eyes and Ears of the King. A satrap never knew who might be secretly watching, so most were afraid to disobey.

A spy report is only useful if it reaches the king quickly. So Persia built the Royal Road, a highway stretching about 1,600 miles from the city of Sardis to the capital at Susa. Along the road, the Persians placed fresh horses and riders at stations. A message was passed from rider to rider, like a relay race. A trip that took a walking traveler three months could be carried by these royal messengers in only about seven days. An ancient writer named Herodotus praised these riders, saying neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor darkness stopped them.

Spies did more than catch disloyal governors. They warned the king about enemy armies gathering at the borders. They listened for people planning a rebellion. They even checked whether tax money was being collected honestly. Information was a kind of power. A king who knew what was happening far away could act BEFORE a small problem grew into a big war.