Darius the Great: A Prayer

By A. Kamron Jabbari

A very famous prayer by Darius the Great has been preserved in the Achaemenid inscriptions. It reads:

“May Ahuramazda bear me aid, with the gods of the (royal) household, and may Ahuramazda preserve this country from foe, from famine, from falsehood!

Upon this country may there not come—neither foe,

nor famine, nor falsehood!”*

In this ancient prayer, three major dangers are identified—dangers that remain deeply relevant today. Rarely do the concerns of the ancients so closely reflect our present-day anxieties. We can clearly see their relevance in today’s Iran.

The three threats are: (1) invasion by an enemy army, (2) drought and famine, and (3) corruption and falsehood.

 I will focus on the third danger, which I believe to be the underlying cause of the other two.

In ancient languages, the word lie carried a far broader meaning than it does today. In ancient thought, the lie referred to disorder, corruption, and destruction. Thus, when rulers descended into mismanagement and moral decay, they were seen as following the path of falsehood. In this sense, mismanagement and corruption were regarded as manifestations of the lie.

When rulers ignore the needs of the majority and serve only a privileged few, a nation moves toward decay. When governments engage in unnecessary and prolonged wars, squandering resources, they pave the way for ruin. When flawed economic policies impoverish the population while enriching a small elite, falsehood and corruption take deeper root. Worst of all, when leaders divide people along ethnic or religious lines in order to maintain control, they sacrifice national unity for the sake of power.

Corruption also infects culture. When authentic cultural values are neglected, destructive influences take their place, pushing society toward collapse. Cultural decay is, in fact, the most devastating form of ruin. Even if wise leadership later emerges, reversing cultural decline is extraordinarily difficult. The damage caused by falsehood and corruption is often more far-reaching than that of natural disasters. We must acknowledge that these forces severely weaken a nation.

Though these dangers have always existed—and at times contributed to the downfall of Iranian civilization—they have also inspired resistance. Fear of these threats has fostered unity and solidarity among Iranians. It is this unity that has given Iranians identity and hope. It has enabled them to revive lost civilizations, develop technologies to combat drought, and strive for prosperity. Guided by ancient principles—good thoughts, good words, and good deeds—wise Iranians built effective systems of governance and defense capable of resisting foreign threats.

Yet there have also been times when negligence and complacency led to disaster. These are cautionary lessons: anything that undermines our unity reawakens ancient perils. Whenever Iranians have stood united, they have overcome the enemy’s army, drought, and falsehood. We must never lose sight of the importance of solidarity.

* Sharp, Ralph Norman (The Rev.), The Inscriptions in Old Persian Cuneiform of the Achaemenian Emperors, Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2018.