Misplaced Pages

#472527

145-468: According to Abolala Soudavar, Fereydun is partially a reflection of Cyrus the Great ( r.  550 – 530 BC ), the first Achaemenid King of Kings . All of the forms of the name shown above derive, by regular sound laws, from Proto-Iranian *Θraitauna- (Avestan Θraētaona- ) and Proto-Indo-Iranian *Traitaunas . Traitaunas is a derivative (with augmentative suffix -una/-auna) of Tritas ,

290-495: A satrap ( archon ) and specified fixed tributes that the satrapies were required to pay. A complete list is preserved in the catalogue of Herodotus, beginning with Ionia and listing the other satrapies from west to east excluding Persis , which was the land of the Persians and the only province which was not a conquered land. Tributes were paid in both silver and gold talents. Tributes in silver from each satrap were measured with

435-487: A "mighty king" and "an Achaemenian", which according to the bulk of scholarly opinion was engraved under Darius and considered as a later forgery by Darius. However, Cambyses II's maternal grandfather Pharnaspes is named by historian Herodotus as "an Achaemenian". Xenophon 's account in his Cyropædia names Cambyses's wife as Mandane and mentions Cambyses as king of Iran (ancient Persia). These agree with Cyrus's own inscriptions, as Anshan and Parsa were different names for

580-496: A Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan , having Aryan lineage." A relief under his tomb portraying equestrian combat was later carved during the reign of the Sasanian King of Kings, Bahram II ( r.  274–293 CE ). Xerxes , the eldest son of Darius and Atossa , succeeded to the throne as Xerxes I ; before his accession, he had contested the succession with his elder half-brother Artobarzanes, Darius's eldest son, who

725-494: A brief autobiography including his ancestry and lineage . To aid the presentation of his ancestry, Darius wrote down the sequence of events that occurred after the death of Cyrus the Great . Darius mentions several times that he is the rightful king by the grace of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda . In addition, further texts and monuments from Persepolis have been found, as well as a clay tablet containing an Old Persian cuneiform of Darius from Gherla , Romania (Harmatta) and

870-607: A deserter, enter the Babylonian camp, and gain the trust of the Babylonians. The plan was successful and Darius's army eventually surrounded the city and overcame the rebels. During this revolt, Scythian nomads took advantage of the disorder and chaos and invaded Persia. Darius first finished defeating the rebels in Elam, Assyria, and Babylon and then attacked the Scythian invaders. He pursued

1015-907: A direct response to the revolt in Ionia, were the beginning of the First Persian invasion of (mainland) Greece. At the same time, anti-Persian parties gained more power in Athens, and pro-Persian aristocrats were exiled from Athens and Sparta. Darius responded by sending troops led by his son-in-law across the Hellespont . However, a violent storm and harassment by the Thracians forced the troops to return to Persia. Seeking revenge on Athens and Eretria, Darius assembled another army of 20,000 men under his Admiral, Datis , and his nephew Artaphernes , who met success when they captured Eretria and advanced to Marathon. In 490 BCE, at

1160-423: A group of Achaemenian protectors called the "Magi", stationed nearby to protect the edifice from theft or damage. Years later, in the chaos created by Alexander the Great 's invasion of Persia and after the defeat of Darius III , Cyrus the Great's tomb was broken into and most of its luxuries were looted. When Alexander reached the tomb, he was horrified by the manner in which the tomb was treated, and questioned

1305-545: A lasting legacy. Since Cyrus's conquest, Susa's urban layout had remained unchanged, maintaining the layout from the Elamite era. Only during Darius's rule does the archeological evidence at Susa start showing any signs of a Achaemenid layout. During Darius's Greek expedition , he had begun construction projects in Susa, Egypt and Persepolis . The Darius Canal that connected the Nile to

1450-750: A letter from Darius to Gadates, preserved in a Greek text of the Roman period . In the foundation tablets of Apadana Palace , Darius described in Old Persian cuneiform the extent of his Empire in broad geographical terms: Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says: This is the kingdom which I hold, from the Sacae who are beyond Sogdia to Kush , and from Sind ( Old Persian : 𐏃𐎡𐎭𐎢𐎺 , "Hidauv", locative of " Hiduš ", i.e. " Indus valley ") to Lydia ( Old Persian : "Spardâ") – [this is] what Ahuramazda ,

1595-699: A migratory event in which the Jews returned to the Land of Israel following Cyrus' establishment of Yehud Medinata and subsequently rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem , which had been destroyed by the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem . According to Isaiah 45:1 , Cyrus was anointed by Yahweh for this task as a biblical messiah ; he is the only non-Jewish figure to be revered in this capacity. In addition to his influence on traditions in both

SECTION 10

#1732855045473

1740-478: A plan to oust the pseudo-Bardiya. After killing the impostor along with his brother Patizeithes and other Magians, Darius was crowned king the following morning. The details regarding Darius's rise to power is generally acknowledged as forgery and was in reality used as a concealment of his overthrow and murder of Cyrus's rightful successor, Bardiya. To legitimize his rule, Darius had a common origin fabricated between himself and Cyrus by designating Achaemenes as

1885-408: A republic would lead to corruption and internal fighting, while a monarchy would be led with a single-mindedness not possible in other governments, Darius was able to convince the other nobles. To decide who would become the monarch, six of them decided on a test, with Otanes abstaining, as he had no interest in being king. They were to gather outside the palace, mounted on their horses at sunrise, and

2030-683: A revolt broke out in Egypt. This revolt in Egypt worsened his failing health and prevented the possibility of his leading another army. Soon afterwards, Darius died, after thirty days of suffering through an unidentified illness, partially due to his part in crushing the revolt, at about sixty-four years old. In October 486 BCE, his body was embalmed and entombed in the rock-cut tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam , which he had been preparing. An inscription on his tomb introduces him as "Great King, King of Kings, King of countries containing all kinds of men, King in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian,

2175-471: A separate language system only used for Persis and the Persians, which was called Aryan script and was only used for official inscriptions. Before this, the accomplishments of the king were addressed in Persian solely through narration and hymns and through the "masters of memory". Indeed, oral history continued to play an important role throughout the history of Iran. Darius introduced a new universal currency,

2320-538: A son, Ariomardus . Furthermore, Darius married his niece Phratagune , with whom he had two sons, Abrokomas and Hyperantes . He also married another woman of the nobility, Phaidyme, the daughter of Otanes . It is unknown if he had any children with her. Before these royal marriages, Darius had married an unknown daughter of his good friend and lance carrier Gobryas from an early marriage, with whom he had three sons, Artobazanes, Ariabignes and Arsamenes . Any daughters he had with her are not known. Although Artobazanes

2465-402: A suffix of likeness. Karl Hoffmann has suggested a translation based on the meaning of an Indo-European root "to humiliate", and accordingly, the name "Cyrus" means "humiliator of the enemy in verbal contest". Another possible Iranian derivation would mean "the young one, child", similar to Kurdish kur ("son, little boy") or Ossetian i-gur-un ("to be born") and kur (young bull). In

2610-473: A table with golden supports, inside of which the body of Cyrus the Great was interred. Upon his resting place, was a covering of tapestry and drapes made from the best available Babylonian materials, utilizing fine Median worksmanship; below his bed was a fine red carpet, covering the narrow rectangular area of his tomb. Translated Greek accounts describe the tomb as having been placed in the fertile Pasargadae gardens, surrounded by trees and ornamental shrubs, with

2755-564: A warning to cease his encroachment (a warning which she stated she expected he would disregard anyway), Tomyris challenged him to meet her forces in honorable warfare, inviting him to a location in her country a day's march from the river, where their two armies would formally engage each other. He accepted her offer, but, learning that the Massagetae were unfamiliar with wine and its intoxicating effects, he set up and then left camp with plenty of it behind, taking his best soldiers with him and leaving

2900-452: A year and a half, Darius and his armies were unable to retake the city, though he attempted many tricks and strategies—even copying that which Cyrus the Great had employed when he captured Babylon. However, the situation changed in Darius's favour when, according to the story, a mule owned by Zopyrus , a high-ranking soldier, foaled. Following this, a plan was hatched for Zopyrus to pretend to be

3045-707: Is currently not much held. The Lydians first attacked the Achaemenid Empire's city of Pteria in Cappadocia . The king of Lydia Croesus besieged and captured the city enslaving its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Persians invited the citizens of Ionia who were part of the Lydian kingdom to revolt against their ruler. The offer was rebuffed, and thus Cyrus levied an army and marched against the Lydians, increasing his numbers while passing through nations in his way. The Battle of Pteria

SECTION 20

#1732855045473

3190-516: Is mine, I am Ahura Mazda's". In the lands that were conquered by his empire, Darius followed the same Achaemenid tolerance that Cyrus had shown and later Achaemenid kings would show. He supported faiths and religions that were "alien" as long as the adherents were "submissive and peaceable", sometimes giving them grants from his treasury for their purposes. He had funded the restoration of the Israelite temple which had originally been decreed by Cyrus,

3335-484: Is no direct evidence to support this assumption. After taking Babylon, Cyrus the Great proclaimed himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad , king of the four corners of the world" in the famous Cyrus Cylinder , an inscription on a cylinder that was deposited in the foundations of the Esagila temple dedicated to the chief Babylonian god, Marduk. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays

3480-547: Is well established that Darius was a firm believer in Ahura Mazda , whom he saw as the supreme deity. However, Ahura Mazda was also worshipped by adherents of the (Indo-)Iranian religious tradition. As can be seen at the Behistun Inscription , Darius believed that Ahura Mazda had appointed him to rule the Achaemenid Empire. Darius had dualistic philosophical convictions and believed that each rebellion in his kingdom

3625-501: The Avestā , Zoroastrian texts collated in the third century. Traitaunas may therefore be interpreted as "the great son of Tritas". The name was borrowed from Parthian into Classical Armenian as Hrudēn . In the Avestā , Thraetaona is the son of Aθβiya , and so is called Āθβiyāni , meaning "from the family of Aθβiya ". He was recorded as the killer of the dragon Zahhak ( Aži Dahāk ). On

3770-462: The Achaemenid Empire leaving the empire in turmoil. Even though Darius did not seem to have the support of the populace , Darius had a loyal army, led by close confidants and nobles (including the six nobles who had helped him remove Gaumata). With their support, Darius was able to suppress and quell all revolts within a year. In Darius's words, he had killed a total of nine "lying kings" through

3915-491: The Battle of Marathon , the Persian army was defeated by a heavily armed Athenian army, with 9,000 men who were supported by 600 Plataeans and 10,000 lightly armed soldiers led by Miltiades . The defeat at Marathon marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece. Darius began preparations for a second force which he would command, instead of his generals; however, before the preparations were complete, Darius died, thus leaving

4060-637: The Caucasus , most of the Black Sea 's coastal regions, Central Asia , the Indus Valley in the far east, and portions of North Africa and Northeast Africa including Egypt ( Mudrâya ), eastern Libya , and coastal Sudan . Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the Achaemenid monarch Bardiya (or Smerdis ), who he claimed was in fact an imposter named Gaumata . The new king met with rebellions throughout

4205-862: The Danube River, River Don and the Black Sea. Darius crossed the Black Sea at the Bosphorus Straits using a bridge of boats. Darius conquered large portions of Eastern Europe, even crossing the Danube to wage war on the Scythians . Darius invaded European Scythia in 513 BCE, where the Scythians evaded Darius's army, using feints and retreating eastwards while laying waste to the countryside, by blocking wells, intercepting convoys, destroying pastures and continuous skirmishes against Darius's army. Seeking to fight with

4350-537: The Eastern and Western worlds , Cyrus is also recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy. The Achaemenid Empire's prestige in the ancient world would eventually extend as far west as Athens, where upper-class Greeks adopted aspects of the culture of the ruling Persian class as their own. As the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus played a crucial role in defining

4495-512: The Greeks , he was known as Cyrus the Elder ( Κῦρος ὁ Πρεσβύτερος Kŷros ho Presbýteros ). Cyrus was particularly renowned among contemporary scholars because of his habitual policy of respecting peoples' customs and religions in the lands that he conquered. He was influential in developing the system of a central administration at Pasargadae to govern the Achaemenid Empire's satraps , which worked for

Fereydun - Misplaced Pages Continue

4640-667: The Indus Valley . Darius conquered the lands surrounding the Indus River in 515 BCE. Darius I controlled the Indus Valley from Gandhara to modern Karachi and appointed the Greek Scylax of Caryanda to explore the Indian Ocean from the mouth of the Indus to Suez . Darius then marched through the Bolan Pass and returned through Arachosia and Drangiana back to Persia . After Bardiya

4785-579: The Latin forms of the Greek Dareîos ( Δαρεῖος ), itself from Old Persian Dārayauš ( 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 , d-a-r-y-uš ; which is a shortened form of Dārayavaʰuš ( 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 , d-a-r-y-v-u-š ). The longer Persian form is reflected in the Elamite Da-ri-(y)a-ma-u-iš , Babylonian Da-(a-)ri-ia-(a-)muš , and Aramaic drywhwš ( 𐡃𐡓𐡉𐡅𐡄𐡅𐡔 ) forms, and possibly in

4930-615: The Massagetae , a nomadic Eastern Iranian tribal confederation , along the Syr ;Darya in December 530 BC. However, Xenophon of Athens claimed that Cyrus did not die fighting and had instead returned to the city of Pasargadae , which served as the Achaemenid ceremonial capital. He was succeeded by his son Cambyses II , whose campaigns into North Africa led to the conquests of Egypt , Nubia , and Cyrenaica during his short rule. To

5075-778: The Persian language and especially in Iran , Cyrus' name is spelled as کوروش ( Kūroš , [kuːˈɾoʃ] ). In the Bible , he is referred to in the Hebrew language as Koresh ( כורש ‎ ). Some pieces of evidence suggest that Cyrus is Kay Khosrow , a legendary Persian king of the Kayanian dynasty and a character in Shahnameh , a Persian epic . Some scholars, however, believe that neither Cyrus nor Cambyses were Iranian names , proposing that Cyrus

5220-580: The Red Sea was constructed by him. It ran from present-day Zagazig in the eastern Nile Delta through Wadi Tumilat , Lake Timsah , and Great Bitter Lake , which are both close to present-day Suez . To open this canal, he travelled to Egypt in 497 BCE, where the inauguration was carried out with great fanfare and celebration. Darius also built a canal to connect the Red Sea and Mediterranean . On this visit to Egypt he erected monuments and executed Aryandes on

5365-444: The Scythians in their dress and mode of living; they fought on horseback and on foot. In order to acquire her realm, Cyrus first sent an offer of marriage to their ruler, the empress Tomyris , a proposal she rejected. He then commenced his attempt to take Massagetae territory by force (c. 529 BC), beginning by building bridges and towered war boats along his side of the river Oxus , or Amu Darya , which separated them. Sending him

5510-431: The daric , sometime before 500 BCE. Darius used the coinage system as a transnational currency to regulate trade and commerce throughout his empire. The Daric was also recognized beyond the borders of the empire, in places such as Celtic Central Europe and Eastern Europe. There were two types of darics, a gold daric and a silver daric. Only the king could mint gold darics. Important generals and satraps minted silver darics,

5655-400: The "eyes and ears" of Darius, completed further checks on each satrap. The imperial administration was coordinated by the chancery with headquarters at Persepolis, Susa, and Babylon with Bactria, Ecbatana, Sardis, Dascylium and Memphis having branches. Darius kept Aramaic as the common language, which soon spread throughout the empire. However, Darius gathered a group of scholars to create

5800-456: The Achaemenid Empire became centralized and unified. Darius undertook other construction projects throughout his realm, primarily focusing on Susa , Pasargadae , Persepolis , Babylon , and Egypt. He had an inscription carved upon a cliff-face of Mount Behistun to record his conquests, which would later become important evidence of the Old Persian language. Dārīus and Dārēus are

5945-508: The Babylonian talent . Those paid in gold were measured with the Euboic talent. The total tribute from the satraps came to an amount less than 15,000 silver talents. The majority of the satraps were of Persian origin and were members of the royal house or the six great noble families. These satraps were personally picked by Darius to monitor these provinces. Each of the provinces was divided into sub-provinces, each having its own governor, who

Fereydun - Misplaced Pages Continue

6090-451: The Babylonian armies, and detained Nabonidus. Herodotus explains that to accomplish this feat, the Persians, using a basin dug earlier by the Babylonian queen Nitokris to protect Babylon against Median attacks, diverted the Euphrates river into a canal so that the water level dropped "to the height of the middle of a man's thigh", which allowed the invading forces to march directly through

6235-401: The Babylonian people had taken advantage of him and deceived him, which resulted in Darius gathering a large army and marching to Babylon . At Babylon, Darius was met with closed gates and a series of defences to keep him and his armies out. Darius encountered mockery and taunting from the rebels, including the famous saying "Oh yes, you will capture our city, when mules shall have foals." For

6380-469: The Empire, but soon died after only seven years of rule. He was succeeded either by Cyrus's other son Bardiya or an impostor posing as Bardiya, who became the sole ruler of Persia for seven months, until he was killed by Darius the Great . The translated ancient Roman and Greek accounts give a vivid description of the tomb both geometrically and aesthetically; the tomb's geometric shape has changed little over

6525-509: The Great Darius I ( Old Persian : 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš ; c.  550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great , was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire , reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of Western Asia , parts of the Balkans ( Thrace – Macedonia and Paeonia ) and

6670-583: The Great , was the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire . Hailing from Persis , he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East , expanding vastly and eventually conquering most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest polity in human history at

6815-435: The Great ordered Aristobulus to improve the tomb's condition and restore its interior. Despite his admiration for Cyrus the Great, and his attempts at renovation of his tomb, Alexander had, six years previously (330 BC), sacked Persepolis , the opulent city that Cyrus may have chosen the site for, and either ordered its burning as an act of pro-Greek propaganda or set it on fire during drunken revels. The edifice has survived

6960-557: The Great spared Croesus's life and kept him as an advisor, but this account conflicts with some translations of the contemporary Nabonidus Chronicle which interpret that the king of Lydia was slain. Before returning to the capital, Commagene was incorporated into Persia in 546 BC. Later, a Lydian named Pactyas was entrusted by Cyrus the Great to send Croesus's treasury to Persia. However, soon after Cyrus's departure, Pactyas hired mercenaries and caused an uprising in Sardis, revolting against

7105-583: The Great throughout antiquity are reflected in the way he is remembered today. His own nation, the Iranians, have regarded him as "The Father", the very title that had been used during the time of Cyrus himself, by the many nations that he conquered, as according to Xenophon : And those who were subject to him, he treated with esteem and regard, as if they were his own children, while his subjects themselves respected Cyrus as their "Father" ... What other man but 'Cyrus', after having overturned an empire, ever died with

7250-648: The Great's dominions composed the largest empire the world had ever seen to that point. At the end of Cyrus's rule, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from Asia Minor in the west to the Indus River in the east. The details of Cyrus's death vary by account. Ctesias , in his Persica , has the longest account, which says Cyrus met his death while putting down resistance from the Derbices infantry, aided by other Scythian archers and cavalry, plus Indians and their war-elephants. According to him, this event took place northeast of

7395-509: The Iranian people chose to be under the leadership of Gaumata, as "Bardiya". No member of the Achaemenid family would rise against Gaumata for the safety of their own life. Darius, who had served Cambyses as his lance-bearer until the deposed ruler's death, prayed for aid and, in September 522 BCE, along with Otanes , Intaphrenes , Gobryas , Hydarnes , Megabyzus and Aspathines , killed Gaumata in

SECTION 50

#1732855045473

7540-433: The Iranian plateau started as an extension of the Achaemenid dynasty, who expanded their earlier dominion possibly from the 9th century BC onward. The eponymous founder of the dynasty was Achaemenes (from Old Persian Haxāmaniš ). Achaemenids are "descendants of Achaemenes", as Darius the Great , the ninth king of the dynasty, traced his ancestry to him, declaring "for this reason, we are called Achaemenids". Achaemenes built

7685-479: The Magi and put them to court. On some accounts, Alexander's decision to put the Magi on trial was more about his attempt to undermine their influence and his show of power in his newly conquered empire, than a concern for Cyrus's tomb. However, Alexander admired Cyrus, from an early age reading Xenophon's Cyropaedia , which described Cyrus's heroism in battle and governance as a king and legislator. Regardless, Alexander

7830-446: The Persian satrap of Lydia, Tabalus. Cyrus sent Mazares , one of his commanders, to subdue the insurrection but demanded that Pactyas be returned alive. Upon Mazares's arrival, Pactyas fled to Ionia , where he had hired more mercenaries. Mazares marched his troops into the Greek country and subdued the cities of Magnesia and Priene . The fate of Pactyas is unknown, but after capture, he

7975-484: The Scythians, Darius's army chased the Scythian army deep into Scythian lands, where there were no cities to conquer and no supplies to forage. In frustration Darius sent a letter to the Scythian ruler Idanthyrsus to fight or surrender. The ruler replied that he would not stand and fight with Darius until they found the graves of their fathers and tried to destroy them. Until then, they would continue their strategy as they had no cities or cultivated lands to lose. Despite

8120-467: The Syr Darya. Cyrus the Great's remains may have been interred in his capital city of Pasargadae , where today a limestone tomb (built around 540–530 BC ) still exists, which many believe to be his. Strabo and Arrian give nearly identical descriptions of the tomb, based on the eyewitness report of Aristobulus of Cassandreia , who at the request of Alexander the Great visited the tomb twice. Though

8265-469: The accounts of Greek historians, Cambyses II had left Patizeithes in charge of the kingdom when he headed for Egypt. He later sent Prexaspes to murder Bardiya. After the killing, Patizeithes put his brother Gaumata, a Magian who resembled Bardiya, on the throne and declared him the Great King. Otanes discovered that Gaumata was an impostor, and along with six other Iranian nobles, including Darius, created

8410-466: The area in 542 BC and returned to Persia. After the conquest of Lydia, Cyrus campaigned in the east between around 545 BC to 540 BC. Cyrus first tried to conquer Gedrosia , however he was decisively defeated and departed Gedrosia. Gedrosia was most likely conquered during the reign of Darius I. After the failed attempt to conquer Gedrosia, Cyrus attacked the regions of Bactria , Arachosia , Sogdia , Saka , Chorasmia , Margiana and other provinces in

8555-635: The attack against his officers was the first sign of revolt. He sent a messenger to each of the noblemen, asking them if they approved of Intaphernes's actions. They denied and disavowed any connection with Intaphernes's actions, stating that they stood by their decision to appoint Darius as King of Kings. Darius's choice to ask the noblemen indicates that he was not yet completely sure of his authority. Taking precautions against further resistance, Darius sent soldiers to seize Intaphernes, along with his son, family members, relatives and any friends who were capable of arming themselves. Darius believed that Intaphernes

8700-545: The battle(s), the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nabonidus , had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BC. Just before October 539 BC, Cyrus fought the Battle of Opis in or near the strategic riverside city of Opis on the Tigris, north of Babylon. The Babylonian army was routed, and on 10 October, Sippar

8845-617: The charge of treason. When Darius returned to Persis, he found that the codification of Egyptian law had been finished. In Egypt, Darius built many temples and restored those that had previously been destroyed. Even though Darius was a believer of Ahura Mazda, he built temples dedicated to the Gods of the Ancient Egyptian religion . Several temples found were dedicated to Ptah and Nekhbet . Darius also created several roads and routes in Egypt. The monuments that Darius built were often inscribed in

SECTION 60

#1732855045473

8990-640: The city itself is now in ruins, the burial place of Cyrus the Great has remained largely intact, and the tomb has been partially restored to counter its natural deterioration over the centuries. According to Plutarch , his epitaph read: O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not therefore begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones. Cuneiform evidence from Babylon proves that Cyrus died around December 530 BC, and that his son Cambyses II had become king. Cambyses continued his father's policy of expansion, and captured Egypt for

9135-553: The close connection between this type of winged figure and the image of Iranian majesty, which he associated with a dream prognosticating the king's death before his last, fatal campaign across the Oxus. Muhammad Dandamayev says that Persians may have taken Cyrus's body back from the Massagetae, unlike what Herodotus claimed. According to the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian (AD 1166–1199) Cyrus

9280-584: The contrary, in Middle Persian texts, Dahāka/Dahāg was instead imprisoned on Mount Damavand in Amol . According to Ferdowsi 's Shahnameh , Fereydun was the son of Ābtin , one of the descendants of Jamšid . Fereydun, together with Kāve , revolted against the tyrannical king, Zahāk , defeated and arrested him in the Alborz Mountains . Afterwards, Fereydun became the king, married Arnavāz and, according to

9425-427: The daric made it easier to collect new taxes on land, livestock and marketplaces. This led to the registration of land which was measured and then taxed. The increased government revenues helped maintain and improve existing infrastructure and helped fund irrigation projects in dry lands. This new tax system also led to the formation of state banking and the creation of banking firms. One of the most famous banking firms

9570-474: The dead infant Cyrus. Cyrus lived in secrecy, but when he reached the age of 10, during a childhood game, he had the son of a nobleman beaten when he refused to obey Cyrus' commands. As it was unheard of for the son of a shepherd to commit such an act, Astyages had the boy brought to his court, and interviewed him and his adoptive father. Upon the shepherd's confession, Astyages sent Cyrus back to Persia to live with his biological parents. However, Astyages summoned

9715-430: The deaths of both of Cyrus's sons. Cyrus's conquest of Media was merely the start of his wars. The exact dates of the Lydian conquest are unknown, but it must have taken place between Cyrus's overthrow of the Median kingdom (550 BC) and his conquest of Babylon (539 BC). It was common in the past to give 547 BC as the year of the conquest due to some interpretations of the Nabonidus Chronicle , but this position

9860-443: The dream, he inferred it as a great danger to the future security of the empire, as it meant that Darius would one day rule the whole world. However, his son Cambyses was the heir to the throne, not Darius, causing Cyrus to wonder if Darius was forming treasonable and ambitious designs. This led Cyrus to order Hystaspes to go back to Persis and watch over his son strictly, until Cyrus himself returned. There are different accounts of

10005-400: The east. In 533 BC, Cyrus the Great crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and collected tribute from the Indus cities. Thus, Cyrus probably had established vassal states in western India. Cyrus then returned with his army to Babylon due to the unrest taking place in and around Babylon. By the year 540 BC, Cyrus captured Elam and its capital, Susa . The Nabonidus Chronicle records that, prior to

10150-412: The empire but quelled each of them; a major event in Darius's life was his expedition to subjugate Greece and punish Athens and Eretria for their participation in the Ionian Revolt . Although his campaign ultimately resulted in failure at the Battle of Marathon , he succeeded in the re-subjugation of Thrace and expanded the Achaemenid Empire through his conquests of Macedonia , the Cyclades , and

10295-416: The empire during his military campaigns of 546–539 BC. With Astyages out of power, all of his vassals (including many of Cyrus's relatives) were now under his command. His uncle Arsames , who had been the king of the city-state of Parsa under the Medes , therefore would have had to give up his throne. However, this transfer of power within the family seems to have been smooth, and it is likely that Arsames

10440-558: The empire, so that there was a system of travel authorization for the King, satraps and other high officials, which entitled the traveller to draw provisions at daily stopping places. "By the grace of Ahuramazda am I king; Ahuramazda has granted me the kingdom." — Darius, on the Behistun Inscription While there is no general consensus in scholarship whether Darius and his predecessors had been influenced by Zoroastrianism , it

10585-405: The entire kingdom. These were interpreted by his advisers as a foretelling that his grandson would one day rebel and supplant him as king. Astyages summoned Mandane, at the time pregnant with Cyrus, back to Ecbatana to have the child killed. His general Harpagus delegated the task to Mithradates, one of the shepherds of Astyages, who raised the child and passed off his stillborn son to Harpagus as

10730-541: The eponymous founder of their dynasty. In reality, Darius was not from the same house as Cyrus and his forebears, the rulers of Anshan . Following his coronation at Pasargadae , Darius moved to Ecbatana . He soon learned that support for Bardiya was strong, and revolts in Elam and Babylonia had broken out. Darius ended the Elamite revolt when the revolutionary leader Aschina was captured and executed in Susa . After three months

10875-475: The evading tactics of the Scythians, Darius's campaign was so far relatively successful. As presented by Herodotus , the tactics used by the Scythians resulted in the loss of their best lands and of damage to their loyal allies. This gave Darius the initiative. As he moved eastwards in the cultivated lands of the Scythians in Eastern Europe proper, he remained resupplied by his fleet and lived to an extent off

11020-415: The final Battle of Thymbra between the two rulers, Harpagus advised Cyrus the Great to place his dromedaries in front of his warriors; the Lydian horses, not used to the dromedaries' smell, would be very afraid. The strategy worked; the Lydian cavalry was routed. Cyrus defeated and captured Croesus. Cyrus occupied the capital at Sardis, conquering the Lydian kingdom in 546 BC. According to Herodotus, Cyrus

11165-539: The final battle resulted in the capture of Ecbatana. This was described in the paragraph that preceded the entry for Nabonidus's year 7, which detailed Cyrus's victory and the capture of his grandfather. According to the historians Herodotus and Ctesias, Cyrus spared the life of Astyages and married his daughter, Amytis. This marriage pacified several vassals, including the Bactrians , Parthians , and Saka . Herodotus notes that Cyrus also subdued and incorporated Sogdia into

11310-428: The fortress of Sikayauvati. Herodotus provides a dubious account of Darius's ascension: Several days after Gaumata had been assassinated, Darius and the other six nobles discussed the fate of the empire. At first, the seven discussed the form of government: A democratic republic ( Isonomia ) was strongly pushed by Otanes , an oligarchy was pushed by Megabyzus, while Darius pushed for a monarchy. After stating that

11455-472: The forts were still standing in his day. After chasing the Scythians for a month, Darius's army was suffering losses due to fatigue, privation and sickness. Concerned about losing more of his troops, Darius halted the march at the banks of the Volga River and headed towards Thrace . He had conquered enough Scythian territory to force the Scythians to respect the Persian forces. Darius's European expedition

11600-455: The genealogy given in the Behistun Inscription and by Herodotus holds that Cyrus the Great was an Achaemenid. However, M. Waters has suggested that Cyrus is unrelated to the Achaemenids or Darius the Great, and that his family was of Teispid and Anshanite origin instead of Achaemenid. Cyrus was born to Cambyses I , King of Anshan, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages , King of Media, during

11745-486: The greatest of gods, bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal house! Herodotus , a Greek historian and author of The Histories , provided an account of many Persian kings and the Greco-Persian Wars . He wrote extensively on Darius, spanning half of Book 3 along with Books 4, 5 and 6. It begins with the removal of the alleged usurper Gaumata and continues to the end of Darius's reign. Darius

11890-541: The headwaters of the Syr Darya. The account of Herodotus from his Histories provides the second-longest detail, in which Cyrus met his fate in a fierce battle with the Massagetae, a Scythian tribal confederation from the southern deserts of Khwarezm and Kyzyl Kum in the southernmost portion of the Eurasian Steppe regions of modern-day Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan , following the advice of Croesus to attack them in their own territory. The Massagetae were related to

12035-539: The historian Herodotus, it is known that Astyages placed Harpagus in command of the Median army to conquer Cyrus. However, Harpagus contacted Cyrus and encouraged his revolt against Media, before eventually defecting along with several of the nobility and a portion of the army. This mutiny is confirmed by the Nabonidus Chronicle. The Chronicle suggests that the hostilities lasted for at least three years (553–550 BC), and

12180-625: The increasing concerns amongst the Greeks over the strength of Darius's kingdom along with the constant interference by the Greeks in Ionia and Lydia were stepping stones towards the conflict that was yet to come between Persia and certain of the leading Greek city states. When Aristagoras organized the Ionian Revolt , Eretria and Athens supported him by sending ships and troops to Ionia and by burning Sardis . Persian military and naval operations to quell

12325-413: The invaders, who led him to a marsh; there he found no known enemies but an enigmatic Scythian tribe. The Scythians were a group of north Iranian nomadic tribes, speaking an Eastern Iranian language ( Scythian languages ) who had invaded Media , killed Cyrus in battle, revolted against Darius and threatened to disrupt trade between Central Asia and the shores of the Black Sea as they lived between

12470-409: The island of Naxos . Darius organized the empire by dividing it into administrative provinces, each governed by a satrap . He organized Achaemenid coinage as a new uniform monetary system, and he made Aramaic a co-official language of the empire alongside Persian . He also put the empire in better standing by building roads and introducing standard weights and measures . Through these changes,

12615-414: The kingdom. The Nabonidus Chronicle states that Babylonia mourned Cassandane for six days (identified as 21–26 March 538 BC). After his father's death, Cyrus inherited the Persian throne at Pasargadae , which was a vassal of Astyages. The Greek historian Strabo has said that Cyrus was originally named Agradates by his step-parents. It is possible that, when reuniting with his original family, following

12760-519: The land. While moving eastwards in the European Scythian lands, he captured the large fortified city of the Budini , one of the allies of the Scythians, and burnt it. Darius eventually ordered a halt at the banks of Oarus, where he built "eight great forts, some eight miles [13 km] distant from each other", no doubt as a frontier defence. In his Histories , Herodotus states that the ruins of

12905-731: The lands north and east of the Amu Darya , as far as China ), respectively. This aroused Iraj's brothers' envy, and encouraged them to murder him. After the murder of Iraj, Fereydun enthroned Iraj's grandson, Manučehr . Manučehr's attempt to avenge his grandfather's murder initiated the Iranian - Turanian wars. Cyrus the Great Persian Revolt Invasion of Anatolia Invasion of Babylonia Cyrus II of Persia ( Old Persian : 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš ; c.  600  – 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus

13050-517: The latter usually to recruit Greek mercenaries in Anatolia . The daric was a major boost to international trade. Trade goods such as textiles, carpets, tools and metal objects began to travel throughout Asia, Europe and Africa. To further improve trade, Darius built the Royal Road , a postal system and Phoenician-based commercial shipping. The daric also improved government revenues as the introduction of

13195-483: The least capable ones. The general of Tomyris's army, Spargapises , who was also her son, and a third of the Massagetian troops, killed the group Cyrus had left there and, finding the camp well stocked with food and the wine, unwittingly drank themselves into inebriation, diminishing their capability to defend themselves when they were then overtaken by a surprise attack. They were successfully defeated, and, although he

13340-499: The longer Greek form, Dareiaîos ( Δαρειαῖος ). The name in nominative form means "he who holds firm the good(ness)", which can be seen by the first part dāraya , meaning "holder", and the adverb vau , meaning "goodness". At some time between his coronation and his death, Darius left a tri-lingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun , which was written in Elamite , Old Persian and Babylonian . The inscription begins with

13485-399: The man whose horse neighed first in recognition of the rising sun would become king. According to Herodotus, Darius had a slave, Oebares, who rubbed his hand over the genitals of a mare that Darius's horse favored. When the six gathered, Oebares placed his hands beside the nostrils of Darius's horse, who became excited at the scent and neighed. This was followed by lightning and thunder, leading

13630-567: The mother of Darius. The Behistun Inscription of Darius states that his father was satrap of Bactria in 522 BCE. According to Herodotus (III.139), Darius, prior to seizing power and "of no consequence at the time", had served as a spearman ( doryphoros ) in the Egyptian campaign (528–525 BCE) of Cambyses II , then the Persian Great King; this is often interpreted to mean he was the king's personal spear-carrier, an important role. Hystaspes

13775-575: The myth, ruled the country for about 500 years. At the end of his life, he allocated his kingdom to his three sons, Salm , Tur , and Iraj . Iraj was Fereydun's youngest and favored son, and inherited the best part of the kingdom, namely Iran. Salm inherited Anatolia (" Rûm ", more generally meaning the Roman Empire , the Greco-Roman world, or just "the West"), and Tur inherited Central Asia (" Turān ", all

13920-583: The name of a deity or hero reflected in the Vedic Trita and the Avestan Θrita . Both names are identical to the adjective meaning "the third", a term used of a minor deity associated with two other deities to form a triad . In the Indian Vedas , Trita is associated with thunder gods and wind gods . Trita is also called Āptya , a name that is probably cognate with Āθβiya , the name of Thraetaona's father in

14065-516: The naming customs, Cyrus's father, Cambyses I , named him Cyrus after his grandfather, who was Cyrus I . There is also an account by Strabo that claimed Agradates adopted the name Cyrus after the Cyrus river near Pasargadae . Herodotus gave a mythological account of Cyrus's early life. In this account, Astyages had two prophetic dreams in which a flood, and then a series of fruit-bearing vines, emerged from his daughter Mandane's pelvis, and covered

14210-513: The national identity of the Iranian nation; the Achaemenid Empire was instrumental in spreading the ideals of Zoroastrianism as far east as China. He remains a cult figure in Iran , with the Tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae serving as a spot of reverence for millions of the country's citizens. The name Cyrus is a Latinized form derived from the Greek-language name Κῦρος ( Kỹros ), which itself

14355-467: The official languages of the Persian Empire, Old Persian , Elamite and Babylonian and Egyptian hieroglyphs . To construct these monuments, Darius employed a large number of workers and artisans of diverse nationalities. Several of these workers were deportees who had been employed specifically for these projects. These deportees enhanced the empire's economy and improved inter-cultural relations. At

14500-562: The other hand, would not have had a reason to change an original Kuraš into Kuruš , since both forms were acceptable. Therefore, Kuraš probably represents the original form. Another scholarly opinion is that Kuruš was a name of Indo-Aryan origin, in honour of the Indo-Aryan Kuru and Kamboja mercenaries from eastern Afghanistan and Northwest India that helped in the conquest of the Middle East. The Persian domination and kingdom in

14645-446: The others to dismount and kneel before Darius in recognition of his apparent divine providence . In this account, Darius himself claimed that he achieved the throne not through fraud, but cunning, even erecting a statue of himself mounted on his neighing horse with the inscription: "Darius, son of Hystaspes, obtained the sovereignty of Persia by the sagacity of his horse and the ingenious contrivance of Oebares, his groom." According to

14790-601: The period of 600–599 BC. By his own account, generally believed now to be accurate, Cyrus was preceded as king by his father Cambyses I, grandfather Cyrus I, and great-grandfather Teispes. Cyrus married Cassandane who was an Achaemenian and the daughter of Pharnaspes who bore him two sons, Cambyses II and Bardiya along with three daughters, Atossa , Artystone , and Roxane. Cyrus and Cassandane were known to love each other very much – Cassandane said that she found it more bitter to leave Cyrus than to depart her life. After her death, Cyrus insisted on public mourning throughout

14935-618: The profit of both rulers and subjects. Following the Persian conquest of Babylon , Cyrus issued the Edict of Restoration , in which he authorized and encouraged the return of the Jewish people to what had been the Kingdom of Judah , officially ending the Babylonian captivity . He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and left a lasting legacy on Judaism due to his role in facilitating the return to Zion ,

15080-415: The quelling of revolutions. Darius left a detailed account of these revolutions in the Behistun Inscription . One of the significant events of Darius's early reign was the slaying of Intaphernes , one of the seven noblemen who had deposed the previous ruler and installed Darius as the new monarch. The seven had made an agreement that they could all visit the new king whenever they pleased, except when he

15225-400: The revolt ended in the Persian reoccupation of Ionian and Greek islands, as well as the re-subjugation of Thrace and the conquering of Macedonia in 492 BCE under Mardonius . Macedon had been a vassal kingdom of the Persians since the late 6th century BCE, but retained autonomy. Mardonius's 492 campaign made it a fully subordinate part of the Persian kingdom. These military actions, coming as

15370-674: The revolt in Babylonia had ended. While in Babylonia, Darius learned a revolution had broken out in Bactria , a satrapy which had always been in favour of Darius, and had initially volunteered an army of soldiers to quell revolts. Following this, revolts broke out in Persis , the homeland of the Persians and Darius and then in Elam and Babylonia, followed by in Media , Parthia , Assyria , and Egypt . By 522 BCE, there were revolts against Darius in most parts of

15515-406: The rise of Darius to the throne from both Darius himself and Greek historians. The oldest records report a convoluted sequence of events in which Cambyses II lost his mind, murdered his brother Bardiya , and was killed by an infected leg wound. After this, Darius and a group of six nobles traveled to Sikayauvati to kill an usurper, Gaumata , who had taken the throne by pretending to be Bardiya during

15660-486: The river bed to enter at night. Shortly thereafter, Nabonidus returned from Borsippa and surrendered to Cyrus. On 29 October, Cyrus entered the city of Babylon. Prior to Cyrus's invasion of Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian Empire had conquered many kingdoms. In addition to Babylonia, Cyrus probably incorporated its sub-national entities into his Empire, including Syria , Judea , and Arabia Petraea , although there

15805-425: The same land. These also agree with other non-Iranian accounts, except on one point from Herodotus which states that Cambyses was not a king but a "Persian of good family". However, in some other passages, Herodotus' account is wrong also on the name of the son of Chishpish , which he mentions as Cambyses but according to modern scholars, should be Cyrus I . The traditional view based on archaeological research and

15950-430: The son of Harpagus, and in retribution, chopped him to pieces, roasted some portions while boiling others, and tricked his adviser into eating his child during a large banquet. Following the meal, Astyages's servants brought Harpagus the head, hands and feet of his son on platters, so he could realize his inadvertent cannibalism. Cyrus the Great succeeded to the throne in 559 BC following his father's death; however, Cyrus

16095-420: The state of Parsumash in the southwest of Iran and was succeeded by Teispes , who took the title "King of Anshan " after seizing the city Anshan and enlarging his kingdom further to include Pars proper. Ancient documents mention that Teispes had a son called Cyrus I , who also succeeded his father as "king of Anshan". Cyrus I had a full brother whose name is recorded as Ariaramnes . In 600 BC, Cyrus I

16240-399: The task to his son Xerxes . Darius was the son of Hystaspes and the grandson of Arsames . Darius married Atossa , daughter of Cyrus , with whom he had four sons: Xerxes , Achaemenes , Masistes and Hystaspes. He also married Artystone , another daughter of Cyrus, with whom he had two known sons, Arsames and Gobryas. Darius married Parmys , the daughter of Bardiya, with whom he had

16385-455: The territorial apex of the empire, when it stretched from parts of the Balkans ( Thrace - Macedonia , Bulgaria - Paeonia ) in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. In 516 BCE, Darius embarked on a campaign to Central Asia, Aria and Bactria and then marched into Afghanistan to Taxila in modern-day Pakistan . Darius spent the winter of 516–515 BCE in Gandhara , preparing to conquer

16530-519: The test of time, through invasions, internal divisions, successive empires, regime changes, and revolutions. The last prominent Persian figure to bring attention to the tomb was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran) the last official monarch of Persia, during his celebrations of 2,500 years of monarchy. Just as Alexander the Great before him, the Shah of Iran wanted to appeal to Cyrus's legacy to legitimize his own rule by extension. The United Nations recognizes

16675-594: The time. The Achaemenid Empire's largest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great , whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus River valley in the east. After conquering the Median Empire, Cyrus led the Achaemenids to conquer Lydia and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire . He also led an expedition into Central Asia, which resulted in major military campaigns that were described as having brought "into subjection every nation without exception"; Cyrus allegedly died in battle with

16820-402: The title of "The Father" from the people whom he had brought under his power? For it is plain fact that this is a name for one that bestows, rather than for one that takes away! The historian Plutarch ( c.  46  – c.  119 AD ) tells that "the Persians, because Cyrus was hook-nosed, even to this day love hook-nosed men and consider them the most handsome". Darius

16965-543: The tomb of Cyrus the Great and Pasargadae as a UNESCO World Heritage site. British historian Charles Freeman suggests that "In scope and extent his achievements [Cyrus] ranked far above that of the Macedonian king, Alexander, who was to demolish the [Achaemenid] empire in the 320s but fail to provide any stable alternative." Cyrus has been a personal hero to many people, including Thomas Jefferson , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , and David Ben-Gurion . The achievements of Cyrus

17110-504: The true king's absence. Darius's account, written at the Behistun Inscription, states that Cambyses II killed his own brother Bardiya, but that this murder was not known among the Iranian people . A would-be usurper named Gaumata came and lied to the people, stating that he was Bardiya. The Iranians had grown rebellious against Cambyses's rule and, on 11 March 522 BCE, a revolt against Cambyses broke out in his absence. On 1 July,

17255-452: The victorious Cyrus as pleasing the god Marduk. It describes how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples, and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. Although some have asserted that the cylinder represents a form of human rights charter, historians generally portray it in the context of a long-standing Mesopotamian tradition of new rulers beginning their reigns with declarations of reforms. Cyrus

17400-422: The years, still maintaining a large stone of quadrangular form at the base, followed by a pyramidal succession of smaller rectangular stones, until after a few slabs, the structure is curtailed by an edifice, with an arched roof composed of a pyramidal shaped stone, and a small opening or window on the side, where the slenderest man could barely squeeze through. Within this edifice was a golden coffin , resting on

17545-427: Was Elamite in origin and that the name meant "he who bestows care" in the extinct Elamite language . One reason is that, while Elamite names may end in -uš , no Elamite texts spell the name this way — only Kuraš . Meanwhile, Old Persian did not allow names to end in -aš , so it would make sense for Persian speakers to change an original Kuraš into the more grammatically correct form Kuruš . Elamite scribes, on

17690-449: Was Murashu Sons , based in the Babylonian city of Nippur . These banking firms provided loans and credit to clients. In an effort to further improve trade, Darius built canals, underground waterways and a powerful navy. According to Herodotus, qanat irrigation technology was introduced to Egypt, which is supported by the historian Albert T. Olmstead . He further improved and expanded the network of roads and way stations throughout

17835-460: Was Darius's first-born, Xerxes became heir and the next king through the influence of Atossa ; she had great authority in the kingdom as Darius loved her the most of all his wives. After becoming aware of the Persian defeat at the Battle of Marathon , Darius began planning another expedition against the Greek city-states ; this time, he, not Datis , would command the imperial armies. Darius had spent three years preparing men and ships for war when

17980-913: Was a major event in his reign, which began with the invasion of Thrace . Darius also conquered many cities of the northern Aegean, Paeonia , while Macedonia submitted voluntarily, after the demand of earth and water , becoming a vassal kingdom. He then left Megabyzus to conquer Thrace, returning to Sardis to spend the winter. The Greeks living in Asia Minor and some of the Greek islands had submitted to Persian rule already by 510 BCE. Nonetheless, there were certain Greeks who were pro-Persian, although these were largely based in Athens . To improve Greek-Persian relations, Darius opened his court and treasuries to those Greeks who wanted to serve him. These Greeks served as soldiers, artisans, statesmen and mariners for Darius. However,

18125-579: Was an officer in Cyrus 's army and a noble of his court. Before Cyrus and his army crossed the river Araxes to battle with the Armenians, he installed his son Cambyses II as king in case he should not return from battle. However, once Cyrus had crossed the Aras River, he had a vision in which Darius had wings atop his shoulders and stood upon the confines of Europe and Asia (the known world). When Cyrus awoke from

18270-400: Was born to his first wife before Darius rose to power. With Xerxes's accession, the empire was again ruled by a member of the house of Cyrus . Early in his reign, Darius wanted to reorganize the structure of the empire and reform the system of taxation he inherited from Cyrus and Cambyses. To do this, Darius created twenty provinces called satrapies (or archi ) which were each assigned to

18415-447: Was chosen either by the royal court or by the satrap. To assess tributes, a commission evaluated the expenses and revenues of each satrap. To ensure that one person did not gain too much power, each satrap had a secretary, who observed the affairs of the state and communicated with Darius; a treasurer, who safeguarded provincial revenues; and a garrison commander, who was responsible for the troops. Additionally, royal inspectors, who were

18560-506: Was derived from the Old Persian name Kūruš . The name and its meaning have been recorded within ancient inscriptions in different languages. The ancient Greek historians Ctesias and Plutarch stated that Cyrus was named from the Sun ( Kuros ), a concept which has been interpreted as meaning "like the Sun" ( Khurvash ) by noting its relation to the Persian noun for Sun, khor , while using -vash as

18705-402: Was effectively a stalemate, with both sides suffering heavy casualties by nightfall. Croesus retreated to Sardis the following morning. While in Sardis, Croesus sent out requests for his allies to send aid to Lydia. However, near the end of the winter, before the allies could unite, Cyrus the Great pushed the war into Lydian territory and besieged Croesus in his capital, Sardis. Shortly before

18850-474: Was impressed by her response and spared both her brother's and her son's life. After securing his authority over the entire empire , Darius embarked on a campaign to Egypt where he defeated the armies of the Pharaoh and secured the lands that Cambyses had conquered while incorporating a large portion of Egypt into the Achaemenid Empire . Through another series of campaigns, Darius I would eventually reign over

18995-458: Was killed by his wife Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae (Maksata), in the 60th year of Jewish captivity. An alternative account from Xenophon 's Cyropaedia contradicts the others, claiming that Cyrus died peacefully at his capital. The final version of Cyrus's death comes from Berossus , who only reports that Cyrus met his death while warring against the Dahae archers northwest of the headwaters of

19140-462: Was murdered, widespread revolts occurred throughout the empire , especially on the eastern side. Darius asserted his position as king by force, taking his armies throughout the empire, suppressing each revolt individually. The most notable of all these revolts was the Babylonian revolt which was led by Nebuchadnezzar III . This revolt occurred when Otanes withdrew much of the army from Babylon to aid Darius in suppressing other revolts. Darius felt that

19285-667: Was not yet an independent ruler. Like his predecessors, Cyrus had to recognize Median overlordship. Astyages , last king of the Median Empire and Cyrus's grandfather, may have ruled over the majority of the Ancient Near East , from the Lydian frontier in the west to the lands of the Parthians and Persians in the east. According to the Nabonidus Chronicle , Astyages launched an attack against Cyrus, "king of Ansan". According to

19430-404: Was over, Tomyris ordered the body of Cyrus brought to her, then decapitated him and dipped his head in a vessel of blood in a symbolic gesture of revenge for his bloodlust and the death of her son. However, some scholars question this version, mostly because even Herodotus admits this event was one of many versions of Cyrus's death that he heard from a supposedly reliable source who told him no one

19575-412: Was planning a rebellion, but when he was brought to the court, there was no proof of any such plan. Nonetheless, Darius killed Intaphernes's entire family, excluding his wife's brother and son. She was asked to choose between her brother and son. She chose her brother to live. Her reasoning for doing so was that she could have another husband and another son, but she would always have but one brother. Darius

19720-427: Was probably sent to Cyrus and put to death after being tortured. Mazares continued the conquest of Asia Minor but died of unknown causes during his campaign in Ionia. Cyrus sent Harpagus to complete Mazares's conquest of Asia Minor. Harpagus captured Lycia , Aeolia and Caria , using the technique of building earthworks to breach the walls of besieged cities, a method unknown to the Greeks. He ended his conquest of

19865-434: Was seized without a battle, with little to no resistance from the populace. It is probable that Cyrus engaged in negotiations with the Babylonian generals to obtain a compromise on their part and therefore avoid an armed confrontation. Nabonidus, who had retreated to Sippar following his defeat at Opis, fled to Borsippa. Around 12 October, Persian general Gubaru 's troops entered Babylon, again without any resistance from

20010-400: Was still the nominal governor of Parsa under Cyrus's authority—more a Prince or a Grand Duke than a King. His son, Hystaspes , who was also Cyrus's second cousin, was then made satrap of Parthia and Phrygia . Cyrus the Great thus united the twin Achaemenid kingdoms of Parsa and Anshan into Persia proper. Arsames lived to see his grandson become Darius the Great, Shahanshah of Persia, after

20155-474: Was succeeded by his son, Cambyses I , who reigned until 559 BC. Cyrus II "the Great" was a son of Cambyses I, who had named his son after his father, Cyrus I. There are several inscriptions of Cyrus the Great and later kings that refer to Cambyses I as the "great king" and "king of Anshan". Among these are some passages in the Cyrus cylinder where Cyrus calls himself "son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan". Another inscription (from CM's) mentions Cambyses I as

20300-401: Was supportive towards Greek cults which can be seen in his letter to Gadatas, and supported Elamite priests. He had also observed Egyptian religious rites related to kingship and had built the temple for the Egyptian god, Amun . Early on, Darius and his advisors had the idea to establish new royal mansions at Susa and Persepolis because he was eager to demonstrate his newfound power and leave

20445-419: Was taken prisoner, Spargapises committed suicide once he regained sobriety. Upon learning of what had transpired, Tomyris denounced Cyrus's tactics as underhanded and swore vengeance, leading a second wave of troops into battle herself. Cyrus the Great was ultimately killed, and his forces suffered massive casualties in what Herodotus referred to as the fiercest battle of his career and the ancient world. When it

20590-528: Was the eldest of five sons to Hystaspes . The identity of his mother is uncertain. According to the modern historian Alireza Shapour Shahbazi (1994), Darius's mother was thought to have been a woman named Rhodogune. However, according to Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (2013), recently uncovered texts in Persepolis indicate that his mother was Irdabama , an affluent landowner descended from a family of local Elamite rulers. Richard Stoneman likewise refers to Irdabama as

20735-411: Was the work of druj, the enemy of Asha . Darius believed that because he lived righteously by Asha, Ahura Mazda supported him. In many cuneiform inscriptions denoting his achievements, he presents himself as a devout believer, perhaps even convinced that he had a divine right to rule over the world. However, his relationship with the deity was far more complex: in one inscription he writes "Ahura Mazda

20880-452: Was there to see the aftermath. Herodotus also recounts that Cyrus saw in his sleep the oldest son of Hystaspes ( Darius I ) with wings upon his shoulders, shadowing with the one wing Asia, and with the other wing Europe. Archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan explains this statement by Herodotus and its connection with the four winged bas-relief figure of Cyrus the Great in the following way: Herodotus therefore, as I surmise, may have known of

21025-570: Was with a woman. One evening, Intaphernes went to the palace to meet Darius, but was stopped by two officers who stated that Darius was with a woman. Becoming enraged and insulted, Intaphernes drew his sword and cut off the ears and noses of the two officers. While leaving the palace, he took the bridle from his horse, and tied the two officers together. The officers went to the king and showed him what Intaphernes had done to them. Darius began to fear for his own safety; he thought that all seven noblemen had banded together to rebel against him and that

#472527