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135-545: The prince's name is listed variously in the historical sources. In Darius the Great 's Behistun inscription , his Persian name is Bardiya or Bardia. Herodotus calls him Smerdis, which is the prevalent Greek form of his name; the Persian name has been assimilated to the Greek (Asiatic) name Smerdis or Smerdies , a name which also occurs in the poems of Alcaeus and Anacreon . Bardiya

270-495: 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

405-496: 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

540-566: 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 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

675-522: A confidant of Cambyses who knew of the killing of Tanyoxarces, is on his way with the body of Cambyses. Upon arriving at the capital and finding Sphendadates on the throne, Izabates exposes the fraud. Then, seven noblemen (among them Darius) conspire against Sphendadates. The seven are admitted to the palace by a co-conspirator, where Sphendadates is then killed. The seven then decide to hold a contest whereby whichever of them got his horse to neigh first after sunrise shall become king. Darius gets his horse to be

810-607: 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

945-907: 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

1080-592: A group of seven conspirators. In Greek and Latin sources, Darius subsequently gained kingship by cheating in a contest. Bardiya was the younger son of Cyrus the Great and a full or half-brother of Cambyses II . According to Ctesias, on his deathbed Cyrus appointed Bardiya as satrap (governor) of some of the far-eastern provinces. According to Darius the Great, Cambyses II, after becoming king of Persia but before setting out for Egypt , killed Bardiya and kept this secret. However, according to Herodotus (who gives two detailed stories), Bardiya went to Egypt with Cambyses and

1215-450: A heavy blow to the latter. By 526 BC, Amasis II had died, and his son Psamtik III had succeeded him, thus weakening Egypt's position. In the meantime, Cambyses had made substantial preparations for his army. He had essentially laid the foundations for the Persian navy, which was crucial to his ambitions to conquer Egypt. The navy was created using men and equipment from Phoenicia and Asia Minor . During his march to Egypt, Cambyses made

1350-545: 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

1485-463: A nobleman of Persis, suspects that the king is not the brother of Cambyses, but rather the Smerdis whose ears Cyrus had commanded be cut off "for some grave reason" (3.69.6). To confirm his suspicion, Otanes asks his daughter Phaidyme – who is a member of the harem and thus has access to the king – to check whether the man has ears. Phaidyme does as asked, and one night while the king is asleep, confirms that

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1620-457: A particular bow brought from the king of Ethiopia, Cambyses sends Smerdis back to Persis. Cambyses then has a dream in which Smerdis would supplant him, so he sends a henchman to murder him secretly (3.30). The assassination succeeds and is meant to be kept secret. One of the few that know of Smerdis' death is Patizeithes, the steward of Cambyses' palace at Susa . That steward has a brother who greatly resembles Smerdis in appearance, and whose name

1755-478: 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

1890-408: 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

2025-683: 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,

2160-421: 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,

2295-538: 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

2430-597: A treaty with the Arabs , who controlled the desert area between Gaza and the Egyptian frontier. This treaty granted Cambyses sufficient water for his forces to reach the Nile. This also paved the way for Cambyses to extend his authority over the unsubdued lands between Egypt and Persia, including Gaza, a prominent commercial region, which equalled that of Sardis in Lydia . The region served as

2565-455: A tri-lingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun , which was written in Elamite , Old Persian and Babylonian . The inscription begins with 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

2700-567: A wound to the thigh, which soon became gangrenous . Cambyses died three weeks later (in July) at a location called Agbatana, which is most likely the modern city of Hama . He died childless, and was succeeded by his younger brother Bardiya . According to Darius, who was Cambyses' lance-bearer at the time, Bardiya decided that he could not succeed as King of Kings and died by his own hand in 522 BC. Herodotus and Ctesias ascribe his death to an accident. Ctesias writes that Cambyses, despondent from

2835-452: 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

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2970-489: Is also Smerdis (3.61.1). The steward then puts his brother on the throne, and has him pretend that he is the brother of Cambyses. The false Smerdis succeeds in the deception by not allowing anyone who knew the real Smerdis into his presence (3.61). Still in Egypt, Cambyses learns of the false Smerdis, and knowing that the real Smerdis is dead, recognises the deception. Cambyses then readies his army to return to Susa, but while mounting his horse accidentally injures his thigh with

3105-533: Is based on several ancient sources, including the Behistun inscription as well as Herodotus, in Ctesias, and Justin, although there are minor differences among them. The three oldest surviving sources agree that Gaumata/Pseudo-Smerdis/Sphendadates was overthrown by Darius and others in a coup d'état, and that Darius then ascended the throne. Most sources (including Darius himself, Herodotus and Ctesias) have Darius as part of

3240-407: Is called Tanyoxarces by Ctesias , who also names Gaumāta as Sphendadates ; he is called Tanooxares by Xenophon , who takes the name from Ctesias, and he is called Mergis and Merdis by Justin and Merdis by Aeschylus . In English-language histories he has traditionally been called Smerdis, following Herodotus' example, but recent histories tend to call him Bardiya. The traditional view

3375-556: Is contradicted by other sources that do not suggest a catastrophe for his forces, even though the obstacles of the campaign possibly compelled Cambyses to withdraw. Archaeological proof indicates that the Achaemenids made use of the stronghold of Dorginarti (south of Buhen ) during the time they controlled Egypt. In accordance with the traditional Egyptian royal custom, Cambyses took the titles of "king of Upper and Lower Egypt" and "descendant of (the gods) Ra , Horus , Osiris ," used by

3510-516: 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,

3645-474: Is not referred to as his sister. The accusations against Cambyses of committing incest are mentioned as part of his "blasphemous actions", which were designed to illustrate his "madness and vanity". These reports all derive from the same Egyptian source that was antagonistic towards Cambyses, and some of these allegations of "crimes", such as the killing of the Apis bull , have been confirmed as false, which means that

3780-486: Is of Elamite origin, whilst others associate it with Kambojas , an Iranian people who inhabited northwestern India . The name of Cambyses is known in other languages as: Elamite Kanbuziya ; Akkadian Kambuziya ; Aramaic Kanbūzī . Cambyses was the eldest son of Cyrus the Great ( r.  550–530 BC ) and Cassandane . Cambyses had a younger brother named Bardiya , and three sisters named Artystone , Atossa and Roxanne. Cambyses' paternal grandfather

3915-460: Is plotting against him. As proof of this he declares that Tanyoxarces would refuse to come if summoned. When Tanyoxarces does not immediately accede to the summons, Cambyses begins to believe Sphendadates, who then begins to slander Tanyoxarces more freely. By the time Tanyoxarces finally arrives, Cambyses is determined to put him to death, but hesitates. Sphendadates suggests that, since he (Sphendadates) looks very much like Tanyoxarces, he could take

4050-535: 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 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

4185-522: Is said to have ordered the burial of an Apis in a sarcophagus . The successor of the Apis died in 518 BC, four years after Cambyses had already died. The epitaph of the Apis buried in 524 BC, states: [Year] 6, third month of the season Shemou, day 10 (?), under the Majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt [...] endowed with eternal life, the god was brought in [peace toward the good West and laid to rest in

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4320-407: Is that there is no evidence for it, and lacking further discoveries that view "must remain hypothetical". However, the idea that Gaumata was a fabrication is nonetheless appealing because "it was vital for a man like Darius, who had no particular rights to the throne, to invent a character (Gaumata) condemned for his acts against gods and men." There are some implausibilities in the official story, e.g.

4455-607: 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

4590-462: 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

4725-507: 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 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

4860-443: 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

4995-913: 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

5130-721: 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

5265-505: The Massagetae of Central Asia , where he met his end. Cambyses thus became the sole ruler of the vast Achaemenid Empire, facing no reported opposition. While en route in Syria ( Eber-Nari ), he received a wound to the thigh, which was soon affected by gangrene . Cambyses died three weeks later at a location called Agbatana, which is most likely the modern city of Hama . He died childless, and

5400-580: 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

5535-560: The Spartans raising a force against him, and the rising hostility of some of the Samian aristocrats, who preferred partnership with Egypt. Another former ally of Amasis II, the Carian military leader Phanes of Halicarnassus , had also joined Cambyses after escaping assassins sent by the pharaoh. Cambyses, before starting his expedition into Egypt, had seized Cyprus from Amasis II, which was reportedly

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5670-431: 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,

5805-400: 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

5940-589: The Achaemenid throne was relatively smooth. Ruling over a vast but young empire, Cambyses preserved his authority over the subjugated lands, but also expanded his dominion over Egypt, the last prominent power in the Near East . According to the French Iranologist Pierre Briant , "this must not be seen as a more or less irrational and uncontrollable desire to take over the entire inhabited world". On

6075-508: 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

6210-401: 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

6345-505: The Egyptian Demotic Chronicle , Cambyses decreased the immense income that the Egyptian temples received from the Egyptian pharaohs. Only the three main temples were given permission to maintain all their entitlements. In response to this action, Egyptian priests who had lost their entitlements circulated spurious stories about Cambyses. The issue with the temples dated back to the earlier pharaohs, who had also tried to reduce

6480-404: The Egyptian gods. According to ancient historians, Cambyses' rule of Egypt was marked by brutality, looting temples, ridiculing the local gods, and defilement of the royal tombs. Historians such as Herodotus put an emphasis on Cambyses' supposed killing of the Egyptian sacred bull Apis . However, no looting of temples has been reported by contemporary Egyptian sources. In addition, Cambyses

6615-529: The Egyptians to cease using their war engines for fear of killing an animal and angering the gods. The forces of Cambyses then laid siege to Memphis , where Psamtik III and his men had fortified themselves. Despite the considerable resistance by the pharaoh's forces, Cambyses captured Memphis and established a Persian-Egyptian garrison there. The length of the siege is not specified by the 5th-century BC Greek historian Herodotus . Regardless, by summer, all of Egypt

6750-524: The Great ( r.  550 – 530 BC ) and his mother was Cassandane . His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Africa , notably Egypt , which he conquered after his victory over the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik III ( r.  526–525 BC ) at the battle of Pelusium in 525 BC. After having established himself in Egypt, he expanded the empire's holdings in Africa, including

6885-622: 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 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

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7020-509: 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

7155-714: The Persian tribal nobility were increasingly antagonistic towards him. In Achaemenid Persia, marriages between family members, such as half-siblings, nieces and cousins took place but were not seen as incestuous . However, Greek sources state that brother-sister and father-daughter marriages allegedly took place inside the royal family, yet it remains problematic to determine the reliability of these accounts. According to Herodotus, Cambyses supposedly married two of his sisters, Atossa and Roxane. This would have been regarded as illegal. However, Herodotus also states that Cambyses married Otanes ' daughter Phaidyme , whilst his contemporary Ctesias names Roxane as Cambyses' wife, but she

7290-600: The Phoenician state of Carthage , but it was ultimately called off due to his Phoenician subjects' reluctance to make war against their own people. In the south, Cambyses, followed the same policy of the last pharaohs to keep the Kingdom of Kush in check, and had a garrison established at Elephantine . According to Herodotus, Cambyses' campaigns against Ammon in the Siwa Oasis and Ethiopia ended catastrophically. He states that

7425-484: 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

7560-469: 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

7695-635: 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

7830-617: 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

7965-494: The conquest of Cyrenaica . In the spring of 522 BC, Cambyses hurriedly left Egypt to deal with a rebellion in Persia. Before his accession, Cambyses had briefly served as the governor of northern Babylonia under his father from April to December 538 BC. Afterwards, he resided in the Babylonian cities of Babylon and Sippar , before being appointed by his father as co-ruler in 530 BC. His father then set off on an expedition against

8100-554: The contrary, Cambyses' action had already been planned by his father, who wanted to unify Babylonia with the lands of the Trans-Euphrates (an area that stretched from Posideium to Egypt). This would eventually require conquering the lands situated between the Euphrates and Nile rivers, and therefore necessitated conflict with Egypt, which had previously and more recently shown interest in the area. The incumbent pharaoh of Egypt

8235-427: 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

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8370-443: 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

8505-1025: The economic power of the temples. This issue would continue until the demise of ancient Egypt. Like Cyrus in Babylon, Cambyses allowed the Egyptian nobility to maintain their jurisdictions. Although a tax system existed during the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses, it was not a systematic one, and thus the subjects of the king were either obligated to give gifts, or pay taxes. As was the case during his father's reign, Cambyses' satraps were all of Persian stock: Gubaru in Babylonia-Trans-Euphrates: Aryandes in Egypt: Oroetes in Sardis, Mitrobates in Dascylium , Dadarsi in Bactria , and Vivana in Arachosia . Likewise,

8640-403: The empire alongside Persian . He also put the empire in better standing by building roads and introducing standard weights and measures . Through these changes, 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

8775-558: 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

8910-541: 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

9045-475: 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

9180-471: 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 ,

9315-537: The figure being impersonated, including 'Tanoxares', 'Mergis' and 'Mardos'. A longer version of the story appears in Book 3 of Herodotus' Histories , written c. 450 BC. That story there (3.1–38, 3.61–88) can be roughly summarized as follows: While in Egypt, Cambyses wounds the thigh of the sacred bull worshipped as the god Apis, and when the sacred bull dies from the wound, Cambyses loses his already tenuous grasp on sanity (3.27–3.30). Jealous of his brother Smerdis' skill with

9450-407: The first to neigh (F13.17: "the result of a cunning stratagem") and he ascends the throne. Most modern historians do not consider Darius' version of events convincing, and assume that the person who ruled for a few months was the real son of Cyrus, and that the story of his impersonation by a magus was an invention of Darius to justify his seizure of the throne. The key argument against a fabrication

9585-428: 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

9720-472: 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

9855-611: The governor of Parthia and Hyrcania , or at least held a prominent role there. Important offices centred around the king was also occupied by the Persians, as in the case of Prexaspes , who served as the "message-bearer" of Cambyses, and Sisamnes , who was the royal judge but later executed by Cambyses. According to Herodotus, Cambyses was labelled a " despot " by the Persians due to his being "half-mad, cruel, and insolent". However, this would seem to be part of later Persian and Egyptian propaganda critical of Cambyses. Indeed, due to Cambyses' willingness to consolidate authority to himself,

9990-516: The governor of the northern part of Babylonia , including its city Babylon , whilst the central and southern part continued to be directly supervised by Cyrus and his bureaucrats. Before his appointment, Cambyses had taken part in a ritual at the regular New Year festival on 27 March 538 BC, where he received the royal sceptre in Esagila , a temple dedicated to the god Marduk . His governorship, however, lasted only nine months; Cyrus dismissed him from

10125-512: 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 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

10260-486: 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

10395-405: The headquarters for the Persian expedition into Egypt. In 525 BC, Cambyses finally invaded Egypt. In the spring of that year, the Persian and Egyptian forces clashed at Pelusium , where the Persians emerged victorious. According to one author, Cambyses was able to defeat the Egyptians by putting cats, sheep, dogs and other animals that the Egyptians considered sacred in the front lines. This led

10530-401: The herds and houses of the people, which Darius corrected once he gained the throne. The death of the false Bardiya was annually celebrated in Persia by a feast called "the killing of the magian," ( Magiophani ) at which no magian was allowed to show himself. This episode is dealt with by Gore Vidal in his novel Creation . He takes the view that the person who ruled for a few months was

10665-464: The imperial treasurer in Babylon, Mithradata, was also from a Persian family. Indeed, the senior officials and officers accompanying Cambyses in Egypt were composed solely of Persians. The most notable of these Persians were relatives of the king, such as his cousin Darius , who occupied high offices under Cyrus and Cambyses, and serving as a spear-bearer under the latter. Darius' father, Hystaspes, served as

10800-471: The impostor resembled the real Bardiya so closely that most of his wives did not spot the difference, except for queen Phaidyme . Darius often accused rebels and opponents of being impostors (such as Nebuchadnezzar III ) and it could be straining credibility to say that they all were. In the next year, another person claiming to be Bardiya, named Vahyazdāta ( Old Persian : 𐎺𐏃𐎹𐏀𐎭𐎠𐎫 ) rose against Darius in eastern Persia and met with great success, but he

10935-625: 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

11070-479: The intrigue. According to Herodotus, the name of the Magian usurper was Oropastes , but according to Ctesias it was Sphendadates . The despotic rule of Cambyses, coupled with his long absence in Egypt, contributed to the fact that "the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a tax relief for three years. Cambyses began to march against him, but died in

11205-413: 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

11340-501: The king [...], endowed with all life, with all perpetuity and prosperity (?), with all health, with all joy, appearing eternally as king of Upper and Lower Egypt. This thus debunks Cambyses' supposed killing of the Apis, and according to Briant, proves that Herodotus documented bogus reports. Rather, Cambyses took part in the preservation and burial ceremony of an Apis. Other similar sources also make mention of Cambyses' careful treatment towards Egyptian culture and religion. According to

11475-431: The king does not in fact have ears. His suspicions confirmed, Otanes then gathers six noblemen and plots to get rid of the false Smerdis. A seventh nobleman, Darius, arrives at the capital shortly thereafter, and is then included in the group. The seven conspirators charge into the chambers of the king, and while five deal with the guards, Darius and Megabyzus kill the false Smerdis and a companion. Five days later, after

11610-519: 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

11745-517: 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

11880-438: The loss of family members, stabbed himself in the thigh while working with a piece of wood, and died eleven days later from the wound. Herodotus' story is that while Cambyses was mounting his horse, the tip of his scabbard broke, and his sword pierced his thigh. Some modern historians suspect that Cambyses was assassinated, either by Darius as the first step to usurping the empire for himself, or by supporters of Bardiya. Cambyses

12015-399: 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

12150-516: 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

12285-414: The necropolis in] his [place] which is the place which his Majesty had made for him, [after] all [the ceremonies had been done for him] in the embalming hall [...] It was done according to everything his Majesty had said [...] A legend on the sarcophagus also says: (Cambyses], the king of Upper and Lower Egypt [...] made as his monument to his father Apis-Osiris a large sarcophagus of granite, dedicated by

12420-467: 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

12555-446: 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

12690-421: The point of his sword. Cambyses dies from the wound a few days later (3.63–3.66). On his death bed, Cambyses perceives Smerdis as favouring a return to Median hegemony (3.65). The false Smerdis then continues to rule at Susa for some time, and gains support from everyone except the Persians when he grants a three-year military draft and tax exemption to the various peoples of the empire (3.67). Meanwhile, Otanes ,

12825-531: The post in December 538 BC for unknown reasons. After his dismissal, Cambyses continued to mostly reside in the Babylonian cities of Babylon and Sippar . According to Babylonian records, both Cambyses and Cyrus carried the title of "King of Babylon, King of the Lands" in 538/7 BC, which indicates that Cyrus had appointed him as co-ruler some years before his campaign against the Massagetae . Cyrus' younger son, Bardiya,

12960-409: The previous Egyptian pharaohs. Cambyses used propaganda to show his Egyptian conquest as a legitimate unification with the native Egyptians, and that he was himself of Egyptian descent, claiming to be the son of Princess Nitetis, a daughter of the pharaoh Apries . At Sais , Cambyses had himself crowned in the temple of the goddess Neith as part of a religious ritual, during which he made sacrifices to

13095-425: The prince's place. Cambyses agrees, and Tanyoxarces is killed by being forced to drink bull's blood . Sphendadates then takes the place as governor of the eastern provinces. Five years later, while in Babylon, Cambyses accidentally wounds himself in the thigh, and dies eleven days later. Upon hearing of Cambyses death, Sphendadates (alias Tanyoxarces) returns to the capital and succeeds Cambyses. Meanwhile, Izabates,

13230-415: 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

13365-557: The real Bardiya. "The impostor Magian Smerdis" is mentioned in the short story by Jorge Luis Borges , Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius . He is the only historical character that the protagonist is able to recognize when discovering the article on the fictitious nation of Uqbar, and it is stated that his name has been invoked mainly as a metaphor. Darius the Great Darius I ( Old Persian : 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš ; c.  550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius

13500-504: The reason behind this defeat was the "madness" of Cambyses, who "at once began his march against Ethiopia, without any orders for the provision of supplies, and without for a moment considering the fact that he was to take his men to the ends of the earth". This is called the Lost Army of Cambyses . However, according to Briant, "the deliberate bias against Cambyses raises doubts about the accuracy of Herodotus's version." Herodotus' statement

13635-488: The report of Cambyses' supposed incestuous acts is questionable. In the spring of 522 BC, Cambyses hurriedly left Egypt to deal with a rebellion in Persia. Before he left the country, he made Egypt into a satrapy under the governorship of the Persian Aryandes . However Cambyses died shortly after under disputed circumstances. By most accounts, while Cambyses was on his way through Syria ( Eber-Nari ), he received

13770-400: 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

13905-625: 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

14040-406: 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

14175-400: The spring of 522 BC in disputed circumstances. Before his death he confessed to the murder of his brother, and publicly explained the whole fraud, but this was not generally believed. Nobody had the courage to oppose the new king, who ruled for seven months over the whole empire. The new king transferred the seat of government to Media . A number of Persian nobles discovered that their new ruler

14310-399: 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

14445-455: 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

14580-536: The throne (3.84–3.87). Ctesias' version (c. 400 BC) runs as follows (XI/F9.8 and XII/F13.11-17, via Photius Bibl . 72): King Cyrus, as he lay dying, appointed his elder son, Cambyses, to the throne and appointed his younger son, Tanyoxarces, governor of the provinces of Bactria , Chorasmia , Parthia , and Carmania . Shortly after Cambyses ascends the throne, a certain Sphendadates who had been whipped by Tanyoxarces for some offence, informs Cambyses that his brother

14715-422: 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 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

14850-505: The throne by posing as one of the sons of Cyrus the Great, i.e. as one of the brothers of Cambyses II . In Darius' trilingual Behistun inscription, the prince being impersonated is named "Pirtiya" in Elamite , "Bardiya" in Old Persian , and "Barziya" in Akkadian . In Herodotus' Histories , the prince and his imposter have the same name (Smerdis). For Ctesias, Sphendadates poses as 'Tanyoxarces'. Other Greek sources have various other names for

14985-409: The time of Darius's death construction projects were still under way. Xerxes completed these works and in some cases expanded his father's projects by erecting new buildings of his own. Cambyses II Cambyses II ( Old Persian : 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 , romanized:  Kaᵐbūjiya ) was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus

15120-553: 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,

15255-440: The tumult has died down, the seven meet again to discuss a suitable form of government (3.80–82). After some discussion over the merits of democracy (proposed by Otanes) and oligarchy (proposed by Megabyzus) and monarchy (proposed by Darius), four of the seven vote in favour of a monarchy. They then decide to hold a contest whereby whichever of them got his horse to neigh first after sunrise shall become king. Darius cheats and ascends

15390-421: Was Amasis II , who had been ruling since 570. His ally, Polycrates , a Greek ruler of Samos , posed a considerable threat to the Achaemenids, launching several raids that jeopardised Achaemenid authority. However, Polycrates eventually forsook his Egyptian allies, and reached out to Cambyses, whose plans he was well acquainted with. His sudden change of alliances was undoubtedly due to his uneasy position, with

15525-449: 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

15660-507: 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

15795-865: 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,

15930-575: Was an impostor, and a group of seven nobles formed a plot to kill him. They surprised him at a castle in Nisa, home of the Nisean horses , and stabbed him to death in September 522 BC. One of the seven, Darius, was proclaimed as ruler shortly after. While the primary sources do not agree on the names and many other details, the three oldest surviving sources (Darius himself, Herodotus and Ctesias) all portray Gaumata/Pseudo-Smerdis/Sphendadates as an imposter who usurped

16065-579: 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

16200-400: 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

16335-447: 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

16470-640: Was finally defeated, taken prisoner and executed. Perhaps he is identical with the King Maraphis "the Maraphian," name of a Persian tribe, who occurs as successor in the list of Persian kings given by Aeschylus . The real Bardiya had only one daughter, called Parmys , who eventually married Darius the Great. Some contracts dating from his reign have been found in Babylonia, where his name is spelt Barziya or Bardiya . Darius says that Bardiya destroyed some temples, which Darius later restored. Bardiya also took away

16605-586: Was given his own realm in Central Asia, which was exempted from paying tribute. Cambyses reportedly took part in the expedition against the Massagetae, but, due to his being the heir to the throne, he was sent back to Persia, before Cyrus fell to the Massagetae. Cambyses had his father's body carried to Pasargadae in Persis, where he was buried in a tomb that had been prepared for him earlier. Cambyses' accession to

16740-570: Was his namesake Cambyses I , the king of Persis from 600 to 559 BC. The family was descended from a line of rulers of Persian tribes, who starting with Cyrus in Anshan , expanded their reach over Persis, subjugating the Median Empire , the Neo-Babylonian Empire , Lydia and Central Asia , thus establishing the Achaemenid Empire . In April 538 BC, Cambyses was appointed by his father as

16875-474: 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

17010-462: 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

17145-419: Was not known to the people, and so in the spring of 522 BC, a usurper pretended to be him and proclaimed himself king on a mountain near the Persian town of Paishiyauvada . Darius claimed that the real name of the usurper was Gaumata , a Magian priest from Media; this name has been preserved by Justin but given to his brother (called Patizeithes by Herodotus), who is said to have been the real promoter of

17280-412: 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

17415-401: 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

17550-528: 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

17685-411: 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

17820-473: Was there for some time but later Cambyses sent him back to Susa out of envy, because "Bardiya alone could draw the bow brought from the Ethiopian king." Herodotus then states that "Cambyses had a dream in which he saw his brother sitting on the royal throne. As a result of this dream Cambyses sent his trusted counselor Prexaspes from Egypt to Susa with the order to kill Smerdis" (i.e., Bardiya). Bardiya's death

17955-400: Was thus succeeded by his younger brother Bardiya , who ruled for a short period before being overthrown by Darius the Great ( r.  522–486 BC ), who went on to increase the power of the Achaemenids even further. The origins of the name of "Cambyses" ( Old Persian : 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 , romanized:  Kaᵐbūjiya ) is disputed in scholarship; according to some scholars, the name

18090-539: Was under Persian suzerainty . Cambyses now adopted the aspirations of the last pharaohs in seeking to control the neighbouring lands towards the west ( Libya and Cyrenaica ) and south ( Nubia ). The Libyans, and soon the Greeks of Cyrene and Barca , willingly acknowledged the authority of Cambyses, and as proof of their submission, sent offerings to Cambyses. As a demonstration of his generosity, Cambyses had Amasis II's Greek widow, Ladice , returned to Cyrene. Cambyses originally intended to make an expedition against

18225-570: 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

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