To me, the Persians are one of the most interesting Empires from ancient times (yeah, Egypt was boring).You have the charismatic leader, Cyrus, who waged war against the Lydians, Babylonians, and Elamites. You’ve got a virtual “superpower” that was able to not only conquer enemies, but also incorporate them into their Empire. The Persians also took after our beloved Greeks – you’ve got the Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Artesium, and the legendary Battle of Thermopylae (where 300 Spartans (joined by nearly 700 Thespians) would battle, and die, to the last man in unsuccessfully defending a major pass into Greece). And when Cyrus died, you’ve got his sons, rumored to have plotted the murdering of each other; and a usurper to his throne, also a murderer, to make things even more dramatic and interesting.
Cyrus, King of Persia, died in 529 BC.
He had envisioned that his two sons would “share” his Empire – Cambyses, his eldest, was to take the throne. Bardiya, the second son, would have a place over a Persian army which ruled a vast amount of territory. To make sure the family was secure, Cyrus also arranged for the brothers to “marry” their own sisters (yikes).
Cambyses would rule for only seven years; he was “wounded” by an arrow in the leg, while travelling from Egypt (newly conquered) back to his throne. He died from gangrene. The incident, however, was far from accidental – it is believed that Darius (more on him in a second) was the king’s slayer.
Bardiya took the throne immediately in 522 BC. But he would not last long. The new Persian king found himself ambushed while travelling a royal highway. Cambyses had been murdered in March; now Bardiya was murdered in September. The first king had died from an arrow in his leg, the second king was stabbed to death in an open field
What makes this interesting (yes!) is the fact that Darius, one of the top advisors to both men, was close when both incidents happened. Even more, Darius spun a fabulous tale and was able to usurp the throne and take Persia for himself.
Darius claimed that Cambyses had been responsible for Cyrus’ own death. The son had killed the father, in wanton bloodshed, and had taken the throne. (Actually, Cyrus died in battle, and his head was taken by his enemies) Further, Darius claimed that Bardiya had propped up Cambyses to do this, and it was Bardiya who had killed his brother to cover any conspiracy. Confusing, yes? Well… Darius’ tale spun almost out of control when he claimed that Bardiya had been murdered by Cambyses’ men, in revenge, and that an imposter had taken his place. This man was a dead-ringer (sorry) for Bardiya, and not even his “wife-sister” knew the truth. Of course… only Darius was aware of the full truth. And he would use his “truth” to keep himself “King” for nearly 65 years.
