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Bardiya or Smerdis (Old Persian: 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹[1] Bardiya;[2] Ancient Greek: Σμέρδις Smérdis;[3] possibly died 522 BCE), also named as Tanyoxarces (Old Persian: *Tanūvazraka; Ancient Greek: Τανυοξάρκης Tanuoxárkēs) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life. Bardiya either ruled the Achaemenid Empire for a few months in 522 BCE, or was impersonated by a magus called Gaumata (Old Persian: 𐎥𐎢𐎶𐎠𐎫 Gaumāta), whose name is given by Ctesias as Sphendadates (Old Persian: *Spantadātah; Ancient Greek: Σφενδαδάτης Sphendadátēs), until he was toppled by Darius the Great.[4][2]

Key Information

Name and sources

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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 is called Tanyoxarces by Ctesias, who also names Gaumāta as Sphendadates;[5] he is called Tanooxares by Xenophon, who takes the name from Ctesias,[6] and he is called Mergis and Merdis by Justin[7] and Merdis by Aeschylus.[8]

In English-language histories he has traditionally been called Smerdis, following Herodotus' example, but recent histories tend to call him Bardiya.[9][10]

Traditional view

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Gaumata under Darius the Great's boot engraved at Behistun Inscription in Kermanshah.

The traditional view is based on several ancient sources, including the Behistun inscription[11] as well as Herodotus,[12] in Ctesias,[13] 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 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.[14] 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 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).[15]

Bardiya's death 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 the intrigue. According to Herodotus, the name of the Magian usurper was Oropastes, but according to Ctesias it was Sphendadates.[citation needed]

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.[16] Cambyses began to march against him, but died in 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 was an impostor, and a group of seven nobles formed a plot to kill him. In September 522 BC they surprised him at a castle in Nisa (on the Nisaean plain) and stabbed him to death. One of the seven, Darius, was proclaimed as ruler shortly after.[citation needed]

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 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 the figure being impersonated, including 'Tanoxares', 'Mergis' and 'Mardos'.[17]: 98 

In Herodotus' Histories

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Phaedyme is sent by her father Otanes, to check if King Smerdis has ears under his turban, as the suspected imposter was known to have had them cut off in punishment for a crime. She found that indeed the king did not have ears anymore, which proved that he was an imposter, and justified the coup in favour of Darius I.
"The struggle between Gobryas and the false Smerdis", 19th century print.
Bardiya / Smerdis in relation to his successor Darius the Great in the Achaemenid lineage.

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:[18][12]

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 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 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 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, 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 Phaedymia – 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 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 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 the throne (3.84–3.87).

In Ctesias' Persica

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Ctesias' version (c. 400 BC) runs as follows (XI/F9.8 and XII/F13.11-17, via Photius Bibl. 72):[19][13]

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 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 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, 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 the first to neigh (F13.17: "the result of a cunning stratagem") and he ascends the throne.

Modern view

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Medieval image of Smerdis.

Most modern historians do not consider Darius' version of events convincing, and assume that the person who ruled for a few months was Bardiya, 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.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

Shahbazi describes this view as a "fantasy of revisionist historians fond of sensationalism",[26] and according to Dandamayev it "must remain hypothetical".[27] 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."[28] There are some implausibilities in the official story, e.g. the impostor resembled the real Bardiya so closely that most of his wives did not spot the difference, except for queen Phaidyme.[29][30] 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.[10][23][31]

Aftermath

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In the next year, another person claiming to be Bardiya, named Vahyazdāta (Old Persian: 𐎺𐏃𐎹𐏀𐎭𐎠𐎫[32]) rose against Darius in eastern Persia and met with great success, but he was finally defeated, taken prisoner and executed.[33] Perhaps he is identical with the King Maraphis "the Maraphii" who occurs as successor in the list of Persian kings given by Aeschylus.[34]

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.[35] Darius says that Bardiya destroyed some temples, which Darius later restored. Bardiya also took away the herds and houses of the people, which Darius corrected once he gained the throne.[36]

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.[37][38]

Bardiya in fiction

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This episode is dealt with by Gore Vidal in his historical novel Creation (1981). The fictional narrator is a Persian nobleman in the court of Darius the Great who learns that the person who ruled for a few months was the real Bardiya.

An "impostor Magian Smerdis" is mentioned in the 1940 short story by Jorge Luis Borges, Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. In the story, a reader discovers an article on a fictitious nation in an otherwise ordinary encyclopedia volume. Smerdis is the only historical figure that the protagonist recognizes. The narrator of the story mentions that the name is invoked in the article as a metaphor more than anything else.

References

[edit]
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Bardiya

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Bardiya (Old Persian: Bṛdiya; Elamite: Bar-di-ya; Greek: Smerdis) was a Persian prince of the , the younger son of and full brother of , who ruled from approximately 559 to 522 BCE. According to the of Darius I, Bardiya was secretly assassinated by Cambyses prior to the latter's invasion of in 525 BCE to prevent a challenge to his authority, after which a magus priest named Gaumata exploited the absence by impersonating the deceased prince, proclaiming himself , and seizing control of the in early 522 BCE amid widespread support due to his policies of tax remission and debt forgiveness. Darius, then a minor noble, led a of seven Persian to assassinate the supposed impostor in 522 BCE at a fortress near , subsequently claiming the throne and portraying the event as the restoration of legitimate Achaemenid rule while suppressing revolts that invoked Bardiya's name. ![Behistun relief depicting Darius and the defeated Gaumata][float-right] The historicity of Gaumata's impersonation remains a central enigma in Achaemenid , as Darius's account—etched in trilingual inscriptions at Behistun to justify his irregular accession despite his collateral lineage—contradicts Greek sources like , who describe the 522 BCE ruler as the authentic Bardiya rebelling against Cambyses's tyranny, with the conspirators motivated by personal ambition rather than exposure of fraud. Babylonian chronicles corroborate a dynastic shift and policy reversals favoring subjects in 522 BCE but offer no resolution on identity, leaving scholars divided: some accept the impostor narrative based on its contemporaneity and alignment with Zoroastrian motifs of magian , while others, citing Darius's incentives and the absence of pre-522 BCE references to Bardiya's death, argue the "Gaumata" story fabricated a pretext for usurpation, potentially making Bardiya a legitimate overthrown by coup. This debate underscores the scarcity of independent primary evidence beyond self-interested royal annals and later Hellenistic accounts, with no archaeological confirmation of Bardiya's survival or imposture. Bardiya's brief , whether authentic or fabricated, marked a pivotal in the early , triggering revolts across satrapies and enabling Darius's consolidation through military campaigns that expanded and reorganized Persian administration, including the division into twenty provinces and the construction of imperial infrastructure like the Royal Road. His portrayal in reliefs at Behistun—as a defeated figure beneath Darius's foot—symbolizes the triumph of over perceived , influencing Persian royal ideology and later narratives of legitimacy in the dynasty.

Etymology and Historical Names

Linguistic Origins and Greek Equivalents

The Old Persian name Bardiya (𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹), attested in Achaemenid inscriptions such as the Behistun Inscription, derives from the Proto-Iranian root bardz-, connoting "to be high" or "to exalt," and is interpreted as signifying "high in status," "lofty," or "magnificent." This etymology aligns with the adjective bardi-, meaning "high" or "tall," reflecting a descriptive quality often associated with nobility in ancient Iranian nomenclature. In Greek sources, Bardiya is most commonly rendered as Smerdis (Σμέρδις), a phonetic approximation used by Herodotus to refer to Cyrus the Great's son in Histories 3.30, where it equates roughly to the Persian original. Variant transliterations appear across other authors: Ctesias employs Tanyoxarces (or Tanyoxarkes) in his Persica (Fragment 8), possibly emphasizing a royal or exalted connotation through the element oxarces implying "ruler" or "lord"; Aeschylus uses Mardos in Persians (line 774); Justin refers to Mergis; and Hellanicus to Merphis. These divergences stem from the challenges of adapting Old Persian phonemes—such as the initial b- shifting to sm-, m-, or t-—into Greek, compounded by oral transmission and differing dialectal influences in fifth-century BCE historiography.

Designations in Persian Sources

In Old Persian inscriptions, Bardiya is designated by the name Bardiya (cuneiform: 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹), derived from the Proto-Iranian root bardz- meaning "to be high" or "exalted," which scholars interpret as connoting physical loftiness or exceptional strength. This endogenous Persian form appears explicitly in the (DB) of Darius I, composed around 520 BCE, where the legitimate Achaemenid prince—younger son of —is identified as Bardiya, whom the magus Gaumata impersonated during his brief revolt in 522 BCE (DB 1.30-33). The inscription recounts Gaumata's deception: "He lied to the people thus: 'I am Bardiya, the son of Cyrus, brother of Cambyses,'" emphasizing the false claim to Bardiya's identity to legitimize the seizure of power. The Behistun text, the sole surviving Achaemenid royal inscription referencing Bardiya by name, distinguishes the true figure from the impostor by portraying Bardiya as secretly executed by prior to the Egyptian campaign, with the secret maintained to prevent unrest. In its trilingual format (, Elamite, and Akkadian), the Persian version employs Bardiya directly, while Elamite renders it as Pirtiya and Akkadian as Barziya (a Median-influenced variant), illustrating administrative adaptations across imperial languages but preserving the core Persian designation. Later claimants, such as Vahyazdāta in 522 BCE, similarly invoked the name Bardiya to rally support (DB 3.21-28), underscoring its symbolic weight as a royal Achaemenid heir in Persian propagandistic records. Secondary etymological associations in Persian contexts propose an epithet Tanyoxarces (from Old Persian tanu-wazraka, "having a large body"), potentially reflecting oral traditions of Bardiya's robust physique, though this lacks direct inscriptional attestation and may derive from later interpretive traditions. No other Old Persian sources, such as tomb inscriptions or administrative tablets, mention Bardiya, rendering the Behistun the definitive Persian evidentiary basis for his nomenclature and historical role.

Family Background and Early Life

Parentage and Position in the Achaemenid Dynasty

Bardiya was the younger son of Cyrus II, known as Cyrus the Great (r. 559–530 BCE), the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, and his principal wife Cassandane, an Achaemenid noblewoman and daughter of Pharnaspes. Ancient sources, including Herodotus, identify Bardiya and his elder brother Cambyses II (r. 530–522 BCE) as full siblings born to Cassandane, distinguishing them from Cyrus's other offspring by secondary wives or concubines. This parentage placed Bardiya firmly within the core royal lineage, as Cyrus's conquests elevated the family from regional Persian nobility—tracing descent from the eponymous Achaemenes—to imperial rulers over Media, Lydia, and Babylonia by 539 BCE. Within the , Bardiya held the position of secondary after Cambyses, who was explicitly designated by as successor prior to the latter's death in 530 BCE during a campaign against the . Lacking male issue from Cambyses at the time of his Egyptian expedition (525–522 BCE), Bardiya's fraternal proximity to the king positioned him as the next viable claimant, supported by his shared Achaemenid bloodline and absence of rival brothers; 's other sons, if any, did not feature prominently in records or succession disputes. This status is corroborated in Darius I's (DB I.10–13), which acknowledges Bardiya as 's son—albeit framing a later usurper as impersonating him—underscoring the dynastic legitimacy tied to direct patrilineal descent from the founder, though Darius's account serves propagandistic ends to justify his own seizure of power in 522 BCE. Bardiya's daughter Parmys later married Darius, further illustrating how intermarriages reinforced his branch's residual dynastic weight post-522 BCE.

Role Prior to Cambyses' Reign

According to ancient Greek sources, Bardiya was entrusted with a gubernatorial role in the eastern territories of the Achaemenid Empire shortly before Cyrus the Great's death in 530 BCE. Ctesias, in his Persica, reports that Cyrus appointed his younger son—named Tanyoxarces by the historian—as despotēs (lord or governor) over the Bactrians, Choramnians (likely referring to Chorasmia), Parthians, and Carmanians, positioning him to secure the empire's northeastern frontiers. This assignment underscores Bardiya's emerging authority as a royal appointee tasked with maintaining loyalty and order in expansive, culturally diverse satrapies distant from the Persian core. Xenophon's offers a variant tradition, portraying Bardiya (Tanaoxares) as designated satrap of Media, Armenia, and Cadusia in Cyrus's final dispositions, emphasizing his oversight of strategically vital regions bridging the and Caucasian highlands. These provinces, rich in resources and military recruits, required capable administration to counter nomadic threats and integrate local elites into the imperial structure. While Xenophon's work blends historical narrative with idealization, it aligns with in depicting Bardiya as a figure of substantial , surrounded by his own and prepared for broader responsibilities. Neither nor contemporary Persian records, such as royal inscriptions, corroborate these specific duties, with the former focusing on Bardiya's familial ties without administrative details and the latter silent on pre-accession roles amid later propagandistic emphases. The Greek accounts, though potentially influenced by oral traditions and historiographical agendas, reflect a consensus on Bardiya's preeminence as heir-presumptive, leveraging his Achaemenid lineage to stabilize peripheral during Cyrus's campaigns. This positioning likely enhanced his visibility and support base, factors later invoked in narratives of his purported rule.

Cambyses II's Egyptian Campaign and Alleged Fratricide

Timeline of Cambyses' Absence from Persia

Cambyses II initiated his campaign against around 526 BCE, departing from Persia with a large to cross the and engage the forces of Psamtik III. The Persian forces reached the Egyptian frontier by early 525 BCE, where they decisively defeated the Egyptian at the , a fortified city east of the , leveraging superior numbers and tactics including the use of camels to disrupt Egyptian chariots. Following the victory at , Cambyses advanced inland, capturing Memphis by mid-525 BCE after its surrender, which enabled his coronation as and consolidation of control over . By August 525 BCE, Persian authority extended across the Valley, marking the effective end of major resistance and the incorporation of as a satrapy. During the subsequent years of administration (525–522 BCE), Cambyses focused on governance, including temple endowments and integration of Egyptian elites, while launching exploratory expeditions: a punitive campaign against (Kush) that penetrated south but faltered due to supply issues, and aborted plans against and the . These efforts strained resources but secured Egypt's stability under Persian rule until reports of unrest in Persia—specifically the seizure of power by a claimant to the throne on March 11, 522 BCE—prompted his northward return. En route from in spring 522 BCE, Cambyses suffered a fatal injury, dying around July 522 BCE near or in Syrian territory, according to accounts attributing it to a amid . His absence from Persia, spanning roughly four years, left the empire's core vulnerable to internal challenges, culminating in the brief reign of the usurper.

Claims of Bardiya's Secret Execution

According to the Behistun Inscription of Darius I, Cambyses II secretly ordered the execution of his brother Bardiya prior to departing for Egypt in 525 BCE, ensuring the act remained unknown to the Persian populace to prevent unrest. The inscription specifies that this killing occurred after Cambyses ascended the throne but before his Egyptian campaign, with the secrecy maintained to avoid public knowledge of Bardiya's death. Herodotus, in his Histories (Book 3.30), reports that Cambyses grew suspicious of Smerdis (the Greek rendering of Bardiya) due to a dream and the latter's ability to draw an Ethiopian bow that Cambyses could not, interpreting it as a sign of potential usurpation. Cambyses then dispatched his trusted counselor Prexaspes to assassinate Smerdis secretly in a remote location, with Prexaspes confirming the deed by reporting that he had shot Smerdis while hunting and buried him in the desert. These accounts align in portraying the execution as clandestine to safeguard Cambyses' rule during his absence, though Darius' version omits the agent Prexaspes and frames it broadly as a royal order. adds that Prexaspes publicly confessed to the murder only after Cambyses' death in 522 BCE, amid the revolt, to discredit the pretender's claim to be Smerdis. Both sources, however, derive from Persian court traditions potentially shaped by Darius' propagandistic needs to legitimize his seizure of power from the alleged impostor Gaumata, raising questions about their impartiality given Darius' collateral lineage and the political stakes involved. No contemporaneous non-Persian records corroborate the secret killing, and some scholars note the absence of Egyptian or Babylonian evidence of Bardiya's death during Cambyses' reign.

The 522 BCE Revolt

Seizure of Power and Initial Support

In early 522 BCE, a magus named Gaumata seized the Achaemenid throne by impersonating , the younger son of and brother of , according to the of Darius I. The pretender proclaimed his identity on 11 March 522 BCE, exploiting the secrecy surrounding Bardiya's alleged execution by Cambyses during the Egyptian campaign. This act capitalized on widespread discontent with Cambyses' prolonged absence and harsh rule, allowing Gaumata to rally supporters in Persia, Media, and beyond without immediate opposition. The seizure gained swift and broad initial support, as the claimant was widely accepted as the legitimate Bardiya by nobles, commoners, and provincial subjects alike. Darius I's inscription acknowledges that "all the people became rebellious against Cambyses and went over to him, both Persia and Media, as well as the other provinces," reflecting the pretender's effective portrayal and the populace's preference for a familiar royal figure over the distant king. corroborates this reception, describing how the revolt spread rapidly, with the new ruler consolidating power in key centers like and . Contributing to his popularity, the usurper implemented relief measures, including a three-year exemption from taxes and across the , which alleviated burdens imposed under Cambyses and fostered among non-Persian subjects. These policies, detailed in ' Histories (3.67), explain why, upon his overthrow, diverse groups mourned the loss of such concessions, underscoring the genuine appeal of his brief administration despite Darius' later portrayal of tyrannical excesses like sanctuary seizures. While Darius' account emphasizes fear and deception to justify the coup, the extent of voluntary adherence indicates the pretender's success in presenting himself as a restorative .

Administrative Reforms and Public Reception

The to the , claiming to be Bardiya and ruling from 11 March to 29 September 522 BCE, enacted a policy of suspending payments and exemptions from for a period of three years throughout the Achaemenid Empire's subject nations. This measure, described by as a deliberate programmatic action upon assuming power, aimed to alleviate burdens imposed under previous administrations and foster loyalty among diverse populations. In contrast, the Behistun Inscription of Darius I asserts that the usurper—identified therein as the magus Gaumata—confiscated pastures, herds, household slaves, and residential houses from the empire's people ( kāra), particularly targeting lands held under precarious tenure by potentially disloyal nobles, while also destroying religious sanctuaries. Darius claims to have reversed these seizures and restorations upon his victory, portraying them as disruptions to established order; however, the inscription functions as royal to legitimize Darius's seizure of power from a rival claimant, potentially exaggerating depredations to vilify the regime. These policies elicited strong initial support from non-Persian subjects across , who, according to , rejoiced at the relief from fiscal and obligations, viewing the rule as beneficial and later expressing regret at its termination. Among Persian elites, however, growing suspicions of the ruler's identity—stemming from his seclusion in fortified palaces and lack of direct access—fueled opposition, culminating in a conspiracy led by nobles including Darius, who capitalized on elite discontent rather than widespread popular revolt. 's account, derived from Persian exile traditions, aligns with this elite-centric narrative but underscores the regime's appeal to the broader populace, highlighting a divide in reception between masses and .

Primary Ancient Sources

Darius I's Behistun Inscription

The Behistun Inscription, commissioned by Darius I circa 520 BCE, is a trilingual text carved into a cliff face at in western , comprising , Elamite, and Babylonian versions totaling over 500 lines. It serves as Darius's official proclamation justifying his seizure of power, detailing the alleged imposture of Gaumata as , son of and brother of . The accompanying relief sculpture portrays Darius towering over a prostrate Gaumata, symbolizing the triumph of order over chaos, with figures of defeated rebels and the divine symbol of Ahuramazda above. In the inscription's narrative, secretly executed his brother Bardiya prior to departing for in 525 BCE to preempt any challenge to his authority, keeping the death concealed from the nobility and populace. A magus named Gaumata, originating from a village in Persia, exploited this secrecy by claiming Bardiya's identity in early September 522 BCE (14th day of Viyakhna), rallying support through promises of tax remission and confiscating property from opponents. Gaumata rapidly consolidated control, entering the fortresses of , , and , and assuming kingship after Cambyses' death from an unspecified cause during his return from in summer 522 BCE. Darius recounts that Gaumata's deception succeeded because "the people did not know that it was Gaumata the Magian who had seized the kingship," leading to widespread adherence until divine intervention guided Darius to reveal the truth. On October 7, 522 BCE (29th day of Garmapada, adjusted to 10th Viyakhna in revised ), Darius, then a spear-bearer under Cambyses, conspired with six Persian nobles—Intaphernes, , Gobryas, Hydarnes, , and Aspathines—to infiltrate Gaumata's stronghold at Sikayauvati near modern , where they killed the impostor and his leading supporters. Darius immediately proclaimed himself , attributing his success to Ahuramazda's favor and framing the act as restoration of Achaemenid legitimacy, despite his own collateral descent from rather than direct patrilineal succession from . The text emphasizes Gaumata's magian background and physical resemblance to Bardiya as key to the ruse, portraying the revolt as a religious and political aberration quelled by loyal Achæmenids. It further chronicles Darius's subsequent campaigns against nine regional kings and self-proclaimed Achaemenid heirs who rebelled in the power vacuum, suppressing them between 522 and 521 BCE to unify the empire. Scholarly assessments recognize the inscription's role in standardizing Achaemenid royal ideology but question its veracity as self-legitimizing , given Darius's tenuous claim to the and inconsistencies with contemporaneous Babylonian naming the king as "Barzia" without noting imposture.

Herodotus' Account in the Histories

Herodotus identifies Bardiya, rendered in Greek as Smerdis, as the full brother of Cambyses II, sharing the same father and mother, Cyrus the Great and Cassandane. He portrays Cambyses as jealous of Smerdis' exceptional strength, particularly his unique ability among Persians to draw a bow gifted by the Ethiopians, prompting Cambyses to send his brother back from Egypt to Persia as a precautionary measure. This jealousy escalated when Cambyses experienced a dream in which he saw Smerdis seated on the royal throne, leading him to dispatch his trusted counselor Prexaspes to secretly assassinate the prince at Susa; Prexaspes carried out the killing and later confirmed the deed to Cambyses by oath, burying the body in a remote location to conceal it from the public. During Cambyses' prolonged absence in , describes a revolt led by two Magian brothers, one of whom bore a striking resemblance to the deceased Smerdis and shared his name, enabling the impostor to proclaim himself as the legitimate prince Bardiya and seize the throne. The false Smerdis, characterized by as a magus driven by ambition, deceived the Persian nobility and populace—who remained unaware of the real Bardiya's death—by claiming continuity of rule and implementing popular measures such as suspending tax collections and obligations for three years, which fostered widespread support. notes that the impostor's rule lasted seven months before Cambyses, upon hearing rumors of the usurpation while in , recognized the Magian plot but perished shortly thereafter from a self-inflicted wound sustained in a fall from his horse, interpreted by some as . The conspiracy to overthrow the pretender, as detailed by , involved seven noble Persians, including , Intaphernes, and the future king Darius, who uncovered the imposture through intimate verification: Otanes' daughter, married to the false Smerdis, discovered that the ruler lacked ear piercings typical of Persians but not Magians, confirming his fraudulent identity. The nobles stormed the palace, slew the Magian brothers—first the false Smerdis in his bedchamber, then his sibling—and established a temporary council to deliberate the empire's future governance, ultimately selecting Darius through a test involving horses and the rising sun. emphasizes the Magian usurpation's disruption of Persian customs, such as the imposition of dress and rites, which alienated traditionalists and justified the coup as a restoration of Achaemenid legitimacy.

Ctesias' Persica and Other Greek Traditions

, a Greek physician who served at the Achaemenid court under from approximately 404 to 397 BCE, composed the Persica, a 23-book of and Persia drawing on oral traditions and purported access to royal records. In his account of events around 522 BCE, , on his deathbed, appointed his younger son Tanyoxarces (the Greek rendering of Bardiya's name) as governor (despotēs) over the Bactrians, Choramnians, and Parthians, while designating as king of the core Persian territories. This division reflected Cyrus's intent to secure eastern frontiers through familial rule. Ctesias recounts that Tanyoxarces was later assassinated on Cambyses' orders, instigated by a magus named Sphendadates, whom Tanyoxarces had flogged for an unspecified offense. Sphendadates, exploiting his physical resemblance to Tanyoxarces, falsely accused of plotting against Cambyses and convinced the eunuch Bagapates to execute Tanyoxarces secretly and bury him within the palace. Bagapates then installed Sphendadates as an impostor king under the guise of Tanyoxarces, deceiving the Persian nobility who accepted him as legitimate. The false ruler governed for seven months, during which he committed various impieties, until a conspiracy of seven nobles, including Darius, uncovered the deception and assassinated him, restoring order. Cambyses, en route from to confront the usurper, perished before arriving. These details survive primarily through the ninth-century CE Byzantine scholar Photius's epitome of the Persica, which preserves fragments but may abbreviate or interpret Ctesias's original narrative. Ctesias's version diverges from the by emphasizing court intrigue involving a specific magus and , and from by placing the fratricide earlier and attributing the imposture's initiation to personal grudge rather than a broader magian . Other Greek traditions, such as those echoed in later compilers like , largely align with in portraying the revolt as a magian but vary in ancillary details, such as the role of royal women in exposing the fraud or the exact mechanisms of the coup. These accounts, influenced by 's court proximity, often sensationalize Persian governance with motifs of influence and physical doubles, contrasting with Persian royal that frames the episode as a singular magian uprising suppressed to preserve Achaemenid legitimacy.

Scholarly Debate on Identity

Evidence Supporting the Impostor (Gaumata) Theory

The of Darius I provides the earliest and most detailed primary evidence for the impostor theory, asserting that Gaumata, a magus from Media, seized power on 11 March 522 BCE by falsely claiming to be Bardiya, whom had secretly executed around August 524 BCE. Darius describes how Gaumata deceived the empire by exploiting the secrecy of Bardiya's death, announcing himself from a fortress in Media (likely Sikayahuvati) and rapidly gaining support due to unawareness of the true Bardiya's fate. The inscription, carved in , Elamite, and Babylonian, details Darius's role in a conspiracy with six nobles who identified Gaumata as a based on intimate knowledge of Bardiya's appearance and habits, culminating in his assassination on 29 September 522 BCE at Sikayahuvati. Darius invokes Ahuramazda as witness, framing the narrative as divine truth, which scholars argue lends credibility given the religious peril of falsehood in Achaemenid royal ideology. Herodotus's Histories (composed circa 440 BCE) corroborates the impostor narrative, naming the pretender Smerdis (Greek for Bardiya) but identifying him as a magus resembling the real brother, whose secret killing by Cambyses enabled the ruse. Herodotus recounts how , one of the conspirators, suspected imposture after his daughter Phaidymie, bedded by the "king," discovered the man lacked ears—a mark distinguishing the magus Gaumata, previously punished with mutilation, from the intact Bardiya. This physical discrepancy, confirmed upon confrontation, aligns with the Behistun account's emphasis on noble recognition and explains the pretender's avoidance of public exposure. Herodotus attributes the to Gaumata and his brother, leveraging the physical similarity and political vacuum during Cambyses's Egyptian campaign (525–522 BCE). Additional support derives from the pretender's policies and background, which Darius portrays as disruptive to Persian norms: Gaumata remitted taxes and military service for three years, favoring non-Persian subjects and suggesting a magus-led to the masses rather than Achaemenid continuity. As a magus, Gaumata represented priestly influence, potentially motivating Darius's propaganda to delegitimize him as a foreign deceiver undermining (Persian) rule. The absence of any contemporary inscription or record affirming Bardiya's survival, combined with the rapid consolidation of Darius's power post-overthrow, implies the secret execution's plausibility, as public ignorance facilitated the seven-month imposture. Scholarly analyses, such as those in Encyclopaedia Iranica, accept Gaumata's magus identity and status as the baseline interpretation, given the alignment of royal and Greek sources absent direct contradictory evidence.

Arguments for the Legitimacy of Bardiya's Rule

Scholars advocating for the authenticity of Bardiya's identity emphasize the absence of any contemporary evidence predating Darius I's propaganda that supports the secret execution of the genuine Bardiya by his brother Cambyses II. The narrative of Bardiya's murder, purportedly ordered by Cambyses before his 522 BCE campaign in Egypt to prevent a succession challenge, originates exclusively from Darius' Behistun Inscription and subsequent Greek accounts derived from Persian royal traditions, with no corroboration from neutral or earlier sources. This lack of independent verification raises questions about the story's veracity, as a covert killing known only to a small circle would not preclude widespread recognition of the claimant as legitimate during his brief rule. Babylonian administrative tablets and regnal dating practices provide key support for Bardiya's legitimacy, routinely acknowledging the 522 BCE ruler as Barziya (the Babylonian form of Bardiya), son of , without indications of deception or irregularity. These documents, which meticulously record dates by , month, and day, continued seamlessly under this king's authority following Cambyses' death, reflecting bureaucratic acceptance in a region with precise record-keeping traditions. No Babylonian sources, including chronicles or economic texts, reference an impostor or disruption akin to the Gaumata narrative; instead, they treat the transition as standard succession to ' son. Such continuity suggests that if an impersonation occurred, it escaped detection in administrative centers far from Persian court intrigue. The rapid and broad acceptance of the ruler's claim across the empire further bolsters arguments for his genuineness, as a magus like Gaumata—described by Darius as a low-born —would face improbable success in deceiving nobles, satraps, and provincial elites familiar with the royal family. Policies attributed to this , such as the suspension of tribute payments and military levies for three years, aligned with restoring ' more benevolent image after Cambyses' reportedly harsh rule, fostering genuine popular support rather than coerced obedience to a fraud. Historians like A. T. Olmstead have interpreted these elements as evidence that Darius, a distant collateral relative (claiming descent from but not direct patrilineal succession from ), fabricated the impostor tale post-coup to legitimize his own seizure of power from a rightful Achaemenid heir. Darius' Behistun Inscription itself reveals potential inconsistencies undermining the Gaumata story, such as the claim that the pretender concealed his identity until exposed by a small noble , yet failed to suppress knowledge among those who "knew the true Bardiya." The inscription's emphasis on divine favor from and the need to retroactively date reigns (e.g., limiting Bardiya's to seven months) indicates propagandistic reshaping of chronology to diminish the legitimacy of the prior king and elevate Darius as restorer. In this view, the absence of revolts questioning the ruler's identity during his tenure—contrasted with the widespread uprisings against Darius in 522– BCE claiming other "true" Bardiyas—points to initial perception of him as the authentic son of , whose overthrow disrupted expected dynastic continuity.

Evaluation of Propaganda and Motives in Sources

The constitutes overt propaganda engineered by Darius I to validate his usurpation, portraying Gaumata as a deceptive magus who falsely claimed 's identity to seize power, thereby necessitating Darius' intervention as a divinely ordained restorer of order. By invoking Mazda's explicit support and enumerating nineteen battles to quell subsequent "liars," the text systematically delegitimizes rivals while retroactively elevating Darius' paternal lineage to Achaemenid royalty, a claim absent in earlier records and likely fabricated to counter his non-direct succession from . This self-serving narrative, inscribed prominently at a strategic pass for imperial visibility, prioritized political consolidation over factual fidelity, as evidenced by its suppression of Bardiya's reported administrative popularity and the rapid revolts it provoked among satraps favoring the prior regime. Herodotus' rendition in The Histories (Book 3) amplifies the impostor motif, attributing Gaumata's detection to a intrigue and Cambyses' , but derives principally from Persian aristocratic lore traceable to Darius' era, introducing selectivity that aligns with Achaemenid court biases against the fallen ruler. As a Greek inquirer reliant on oral testimonies from elites who benefited from Darius' victory, Herodotus exhibits partiality toward dramatic causation—emphasizing and personal flaws—while omitting archaeological or epigraphic contradictions, such as the lack of pre-Darian references to a magus named Gaumata. This framework served Herodotus' broader aim to rationalize Persian expansionism as hubristic overreach, subtly endorsing Greek exceptionalism without independent verification of Bardiya's purported elimination by Cambyses in 524 BCE. Ctesias' Persica, preserved in fragments via later authors like Diodorus, diverges by naming the impostor "Sphendadates" and incorporating lurid details like ear-cropping, yet sustains the fraud narrative amid Greek traditions vilifying as inherently treacherous, reflecting cultural prejudices against Persian religious castes rather than empirical scrutiny. Composed in the late 5th century BCE at the Achaemenid court, ' work catered to Hellenistic audiences hungry for insider scandals, prioritizing narrative embellishment over cross-verification, which diluted any motive for challenging Darius' canonical version disseminated through royal channels. Collectively, these sources converge on the due to Darius' inscriptional monopoly on the story—translated into multiple languages for dissemination—creating a feedback loop where subsequent Greek historians, lacking access to suppressed Elamite or Babylonian records affirming Bardiya's legitimacy, echoed the victor's rationale without motive to dissent. Scholarly analysis underscores this as orchestrated , given the inscription's anachronistic and failure to address Bardiya's coinage reforms or provincial loyalty, which imply authentic rule rather than magian ; alternative views positing a real Bardiya assassinated for reformist policies highlight how propagandistic motives obscured causal realities of dynastic instability.

Death, Overthrow, and Immediate Aftermath

Darius I's Coup and Execution

Darius I, a member of the Achaemenid royal house through distant kinship to , organized a conspiracy with six other Persian nobles to eliminate Gaumata, the Magian pretender who had seized the throne by impersonating Bardiya. The conspirators included prominent figures such as , Gobryas, Intaphernes, Hydarnes, , and Aspathines, as detailed in ' Histories. On 29 September 522 BCE, corresponding to the tenth day of the month Bâgayâdiš, Darius and a small group of supporters stormed the fortress of Sikayauvati in the Nisaean plain of Media, where Gaumata resided. According to Darius' own account in the , he personally slew Gaumata with a , along with the pretender's chief followers: "On the tenth day of the month Bâgayâdiš [29 September 522] I, with a few men, slew that Gaumâta, the Magian, and the chief men who were his followers." Herodotus describes the assassination similarly, recounting how the seven nobles overcame Gaumata's guards, entered his chambers, and killed both the false Smerdis and his brother, attributing the discovery of the imposture to Otanes' daughter Phaidymie, one of Gaumata's concubines. Following the execution, Darius proclaimed the death to the people, sparking a widespread of Magians across the , which solidified the conspirators' control. Darius was subsequently elevated to the throne, though his legitimacy was contested by regional rebellions claiming allegiance to Bardiya.

Subsequent Rebellions and Consolidation of Power

Following the assassination of Gaumata on 29 September 522 BCE, Darius I confronted a series of rebellions across the , as recorded in his , where he enumerates nine self-proclaimed kings who challenged his authority in provinces including Persia, , Media, , Sagartia, and Margiana. These uprisings, which Darius attributes to lies propagated against him, erupted concurrently or in rapid succession, exploiting the power vacuum and regional discontent with central rule. In Persia, Vahyazdata (also spelled Yahyazdata) posed as Bardiya, rallying support until his defeat by the general Artavardiya on 24 May 521 BCE, after which he was crucified. Similarly, in , Martiya (referred to as ššina or Atrina) declared himself but was swiftly captured and executed in 522 BCE. In Media and allied regions, Fravartish (), claiming descent from the king , led a major revolt supported by , , and ; Darius personally engaged him, securing victory on 8 May 521 BCE near the , followed by Fravartish's mutilation—removal of nose, ears, tongue, and eyes—and at . Sagartia's Tritantaechmes (Cicantakhma), also invoking , was defeated by the general Bakhraaspad and similarly mutilated before at Arbela. Babylonia saw two phases: Nidintu-Bel, proclaiming himself , was vanquished on 18 December 522 BCE after battles at the , with his forces decimated; a subsequent uprising under Arakha () ended with his capture by Intaphernes on 27 November 521 BCE and alongside supporters. Further revolts in Margiana under Frada resulted in over 55,000 rebel deaths by Dadarshi's forces in December 521 BCE. Darius suppressed these threats through a combination of personal campaigns and delegated commands to loyal nobles, such as Hydarnes in (four battles in 521 BCE), Vivana in and Sattagydia, and his father Hystaspes in and , achieving 19 victories within roughly one year as per his inscription. Public executions, mutilations, and displays of rebel heads underscored his retribution, deterring further dissent. By late 521 BCE, with the final uprisings quelled, Darius consolidated power by inscribing the Behistun relief (ca. 520–519 BCE) to assert divine sanction from Ahuramazda for his restoration of the empire, restoring plundered temples, and appointing trusted satraps like Uštânu in , thereby stabilizing rule ahead of expansionist policies.

Long-Term Historical Impact

Influence on Achaemenid Succession Practices

The Bardiya succession crisis of 522 BCE, culminating in Darius I's coup, exposed vulnerabilities in Achaemenid hereditary practices, prompting adaptations to enhance legitimacy amid risks of imposture and revolt. Darius, from a junior Achaemenid branch as the ninth in direct male descent from the dynastic founder Teispes rather than Cyrus's immediate line, justified his seizure of power by denouncing the ruler as Gaumata, a magus pretender masquerading as Bardiya, thereby framing his actions as restoration rather than usurpation. This narrative, propagated via the Behistun Inscription, set a template for invoking genealogical purity to legitimize non-primogeniture claims, influencing how future rulers asserted authority during transitions. To mitigate similar challenges, Darius emphasized marital alliances with 's direct descendants, wedding , 's daughter, whose offspring thereby combined his lineage with the founder's. Consequently, upon Darius's death in 486 BCE, he designated —'s son and thus great-grandson of via both parents—as successor over older half-brothers like Artabazanes, prioritizing this dual Achaemenid heritage over birth order. Ancient accounts, including , attribute this preference explicitly to Xerxes' maternal link to , signaling a post-crisis norm where heirs required endorsement through foundational royal blood to preempt pretenders or rival kin. The affair's legacy extended to heightened dynastic instability, as the model of elite-led intervention against suspected illegitimacy encouraged intrigue; no fewer than seven Achaemenid kings after faced , often tied to succession disputes echoing the 522 BCE template of and . This pattern underscored a causal shift from relatively smooth father-to-son handovers under and Cambyses toward contested thrones reliant on military loyalty and ideological claims of , perpetuating revolts like those immediately following Darius's rise.

Representations in Later Historiography

In Roman historiography, Justin's Epitome of Pompeius Trogus (c. 2nd–3rd century CE) offers a variant account in which the usurper is named Cometes, portrayed as the brother of the impostor who killed the prince Mergis following Cambyses' death, diverging from the primary Greek and Achaemenid sources by altering names and familial ties while maintaining the core motif of illegitimate magian seizure of power. This representation emphasizes deception and fraternal intrigue as causal mechanisms for the empire's instability, reflecting a selective adaptation of earlier Greek traditions to fit a narrative of dynastic peril resolved through noble conspiracy. Subsequent transmissions in medieval European and Islamic historical compilations, drawing indirectly from and via abridged classical texts, perpetuated the image of the ruler—whether as Smerdis or Gaumata—as a fraudulent magus whose seven-month (March to September 522 BCE) embodied religious and political , often invoked as a cautionary exemplar of unchecked priestly ambition without substantial or challenge to the impostor until archaeological corroboration in the . These later accounts typically elided Babylonian evidence of legitimacy, privileging the dramatic Greek-Persian alignment on usurpation to underscore themes of imperial vulnerability and heroic restoration.

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