The History of the Persian Empire - Research Paper Example

The History of the Persian Empire In less than a year after the successful invasion of Egypt, the Persia Empire is on the verge of collapse, not as a result of attack by foreign enemies or economic or social upheaval but due to political instability. Following the death of King Cryrus’ two sons, Cambyses and Bardiya, a Persian noble, by name Darius, with the assistance of his allied Persian nobles is claiming the throne, a claim that is not generally recognized. Various independent governments have been set up; most of them by men who claimed to belong to the former ruling families (EncyclopædiaBritannica, 2011). In Susiana, Babylonia, Media, Sagartia, and Margiana, as well as in Persia, there has been revolt against the legitimacy of Darius’ rule. King Cambyses, after his successful invasion of Egypt never returns to Persia alive, he died en route (Allen, 2005). At the same time or even before the death of the Cambyses, Bardiya, a brother to Cambyses, took the throne of Persia in the summer. In September, another dramatic transformation of the monarchy led to the enthronement of Darius following Bardiya’s death. According to King Darius, he claims he is restoring the throne to the rightful Achaemenid house (Holland, 2005). King Darius claimed that he descended for a long line of eight kings in a genealogy that linked him to the family of the empire-founder Cyrus II through a mutual ancestor called Teispes. Tesipes was the great-grandfather of Cyrus II; however, King Darius has added a legendary progenitor called Achaemenes. He therefore claims that he belongs to a collateral line of the royal family. The authenticity of his claims notwithstanding, the fact that King Darius’s father and grandfather are still alive and are not kings may lead one to doubt the authenticity of his claims. Even if his claims are true, Darius is not the next in line of succession given that his father and grandfather are still alive. Indeed, events leading to his accession to the throne will throw some light on his claim and the current upheaval in Persia. According to one source, King Darius, as a youth, has been suspected by Cyrus II of plotting against the throne (EncyclopædiaBritannica, 2011). Darius, who later become a member of the royal bodyguard, accompanied Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus II and heir to the throne, to the invasion of Egypt. Following the death of Cambyses II in 522 BC, Darius rushed to Media, where in September he and his allied Persian nobles kill Bardiya, another son of Cyrus and brother of Cambyses II (EncyclopædiaBritannica, 2011). King Darius admitted but defended this deed and his own assumption of kingship on the grounds that the usurper was actually Gaumata, a Magian, who had impersonated Bardiya after Bardiya had been murdered secretly by Cambyses. King Darius attributed the chaos in Persian to a sinister plot sparked by the evil deed of Cambyses. Darius alleged that Cambyses secretly killed his brother Bardiya and that the new figure who was enthroned just before Cambyses’ death was an impostor called Gaumata. Thus, Darius desire to restore the throne to the rightful Achaemenes house. When the impostor threaten those aware of the usurpation with death, Darius and his allied Persian noble responded by slewing the impostor. The fact that the impostor body was not displayed publicly, as other rebel, makes one to think that Darius may have committed regicide (Cook, 1985). Many Persians doubt the legitimacy of Darius accession to the throne. In fact this explains the extent to which the rebellion has gone. Most of the rebels are members of the ruling class, who thought they have equal right to the Persian throne. Appeals have been made to royal rights older than Darius’. In fact, several of the rebel leaders claimed to have descended from archaic kings such as Cyaxares or Nabonidus and have won over support to their sides. Darius has responded by combining his ancient genealogy with the favor granted him by the Persian god, Ahuramazda (Allen, 2005). According to King Darius, Ahuramazda, one of the pantheon gods associated with Persian religion bestowed the kingdom on a man whose honesty and righteousness his discerned. Darius claims of descending from the Achaemenes house and being divinely selected by Ahuramazda did not grant him support from the public. Spontaneous and widespread revolts have engulfed the Persian Empire and Darius employs force in restoring order in his kingdom. In Susiana, Babylonia, Media, Sagartia, and Margiana, independent governments were set up, most of them by men who claimed to belong to the former ruling families. Babylonia has rebelled twice and Susiana three times. In Persia itself a certain Vahyazdata, who pretended to be Bardiya, gained considerable support. The small size of his army notwithstanding, King Darius has proved himself to be in charge. In Babylonia, a rebel government under King Nebuchadnezzar III has been set up in 519 BC. In fact, the Babylonia revolt was sparked up when one of Darius supporter led a large army out of Babylon to aid Darius in suppressing other revolts. Darius felt that the Babylonians had taken advantage of him and deceived him, which resulted in Darius leading a large army and marching to Babylon. By 519 BC, Darius has fought 19 battles and defeated 9 rebel leaders and in 518 BC King Darius visited Egypt to crust another revolt (EncyclopædiaBritannica, 2011). The political instability in Persian Empire is also threatened after King Darius has restored internal order. In 519 BC, as Darius battled the Babylonian, Scythians east of the Caspian Sea invaded the Persian Empire (Spielvogel, 2009). He attacked the Scythians in 519 BC but is forced to abandon the campaign due to lack of supplies. Following the complete subjugation of Thrace, submission of Macedonia and the capture of the Aegean Islands of Lemns and Imbros, the door to Greece is opened to Darius. No military action was taken by King Darius until 499 BC when an Ionian revolt against Persian rule was supported by Athens and Eretria. In 492 BC, Darius’ son-in-law led an expedition against Athens and Eretria but failed. A second expedition, which defeated the Eretria but met defeat in the hands of the Athenians, was carried out in 490 BC under a Datis. Preparations for a third expedition were delayed by an insurrection in Egypt, and Darius died in 486 BC before they were completed. Works Cited Allen, L. (2005). The Persian Empire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cook, J. M. (1985). The Rise of the Achaemenids and Establishment of their Empire. . In J. M. Cook, The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge History of Iran (p. Vol 2). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. EncyclopædiaBritannica. (2011). Darius I. (King of Persia). Retrieved May 12, 2011, from Encyclopædia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/151591/Darius-I Holland, T. (2005). Persian Empire. The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. London: Little, Brown. Spielvogel, J. (2009). Western Civilization. Florence: Thomson Wadsworth. Read More