En route inSyria (Eber-Nari), Cambyses somehow received a thigh wound; it soon becamegangreneous. Cambyses died three weeks later in Agbatana, likely the modern city ofHama. He died childless, and was thus succeeded by his younger brotherBardiya. Bardiya ruled for a short time, and was then overthrown byDarius the Great (r. 522–486 BC), who went on to increase the power of the Achaemenids even further.
Before his accession, Cambyses was governor of northernBabylonia under his father Cyrus from April to December 538 BCE. He held positions inBabylon andSippar. In 530 BCE his father made him co-ruler. Cyrus then set off on an expedition against theMassagetae ofCentral Asia, where he met his end. Cambyses thus became the sole ruler of the vast Achaemenid Empire. According to chroniclers, he faced no opposition.
The origins of the name of "Cambyses" (Old Persian:𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹,romanized: Kaᵐbūjiya) is disputed in scholarship; according to some scholars, the name is ofElamite origin, whilst others associate it withKambojas, anIranian people who inhabited northwesternIndia.[1] The name of Cambyses is known in other languages as: ElamiteKanbuziya;AkkadianKambuziya;AramaicKanbūzī.[1]
In April 538 BC, Cambyses was appointed by his father as the governor of the northern part ofBabylonia, including its cityBabylon, 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 regularNew Year festival on 27 March 538 BC, where he received the royalsceptre inEsagila, a temple dedicated to the godMarduk. His governorship, however, lasted only nine months; Cyrus dismissed him from the post in December 538 BC for unknown reasons. After his dismissal, Cambyses continued to mostly reside in the Babylonian cities of Babylon andSippar.[1]
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 theMassagetae.[1][3] Cyrus' younger son, Bardiya, was given his own realm in Central Asia, which was exempted from paying tribute.[4] 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.[1] Cambyses had his father's body carried toPasargadae in Persis, where he was buried in atomb that had been prepared for him earlier.[4]
Cambyses' accession to the Achaemenid throne was relatively smooth.[4] 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 theNear East. According to theFrenchIranologistPierre Briant, "this must not be seen as a more or less irrational and uncontrollable desire to take over the entire inhabited world".[5] On 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 fromPosideium to Egypt).[6] This would eventually require conquering the lands situated between theEuphrates andNile rivers, and therefore necessitated conflict with Egypt, which had previously and more recently shown interest in the area.[5]
Thepharaoh of Egypt wasAmasis II, who had been ruling since 570.[5] His ally,Polycrates, a Greek ruler ofSamos, posed a considerable threat to the Achaemenids, launching several raids that jeopardised Achaemenid authority.[7] However, Polycrates eventually broke with his Egyptian allies and reached out to Cambyses, with whose plans he was well-acquainted.[5] The sudden change was doubtless due to his uneasy position, with theSpartans raising a force against him and the rising hostility of the Samian aristocrats who preferred partnership with Egypt. Another former ally of Amasis II, theCarian military leaderPhanes of Halicarnassus, had also joined Cambyses after escaping assassins sent by the pharaoh.[8] Cambyses, before starting his expedition into Egypt, had seizedCyprus from Amasis II, dealing a heavy blow to the pharaoh.[5]
Imaginary 19th-century illustration of Cambyses II meetingPsamtik III.
By 526 BC Amasis II had died. He was succeeded by his sonPsamtik III.[7] meanwhile, Cambyses had made substantial improvements to his forces. He had laid the foundations for theAchaemenid navy, essential to his ambitions to conquer Egypt. The navy was created using men and equipment fromPhoenicia andAsia Minor. During his march to Egypt, Cambyses made a treaty with theArabs who controlled the desert area betweenGaza and the Egyptian frontier. This treaty granted Cambyses sufficient water for his forces to reach the Nile.[8] Cambyses would extend his authority over the lands between Egypt and Persia. These would include Gaza, a prominent commercial region, rivaingSardis inLydia.[9] The region served as the headquarters for the Persian expedition into Egypt.[10]
In 525 BC, Cambyses invaded Egypt. In the spring of that year, the Persian and Egyptian forcesclashed at Pelusium, where the Persians emerged victorious.[1] According to one author, Cambyses was able to defeat the Egyptians by putting cats, sheep, dogs and other animals that the Egyptiansconsidered sacred in the front lines. This led the Egyptians to cease using theirengines of war for fear of killing an animal and angering the gods.[11] The forces of Cambyses then laid siege toMemphis, which Psamtik III and his men had invested. Despite considerable resistance by pharaoh's forces, Cambyses captured Memphis and established a Persian-Egyptian garrison there.[10] By summer,all of Egypt was under Persian suzerainty.[1] Cambyses now adopted the aspirations of the last pharaohs in seeking to control the neighbouring lands towards the west (Libya andCyrenaica) and south (Nubia).[10]
The Libyans, and soon the Greeks ofCyrene andBarca, willingly acknowledged the authority of Cambyses.[10][1] As a demonstration of his generosity, Cambyses had Amasis II's Greek widow,Ladice, returned to Cyrene.[10] Cambyses wanted to attack the Phoenician state ofCarthage to the west of Egypt; he never did so, due to his Phoenician subjects' reluctance to make war against their own.[10] In the south, Cambyses followed the policy of the last pharaohs to keep theKingdom of Kush in check. He established a garrison inElephantine.[12]
According to Herodotus, Cambyses' campaigns against Ammon in theSiwa Oasis andEthiopia ended in catastrophe.[13] He states that the reason behind this defeat was the "madness" of Cambyses, who "at once began his march againstEthiopia, 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".[13] This is called theLost Army of Cambyses.
Ethiopians bring tribute in theApadana reliefs in Persepolis
However, according to Briant, "the deliberate bias against Cambyses raises doubts about the accuracy of Herodotus's version."[13] Herodotus' statement is contradicted by other sources that do not suggest a catastrophe for his forces. Cambyses may have faced difficulties in the campaign that may have forced him to abort it. However, archaeological evidence shows that the Achaemenids occupied their stronghold of Dorginarti (south ofBuhen) when in control of Egypt.[13] Furthermore, in two inscriptions of Darius, Nubia is listed as one of the lands in the empire, and a Nubian delegation is depicted in Persepolis on theApadana reliefs which visually present the lands of Darius’ empire. These suggest that Cambyses saw success in subduing Nubia.[14]
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 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 pharaohApries, much as his father had claimed Median descent when he took over Media.[14] AtSais, Cambyses had himself crowned in the temple of the goddessNeith as part of a religious ritual, during which he made sacrifices to the Egyptian gods.[1]
According to ancient historians, Cambyses' rule of Egypt was marked by brutality, looting temples, ridiculing the local gods, and defilement of the royal tombs.[1] Historians such as Herodotus put an emphasis on Cambyses' supposed killing of the Egyptiansacred bullApis.[1][15] However, no looting of temples has been reported by contemporary Egyptian sources.[1] In addition, Cambyses is said to have ordered the burial of an Apis in asarcophagus.[1][16] The successor of the Apis died in 518 BC, four years after Cambyses had already died.[1]
[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 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 [...][15]
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 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.[15]
This thus debunks Cambyses' supposed killing of the Apis, and according to Briant, proves that Herodotus documented bogus reports.[15] Rather, Cambyses took part in the preservation and burial ceremony of an Apis.[15] Other similar sources also make mention of Cambyses' careful treatment towards Egyptian culture and religion.[16] According to the EgyptianDemotic 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.[1] In response to this action, Egyptian priests who had lost their entitlements circulated spurious stories about Cambyses.[1][17] The issue with the temples dated back to the earlier pharaohs, who had also tried to reduce the economic power of the temples.[18] This issue would continue until the demise of ancient Egypt.[18] Like Cyrus in Babylon, Cambyses allowed the Egyptian nobility to maintain their jurisdictions.[16]
Achaemenidcoin minted atSardis, possibly under Cambyses II.
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.[19] 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 inDascylium,Dadarsi inBactria, and Vivana inArachosia. Likewise, 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.[20] The most notable of these Persians were relatives of the king, such as his cousinDarius, who occupied high offices under Cyrus and Cambyses, and serving as a spear-bearer under the latter.[21] Darius' father, Hystaspes, served as the governor ofParthia andHyrcania, or at least held a prominent role there. Important offices centred around the king was also occupied by the Persians, as in the case ofPrexaspes, who served as the "message-bearer" of Cambyses, andSisamnes, who was the royal judge but later executed by Cambyses.[20]
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, the Persian tribal nobility were increasingly antagonistic towards him.[1]
In Achaemenid Persia, marriages between family members, such as half-siblings, nieces and cousins took place but were not seen asincestuous. 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.[22] According to Herodotus, Cambyses supposedly married two of his sisters,Atossa and Roxane, against the advice of the royal judges.[1][22] This would have been regarded as illegal. However, Herodotus also states that Cambyses marriedOtanes' daughterPhaidyme, whilst his contemporaryCtesias names Roxane as Cambyses' wife, but she is not referred to as his sister.[22]
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 theApis bull, have been confirmed as false, which means that the report of Cambyses' supposed incestuous acts is questionable.[22]
According to Herodotus, one of the sister-wives of Cambyses had accompanied him in Egypt. At one point, this wife criticized him and, in a fit of rage, Cambyses killed her and her unborn child and almost killed the former king of Lydia, Croesus, who criticized him. The story highlights Cambyses’ rejection of criticism, his incest, and his lack of self-control, and his lack of male offspring is the implicit punishment for his actions. As with other stories, this account is difficult, not least because Croesus had died shortly after the conquest of Lydia.[23]
In the spring of 522 BC, Cambyses hurriedly left Egypt to deal with a rebellion in Persia.[24] Before he left the country, he made Egypt into a satrapy under the governorship of the PersianAryandes.[24]
According to Herodotus, Baridya, or Smerdis as the historian calls him, had accompanied Cambyses in Egypt, only for the brother to pettily order him to return home. Soon after, Cambyses dreamed that his brother was sitting on the Persian throne and ordered a Persian, Prexaspes, to kill him, only to realize that his brother hadn’t claimed the throne but someone who shared his name and was falsely claiming to be the real brother. Initially, Cambyses accused Prexaspes of ignoring the order, but when he learned that his brother had died, Cambyses set out to deal with the rebellion. However, like many of Herodotus’ stories, this one contains issues and conveniently mirrors the account of Astyages and Harpagus in the story of the birth of Cyrus.[25]
However Cambyses died shortly after under disputed circumstances. By most accounts, while Cambyses was on his way throughSyria (Eber-Nari), he received a wound to the thigh, which soon becamegangrenous.[24] Cambyses died three weeks later (in July) at a location called Agbatana, which is most likely the modern city ofHama.[1] He died childless,[1] and was succeeded by his younger brotherBardiya.[26]
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 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, incidentally in the very spot he had stabbed the Apis Bull. 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.[27]
Like the kings before and after him, Cambyses bore several regal titles, although no inscription of his remains. Known titles of Cambyses include "king of Upper and Lower Egypt" and "descendant of (the gods)Ra,Horus,Osiris,"Pharaoh of Egypt,King of Babylon, andKing of the Lands.[30][31][1]
Brosius, Maria (2000). "Women i. In Pre-Islamic Persia".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. London et al.: Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Archived fromthe original on 2020-03-13. Retrieved2019-09-21.
.svg)
_(4685754068).jpg)
