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| Cyrus I | |
|---|---|
 Cyrus I on horseback from a seal | |
| King of Persia | |
| Reign | 600–580 BC |
| Predecessor | Teispes |
| Successor | Cambyses I |
| Died | 580 BC Anshan |
| Burial | 580 BC |
| Spouse | Parsumaš |
| Issue | Cambyses I Arukku |
| Dynasty | Achaemenid (Teispid) |
| Father | Teispes |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Cyrus I (Old Persian:Kuruš) orCyrus I of Anshan orCyrus I of Persia, was King ofAnshan in Persia fromc. 600 to 580 BC or, according to others, fromc. 652 to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather ofCyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II. His name in ModernPersian is کوروش,Kūroš, while inGreek he was called Κῦρος,Kȳros.
Cyrus was an early member of theAchaemenid dynasty. He was apparently a grandson of its founderAchaemenes and son ofTeispes, king of Anshan. Teispes' sons reportedly divided the kingdom between them after his death. Cyrus reigned as king of Anshan while his brotherAriaramnes was king ofParsa.
The chronological placement of this event is uncertain. This is due to his suggested, but still debated identification, with themonarch known as "Kuraš of Parsumaš". Kuraš is first mentionedc. 652 BC. In that yearShamash-shum-ukin,king of Babylon (668–648 BC), revolted against his older brother and overlordAshurbanipal,king of Assyria (668–627 BC). Cyrus is mentioned being in amilitary alliance with the former. The war between the two brothers ended in 648 BC with the defeat and reportedsuicide of Shamash-shum-ukin.
Cyrus is mentioned again in 639 BC. At that year Ashurbanipal managed to defeatElam and became overlord to several of its former allies. Kuraš was apparently among them. His elder sonArukku (< *Ariy-uka) was reportedly sent to Assyria to paytribute to its King. Kuraš then seems to vanish from the historical record. His suggested identification with Cyrus would help connect the Achaemenid dynasty to the major events of the 7th century BC.
Ashurbanipal died in 627 BC. Cyrus presumably continued paying tribute to his sons and successorsAshur-etil-ilani (627–623 BC) andSin-shar-ishkun (623–612 BC). They were both opposed by an alliance led byCyaxares of Media (633–584 BC) andNabopolassar of Babylon (626–605 BC). In 612 BC the two managed to capture the Assyrian capitalNineveh. This was effectively the end of theNeo-Assyrian Empire though remnants of theAssyrian Army underAshur-uballit II (612–609 BC) continued to resist fromHarran.
Media and Babylon soon shared the lands previously controlled by the Assyrians. Anshan apparently fell under the control of the former. Cyrus is considered to have ended his days under the overlordship of either Cyaxares or his sonAstyages (584–550 BC). Cyrus was succeeded by his sonCambyses I. His grandson would come to be known asCyrus the Great, founder of thePersian Empire.
It has been noted that this account of his life and reign would place his early activities more than a century before those of his grandson. This would place his fathering of Cambyses very late in life and his death at an advanced age. It has been argued that Kuraš and Cyrus were separate figures of uncertain relation to each other. The latter would have then reigned in the early 6th century BC and his reign would seem rather uneventful. Due to the current lack of sufficient records for this historical period it remains uncertain which theory is closer to the facts.
It has been suggested byLouis Vandenberg that theGur-e-Dokhtar is the tomb of Cyrus I.[citation needed] This is because all Achaemenid kings afterDarius the Great were buried in rock-cut tombs, and becausea similar building has been attributed to Cyrus the Great, it seemed logical to assume that a tomb like this must have been erected prior to the reign of Cyrus. However, other experts have claimed that it is the burial place ofMandane, mother of Cyrus the Great, while other scholars claim that the Gur-e-Dokhtar was the mausoleum ofAtossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great and the wife and queen of Darius the Great. Later, when the iron clamps were studied, it became clear that this building was erected in the 5th century BC, so it may have been for princeCyrus the Younger.[citation needed]
Cyrus I Born: Unknown Died: 580 BC | ||
| Preceded by | King of Anshan 640–580 BC | Succeeded by |
Rulers in theAchaemenid Empire | ||
|---|---|---|
Family tree - Achaemenid Kingdom | ||
| Kings of Kings of theAchaemenid Empire |  | |
| Satraps ofLydia | ||
| Satraps ofHellespontine Phrygia | ||
| Satraps ofCappadocia | ||
| Greek Governors ofAsia Minor cities | ||
| Dynasts ofLycia | ||
| Dynasts ofCaria | ||
| Kings ofMacedonia | ||
| Kings of Tyre | ||
| Kings of Sidon |
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| Satraps ofArmenia | ||
| Satraps ofEgypt | ||
| Satraps ofBactria | ||
| Satraps ofMedia | ||
| Satraps ofCilicia | ||
| Other known satraps | ||
In most territories, Achaemenid rulers were succeeded byHellenistic satraps andHellenistic rulers from around 330 BC | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
