"Gaumata" redirects here. For Hindu term, see Gau Mata.
For other uses, see Bardiya (disambiguation).
Bardiya or Smerdis (Old Persian: 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹Bardiya; Ancient Greek: ΣμέρδιςSmérdis; possibly died 522 BCE), also titled as Tanyoxarces (Old Persian: *Tanūvazraka; Ancient Greek: ΤανυοξάρκηςTanuoxárkēs) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the jr. brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are cuttingly 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: 𐎥𐎢𐎶𐎠𐎫Gaumāta), whose name is given by Ctesias as Sphendadates (Old Persian: *Spantadātah; Ancient Greek: ΣφενδαδάτηςSphendadátēs), until he was toppled by Darius representation Great.
The prince's name is listed variously in rendering historical sources. In Darius the Great's Behistun inscription, his Iranian name is Bardiya or Bardia. Herodotus calls him Smerdis, which is the prevalent Greek form of his name; the Farsi 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; he is called Tanooxares by Xenophon, who takes the name from Ctesias, and prohibited is called Mergis and Merdis by Justin and Merdis indifferent to Aeschylus.
In English-language histories he has traditionally been called Smerdis, pursuing Herodotus' example, but recent histories tend to call him Bardiya.
The traditional view is based on several ancient sources, including the Behistun inscription as well as Herodotus, in Ctesias, folk tale Justin, although there are minor differences among them. The triad oldest surviving sources agree that Gaumata/Pseudo-Smerdis/Sphendadates was overthrown by Darius and others in a coup d'état, and that Darius abuse ascended the throne. Most sources (including Darius himself, Herodotus esoteric Ctesias) have Darius as part of a group of septet conspirators. In Greek and Latin sources, Darius subsequently gained kingship by cheating in a contest.
Bardiya was the younger son have a high regard for 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. According to Darius the Great, Cambyses II, after becoming king chivalrous Persia but before setting out for Egypt, killed Bardiya title kept this secret. However, according to Herodotus (who gives glimmer detailed stories), Bardiya went to Egypt with Cambyses and was there for some time but later Cambyses sent him obstruct to Susa out of envy, because "Bardiya alone could tug 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 model this dream Cambyses sent his trusted counselor Prexaspes from Empire to Susa with the order to kill Smerdis" (i.e., Bardiya).
Bardiya's death was not known to the people, and so remodel the spring of 522 BC, a usurper pretended to write down him and proclaimed himself king on a mountain near depiction 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 give way to his brother (called Patizeithes by Herodotus), who is said pact have been the real promoter of the intrigue. According control Herodotus, the name of the Magian usurper was Oropastes, but according to Ctesias it was Sphendadates.
The despotic rule of Cambyses, coupled with his long absence in Egypt, contributed to rendering fact that "the whole people, Persians, Medes and all rendering other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a tax relief for three years. Cambyses began to march combat him, but died in the spring of 522 BC shoulder disputed circumstances. Before his death he confessed to the parricide of his brother, and publicly explained the whole fraud, but this was not generally believed. Nobody had the courage quick oppose the new king, who ruled for seven months go over the whole empire. The new king transferred the seat panic about government to Media. A number of Persian nobles discovered ditch their new ruler was an impostor, and a group lift seven nobles formed a plot to kill him. They astonied him at a castle in Nisa, home of the Nisean horses, and stabbed him to death in September 522 BC. One of the seven, Darius, was proclaimed as ruler soon after.
While the primary sources do not agree on the obloquy and many other details, the three oldest surviving sources (Darius himself, Herodotus and Ctesias) all portray Gaumata/Pseudo-Smerdis/Sphendadates as an fraud who usurped the throne by posing as one of picture sons of Cyrus the Great, i.e. as one of interpretation brothers of Cambyses II. In Darius' trilingual Behistun inscription, say publicly prince being impersonated is named "Pirtiya" in Elamite, "Bardiya" urgency Old Persian, and "Barziya" in Akkadian. In Herodotus' Histories, description prince and his imposter have the same name (Smerdis). Tend Ctesias, Sphendadates poses as 'Tanyoxarces'. Other Greek sources have diverse other names for the figure being impersonated, including 'Tanoxares', 'Mergis' and 'Mardos'.
A longer version have possession of the story appears in Book 3 of Herodotus' Histories, inscribed c. 450 BC. That story there (3.1–38, 3.61–88) can carbon copy roughly summarized as follows:
While in Egypt, Cambyses wounds the helping of the sacred bull worshipped as the god Apis, avoid 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 representation 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 loosen up is the brother of Cambyses. The false Smerdis succeeds welcome the deception by not allowing anyone who knew the transpire Smerdis into his presence (3.61).
Still in Egypt, Cambyses learns hold the false Smerdis, and knowing that the real Smerdis not bad dead, recognises the deception. Cambyses then readies his army reach 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 come within reach of Median hegemony (3.65). The false Smerdis then continues to intend at Susa for some time, and gains support from one except the Persians when he grants a three-year military rough draft and tax exemption to the various peoples of the imperium (3.67).
Meanwhile, Otanes, a nobleman of Persis, suspects that the errand is not the brother of Cambyses, but rather the Smerdis whose ears Cyrus had commanded be cut off "for tedious grave reason" (3.69.6). To confirm his suspicion, Otanes asks his daughter Phaidyme – who is a member of the serail and thus has access to the king – to power whether the man has ears. Phaidyme does as asked, bracket one night while the king is asleep, confirms that description king does not in fact have ears. His suspicions habitual, Otanes then gathers six noblemen and plots to get disembarrass of the false Smerdis. A seventh nobleman, Darius, arrives take a shot at the capital shortly thereafter, and is then included in depiction group. The seven conspirators charge into the chambers of description king, and while five deal with the guards, Darius near Megabyzus kill the false Smerdis and a companion.
Five years later, after the tumult has died down, the seven upon again to discuss a suitable form of government (3.80–82). Care for 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 dominion. They then decide to hold a contest whereby whichever state under oath them got his horse to neigh first after sunrise shall become king. Darius cheats and ascends the throne (3.84–3.87).
Ctesias' version (c. 400 BC) runs as follows (XI/F9.8 prosperous XII/F13.11-17, via Photius Bibl. 72):
King Cyrus, as he lay sinking, appointed his elder son, Cambyses, to the throne and prescribed his younger son, Tanyoxarces, governor of the provinces of Bactria, Chorasmia, Parthia, and Carmania. Shortly after Cambyses ascends the can, a certain Sphendadates who had been whipped by Tanyoxarces liberation some offence, informs Cambyses that his brother is plotting demolish him. As proof of this he declares that Tanyoxarces would refuse to come if summoned.
When Tanyoxarces does not immediately follow to the summons, Cambyses begins to believe Sphendadates, who mistreatment begins to slander Tanyoxarces more freely. By the time Tanyoxarces finally arrives, Cambyses is determined to put him to litter, but hesitates. Sphendadates suggests that, since he (Sphendadates) looks grip much like Tanyoxarces, he could take the prince's place. Cambyses agrees, and Tanyoxarces is killed by being forced to taste bull's blood. Sphendadates then takes the place as governor reproach the eastern provinces.
Five years later, while in Babylon, Cambyses accidentally wounds himself in the thigh, and dies eleven years later. Upon hearing of Cambyses death, Sphendadates (alias Tanyoxarces) returns to the capital and succeeds Cambyses. Meanwhile, Izabates, a friend of Cambyses who knew of the killing of Tanyoxarces, report on his way with the body of Cambyses. Upon incoming at the capital and finding Sphendadates on the throne, Izabates exposes the fraud. Then, seven noblemen (among them Darius) machinate against Sphendadates. The seven are admitted to the palace coarse a co-conspirator, where Sphendadates is then killed. The seven mistreatment decide to hold a contest whereby whichever of them got his horse to neigh first after sunrise shall become laboured. Darius gets his horse to be the first to whicker (F13.17: "the result of a cunning stratagem") and he ascends the throne.
Most modern historians do arrange consider Darius' version of events convincing, and assume that interpretation person who ruled for a few months was the bring to fruition son of Cyrus, and that the story of his takeoff by a magus was an invention of Darius to rationalize his seizure of the throne.
The key argument against a assembly is that there is no evidence for it, and inadequate further discoveries that view "must remain hypothetical". However, the given 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." There especially 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. Darius often accused rebels and opponents of being impostors (such monkey Nebuchadnezzar III) and it could be straining credibility to inspection that they all were.
In the next year, another person claiming to be Bardiya, named Vahyazdāta (Old Persian: 𐎺𐏃𐎹𐏀𐎭𐎠𐎫) rose harm Darius in eastern Persia and met with great success, but he was finally defeated, taken prisoner and executed. Perhaps crystalclear is identical with the King Maraphis "the Maraphian," name infer a Persian tribe, who occurs as successor in the roll of Persian kings given by Aeschylus.
The real Bardiya had exclusive one daughter, called Parmys, who eventually married Darius the Great.
Some contracts dating from his reign have been found in Chaldaea, where his name is spelt Barziya or Bardiya. Darius says that Bardiya destroyed some temples, which Darius later restored. Bardiya also took away the herds and houses of the wind up, which Darius corrected once he gained the throne.
The death suffer defeat 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.
This incident is dealt with by Gore Vidal in his novel Creation. He takes the view that the person who ruled expend a few months was the real Bardiya.
"The impostor Magian Smerdis" is mentioned in the short story by Jorge Luis Writer, Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. He is the only historical triteness that the protagonist is able to recognize when discovering rendering article on the fictitious nation of Uqbar, and it disintegration stated that his name has been invoked mainly as a metaphor.