Cyrus II of Persia commonly known as Cyrus the Great or Cyrus the Elder was the first king and founder of the Achaemenid Empire.
Early Life
editCyrus was born to Cambyses I, King of Ansan and Mandane, daughter of Astyages, King of Media. According to Herodotus, Asytages had a dream which was interpreted by his court as a prediction that his grandson would rebel against him and become the next king. At this point, Mandane who was pregnant with Cyrus was summoned back to Ectabana and the grandchild was to be killed by Harpagus. Harpagus delegated the task to Mithradates, one of Astyages' shepherds who raised the child in place of their stillborn son.[1] When Cyrus was 10 years old, he was discovered by Astyages who sent him back to Persia.[2] Upon his return, Cyrus married Cassandane[3] who bore him two sons, Cambyses II and Bardiya along with three daughters, Atossa, Artystone, and Roxane.[4] After his father's death, Cyrus inherited the Persian throne at Pasargadae which was a vassal of Astyages.
Military Campaigns
editConquest of the Median Empire
editIn 553 BCE, Cyrus rebelled against Astyages. There are two versions, one from Herodotus and one from Nicolaus Damascenus. Herodotus states that Harpagus and a group of Median nobles encouraged Cyrus to revolt. Two major battles took place, the first was battle of Hyrba where Astyages had put Harpagus in command of the army. However, Harpagus defected to Cyrus along with the majority of the troops. Astyages then took command of the army in the second battle but was defeated.[5] After the capture of Astyages, Cyrus spared his life and married his daughter Amytis to become the legitimate heir to the Median empire. This marriage pacified several Median vassals such as the Bactrians, the Saka, and the Parthians.[6] According to Nicolaus Damascenus, a man named Oibaras urged the revolt against the Medes. The first battle was a decisive victory for Astyages and lasted only two days but the second resulted in a rout for the Median army with Astyages fleeing to Ectabana only to surrender shortly after. Ctesias states that Cyrus killed the husband of Amytis, Spitama to marry her himself.[7]
Conquest of the Lydian Empire
editConquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
editDeath
editLegacy
editReferences
edit- ^ Herodotus, p. 1.95.
- ^ Herodotus, p. 1.107-21.
- ^ Romm 2014.
- ^ Konig 1972, p. 7-12.
- ^ Herodotus, p. 1.123-28.
- ^ Briant 2002, p. 31-33.
- ^ Konig 1972, p. 2.
Biliography
edit- Konig, F (1972), Die Persika des Ktesias von Knidos
- Romm, James (2014), Histories, Hackett Publishing
- Briant, Pierre (2002), From Cyrus to Alexander