Cambyses II

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Cambyses II ( Persian کمبوجیه Kambūdschīye [ kʲæmbuːʤiˈɛ ], Old Persian Kambūdschiya, Greek Καμβύσης Kambýsēs; * around 558 BC Chr .; † July 522 BC BC) was the son of Cyrus II , who was the 7th Achaemenid king from 529 to 522 BC. Ruled.

Beginnings

About a year after the festive reception of Cyrus II in Babylon, Ugbaru died in 538 BC. On October 18th. After Ugbaru's death, Cyrus II installed his son Cambyses II as his successor and granted him the title of King of Babylon, while he himself was the superior king of the countries . Kassandane , the wife of the Persian king, suffered the same fate as Ugbaru a few months later and died on March 28, 537 BC. After the ordered seven days of state mourning began on April 5, 537 BC. The official celebrations of the Babylonian New Year. Cambyses II, apparently unfamiliar with the Babylonian protocol, appeared in army clothing to greet the Babylonian deities. He caused a scandal that snubbed and insulted the priesthood. This is probably why Cambyses II soon had to hand over his office to Gobrya's successor , who was officially mentioned in the Babylonian Chronicle from 536 BC. Was led as satrap of Babylon and the Transeuphratene . Even before Cyrus II set out on his last campaign a few years later, he appointed Cambyses II as his successor - in order to guarantee the succession to the throne. He followed his father in July / August 529 BC. On the Persian royal throne.

Egypt campaign

Cyrus II is said to have already drawn up the plan for an Egyptian campaign. Allegedly, Cambyses II. 525 BC According to Herodotus, he secretly killed his younger brother Bardiya before the campaign against Egypt . Historical evidence for this assumption has not yet been made. Historians therefore do not rule out the possibility that these explanations refer to propaganda statements made by Darius I and his forcible appropriation of the throne.

The from 526 BC Preparations for war carried out in BC were carefully planned. This can be seen from the fact that Cambyses II concluded an alliance with Polycrates of Samos , whose brother Syloson led a fleet contingent from Samos to Egypt, which mutinied. Allegedly, Kroisos was also involved in the campaign as an advisor. The water supply for the troops' desert train was secured by a treaty with the Arabs of the Sinai Peninsula . The Battle of Pelusium in May 525 BC BC brought the victory over the Egyptian border troops . The capital Memphis with the assembled fleet was taken after a brief siege.

Cambyses II's stay in Egypt for almost three years leaves some room for speculation. After Herodotus, he carried out a campaign to Nubia . According to Herodotus, this seems to have been unsuccessful, but archaeological finds indicate that the Persians were able to record some successes, at least in northern Nubia.

According to Herodotus (3,1) he married the - at least 40 years old - Egyptian princess Nitetis, probably the last survivor of the Saitic dynasty, in order to legitimize his claim to the Egyptian throne.

The End

Herodotus reports that the deputy of the great king in Persia, the priest Gaumata , used the secret murder of Cambyses' brother to take over the throne and in March 522 BC. As Bardiya (Greek Smerdis). After this outrage, Cambyses is said to have caused the withdrawal from Egypt. On the way back to Persia, he died in Syria in July 522 BC. From a leg injury which, according to Herodotus, he himself could have caused:

“When he (Kambyses) had cried and complained of all his misfortune, he jumped on his horse, intending to move to Susa against the skinny as quickly as possible. But when he jumps up, the pommel falls off his sword hilt, and the bare sword penetrates his thigh. "

- Herodotus (3.64)

However, historical evidence is lacking for the reports of Herodotus. It is therefore also possible that it was really the real Bardiya who rose up against his brother. Cambyses' successor was his lance-bearer Darius , who murdered Bardiya in an uprising with allied military leaders and a little later married the half-sister of his predecessor, Atossa .

Literary reception

At least since Herodotus, Cambyses was considered the epitome of the tyrannical ruler in ancient literature. In the late antique Coptic novel of Cambyses , Cambyses is portrayed as cruel, cowardly and insidious and equated with the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, who was also disreputed as a godless despot . Such representations (later sources) do not correspond to the historical Cambyses.

Family tree of Cambyses II.

 
 
 Achaimenes
1st King, Regent of Persia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Teispes
2nd King, Regent of Persia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ariaramna I.
3rd King, Regent of Persis
 
 Cyrus I.
4th King, Regent of Anzhan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Arshama I.
Regional Regent
 
 Cambyses I.
5th King, Regent of Anjan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hystaspes
prince
 
 Cyrus II.
6th King, Regent of Persia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dareios I.
9th King, Regent of Persia
 
 Cambyses II.
7th King, Regent of Persia
 
 Bardiya
8th King, Regent of Persia
(or Gaumata as Smerdis)
 
 Artystone
princess
 
 Atossa
princess
 
 Roxane
princess
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Xerxes I.
10th King, Regent of Persia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Artaxerxes I.
11th King, Regent of Persia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

He was married to his half-sisters Atossa and Roxane († 523 BC in Egypt due to a miscarriage) and the named Nitetis . He left no children.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Cambyses II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Wilhelm Gemoll, Karl Vretska, Heinze Kronasser: Greek-German school and hand dictionary. 9th edition, G. Freytag, Munich; Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Vienna; both 1979, p. 406 left column.
  2. ^ Konrat Ziegler , Walther Sontheimer : The little Pauly . Volume 3: Iuppiter to Nasidienus. Druckermüller, Stuttgart 1969, column 418.
  3. ↑ In the literature, the statement is used shortly after and the year 539 BC. BC. However, in the Encyclopædia Iranica [1], Rüdiger Schmitt refers to the possibility of one year. The chronology of the Nabonaid Chronicle also assumes a one-year term of office.
  4. ↑ According to the Nabonaid Chronicle on the night of the 11th Arahsamna . In the proleptic Julian calendar of 538 BC The 11th Arahsamna fell on October 25th and the beginning of spring on March 28th. In conversion to today's Gregorian calendar, 7 days must therefore be deducted. Calculations according to Jean Meeus: Astronomical Algorithms - Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5, Barth, Leipzig 2000 and Ephemeris Tool 4.5 conversion program.
  5. ↑ Hubert Cancik: The New Pauly (DNP) - Encyclopedia of Antiquity. Volume 6, Metzler, Stuttgart 2003, p. 219.
  6. ↑ Dietz-Otto Edzard: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology (RLA). Volume 6, Berlin 1983, p. 402.
  7. ↑ Herodotus, Histories 2, 1; 3, 2.
  8. ↑ According to the Nabonaid Chronicle on Adaru 26th. In the proleptic Julian calendar of 537 BC The 26th Adaru fell on April 4th and the beginning of spring on March 28th. In conversion to today's Gregorian calendar, 7 days must therefore be deducted. Calculations according to Jean Meeus: Astronomical Algorithms - Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5, Barth, Leipzig 2000 and Ephemeris Tool 4.5 conversion program.
  9. ↑ According to the Nabonaid Chronicle on Nisanu 4 (8 days after the date of death of the Kassandane).
  10. ↑ According to documents in the 4th year of Cyrus II's reign, cf. Hubert Cancik: The New Pauly (DNP) - Encyclopedia of Antiquity. Volume 4, Metzler, Stuttgart 2003, p. 1126. An exact date is not mentioned in the chronicle. According to the Babylonian counting of the years of reign, the entire year is assigned to the old incumbent, even if he did not reign for the full year. The handover to Gobryas took place in the course of the year 537 BC. Chr .; the nomination as the new incumbent became official from 536 BC. Chr. Noted chronologically.
  11. ↑ Pierre Briant : From Cyrus to Alexander. Winona Lake 2002, pp. 54f.
  12. ↑ Truesdell S. Brown: Herodotus' Portrait of Cambyses. In: Historia 31/4, 1982, pp. 387-403; John Dillery: Cambyses and the Egyptian Chaos Description Tradition. In: The Classical Quarterly 55/2, 2005, pp. 387-406.
  13. ^ Alan B. Lloyd: Cambyses in late tradition. In: Christopher Eyre, Anthony Leahy, Lisa Montagno Leahy (Eds.): The Unbroken Reed. Studies in the Culture and Heritage of Ancient Egypt in Honor of AF Shore, London 1994, pp. 195-204; P. 196.
predecessor Office successor
Cyrus II Persian king
529-522 BC Chr. 		Darius I.
Psammetich III. Pharaoh of Egypt
27th Dynasty 		Darius I.
Cyrus II King of Babylonia
538–537 BC Chr. (Impeachment) 		unclear whether Cyrus II took over the title again
personal data
SURNAME Cambyses II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION persian king
DATE OF BIRTH around 538 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH July 522 BC Chr.