Bardiya of Persia

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Smerdis, Bardiya or Bardia (Old Persian: 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹^[1] Bardiya^[2]) (possibly died 522 BCE) was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life, he may have ruled the Achaemenid Empire for a few months in 522 BCE, or he may have been impersonated by a magus called Gaumata.^[3] (Old Persian: 𐎥𐎢𐎶𐎠𐎫^[4] Gaumāta^[2])

Name and sources

The prince's name is listed variously in the historical sources. His Persian name is Bardia; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, he is called Tonyoxarces (Sphendadates); by Xenophon, Cyrop. Vin. 7.ii, who takes the name from Ctesias, he is called Tanooxares; by Justin i.9, Mergis; and in Aeschylus, Pers. 774, his name is Mardos. In the prevalent Greek form of his name, Smerdis, the Persian name has been assimilated to the Greek (Asiatic) name Smerdis or Smerdies, a name which also occurs in the poems of Alcaeus and Anacreon.

Traditional view

The traditional view based on the majority of ancient sources e.g. Darius the Great's inscription at Behistun, as well as Herodotus, Justin, and Ctesias, although there are minor differences between them.

Bardia was the younger son of Cyrus the Great and (full or half) brother of Cambyses of Persia. According to Ctesias, on his deathbed Cyrus appointed Bardia as satrap (governor) of some of the far-eastern provinces^[5] (cf. Xen. Cyrop. vin. 7, if). According to Darius the Great, Cambyses II when being the king of empire but before setting out for Egypt slew Bardia and kept this secret. However according to Herodotus who gives two detailed stories, Bardia went to Egypt with Cambyses and was there for some time but later Cambyses sent him back to Susa out of envy, because "Bardiya alone could draw 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 of this dream Cambyses sent his trusted counselor Prexaspes from Egypt to Susa with the order to kill Smerdis."^[6]

Smerdis's death was not known to the people, and so in the spring of 522 BCE a usurper pretended to be Smerdis and proclaimed himself king on a mountain near the Persian town Paishiyauvada. Darius claimed that the real name of the usurper was Gaumata, a Magian priest from Media; this name has been preserved by Justin i. 9 (from Charon of Lampsacus?), but given to his brother Cambyses (called Patizeithes by Herodotus), who is said to have been the real promoter of the intrigue; the name of the Magian usurper, according to Herodotus, was Oropastes. Alternatively, according to Ctesias, it was Sphendadates.

The despotic rule of Cambyses, coupled with his long absence in Egypt, contributed to the fact that "the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years (Herodotus iii.68).

Cambyses began to march against him, but died in the spring of 522 in disputed circumstances. Before his death he confessed to the murder of his brother, and publicly explained the whole fraud, but this was not generally believed. Nobody had the courage to oppose the new king, who ruled for seven months over the whole empire. The new king transferred the seat of government to Media; and here in a castle in the district of Nisaya he was surprised and killed by Darius and six associates in September 522 BC.

The real Smerdis had only one daughter, called Parmys, who eventually married Darius the Great.

Some contracts dating from his reign have been found in Babylonia, where his name is spelt Barziya or Bardiya.^[7] Darius says that Smerdis destroyed some temples, which Darius later restored. Smerdis also took away the herds and houses of the people, which Darius corrected once he gained the throne. (Behistun Inscription i.14).

Revisionist view

A number of historians dispute the traditional story. They believe that the person who ruled for a few months was the real son of Cyrus, and that the story of his impersonation by a magus was an invention of Darius to justify his seizure of the throne.^[8][9] According to M. Dandamaev, this view "must remain hypothetical".^[6] There are some implausibilities in the "official" story e.g. the impostor resembled the real Smerdis so closely that even his harem of wives did not spot the difference.^[10] Darius often accused rebels and opponents of being impostors.^[11]

Aftermath

In the next year, another person claiming to be Smerdis, named Vahyazdāta (Old Persian: 𐎺𐏃𐎹𐏀𐎭𐎠𐎫^[12]) rose against Darius in eastern Persia and met with great success. But he was finally defeated, taken prisoner and executed (Behistun Inscr. ~ 40 if.) Perhaps he is identical with the King Maraphis "the Maraphian," name of a Persian tribe, who occurs as successor in the list of Persian kings given by Aeschylus, Pers. 778. The death of the false Bardia was annually celebrated in Persia by a feast called “the killing of the magian," (Magiophani) at which no magian was allowed to show himself (Herod. ~ 79 Ctes. Pers. 15).

Smerdis in fiction

This episode is dealt with by Gore Vidal in his novel Creation. He takes the view that the person who ruled for a few months was the real Smerdis.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.