Home  ›  Cyrus Ii

Cyrus Ii

Achaemenid Great Kings
Standard of Cyrus the Great (White). Svg

Cyrus II (circa 559 BC. in 529 BC. ), "said Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Empire Persian , who succeeded the Median Empire. It belongs to the dynasty Achaemenian.

Summary

/ / Legends of birth

The birth of Cyrus ( Old Persian , "sun") is the subject of oral legends that surround the figures in Mesopotamia traditionally founders, like Sargon of Akkad.

According to Herodotus (I, 107-130), Cyrus is the son of Cambyses I. , son of the Persian king Cyrus I. , and Mandana , daughter of the Median king Astyages. Gold Astyages saw in a dream that his grandson, son become king in his place: he ordered Harpagus , one of his parents, to remove the child. Harpagus, not wanting to be the murderer, confided to Mithridates , drover Median royal court. The wife of one, who has lost a stillborn child, persuaded him not to expose the baby to the wild beasts, but to keep him and raise him as their child. Mithridates thus substitutes Cyrus his stillborn son, he leaves the body in the mountains, dressed in clothes of the prince. The ruse was discovered when Cyrus was ten years during a game in which he plays the role of king, he severely punished the son of Artembars, Median dignitary. The latter denounced Astyages, which recognizes his little son. In revenge for having been betrayed, the King used to Harpagus the remains of his own son at a feast. Then the magicians having assured that he has more to fear, Cyrus has worn the king's name, he referred the boy to his parents true.

According to another version, recorded by Justin (I, 4, 10), Cyrus baby, abandoned by Mithridates in the mountains, is rescued by a dog that feeds and defends against wild beasts. Finally, a third version, probably collected by Ctesias and reported by Nicolas of Damascus , is that the father was a man named Cyrus Atradats, the ethnic group despised by Marder, robber of his condition - and her mother, airs the goats. "Given" to the butler royal Artembars, Cyrus eventually be adopted and inherit the burden.

Leaving aside the mythical elements, it seems certain that Cyrus II is the successor of the Achaemenid dynasty of kings of Anshan , which was located in the plain of Marvdasht in Fars.

The constitution of the Persian Empire

Medo-Persian War

Around 553 , a war erupts between Astyages and Cyrus. Babylonian sources (and the dream of Nabonidus Nabonidus Chronicle) and Greek do not agree on responsibility for the conflict. If Herodotus presents the march against Ecbatana because of Cyrus, the Chronicle shows Astyages "mobilis The Conquest of Lydia

We do not know precisely the campaigns Cyrus leads in the years following his victory over Astyages. But it's probably around -547 as Croesus , king of Lydia , attack the Persian Empire : according to Herodotus (I, 46)

"The empire of Astyages son of Cyaxares destroyed by Cyrus, son of Cambyses and the Persians, who took every day for new additions, made him stop his pain (related to the death of his son Atys). He thought no more than the means to suppress this power before it became more formidable . "

The will to conquer is in addition to these reasons for caution: Herodotus explains further that "Croesus went with his army to Cappadocia, to add that country to its states (...) and the desire to avenge Astyages his brother "(I, 73). The Lydian was prepared by querying the oracle at Delphi, which, as usual, gave an ambiguous answer, assuring him that "if he undertook the war against the Persians he would destroy a great kingdom" (I, 53 ), and advising her website Search "friendship of the states of Greece that have been recognized for more powerful" (ibid.). Immediately, Croesus had forged an alliance with Sparta.

The attack against the Persian army did not wait. When Cyrus arrived in Cappadocia , it has become satrap of Croesus of Lydia, in other words to accept the Persian domination, but he refuses. Croesus is confident because he has entered into alliances with Sparta not only but also with the Egypt of Amasis and Babylon - but it ultimately not intervene in the conflict. For his part, Cyrus asked the Greek cities of Ionia to defect, but without success (Herodotus, I, 76).

After the Battle of Pteria ( Battle of the Halys ) in Cappadocia, Croesus, who did not admit defeat, backtracked. As winter came, demobilize its army and hopes to draw the wrong season to establish a more powerful army. Against all odds, Cyrus launched its offensive in mid-winter, after many battles, he finally forced to take refuge in Croesus citadel of Sardis. In the fourteenth day of the siege, the city fell (probably -546 ).

As Astyages Cyrus leaves lives to Croesus, attributing the income of a coast city to maintain his lifestyle. The Greek cities of Asia Minor for their refuse to surrender, but the revolts in Babylon and Central Asia require Cyrus urgently return to Ecbatana. He says the burden of raising the tribute to a Lydian Paktys ; it rebels, brings together the Lydian Sardis and marched on. Cyrus sent his general Mazars settle the case, he ended up capturing Paktys, and completely put the Lydian army-led Persian. Mazars is beginning to conquer one by one the Greek cities, and then to the general's death, Cyrus sends Harpagus complete the conquest, which lasts four years.

The conquest of Central Asia

After his departure from Sardis , Cyrus heads to the eastern part of its empire, despite the allegiance of the peoples of Central Asia after the overthrow of Astyages , several tribes have indeed raised. We do not know the chronology of new conquests Cyrus performs, but when walking on Babylon in 540 were added to his empire of Parthia , the Drangiane , the Arie , the Chorasmia , the Bactrian , the Sogdiana , the Gandhara , the Scythia , the Sattagydie , the Arachosia and Makran.

The conquest of Babylon

The neo-Babylonian kingdom of Nabonidus is the second major rival of the Persian Empire established by Cyrus. In fact, the war with Babylon have certainly started in the year 540 , at the end of this decade, open warfare broke out. With the support of Ugbaru , Babylonian governor of the country Gutium , the army of Cyrus wins a first victory at Opis ( 10 October 539 ), then at Sippar , and then besieged Babylon, where the army has cut off King Nabonidus. The city is strongly fortified, and has sufficient reserves to withstand a long siege. The Persians then divert the course of the Euphrates to allow a small group led by Ugbaru to seize the citadel, while the Babylonians celebrated a major religious festival. Four days later, on 12 October 539 , Cyrus entered the city. Again, Nabonidus is spared.

Cyrus II the Great and the Jews

According to two cuneiform texts, the "Cyrus Cylinder" and "Eulogy of Cyrus," was an evil king Nabonidus, who had abandoned the cult of Marduk : Cyrus instead driven back the idols in the temples of Babylon, and undertook major restoration of city walls, temples and civic buildings. In fact, it is more likely that Cyrus is overwhelmed achievements of Nabonidus, the latter being known as a builder king.

The Old Testament tells how Cyrus allowed the Judeans exiled in Babylon to return to Jerusalem , and gave the order to rebuild the Temple destroyed during the storming of the city by Nebuchadnezzar. Presented as a protg of Marduk by the cylinder, Cyrus is the anointed of Yahweh in the Book of Isaiah : "Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, he holds by the hand to subdue nations before him and to release the loins of kings, to open his doors, so they are more closed . "(45:1-3).

But Judea was significantly depleted in the meantime, only the foundation of the Temple may take place during the reign of Cyrus. Judah does not become an independent kingdom, but a province of the Persian Empire ( Medinat Yehud ), which serves the strategic intentions of Cyrus in the face of Egypt. The whole region was conquered and united into one huge satrapy uniting Babylonia, Syria , and Palestine.

The Cyrus Cylinder

Main article: Cyrus Cylinder.

After his capture of Babylon, Cyrus issued a declaration, inscribed on a cylinder of clay known as the "Cyrus Cylinder", containing a description of his victories and merciful acts, as well as documentation of his royal lineage. It was discovered in 1879 in Babylon, and is now in the British Museum. Although the cylinder reflects a Mesopotamian tradition that, from the third millennium BC. BC , kings such that Urukagina have started their reigns with declarations of reforms, the Cyrus Cylinder is often referred to as the "first charter of human rights". In 1971 , the UN has translated into all official languages. The cylinder normal enacts the themes of Persian rule: religious tolerance, the abolition of slavery, freedom of choice of occupation and expansion of the empire.

The end of the reign and death of Cyrus

Tomb of Cyrus the Great.

The end of the life of Cyrus is not well known we only know that he continues his march towards the east and dominates the country between the sea Caspian and India. Herodotus, while stating that there are several versions of his death, he was killed in battle against Tomyris Queen of Massagetae. To avenge the death of her son, she would have decapitated the corpse and dipped his head in a skin of blood to satiate the bloodlust of Cyrus . In fact the exact circumstances of his death are unknown. At Susa in -528 , Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus (Herodotus, I, 208) and is taking her body to Pasargadae. A tradition is the tomb of Pasargadae that would built during his lifetime (Ctesias 8), one in which it rests. The monument is still visible today. Satellite view of the falls on WikiMapia

Review of the reign

The ancient capital Mede Ecbatana remains a regular residences Great Kings Achaemenid , because it is strategically important for some who wants to control Central Asia. Cyrus II managed to establish a coherent empire by conquest, but by diplomacy, religious tolerance and political integration of the customs of each people conquered. He attributes the institution of the Aramaic language as the official administrative and spread throughout the empire.

His family

Like most of the potentates of his time, Cyrus had probably a harem with several wives and concubines. Some of these wives are mentioned by Greek historians:

  1. First Cassandana , his cousin and the daughter of Pharnaspes, noble Achaemenid and Atossa, herself the daughter of Cyrus I. ,
  2. Then Neithiyti , Princess of Egypt , daughter of Pharaoh Apries (-589 -570)
  3. Amytis, daughter of Astyages , king of the Medes , Aryans and is mentioned by Ctesias. It would be the half-sister Mandana, the mother of Cyrus. But the wife is not always taken into account .

Several children were born of such marriages:

  • Cambyses , son and successor of Cyrus, Herodotus mentions as Cassandana born, although the Egyptians have wanted to be a son of Neithiyti .
  • Bardiya , son of Cyrus and Cassandana
  • Roxane, daughter of Cyrus and Cassan, married her brother Cambyses .
  • Atossa , married successively to Cambyses, Bardiya to, then Darius I.. The latter, she gave birth to Xerxes. It is not possible to state with certainty his mother .
  • Artystone married to Darius I. .

Cyrus II in Islam

Some scholars and Muslim scholars advanced the Dhul-l-Qarnayn mentioned in the Koran would in fact Cyrus .

Appendices

References

  1. RM Ghias Abadi, Achaemenid Listings lrm;, Shiraz Navid Publications, Tehran, 2004, 2nd ed. ( ISBN 964-358-015-6 ), p. 19
  2. (en) Ronald Grubb Kent (trans. S. Oryan), Old Persian: Grammar, Text, Glossary, 2005 ( ISBN 964-421-045-X ), p. 393
  3. The passages of Herodotus are from the translation of Larcher, available online.
  4. This is probably the Gobryas mentioned by Xenophon in Cyropaedia: the character is presented as an Assyrian wishing to avenge the murder of his son by Nabonidus, jealous of the exploits of a young man in hunting (IV, 6, 1-11).
  5. From the King James translation.
  6. Herodotus, History, Book I, 214.
  7. a and b Herodotus, History, Book III, 2.
  8. Christian Settipani , our ancestors of antiquity: a study of possible links between the family pedigree of antiquity and those of the European Middle Ages , Christian, Paris, 1991, 263 p. ( ISBN 2-86496-050 - 6 ), p. 144 .
  9. Herodotus, History, Book III, 1 and 2.
  10. Kathleen Mary Tyrer-Chrimes Atkinson ("The Legitimacy of Cambyses Darius years as King of Egypt," in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 78, 1958, p. 167-177 ) Denies its existence, whereas a Ctesias by that is rather fanciful in his stories, on the other hand qu'Amytis, known for married Nebuchadnezzar II before 605, it is difficult to remarry 550. Christia Settipani but noted that there is confusion between two Amytis, the aunt of the other (Settipani, op. Cit., P. 155).
  11. The inclusion of Bisotoun says "son of the same father and same mother" that Cambyses (Settipani, op. cit., p. 157).
  12. Settipani, op. cit., p. 157.
  13. a and b Settipani, op. cit., p. 158.
  14. Who is the Dhu-l-Qarnayn mentioned in the Quran?

Sources


Leave a Reply

0 vote, average: 0.00 out of 50 vote, average: 0.00 out of 50 vote, average: 0.00 out of 51 vote, average: 0.00 out of 50 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5 (0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated)
Loading ... Loading ...
Help us improve the wiki Send Your Comments