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Kūruš II Haxāmanišyah 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁𐏐𐏃𐎧𐎠𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁𐎡𐎹 | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 600 BCE Anshan, Media |
| Died | 4 December 530 BCE Pāthragadā, Achaemenid Empire |
| Nationality | Persian |
Kūruš II Haxāmanišyah (c. 600 BCE – 4 December 530 BCE), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. He established Persia's independence from Media and was succeeded by his son Kambūjiyah II.[1]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Kūruš was the son of Kambūjiyah I and Mandanā, the daughter of the Median emperor Rštivaigah. According to Herodotos, Rštivaigah had a dream that his grandson would seize the throne. He told his courier Arbakah to kill the newborn Kūruš, and Arbakah gave the baby to the royal slave Mithradāta and told him to abandon it in the wilderness. However, Mithradāta kept Kūruš alive and disguised his own stillborn child as Kūruš.[1]
At the age of ten, Kūruš was elected "king" in a game with other children and punished the son of a Median noble for refusing to follow his orders. The child's father complained to Rštivaigah, who recognized Kūruš as his own grandson. The priests told Rštivaigah that Kūruš would not become king in real life, and he was sent back to his home in Persia.[1]
King of Persia[edit | edit source]
Kūruš became the king of the nomadic Persians in 558 BCE and founded the city of Pāthragadā (Pasargadae). He initially recognized Rštivaigah as his superior.[1]
Revolt against Media[edit | edit source]
In 553 BCE, as Media was preparing to invade Babylonia, Kūruš II launched a revolt against the Medes. In the first battle of the rebellion, General Arbakah and a large part of his army defected to join the Persians. Rštivaigah personally led a second battle against the rebels but was defeated and captured. In 550 BCE, the Persians captured the Median capital of Ecbatana. In the following years, Kūruš conquered the other parts of the Median empire, including Armenia, Elam, Hyrcania, and Parthia.[1]
Conquests[edit | edit source]
Anatolia[edit | edit source]
In response to the Persian conquests, Karos of Lydia began preparing for war with the Persia. He formed an alliance with Iahmes II of Egypt in 549 BCE. Soon after, Sparta joined the alliance. Lydia and Persia fought an inconclusive battle near Sinope, and Karos retreated to his capital of Sfard. He dismissed his mercenaries and told them to return the next spring, but the Persians attacked earlier than expected. They besieged Sfard for 14 days and captured it before Spartan support could arrive.[1]
After taking Lydia, Kūruš and Arbakah conquered the Greek cities of Anatolia. Miletos submitted to the Persians without a fight. The Spartans refused to support the Greeks. Persia could not yet attack the Greek islands because it did not have a navy.[1]
Babylonia[edit | edit source]
In 539 BCE, the Persians defeated the Babylonian army near Upî on the Tigris. They captured Sippar and Babylon soon after. The other countries of Western Asia, including the Phoenicians, acknowledged Persian sovereignty.[1]
Central Asia[edit | edit source]
Between 545 and 539 BCE, Kūruš conquered the countries east of Persia, including Bactria, Khorezm, and Sogdiana. His empire reached the Syr Darya and the northwestern borders of India. After defeating Babylon, he fought to secure the northeastern border against the Saka tribes.[1]
Death[edit | edit source]
In 530 BCE, Kūruš fought a battle against the Messagatae, a tribe of the Saka, on the Oxus (now Syr Darya). He captured their camp and killed some of their soldiers, but the Messagatae under their queen Taumuriyah defeated the Persians and beheaded Kūruš. Ancient historians claimed that the Persians lost 200,000 soldiers.[1]