The Troubled Reign of Cambyses II
The Persian Empire stood at a crossroads in 522 BCE. Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the Great, had expanded the empire into Egypt but ruled with increasing paranoia and cruelty. His disastrous military campaign in Nubia and sacrilegious acts—including the murder of the sacred Apis bull—alienated both conquered peoples and Persian nobles. This created the perfect conditions for rebellion.
As Cambyses remained bogged down in Egypt, a seismic political shift occurred in the Persian heartland. The stage was set for one of antiquity’s most audacious impersonations—one that would nearly topple the Achaemenid dynasty.
The Rise of the Imposter King
Enter Gaumata, a Magian priest (Zoroastrian cleric) with intimate knowledge of royal affairs. Exploiting the secrecy surrounding Prince Bardiya’s fate—Cambyses had secretly ordered his brother’s assassination—Gaumata declared himself to be the resurrected Bardiya. The claim found traction because:
– Few knew Bardiya had been murdered
– Gaumata bore a striking resemblance to the prince
– Persians desperately sought relief from Cambyses’ tyranny
Gaumata’s first acts as “king” were strategically populist:
– Cancelled taxes and military conscription for three years
– Centralized religious authority under Zoroastrianism
– Favored Median elites over Persian nobility
Cambyses’ Desperate Final Days
When news of the revolt reached Egypt, Cambyses confronted his assassin Prexaspes, who confirmed Bardiya’s death. Realizing an imposter ruled Persia, Cambyses mobilized his army—only to suffer a bizarre, symbolic injury. While mounting his horse, his own dagger pierced his thigh in the same spot where he’d stabbed the Apis bull. The infected wound proved fatal.
His deathbed confession revealed tragic irony:
– Admitted to fratricide out of paranoid dreams
– Warned nobles the throne was held by a Magus
– Cursed Persia if they didn’t reclaim the throne
The Unraveling of the Deception
For seven months, Gaumata maintained his charisma by:
– Avoiding public appearances (to hide his missing ears—a punishment from Cyrus’ era)
– Isolating royal women who might recognize him
The conspiracy unraveled through an unlikely detective story. Otanes, a nobleman, suspected the truth after his daughter (a royal concubine) confirmed the king lacked ears. This sparked a secret alliance of seven nobles, including the young Darius—whose destiny Cyrus had foreseen in prophetic dreams.
The Dramatic Coup
Two pivotal events sealed Gaumata’s fate:
1. Prexaspes’ Suicide Speech: The former assassin publicly exposed the fraud before leaping to his death
2. The Seven’s Raid: Darius convinced the conspirators to storm the palace during a religious festival
The coup succeeded with symbolic symmetry—Gaumata died on September 25, 522 BCE, exactly seven months into his rule. His death marked the rise of Darius I, who would immortalize the event in the Behistun Inscription as divine justice against “the Lie.”
Legacy of the Crisis
This episode transformed Persian kingship:
– Political: Darius centralized power, creating the satrapy system
– Religious: Zoroastrianism became closely tied to royal legitimacy
– Cultural: The “King’s Truth” (arta) versus “the Lie” (druj) became a central ideology
Modern parallels abound—from identity fraud to populist revolts exploiting secrecy. The Bardiya affair remains history’s ultimate warning about the fragility of truth in politics. As Herodotus observed, the conspiracy succeeded because “men believe what they desire to be true”—a lesson echoing across millennia.