SMERDIS (Pers. Bardiya; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, called Tanyoxarces; by Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 7. 11, who takes the name from Ctesias, Tanaoxares; by Justin i. 9, Mergis; in Aeschylus, Pers. 774, Mardos)

This article appears in Volume V25, Page 253 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SIV-SOU

SMERDIS (Pers. Bardiya; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, called Tanyoxarces; by Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 7. 11, who takes the name from Ctesias, Tanaoxares; by Justin i. 9, Mergis; in Aeschylus, Pers. 774, Mardos) , a Persian king of infamous memory; the prevalent Greek form Smerdis has assimilated the Persian name to the Greek (Asiatic) name Smerdis or Smerdies, which occurs in the poems of Alcaeus and Anacreon. Smerdis was the younger son of Cyrus the

Great

GREAT

who, according to Ctesias, on his deathbed appointed him

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of the eastern provinces (cf. Xen. Cyrop. viii. 7, 11). Before Cambyses set out to Egypt, he secretly caused him to be murdered (Darius in the Behistun Inscr. i. 10), being afraid that he might attempt a rebellion during his absence. His death was not known to the people, and so in the

spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

of 522 a usurper pretended to be Smerdis and proclaimed himself king on a mountain near the Persian town Pishiyauvada. Owing to the despotic

rule

RULE

of Cambyses and his long absence in Egypt, " the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years (

Herod

HEROD
HEROD (surnamed THE GREAT)

. iii. 68). Cambyses began to march against him, but seeing that his cause was hopeless, killed himself in the

spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

of 521 (but see further CAMBYSES). The real name of the usurper was, as Darius tells us, Gaumata, a Magian priest from Media; this name has been preserved by Justin i. 9 (from Charon of Lampsacus?), but given to his brother (called by Herodotus Patizeithes), who is said to have been the real promoter of the intrigue; the true name of the usurper is here given as Oropastes; by Ctesias as Sphendadates.
The history of the false Smerdis is narrated by Herodotus and Ctesias according to official traditions; Cambyses before his death confessed to the murder of his brother, and in public explained the whole fraud. But, as Darius said, nobody had the courage to oppose the new king, who ruled for seven months over the whole empire. Some contracts dating from his reign have been found in Babylonia, where his name is spelt Barziya (for the chronology cf. Ed. Meyer, Forschungen zur

alien

ALIEN (Lat. alienus)

Geschichte, ii. 472 ff.). Darius says that he destroyed some temples, which Darius restored, and took away the herds and houses of the people (Behistun Inscr. i. 14). We have no means of explaining this statement, nor can we fully understand all the incidents connected with his usurpation; but the attempts of modern authors to prove that Gaumata in reality was the genuine Smerdis and Darius a usurper have failed. It is certain that Smerdis transferred the seat of government to Media; and here in a castle in the

district

DISTRICT

of Nisaya he was surprised and killed by Darius and his six associates in October 521. His death was annually celebrated in Persia by a feast called " the killing of the magian," at which no magian was allowed to show himself (

Herod

HEROD
HEROD (surnamed THE GREAT)

. iii. 79, Ctes. Pers. 15).
In the next year, another pseudo-Smerdis, named Vahyazdata, rose against Darius in eastern Persia and met with

great

GREAT

success. But he was finally defeated, taken prisoner and executed (Behistun Inscr. iii. 40 ff.; perhaps he is identical with the King Maraphis " the Maraphian," name of a Persian tribe,who occurs as successor in the

list

LIST (O.E.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
)
LIST,
FRIEDRICH
- FRIEDRICH, JOHANN (1836— )
(1789-1846)

of Persian kings given by Aeschylus, Pers. 778).
See DARIUS (I.) and PERSIA, Ancient History. (ED. M.)

End of Article: SMERDIS (Pers. Bardiya; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, called Tanyoxarces; by Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 7. 11, who takes the name from Ctesias, Tanaoxares; by Justin i. 9, Mergis; in Aeschylus, Pers. 774, Mardos)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SIV_SOU/SMERDIS_Pers_Bardiya_by_Ctesia.html">
SMERDIS (Pers. Bardiya; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, ca...
</a>

(Previous)
SMERDIS (52I)

(Next)
SMETANA, FRIEDRICH (1824-1884)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email