Bardiya

Bardiya or Bardija (Persian بردیا Bardiya [ bærdiɔ ː ], Old Persian: Bŗdiya ) was a member of the Persian Achämenidendynastie in the 6th century BC. He was the second son of Cyrus II and thus the younger brother of Cambyses II

Mentioned by Herodotus (3.30) Smerdis, was this supposedly of Cambyses because of a dream, more likely to prevent a rebellion, was assassinated in 525 BC before his Egyptian campaign. The secrecy succeeded completely, so that the lean and high priest Gaumata ( Herodotus describes a caused by sorcery similarity of the two ) during the absence of Cambyses spend as Bardiya, deceive the court and could be crowned king.

In modern research but it is considered likely that the alleged Gaumata is in fact actually been Bardiya, who was not murdered. Thus, the representation of Darius had only been the justification for usurpation and Herodotus ( who knows otherwise version and above) would be the official propaganda that spread Darius himself in the rock inscription of Behistun, aufgesessen.

Bardiya had a daughter named Parmys who was married to Darius I, after this Gaumata had murdered. His grandson was Ariomardos.

Name

The Old Persian name Bardiya translated means something like " the High " or " the Exalted " and probably should be a reference to an extraordinary height. He is listed in the Behistun Inscription, Darius I in his version of the circumstances of his coup of 522 BC publicly expounded. In historiography, he is generally regarded as the actual name of the second son of Cyrus.

In the Greco-Roman historiography, however, are diverse otherwise names were used for Prince Bardiya, which sometimes leads to confusion. The most famous and also most frequently used alternative Greek name Smerdis which was used by Herodotus in his Histories, which is also the most extensively described the coup and largely followed the official version of the Darius. Translated it means something like "giant", which also refers to the height of the Prince. Herodotus, this probably refers to the physique that the "false Smerdis " ( Gaumata ) have seen the real prince very similar and could be defeated by the seven conspirators only with the greatest effort. From Xenophon and about the same time writing Ctesias the lesser known Greek name variants Tanaoxares or Tanyoxarkes have been used, so far surprised at Ctesias, as he lived at the court of the Achaemenids and by all authors most likely had access to the Behistun inscription, he of the the correct form of the name of the prince in experience could bring. Nevertheless, these variations have also attention to the physical characteristics of the prince, because they are " having a big (or strong) body " with translation. Maybe Bardiya was generally known by this nickname in the Greek-speaking world.

The poet Aeschylus called the Prince Mardos and the writing in the late Roman era Justin had taken the name Mergis for his Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus.