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The Expansion of the Persian Empire, 540 BC to 522 BC (The 11W Military History Series)

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JKH1232's picture
October 16, 2016 at 9:22am
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Overtime.  Deep down, I always love overtime.

This week, we’ll keep looking at ancient history.  Last week, we considered a particular battle, the Battle of Thymbra, and this week we’ll consider the continued growth of the Persian Empire.  This will be rather important for what’s coming down the pike, as it explains, first, why the Persian Empire was so formidable, and, second, it explains the difficult position Darius found himself when the Ionian Greeks revolted against his rule.

As usual, if you found this post interesting, feel free to comment below.  If you would like to check out more military history at 11W, please check out the archive by clicking here.

Cyrus and Neo-Babylon

The Battle of Thymbra, and the subsequent capture of Sardis and King Croseus of Lydia, established the Persians as one of the three major powers of the Near East, along with Babylonia and Egypt.  While the Persians controlled a great deal of land and people, they didn’t really have control over much of the rich farmland in the area- lower Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley.  Most of Persia’s wealth came from holding just enough valuable farmland- the heartlands of Anatolia and Persia- and controlling wealthy trading areas, such as Ionia, Phonecia, and part of the silk road running to China. 

Normally, Babylon would have been a tough nut to crack.  It was quite wealthy and populated, with numerous fortified cities, a well apportioned army, and a massive wall- the Median Wall- on at least part of the border that faced the Persians.  However, all was not particularly well in the kingdom of Babylon.  Before Cyrus’ invasion, Babylon had several years of poor harvests and outbreaks of disease, which weakened the kingdom internally.  However, these conditions exacerbated the political and religious conflict that roiled the kingdom.  Nabonidus, the King of Babylon, had come into power in a coup, overthrowing the Chaldean Dynasty that had long ruled Babylon in 556.  In addition to his questionable legitimacy as a ruler of Babylon, he favored a pantheon of gods from his rather obscure home town, rather than the popular pantheon of Babylonian gods that most of the leaders in Mesopotamia favored.  The poor living conditions exacerbated this conflict, weakening Nabonidus’ rule.

It’s not entirely clear what happened in the years before Cyrus invaded Mesopotamia, but it seems pretty clear that Cyrus used the religious and political conflicts that smoldered in Babylonia to his advantage, fomenting revolt and preparing the way for a future invasion.  In particular, Cyrus leaned on his policy of religious toleration to promote his cause in the area.  In 540, he moved in to the area around Susa, known as Elam, which prompted some panic by Nabonidus.  Nabonidus began calling in religious statues and priests to his capital, ostensibly to protect them.  However, distrust caused many in Babylon to suspect a nefarious purpose.

In late summer of 539, Cyrus made his move.  He crossed into Mesopotamia, heading for the city of Opis.  Opis was an important geographical location.  It was one of the termini of the Median Wall, and it guarded one of the better crossings of the Tigris River.  Sensing that Cyrus had come for him at last, Nabonidus sent out his army, under the command of his son, Belshazzar.  While Belshazzar was spoiling for a fight when the two armies met outside Opis in late September, 539, his army largely wasn’t.  Many of his nobles preferred Cyrus, and his soldiers had little faith in his leadership.  The two armies met in one sudden clash, and the Babylonians broke and fled, to be cut down by the numerous Persian cavalry.

The defeat at Opis was, effectively, the end for the Babylonians.  Belshazzar died in the battle, and the defeat led to a large number of revolts around Babylon.  His nobles abandoning him, Nabonidus fled to Babylon itself, while Cyrus marched on Sippar, the gateway fortress to the Babylonian heartland.  Sippar fell quickly, and Cyrus marched on Babylon.  With little choice, Nabonidus negotiated an exit, surrendering his throne to Cyrus and taking exile, allowing a peaceful entry into the city. 

Cyrus’ earlier diplomacy paid off.  Rather than revolting against their new overlord, the Babylonian nobility fell in line behind him, taking his offers of religious toleration and moderate taxation.  Cyrus further cemented his rule in Babylon by putting his son, Cambyses, in charge of the region.  Cambyses ruled the area well, preparing for the day when he’d take over for his father, Cyrus.

That day came in 530.

Cambyses II and the Invasion of Egypt

Cambyses came to the throne in 530, and established himself quickly.  His close relationships in Babylon kept that area in order, while the Greeks and Lydians kept loyal as well.  He enjoyed good relations with the petty city-states of Greece, the Kings in India, and with the Pharaoh of Egypt, Amasis II.  In fact, he was friendly enough with Amasis that he asked the Pharaoh to send a well trained doctor to help with his eyes, which Amasis happily did.

Unfortunately for their good relationship, this doctor had it in for the Pharaoh.  He suggested to Cambyses that he ask for Amasis’ daughter in marriage, to solidify their friendship.  However, the doctor knew that Amasis was loathe to allow his relatives to leave his company.  Not wanting to deny Cambyses his request, the Pharaoh sent him a daughter of Apries, the previous Pharoah whom Amasis had overthrown previously.  This daughter revealed the trick upon her arrival in Persia, and Cambyses took deep offense, ruining the relationship between the two as he vowed revenge.

Tensions between the two flared quickly.  In the midst of the trouble, Phanes of Halicarnassus, one of Amasis’ advisors, fled for Lydia.  Pharaoh’s men caught up with him there, and put him under arrest.  However, Phanes got his guards drunk one night, and escaped, running to Cambyses’ court.  There, Phanes gave Cambyses valuable intelligence on Egypt, which put Cambyses over the edge.  He decided to invade Egypt, forming up his massive army in a march on  Gaza.  While he prepared his army, his rival, Amasis, died, leaving his son, Psamtik III, in charge of Egypt as Cambyses crossed the border in 525.

Psamtik did two things to prepare for Cambyses.  He moved his army to the city of Pelusium, along a branch of the Nile near the Red Sea.  He also kidnapped Phanes’ sons, and brought them to his court.  There, he had their throats slit, and their blood mixed with wine.  He drank the mixed blood-wine, and forced the rest of his advisors to do so, to remind them of the cost of betraying his family.  It was supposed to steel his men, but, instead, it made him seem like a creepy weirdo.

Finding out where the Egyptian army was, Cambyses marched right for it, meeting it outside of Pelusium.  Following the advice of Phanes, the Persians marched into battle accompanied by cats, knowing many Egyptians held the animals sacred.  This helped throw the Egyptian army of balance, and it collapsed under the stress of repeated Persian attacks.  With the end of his army, Psamtik fled to Memphis, which settled in for a siege.  However, once it became clear that Persia would take the city, Psamtik surrendered, trading his life for his throne.  It wouldn’t last long, as Psamtik would quickly rebel, fail, and be executed.

The Rise of Darius

Cambyses decided to stay in Egypt after its conquest.  He viewed it as a possible springboard for other conquests, and he wanted to keep an eye on the place.  This meant keeping the army mobilized, which was a drain on the various kingdoms and provinces.  He also raised taxes on the provinces and tributaries in order to support these campaigns.

These campaigns did not go nearly as well as the Egyptian invasion.  When Cambyses marched up the Nile towards Kush, he found the going impossible.  He had to settle for raiding a few towns and returning with little booty and a high casualty rate.  He also decided to march on Carthage, which angered his Phonecian contingents, who refused to fight their brothers, and also cost him 50,000 men lost in a sand storm on the way to Siwa, which also forced him to levy more taxes and raise more troops.

Eventually, the nobles in the provinces and the capital began to grow restless.  Cambyses’ wars had gone on too long, and who wanted Carthage or Kush anyway?  Back at the palace, a man claiming to be Bardiya, Cambyses’ younger brother, took control of the capital with the support of at least part of the nobility.  It’s not clear exactly who this was- some historians of the era claimed it was an impostor, since Bardiya had died years previously.  Others claim that Bardiya never died, and the man sitting on the throne was the real deal.  Either way, it was a defiant stand against Cambyses, and  looked to be the start of civil war.

Cambyses decamped from Egypt, and began the march towards Persia again.  However, on the march, he died. Exactly how he died is of some dispute.  Darius, his personal bodyguard, claimed it was suicide, since Cambyses didn’t believe he could win.  Herodotus claims that Cambyses accidently stabbed himself while mounting his horse, and the wound became infected, leading to his death.  Another historian claimed that Cambyses stabbed himself while carving wood, despondent at the betrayal of his loved ones.  No matter quite how he died, it ended his efforts to overthrow the usurping Bardiya in 522.

Not that it meant Bardiya was safe.  Darius, the bodyguard, decided that he wasn’t going to take this lying down.  He retuned to the capital, where he met with several disgruntled nobles and supporters of Cambyses.  He convinced them that he was the best one to follow in Cambyses’ footsteps, as he had fought loyally alongside the now dead Emperor and understood how to make the Empire as it had been under Cambyses.  He and the conspirators launched a coup against Bardiya, trapping him in a fortress and killing them.  According to Herodotus, they debated the best government for Persia- a republic, a monarchy, or an oligarchy.  In the end, Darius, the proponent of monarchy, won out, and was crowned the new Persian Emperor.

It was not going to be easy for him.  He was a usurper of a usurper, taking over an Empire hurt by years of fighting, lacking a formal organization, full of nobles and kings that may or may not have dreamt of their own independence.  It wasn’t going to get any easier for him.

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