The
Behistun Inscription
The following is
taken from a translation made by L.W. King and R.C. Thompson (The
sculptures and inscription of Darius the Great on the rock of Behistūn
in Persia, 1907 London). Included int his excerpt are the Revolt
of the Armenians against Darius, and the Second Babylonian
revolt, led by an Armenian named Arakha.
Revolt
of the Armenians
(26) King
Darius says: An Armenian named Dādari , my servant, I sent into Armenia,
and I said unto him: 'Go, smite that host which is in revolt and does
not acknowledge me.' Then Dādari went forth. When he came into Armenia,
the rebels assembled and advanced against Dādari to give him battle.
At a place in Armenia called Zuzza they fought the battle. Ahuramazda
brought me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda did my army utterly overthrow
that rebel host. On the eighth day of the month Thuravāhara [May 20,
521] the battle was fought by them.
(27) King
Darius says: The rebels assembled for the second time, and they advanced
against Dādari to give him battle. At a stronghold in Armenia called
Tigra they joined battle. Ahuramazda brought me help; by the grace of
Ahuramazda did my army utterly overthrow that rebel host. On the eighteenth
day of the month Thuravāhara [May 30, 521] the battle was fought by
them.
(28) King
Darius says: The rebels assembled for the third time and advanced against
Dādari to give him battle. At a stronghold in Armenia called Uyamā
they joined battle. Ahuramazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda
did my army utterly overthrow that rebel host. On the ninth day of the
month Thāigarcish [June 20, 521] the battle was fought by them. Then
Dādari waited for me in Armenia, until I came into Armenia.
(29) King
Darius says: A Persian named Vaumisa, my servant, I
sent into Armenia, and I said unto him: 'Go, smite that host which is
in revolt, and does not acknowledge me.' Then Vaumisa went forth. When
he had come to Armenia, the rebels assembled and advanced against Vaumisa
to give him battle. At a place in Assyria called Izalā they joined battle.
Ahuramazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda did my army utterly
overthrow that rebel host. On the fifteenth day of the month Anāmaka
[December 31, 522] the battle was fought by them.
(30) King
Darius says: The rebels assembled a second time and advanced against
Vaumisa to give him battle. At a place in Armenia called Autiyāra they
joined battle. Ahuramazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda
did my army utterly overthrow that rebel host. At the end of the month
Thuravāhara [June 11, 521] the battle was fought by them. Then Vaumisa
waited for me in Armenia, until I came into Armenia.
Second
Babylonian revolt
(49) King
Darius says: While I was in Persia and in Media, the Babylonians revolted
from me a second time. A certain man named Arakha,
an Armenian, son of Haldita, rebelled in Babylon. At a place called
Dubāla, he lied unto the people, saying: 'I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son
of Nabonidus.' Then did the Babylonian people revolt from me and they
went over to that Arakha. He seized Babylon, he became king in Babylon.
(50) King
Darius says: Then did I send an army unto Babylon. A Persian named Intaphrenes,
my servant, I appointed as their leader, and thus I spoke unto them:
'Go, smite that Babylonian host which does not acknowledge me.' Then
Intaphrenes marched with the army unto Babylon. Ahuramazda brought me
help; by the grace of Ahuramazda Intaphrenes overthrew the Babylonians
and brought over the people unto me. Of the twenty-second day of the
month Markazanash [November 27] they seized that Arakha who called himself
Nebuchadnezzar, and the men who were his chief followers. Then I made
a decree, saying: 'Let that Arakha and the men who were his chief followers
be crucified in Babylon!
Vaumisa
Vaumisa
was a Persian general, known for an expedition against the Armenians
in 521 BCE.
In March
522, a Magian named Gaumāta seized power in the Persian empire, saying
that he was the brother of the legitimate king Cambyses. Gaumāta could
do this, because this brother, Smerdis, had secretly been killed. Immediately,
Cambyses advanced to the usurper, but he died before he reached Persia;
the false Smerdis was able to rule for several months. However, Cambyses'
relative Darius, together with six Persian noblemen, killed the usurper
(September 29). Darius became king and faced a serious crisis: nearly
all provinces of the Persian empire revolted. The most important rebellion
was that of the Medes, whose leader was king Phraortes. His rebellion
spread to the east to Parthia and to the north to Armenia.
This was
the military situation when king Darius appointed Vaumisa as commander
of one of the two armies that had to suppress the Armenian revolt. The
other army was commanded by Dādari. The latter moved upstream along
the Euphrates and tried to secure the roads to Syria and Lydia; Vaumisa
advanced along the Greater Zab, to the heart of Armenia.
He defeated
his enemies at Izalā, eighty kilometers north of modern Arbil, on December
31, 522; more then two thousand Armenians were killed. For the moment,
this was sufficient; the Armenians could not descend to the country
between the Euphrates and Tigris. After Darius' main force had defeated
the Medes, Vaumisa could proceed along the Greater Zab and reached Autiyāra,
where he won his second victory on June 11. Again, he was victorious;
two thousand Armenians were killed, fifteen hundred taken prisoner.
Nine days later, Dādarshish' army won its third victory, which meant
the end of the Armenian rebellion.
The only
source that describes the event is the Behistun inscription.
Arakha
Arakha
was the son of Haldita, an Armenian, living in Babylon. After the unsuccessful
insurrection of Nidintu-Bźl against the new Persian king Darius (October-December
522 BCE), Arakha claimed to be the son of the last king of independent
Babylon, Nabonidus, and renamed himself Nebuchadnezzar IV. His rebellion,
which started on August 25, 521, was suppressed by Darius' bow carrier
Intaphrenes on November 27. In his Behistun inscription, Darius writes:
King
Darius says: Then did I send an army unto Babylon. A Persian named
Intaphrenes, my servant, I appointed as their leader, and thus I spoke
unto them: 'Go, smite that Babylonian host which does not acknowledge
me.'
Then
Intaphrenes marched with the army unto Babylon. Ahuramazda brought
me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda Intaphrenes overthrew the Babylonians
and brought over the people unto me. Of the twenty-second day of the
month Markazanash they seized that Arakha who called himself Nebuchadnezzar,
and the men who were his chief followers.
Then
I made a decree, saying: 'Let that Arakha and the men who were his
chief followers be crucified in Babylon!'
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