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 Behistûn 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 Dâdarši , 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 Dâdarši went forth. When he came into Armenia, the rebels assembled and advanced against Dâdarši 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 Thuravâhara [May 20, 521] the battle was fought by them.
(27) King Darius says: The rebels assembled for the second time, and they advanced against Dâdarši 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 Thuravâhara [May 30, 521] the battle was fought by them.
(28) King Darius says: The rebels assembled for the third time and advanced against Dâdarši to give him battle. At a stronghold in Armenia called Uyamâ 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 Thâigarcish [June 20, 521] the battle was fought by them. Then Dâdarši 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 Izalâ 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 Anâmaka [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 Autiyâra 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 Thuravâhara [June 11, 521] the battle was fought by them. Then Vaumisa waited for me in Armenia, until I came into Armenia.
(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 Dubâla, 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 was a Persian general, known for an expedition against the Armenians in 521 BCE.
In March 522, a Magian named Gaumâta seized power in the Persian empire, saying that he was the brother of the legitimate king Cambyses. Gaumâta 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 Dâdarši. 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 Izalâ, 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 Autiyâra, 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, Dâdarshish' 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 was the son of Haldita, an Armenian, living in Babylon. After the unsuccessful insurrection of Nidintu-Bêl 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!'