Smerdis (1)

There were two men named Smerdis who played a major role in the continuation of the Persian Empire circa 522 BCE; the two men are called Smerdis and false-Smerdis.

Smerdis was the son of Kyrus (Cyrus) the Great and Kassandane (Cassandane); his older brother, Kambyses (Cambyses), ascended to the throne after the death of his father and established himself as a harsh and arrogant monarch; his blasphemy and cruelty bordered on madness.

Smerdis accompanied Kambyses to Egypt and assisted his brother in the subjugation of that country; when Kambyses sent spies to Ethiopia in preparation for an invasion, the Ethiopians were unimpressed with the Persian representatives and gave them a bow to take back to Kambyses with the warning that until the Persians could string the bow, they were no match for the Ethiopian army; the only Persian who could string the mighty bow was Smerdis; Kambyses was furious and sent Smerdis back to Persia.

Shortly afterwards, Kambyses had a dream in which he saw Smerdis sitting on the throne of Persia with his head reaching towards the heavens; Kambyses believed that the dream meant that Smerdis was plotting to steal the throne from him, so he dispatched one of his most trusted men, Prexaspes, to secretly murder Smerdis.

The plan worked too well; since only Kambyses and Prexaspes knew that Smerdis was dead it was relatively easy for a Mede named Smerdis to take the throne and, by keeping himself secluded in the palace, he was able to rule the Persian Empire in Kambyses’ absence; when Kambyses heard the news that a false-Smerdis was on the throne, he set out for his capital, Susa, but while he was traveling through Syria he accidentally wounded himself with his own sword and became deathly ill; while on his death-bed, Kambyses assembled the highest ranking Persians of his army and told them that he had ordered the murder of his brother, Smerdis, and that a false-Smerdis had assumed the throne and must be deposed at all costs.

The Persians, who were accustomed to Kambyses’ madness, simply refused to believe him and accepted the false-Smerdis as their new king; Smerdis and Kambyses, the only sons of Kyrus the Great, left no children to inherit their kingdom.

• Histories, chapters 30, 65-66, 71, 74 and 88