The son of Cyrus II and the second king of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The first important assignment Cyrus gave Cambyses (cam-BEE-seez) was to rule Babylon after Cyrus had captured it. Not long afterward Cambyses received the task of beginning preparations for an invasion of Egypt, and when Cyrus died Cambyses ascended the throne and decided to follow through with the grand expedition. The new king arranged for Persia’s first fleet of warships, foreseeing that the vessels would be needed to supply his land army while it was crossing the arid region lying between Palestine and the Nile River. In 526 b. c., shortly before leaving for Egypt, Cambyses disposed of his younger brother, Bardiya, who had been Cyrus’s favorite, to ensure that Bardiya would not attempt to usurp the throne while the king was away.
Early in 525 b. c. Cambyses reached northern Egypt, defeated the inexperienced young pharaoh Psammetichus III at Pelu-sium on the seacoast east of the Nile delta, and marched southward into the heart of the country. After taking control of Egypt, the Persian king stayed there for three years. His activities during this period are unclear. Rumors abounded that he committed cruel and sacrilegious acts, including burning the mummy of the former pharaoh, Psammetichus’s father, Amasis, and looting several Egyptian temples.
Whatever Cambyses did in Egypt, he struck out for home early in 522 b. c. On the way, news arrived that a priest named Gaumata was impersonating the dead Bardiya and had seized the throne. Before Cambyses could rectify the situation, however, he died under mysterious circumstances. Some accounts say he committed suicide after hearing about Gaumata’s rebellion; others claimed Cambyses developed an infection after an accidental knife wound. The latter explanation is by far the more likely.
See Also: Bardiya; Battle of Pelusium; Egypt
World History
