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Ancient History > 2 > Flashcards

2 Flashcards

1
Q

When did Cambyses become king?

A

August 530 BC

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2
Q

Who is Bardiya

A

Also known by Herodotus as Smerdis, the younger brother of Cambyses and son of Cyrus

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3
Q

Who was the King of Egypt at the time?

A

Amasis

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4
Q

What did Amasis do with Cambyses?

A

Sent him Nitetis, the daughter of a former king he had deposed, instead of his own daughter, presumably Nitocris II, to marry him

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5
Q

When did Egypt try to invade the Levant?

A

580s BC

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6
Q

Who was Polycrates?

A

Tyrant of Samos

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7
Q

When did Polycrates take power?

A

535 BC

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8
Q

When did Polycrates switch sides to the Persians?

A

Early 520s BC

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9
Q

How long did Amasis reign for?

A

44 years (570-526 BC)

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10
Q

Who was Amasis’ son?

A

Psammetichus, who reigned from 526 to 525

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11
Q

Which greek mercenary defected from the Egyptian side?

A

Phanes

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12
Q

Why was the defection of Phanes important?

A

He advised Cambyses to make an alliance with the desert Arabs, to help him with water and food as his army crossed the desert into Eypt

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13
Q

Where did the Persians win their first battle against the Egyptians?

A

Pelusium

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14
Q

Where did the Persians move to after Pelusium?

A

Memphis

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14
Q

Which three nations submitted to the Persians after their conquest of Egypt?

A

Libya, Barca and Cyrene

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15
Q

What happened during the attack of the Oasis at Ammon?

A

50,000 men were killed and buried in a sandstorm

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16
Q

What were Herodotus’ views on Cambyses

A

‘behaving as a madman who disrespects the local gods’

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17
Q

What was the sacred bull in Egypt called

A

Apis Bull- the one he injured was dedicated in November 524 BC

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18
Q

What did Cambyses do to the Apis Bull

A

Threw a knife at it

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19
Q

Who did Cambyses send to kill Smerdis?

A

Prexaspes

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20
Q

What did Cambyses allegedly do to his sister/wife

A

kicked her to death when she was pregnant

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21
Q

What happened to Cambyses

A

He died of gangrene in a city in Syria called Ecbatana (prophecy said that, but he always thought it meant the median royal city)

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22
Q

Who was Patizeithes

A

Magus who took over, pretending to be Smerdis after his death (they looked alike)

23
Q

Who is Udjahorresne

A

Adviser to cambyses

24
Q

What did Udjahorresne call Cambyses

A

King of Upper and Lower Egypt

25
Q

Which source is more reliable when describing Cambyses?

A

Herodotus would have been strongly biased against Cambyses, and Udjahorresne was an Egyptian

26
Q

When did the Persians take control of the Levant

A

530s BC

27
Q

Why did taking control of the Levant benefit the Persians?

A

It gave them the naval prowess of the Phoenician sailor, and access to Mediterranean trade routes. The Island of Cyprus also submitted (willingly), which helped this as well.

28
Q

Why did Cambyses want to kill Smerdis?

A

He had a dream that a messenger announced to him that Smerdis was sitting on the throne, and his head touched the sky (presumably once Cambyses had sent Smerdis back to Persia)

29
Q

When did Cambyses die

A

522 BC

30
Q

Who else did Cambyses plan invasions of after his conquering of Egypt?

A

Carthaginians, Ammonians, Ethiopians/Nubians

31
Q

Why did Cambyses cancel the expedition against the Carthaginians?

A

They were Phoenician colonists and the Phoenicians refused to fight them

32
Q

Why did the expeditions against the Nubians fail?

A

Cambyses did not plan adequate supplies for his army. They were forced first to eat pack animals, and then resorted to cannibalism

33
Q

Which god was said to be living among the Egyptians in the form of the Apis Bull?

A

Ptah

34
Q

What happened with the two Magi

A

Two brothers, Patizeithes and Smerdis (same name as the King’s brother, who also looked very similar)
Patizeithes convinced Smerdis to pretend to be the king’s brother and take control of the empire

35
Q

What did Cambyses do when he found out that ‘Smerdis’ had taken the throne?

A

He sent for Prexaspes, who adamantly swore that he had killed the real Smerdis. Cambyses and Prexaspes then questioned the herald, and through this worked out the trick that the Magi had played. Cambyses then realised that his dream did not specify which Smerdis would take the throne from him, and that he had therefore killed his brother for no good reason.

36
Q

What do other sources say about Cambyses?

A

He presented himself as a traditional Egyptian pharaoh who ensured that the Apis Bull had been properly embalmed and buried with full ceremonies, and fully respected local traditions

37
Q

What did Cambyses do to the temples in Egypt

A

He removed their tax exemptions, and this angered many of the educated and influential Egyptians, which may have been the source of all the horror stories about his rule.

38
Q

How long did the fake Smerdis reign for after Cambyses’ death?

A

Several months

39
Q

Who’s suspicion was aroused by Smerdis never coming out of his palace?

A

A Persian noble called Otanes

40
Q

What was Otanes’ relation to the fake Smerdis?

A

His daughter, Phaidymie, was married to him (she had also previously been married to Cambyses)

41
Q

What did Phaidymie tell Otanes?

A

That she had not contact with the fake Smerdis’ other wives, which aroused Otanes’ suspicions even more, since it was normal for the women to speak

42
Q

What did Otanes tell Phaidymie to do?

A

To sleep with Smerdis, as he was told that Cyrus had the magus’ ear cut off, and so she should see whether he still had ears, once he removed his head covering

43
Q

What did Otanes do once he found out fake Smerdis had no ears?

A

He persuaded six Persian nobles to join him to overthrow Smerdis. They were Intaphernes, Gobyras, Megabyzus, Aspathines, Hydarnes and Darius

44
Q

Who was Darius’ father?

A

Hystaspes, who had been a Persian general himself

45
Q

What happened with Prexaspes and the Magi?

A

Prexaspes allied with the Magi, who persuaded him to announce to the people that Smerdis was the real brother of Cambyses. However, his conscience overcame him and he declared the truth instead, after which he threw himself out of the window to his death.

46
Q

What happened after Prexaspes’ proclamation and death?

A

Darius urged the nobles to make for the palace, which they did, killing the two Magi, and showing their heads to the citizens.

47
Q

What happened after the murder of the Magi?

A

5 days later, the nobles met to discuss what to do next. They decided Persia should remain a monarchy, but had to decide the next king. They agreed that they would ride their horses out of the city before dawn, ands the rider of the horse to neigh first would be declared king.

48
Q

When was the Bisitun Inscription created?

A

520BC

49
Q

Where was Bisitun?

A

A village on the main road connecting Babylon and Ecbatana

50
Q

What are some features of the Bisitun monument?

A
  • It is 100m off the ground.
  • The workmen removed the ledge so that no one could climb up and deface it.
  • It has 4 parts, 1 visual and 3 textual.
  • The relief is 5.5x3 metres in size
51
Q

What is the textual part of the Bisitun inscription?

A

3 different languages of inscriptional text: Old Persian, Babylonian and Elamite- the three texts, translated, are almost identical

52
Q

What does the visual part of the Bisitun inscription depict

A

It depicts Darius with two senior officials: Intaphernes, carrying his bow, and Gobyras, carrying his lance.
He looks down on nine leaders of conquered peoples whose necks are tied.
He treads on Gaumata
Above them is a depiction of the greatest Persian God, Ahuramazda

53
Q

When did Bardiya become king?

A

1st July 522

54
Q

When did Bardiya die?

A

29th September 522

55
Q

What is the story about Gaumata probably actually?

A

An elaborate deception designed to cover up the fact that Darius had him killed. It is much more likely that Bardiya came to the throne legitimately in 522 and was then deposed by Darius and the other nobles

Ancient History (19 decks)

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