Did Darius Hijack the Persian Throne? Ancient Coup and the Rise of Darius the Great – Part I
Cambyses II began his rule around 530 BCE, maybe 529 BCE, and his reign ended in 522 BCE. Not much is known about Cambyses since he left no inscriptions of his own. Only Herodotus and the Egyptians seem to write about him, the Bible speaks silently of him, and so much about him remains a mystery. However, we will try to piece together his life and the events that pertain to him from what little we have.
Cambyses II of Persia capturing pharaoh Psamtik III from "Persian seal, VI century BCE". (Public Domain)
We do know his father was Cyrus and his mother was Cassandane, who was the daughter of Pharnaspes. Cambyses is said to have been the exact opposite of his father Cyrus, for Cyrus was a father, a lawgiver, and a respecter of the gods. Cambyses is viewed as a tyrant, a mad man who cared for little. In John Hart’s book Herodotus and Greek History, he says:
