Cappadocia (O.P. Katpatuka) lay between the Halys and northern Euphrates in central Anatolia. The region still goes by this name (Kapadokya in Turkish) for tourism purposes.
According to Herodotus, the Cappadocians are the people who were classically known to the Greeks as Syrians. This would seem to be the result of an excessively wide application of the name Syria, which is probably a Greek garbling of Assyria (which ruled the lands to the south of Cappadocia).
History
The land where Cappadocia later existed was the center of the great Hittite empire in the Bronze Age, but by the start of the Achaemenid period the Medes had already been ceded the land by the Lydian empire, when the Halys became the border between the Medes and Lydians. (As usual, it should be noted that we do not know how "imperial" the Medes actually were: The Cappadocians' subjection may have been only nominal.)
Cyrus the Great conquered Cappadocia in 547 BC, and Darius the Great placed them in the third tax district and imposed a yearly tax of 360 talents. At the Persepolis Apadana, the Cappadocians bear tribute consisting of a horse, coats and trousers. Ctesias refers to the first satrap of Cappadocia as Ariaramnes, a name shared by Darius' great-grandfather.
According to Herodotus, the Cappadocians in Xerxes' invasion of Greece served as infantry under Gobryas (Gaubaruva), Xerxes' half-brother by Darius (not to be confused with the Gobryas who helped place Darius on the throne). He does not mention them among the cavalry despite their historical connections with horse-rearing.
From the Anabasis of Xenophon, it is believed that by the time of Artaxerxes II southwestern Cappadocia was part of a satrapy called Greater Phrygia. In his reign, Cappadocia was administratively divided into Cappadocia and Paphlagonia.
According to the 1st-century BC Roman historian Cornelius Nepos, a Cappadocian satrap in the early 4th century, Datames, played a major part in imperial politics and war. Nepos describes Datames as a Carian, son of Camissares, satrap of Cilicia. Datames took part in the 385 invasion of Cadusia in northern Iran, where Camissares died. Afterward he put down several revolts, and King Artaxerxes II appointed him to lead the reconquest of Egypt, but court intrigue led to Datames relinquishing this appointment; it was taken up by Pharnabazus of Phrygia and failed in 373. Datames then joined the Revolt of the Satraps, and repeatedly defeated the royal armies sent against him. Cappadocia was in revolt from from 372-362, when Mithridates, son of fellow rebellious satrap Ariobarzanes of Phrygia, defected to the king, assassinated Datames and extradited his father to Artaxerxes.
Cappadocia was captured by Alexander the Great early in his invasion of the Persian empire. The last Achaemenid satrap, Mithrobuzanes, died during the Battle of the Granicus in 334. (However, Diodorus has an Ariamnes as satrap during this time; possibly they were satraps of different parts of Cappadocia). Alexander appointed a native Cappadocian, Abistamenes or (according to Arrian) Sabictas. However, his rule appears to have been tenuous; he ceases to appear in history after the Battle of Issus. Cappadocians fought as cavalry on the Achaemenid side at the Battle of Gaugamela in 332, under the command of Mazaeus, governor of Babylon.
After Alexander's death in 323, Macedonian general Perdiccas acted as regent for his young sons. In this role he gave the rule of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia to Eumenes, a high-ranking Greek general. Eumenes contended with Ariarathes I, a son of the aforementioned Ariamnes, who had seized power in 330. Perdiccas captured and killed Ariarathes, but was himself to fall in the Wars of the Diadochi, and Ariarathes' nephew Ariarathes II took central and northern Cappadocia to create a new kingdom with its seat at the already ancient city Mazaca (later Caesarea, Kayseri in Turkish).
Cappadocia was initially a tributary of the Seleucids and became independent in the 3rd century. Hellenistic influence was strong; the kings were of mixed Greek and Persian descent and used Ariarathes as a regnal name. During Roman expansion in the early 2nd century, Cappadocia first sided with the Seleucids, then with the Romans. Meddling by Mithridates VI of the nearby kingdom of Pontus led to the collapse of the Cappadocian dynasty in 96 BC. A new dynasty was founded by native noble Ariobarzanes I, but was highly unstable due to both competition from neighboring countries and its own shifting alliances with the Roman Triumvirates. In 41 BC, Marc Antony deposed Ariobarzanes' grandson Ariarathes IX and appointed as king Archelaus, the high priest of the Cappadocian city of Comana.
As a client of the Romans, Archelaus was compelled to go to Rome at the behest of Tiberius in AD 17, where he was accused of plotting rebellion. He died there, ostensibly of illness (Tacitus considers it possible that he committed suicide). Thereafter, Cappadocia became a Roman province, which it would remain under the Eastern Romans (Byzantines), Seljuks and Ottomans.
Language
Try as I might, I have yet to find anything at all regarding the Cappadocian language(s) during the Achaemenid period. A reasonable guess, however, might be a development of Hittite or Luwian, Indo-European languages of the Anatolian branch.
The language of Cappadocia in later centuries was a dialect of Greek, which is preserved today by those who were sent to Greece in the 1920s during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Religion
Likewise I can learn little about this. Archelaus' home city, Comana, was sacred to the moon goddess Ma.
Clothing and arms
Clothing
In Persian art, the Cappadocians' clothing and hairstyles are much the same as the Medes, Persians and Armenians, including the tunics, footed trousers, shoes strapped around the ankle, and narrow, knotted sashes. They wear tiaras with the peaks laying to one side (which, as I have previously discussed, probably indicates a fine woven fabric - felt simply doesn't lie down like that) and the earflaps tied up at the back of the head, like a modern ushanka. Examples may be seen here (second photo up, center) and here.
The most notable difference is that rather than overcoats like the Medes, Cappadocians wear short-ish square cloaks, closed by bow-shaped fibulae at the shoulder. (In some images these fibulae appear to be ribbed and may resemble examples found at Deve Hüyük.)
Weapons
Herodotus describes Cappadocian equipment as "like the Paphlagonians," which in turn consisted of "woven helmets... small shields and short spears, and also javelins and daggers..." At Naqš-e Rostam the Cappadocian has an akinakes. On balance - considering, for example, the similar costumes - it seems plausible that Cappadocian arms were also similar to the Iranians'; they may, for example, have used crescent shields and daggers of the akinakes type, if not necessarily the particular Achaemenid style.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Deve Hüyük: An Achaemenid graveyard
Shortly before World War I, Charles Woolley and T.E. Lawrence excavated a site in northern Syria: a graveyard for members of a Persian imperial garrison near the then-Assyrian city of Carchemish. The site yielded many goods that would have been used in war and day-to-day life by Iranian troops in the 6th-4th centuries BC. A gallery of finds may be viewed at the British Museum website. Sadly, the majority of items are unillustrated, but I'd like to highlight a few that may be useful for your living history projects:
A spearhead, in case you needed a reminder just how small these things could be, especially in comparison to modern repros.
A javelin head, looking surprisingly unlike a spearhead.
An akinakes. To this I would also add examples from Osprey's The Persian Army, also from Deve Hüyük. Note on all examples the plain iron hilts with guards and grips forged as one piece, and also the short, broad fuller on the longer Osprey example.
A fibula (cloak pin) which should be good for your Cappadocian impression. (Incidentally, Cappadocians are next week's Peoples of the Empire entry.)
A hand mirror. Well, everyone needs one sooner or later.
A bronze plate cover for the top end of a gorytos.
The various bronze bowls are also worth checking out, and if you're doing a cavalry impression, you'll want a snaffle bit of appropriate shape.
A spearhead, in case you needed a reminder just how small these things could be, especially in comparison to modern repros.
A javelin head, looking surprisingly unlike a spearhead.
An akinakes. To this I would also add examples from Osprey's The Persian Army, also from Deve Hüyük. Note on all examples the plain iron hilts with guards and grips forged as one piece, and also the short, broad fuller on the longer Osprey example.
A fibula (cloak pin) which should be good for your Cappadocian impression. (Incidentally, Cappadocians are next week's Peoples of the Empire entry.)
A hand mirror. Well, everyone needs one sooner or later.
A bronze plate cover for the top end of a gorytos.
The various bronze bowls are also worth checking out, and if you're doing a cavalry impression, you'll want a snaffle bit of appropriate shape.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Peoples of the empire: The Bactrians
Ancient Bactria (O.P. Bâkhtriš, Bactrian Baktra) is approximately equivalent to modern Balkh province in the middle of northern Afghanistan, which is bordered on the north by the Amu Darya. But in ancient times the name was extended as far south as the Hindu Kush. Thus, within the historical region, mountains, fertile plains and deserts could all be found in a fairly small area.
History
Much of Greater Iranian history is linked with Bactria. Some archaeologists believe the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (c. 2300-1700 BC) is the material culture of early proto-Indo-Iranians. The prophet Zoroaster is widely believed to have lived here c. 1000 BC, and the city of Baktra is named in the later Vendidad among the Sixteen Lands of Ahura Mazda as "crowned with banners" (or "the town with the high-lifted banners"). Popular legend identified Zoroaster's great ally in the Avestas, Vištāspa (later Gushtasp or variants), as a Kayanid king of Bactria.
In the Achaemenid period, at some point special importance was attached to the satrapy (which was the 12th and also incorporated neighboring Margiana), as its satrap became the crown prince of the empire. According to Iranica, the nobles of Bactria retained their power under the Achaemenid government. Bactria was a wealthy land due to both trade and agriculture, and was taxed 360 silver talents yearly.
The land enters written history with the Behistun inscription, at which point it is already a satrapy (whether Cyrus or one of his sons conquered it, or it was already tributary to the Medes, is unknown). According to Darius, Margiana revolted under the native leader Frâda. At Darius' behest, Dâdarši, satrap of Bactria - not to be confused with the Armenian general of the same name - invaded Margiana and defeated the revolt in battle on December 28, 521.
Bactrians took part in Xerxes' invasion of Greece as both infantry and cavalry; they were marshalled with the Scythians under the command of Xerxes' brother, also called Vištāspa (Hystaspes in Greek) after their paternal grandfather, the father of Darius the Great. The Bactrian contingents notably fought at the Battle of Plataea, where, according to Herodotus, Mardonius placed them between the Medes and Indians, opposing the Greeks of Epidaurus, Troezen, Lepreum, Tiryns, Mycenae and Phlius (IX.31).
A century and a half later, they would also fight at the Battle of Gaugamela under their satrap, Bessus. When Darius III fled to Bactria the following year, Bessus and the other satraps executed a coup d'etat, possibly planning to hand the Great King over to Alexander to protect themselves and their offices. Alexander sent a force to attack the conspirators in July of 330, inducing them to hastily murder Darius and flee (Lendering regards this as a calculated move on Alexander's part to unite the Persians behind him in his war against the king's deposers).
According to Arrian of Nicomedia (c. AD 86-160) the fatal blows were struck by Nabarzanes, a palace officer, and Barsaentes, satrap of Arachosia and Drangiana. Regardless, Bessus, who was a relative of Darius and ruled one of the most important satrapies, now proclaimed himself King Artaxerxes V. However, Alexander invaded Bactria in the spring of 329 and pursued Bessus across the desert to Sogdia, where Bessus' courtiers Spitamenes and Datames surrendered him to Alexander's general Ptolemy (the future diadochus of Egypt). Biographers differ on what grisly manner of death Alexander bestowed on Bessus as punishment for usurpation, but all agree it was really freakin' grisly.
Bactria revolted against Greek rule several times in the 320s. For a while it remained in the hands of the Seleucids, but around 250 (the date is hard to establish) the satrap Diodotus declared independence and founded the Hellenistic kingdom of Bactria. During this period, Bactria expanded both east and west, acting as a trade link between the Mediterranean and China in the development of the Silk Road. It was also a destination for Buddhist emissaries from India from the time of Aśoka the Great. In the latter 2nd century BC the Greek dynasts were pushed out by migrating Yuezhi, who would later found the Kushan empire. In the ensuing centuries, the land would be conquered again and again, leading to the disappearance of distinctly Bactrian culture. Today the majority of people in Balkh are Tajiks, Persian-speakers of Central Asia, but the region is home to many different Iranic and Turkic peoples, and Arabs who descend from settlers of the early caliphates.
Religion
As the reputed home of Zoroaster, Bactria was a center of Iranian religion in ancient times. The capital also housed a shrine to Anahita. For more on the state of Iranian religion, see my previous entry. The Rabatak inscription of the Kushan king Kanishka names many gods worshipped there, but this inscription dates to about four centuries after the Achaemenid period and it would be risky to put much stock into it as a source on Classical Bactrian religion.
Language
Bactrian was an Eastern Iranian language. In the Greek-alphabet inscriptions of the Kushan kingdom it is called the "the Aria (Aryan) language." It is not, however, attested during the Achaemenid period, when it was probably significantly different (compare the significant changes between Old and Middle Persian).
Avestan was once known as "Old Bactrian" on the notion that it was ancestral to the historical Bactrian language; this is not considered to be the case today, although they are both in the Eastern Iranian sub-branch.
Clothing and arms
Clothing
Interestingly I have found a sticking point when reviewing relief images: Livius.org's image of "A Bactrian" is the same Persepolis relief that Nirupars labels as "Arachosier," while Livius' image of "An Arachosian" seems to be dressed very similarly (though only the head and shoulder are shown) except that the end of his headband isn't tucked in. Meanwhile at Naqš-e Rostam the Bactrian dresses in a fashion that is almost Median (closed tunic, close-fitting trousers and ankle boots) but with a headband instead of a domed cap. Lastly, Herodotus has gone on record describing the Bactrians as wearing "headgear very similar to the Median," which is mighty confusing, as none of these figures do. If you want to portray a clearly Bactrian figure, my advice is to go with the headband.
Weapons
Herodotus describes the Bactrians carrying short spears and "reed bows" (toxa de kalamina), which are an intriguing topic about which I can find very little information. He states that their cavalry were armed the same as their infantry. Lastly, the one at Naqš-i Rostam wears an akinakes, portrayed in Medo-Persian fashion.
P.S. Sorry to say I don't expect to be able to post next week, as I have a test coming up on Monday.
History
Much of Greater Iranian history is linked with Bactria. Some archaeologists believe the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (c. 2300-1700 BC) is the material culture of early proto-Indo-Iranians. The prophet Zoroaster is widely believed to have lived here c. 1000 BC, and the city of Baktra is named in the later Vendidad among the Sixteen Lands of Ahura Mazda as "crowned with banners" (or "the town with the high-lifted banners"). Popular legend identified Zoroaster's great ally in the Avestas, Vištāspa (later Gushtasp or variants), as a Kayanid king of Bactria.
In the Achaemenid period, at some point special importance was attached to the satrapy (which was the 12th and also incorporated neighboring Margiana), as its satrap became the crown prince of the empire. According to Iranica, the nobles of Bactria retained their power under the Achaemenid government. Bactria was a wealthy land due to both trade and agriculture, and was taxed 360 silver talents yearly.
The land enters written history with the Behistun inscription, at which point it is already a satrapy (whether Cyrus or one of his sons conquered it, or it was already tributary to the Medes, is unknown). According to Darius, Margiana revolted under the native leader Frâda. At Darius' behest, Dâdarši, satrap of Bactria - not to be confused with the Armenian general of the same name - invaded Margiana and defeated the revolt in battle on December 28, 521.
Bactrians took part in Xerxes' invasion of Greece as both infantry and cavalry; they were marshalled with the Scythians under the command of Xerxes' brother, also called Vištāspa (Hystaspes in Greek) after their paternal grandfather, the father of Darius the Great. The Bactrian contingents notably fought at the Battle of Plataea, where, according to Herodotus, Mardonius placed them between the Medes and Indians, opposing the Greeks of Epidaurus, Troezen, Lepreum, Tiryns, Mycenae and Phlius (IX.31).
A century and a half later, they would also fight at the Battle of Gaugamela under their satrap, Bessus. When Darius III fled to Bactria the following year, Bessus and the other satraps executed a coup d'etat, possibly planning to hand the Great King over to Alexander to protect themselves and their offices. Alexander sent a force to attack the conspirators in July of 330, inducing them to hastily murder Darius and flee (Lendering regards this as a calculated move on Alexander's part to unite the Persians behind him in his war against the king's deposers).
According to Arrian of Nicomedia (c. AD 86-160) the fatal blows were struck by Nabarzanes, a palace officer, and Barsaentes, satrap of Arachosia and Drangiana. Regardless, Bessus, who was a relative of Darius and ruled one of the most important satrapies, now proclaimed himself King Artaxerxes V. However, Alexander invaded Bactria in the spring of 329 and pursued Bessus across the desert to Sogdia, where Bessus' courtiers Spitamenes and Datames surrendered him to Alexander's general Ptolemy (the future diadochus of Egypt). Biographers differ on what grisly manner of death Alexander bestowed on Bessus as punishment for usurpation, but all agree it was really freakin' grisly.
Bactria revolted against Greek rule several times in the 320s. For a while it remained in the hands of the Seleucids, but around 250 (the date is hard to establish) the satrap Diodotus declared independence and founded the Hellenistic kingdom of Bactria. During this period, Bactria expanded both east and west, acting as a trade link between the Mediterranean and China in the development of the Silk Road. It was also a destination for Buddhist emissaries from India from the time of Aśoka the Great. In the latter 2nd century BC the Greek dynasts were pushed out by migrating Yuezhi, who would later found the Kushan empire. In the ensuing centuries, the land would be conquered again and again, leading to the disappearance of distinctly Bactrian culture. Today the majority of people in Balkh are Tajiks, Persian-speakers of Central Asia, but the region is home to many different Iranic and Turkic peoples, and Arabs who descend from settlers of the early caliphates.
Religion
As the reputed home of Zoroaster, Bactria was a center of Iranian religion in ancient times. The capital also housed a shrine to Anahita. For more on the state of Iranian religion, see my previous entry. The Rabatak inscription of the Kushan king Kanishka names many gods worshipped there, but this inscription dates to about four centuries after the Achaemenid period and it would be risky to put much stock into it as a source on Classical Bactrian religion.
Language
Bactrian was an Eastern Iranian language. In the Greek-alphabet inscriptions of the Kushan kingdom it is called the "the Aria (Aryan) language." It is not, however, attested during the Achaemenid period, when it was probably significantly different (compare the significant changes between Old and Middle Persian).
Avestan was once known as "Old Bactrian" on the notion that it was ancestral to the historical Bactrian language; this is not considered to be the case today, although they are both in the Eastern Iranian sub-branch.
Clothing and arms
Clothing
Interestingly I have found a sticking point when reviewing relief images: Livius.org's image of "A Bactrian" is the same Persepolis relief that Nirupars labels as "Arachosier," while Livius' image of "An Arachosian" seems to be dressed very similarly (though only the head and shoulder are shown) except that the end of his headband isn't tucked in. Meanwhile at Naqš-e Rostam the Bactrian dresses in a fashion that is almost Median (closed tunic, close-fitting trousers and ankle boots) but with a headband instead of a domed cap. Lastly, Herodotus has gone on record describing the Bactrians as wearing "headgear very similar to the Median," which is mighty confusing, as none of these figures do. If you want to portray a clearly Bactrian figure, my advice is to go with the headband.
Weapons
Herodotus describes the Bactrians carrying short spears and "reed bows" (toxa de kalamina), which are an intriguing topic about which I can find very little information. He states that their cavalry were armed the same as their infantry. Lastly, the one at Naqš-i Rostam wears an akinakes, portrayed in Medo-Persian fashion.
P.S. Sorry to say I don't expect to be able to post next week, as I have a test coming up on Monday.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Addendum to "The Babylonians"
Going over Herodotus for next week's entry, I notice I missed an important line when writing up yesterday's entry on the Babylonians, to wit:
With [the Assyrians] were the Chaldeans.
- The Histories, VII.63
This indicates that, yes, there WERE Babylonians in the 480 invasion. He doesn't elaborate on their costume or weapons, although he may do so elsewhere and I should continue checking.
With [the Assyrians] were the Chaldeans.
- The Histories, VII.63
This indicates that, yes, there WERE Babylonians in the 480 invasion. He doesn't elaborate on their costume or weapons, although he may do so elsewhere and I should continue checking.
Possible arrowheads for your Neo-Assyrian impression
While I'm still investigating whether Assyrians served as archers in the Persian military, archaeological findings from the early Iron Age are sufficient to give us an idea of what their arrowheads should look like. The Israel Antiquities Authority has a catalogue of findings, mostly from Lachish (they continue on page 11) that indicate Mesopotamian arrowheads from this period were iron, tanged, leaf-shaped (or occasionally kite) and considerably larger than the Persian-Scythian bronze types.
Some were elongated and proportionally narrow. Others, such as this fairly well-preserved example, were shorter. This one and ones like it find a surprisingly close match in Mediaeval arrowheads made, I think, by Deepeeka. By the Sword, Inc. carries models AH-3522.14 and AH-3422.24. I've e-mailed the distributor and learned that the blades are about two inches/51mm long, which is an acceptable size. They're not cheap but, all things considered, they should work very well.
Some were elongated and proportionally narrow. Others, such as this fairly well-preserved example, were shorter. This one and ones like it find a surprisingly close match in Mediaeval arrowheads made, I think, by Deepeeka. By the Sword, Inc. carries models AH-3522.14 and AH-3422.24. I've e-mailed the distributor and learned that the blades are about two inches/51mm long, which is an acceptable size. They're not cheap but, all things considered, they should work very well.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Peoples of the empire: The Babylonians
What name alone can summon such images of long-faded glory, wealth and decadence as that of Babylon? Romanticism aside, Babylon in Achaemenid days was very much a living city. The swift and total destruction at the hands of the Medes prophesied by Isaiah never came to pass; instead, it would slowly wither, under the heavy taxes imposed by the Achaemenids, rebellions, and many more centuries of war But at the time of the Graeco-Persian wars, Babylon remained a prosperous and important land.
History
The city, which straddled the Euphrates in central Iraq, was first inhabited in the late 3rd millennium BC. The so-called Weidner Chronicle of several centuries later states that Babylon was founded by Sargon himself, though the Akkadian name Bābili, "Gate of the Gods, is actually an adaptation of an earlier name, Babilla or Babillu, of unknown language and meaning. This implies that Babylon was originally built by...
(cue creepy music)
... someone else.
Babylon first became prominent under the Amorite dynasty in the 19th century BC. Hammurabi ('Ammurāpi) expanded Babylonian rule in response to Elamite invasions, soon coming to include all of Mesopotamia. It was up and down from then on, much like Assyria and other major powers of the area. The expanding Akkadian populations of Babylonia and Assyria absorbed the Sumerians and led to the disappearance of ancient Sumer. For four centuries in the later 2nd millennium a dynasty of Kassite origin seized power in Babylon.
The period from the Amorite dynasty onward is known as the Old Babylonian period, and ended with Neo-Assyrian domination in the 10th century. At the same time, a people called the Chaldeans migrated to central Babylonia from the south. In the late 8th century they allied with Elam and led Babylon in a failed revolt against Assyria, which ended in 689 with the demolition of the city's walls, temples and palaces at the hands of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. This was considered a sacrilege, and his successor Essarhaddon rebuilt Babylon and made a seasonal home there.
After Essarhaddon's death, his younger son Aššurbanipal became king of Assyria, while his elder, Šamaš-šuma-ukin, became prince of Babylonia. Did somebody say civil war? Šamaš-šuma-ukin's revolt (652-648) again ended in failure, and the prince allowed himself to burn with his palace as the city fell.
But Assyria itself did not last much longer; the aforementioned triple alliance of the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians finished what internecine struggles following Aššurbanipal's death had started, and left Babylon the uncontested ruler of Mesopotamia and the Levant. The Chaldean monarch Nebuchadnezzar II (Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, r. 605-562) repudiated the Scythian alliance and drove them out of Mesopotamia. He also conquered the Levant, famously taking Judah in 587,destroying Solomon's Temple and taking the Judahite nobility captive.
The Chaldean dynasty too was brief. The last king, Labashi-Marduk, was deposed in 556, the same year of his ascent, by an Assyrian, Nabonidus (Nabû-na'id), who nonetheless is regarded as a Babylonian ruler.
Then came Cyrus. In 539, after a long period of empire-building and most recently having added Susa to his domain, he turned toward Babylon. Two versions of his conquest of the city exist. According to the Babylonian Nabonidus Chronicle, Nabonidus was aware of the Persians' movements and a large battle was fought near Opis north of Babylon. Few details exist, but it is clear that the Babylonians lost badly and retreated to the capital. The Cyrus Cylinder does not mention a battle, but claims that Cyrus entered the city peacefully. According to later Greek accounts, he circumvented the city's massive walls by rerouting the Euphrates and entering through the river gates. The actual occupation seems to have been peaceful at least in Cyrus' time.
As one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the empire, Babylon became capital of the satrapy of Babylonia (Bābiru in Persian) and Assyria. The Persians were aware of Babylon's cultural importance in Mesopotamia. Cyrus tried to present himself as the legitimate ruler, favored by its patron god, Marduk, in contrast to Nabonidus, who was not of royal lineage and whom the Cyrus Cylinder portrays as impious.
But Babylon was a rebellious country early in the Achaemenid period. Among the empire-wide insurrections that followed Darius the Great's ascension, Nidintu-Bêl set himself up as King Nebuchadnezzar III in October of 522; after Darius crushed this rising in December, an Armenian named Arakha proclaimed himself Nebuchadnezzar IV from August to November of 521 before being defeated and captured by Intaphrenes. Two more rebel leaders, Bêl-šimânni and Šamaš-eriba, arose some time during the reign of Xerxes, probably in 484. Perhaps for this reason, Babylonians are not mentioned as taking part in the invasion of Greece. The sequence of events in this rebellion is unclear, but Jona Lendering suggests that the partition of the satrapy of Babylon followed the end of the rebellion in October. Herodotus states that Xerxes thereafter confiscated an idol from the temple of Babylon. The mysterious "Daiva Inscription" of Xerxes, wherein he crushes a rebellion in an unnamed country and destroys the temple of daiva-worshippers, may refer to this incident.
There are hints that yet another rebellion occurred in 479; this would help explain the sudden departure of Xerxes from Greece in that year. If so, it would have immense import for the course of the Graeco-Persian wars.
As an economic center with a huge population, Babylon was particularly heavily taxed - in Herodotus' time, the city paid a thousand silver talents yearly along with supporting the royal court and army for a third of a year. The city began to economically decline over the course of the Achaemenid dynasty, but it remained relatively very wealthy even to the last years.
The Battle of Gaugamela, the last major battle of Darius III and Alexander the Great, took place near Babylon, but the Persian officials surrendered Babylon without a fight when Alexander arrived late in October of 331. When his closest friend Hephaestion died in 324, his funeral was held here, and Alexander himself died the next year in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
Most Greeks left Babylon in 275 for the new capital of the Seleucid empire, Seleucia, though the natives remained. A new wave of Greek colonists arrived at the behest of Antiochus Epiphanes in the early 2nd century, but by the Parthian period the city's population was in decline. The new year festival was still observed for many years and there is evidence that some of the city's facilities such as the Greek theater were still being kept up into the early centuries AD. It is difficult to pin down when Babylon became entirely abandoned or when the Babylonians ceased to identify as such, but the process was certainly complete after the post-Islamic Arabization of Mesopotamia if not before.
Religion
As a dominant city in the 2nd millennium, Babylon became an important center of Mesopotamian religion. Its patron god was Marduk, who in the Babylonian creation myth Enûma Eliš, replaces the earlier Sumerian god Enlil as supreme god and slayer of the primordial dragon Tiamat. This elevation corroborated with Babylon's rise to prominence in the 18th century BC. When ancient writers spoke of Bêl ("the Lord") in connection with Babylon, they refer to Marduk. In art he was pictured in human form alongside a four-legged dragonlike creature called the muš-huššu . Babylonian astronomers also associated him with the planet Jupiter.
Other major Akkadian gods were Anu, god of the heavens and father of the gods, Ea, god of water, Nabû, god of writing, and Ištar, goddess of fertility, from whom the Iranian yazata Anahita would acquire the aspects of war and association with Venus during the Achaemenid period. The association of gods with stars/planets, and the resulting importance of astrology in Babylonian religion, compelled careful star observations that amounted to genuine astronomy. In Greek, the term "Chaldean" came to refer to Asian priests who specialized in study of the stars and their portents.
Due to the dominance of Babylon in Mesopotamian politics and culture, it became a religious center as well. In the middle of the city was the Ésagila, the main temple complex, wherein was the golden statue of Marduk and other deities. On the new year holiday, Akitu, the statue of Nabû was transported from Borsippa to Babylon to commune with his father Marduk, and the Enûma Eliš was recited. The king was supposed to receive his scepter in the temple of Nabû (part of the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to imply that Cambyses as Cyrus' regent of Babylon was refused this honor because of his Elamite robe). The next day, the king would lay down his royal insignia and humble himself before the statue of Marduk. Festivities lasted an entire week; the divine statues were taken to a series of stations, hymns were sung and good tidings proclaimed for the new year.
Language
Of the Babylonian language, much the same can be said as of the Assyrian: The native tongue was a dialect of Akkadian, but in the Achaemenid period it began to give way to Aramaic just as had happened in Assyria.
Clothing and arms
Clothing
The usual two sources, Persepolis and Naqš-e Rostam, provide us with looks at Babylonian clothing around 500 BC. They wear tunics coming down past the knee, which are probably similar to Neo-Assyrian ones, and an un-fringed shawl with one end visible hanging down the right front of the torso and gathered into a single large tassel. Their hats are short, broad cones that are apparently soft and have long straps hanging down from their tops.
Their footwear appears to be low-quarter slip-on shoes with closed toes. The tops of these shoes are low on the sides but rise in front and around the heel. They resemble a style of slipper made from two pieces, a vamp and heel counter, along with the sole.
Weapons
Babylonians do not seem to have served the Persian empire as soldiers very much. They are not mentioned by Herodotus among Xerxes' invasion forces, though he pays much attention to the city itself; Achaemenid art doesn't show them with weapons - in fact, the Babylonian at Naqš-e Rostam is the only individual in the entire relief who is not armed. Of course, they did have access to weapons; the fact that they were able to rebel repeatedly makes that a necessity. From what little I can gather about the Neo-Babylonian military, it was modeled on the Assyrian one. It also seems likely (though this is just a guess, and useless as far as showing anything unique) that Babylonians would also pick up some Medo-Persian weaponry, especially in the later uprisings.
UPDATE (May 1, 2013): I seem to have been wrong about the above: There were Babylonians in the Persian army, although I have yet to find out much about them.
History
The city, which straddled the Euphrates in central Iraq, was first inhabited in the late 3rd millennium BC. The so-called Weidner Chronicle of several centuries later states that Babylon was founded by Sargon himself, though the Akkadian name Bābili, "Gate of the Gods, is actually an adaptation of an earlier name, Babilla or Babillu, of unknown language and meaning. This implies that Babylon was originally built by...
(cue creepy music)
... someone else.
Babylon first became prominent under the Amorite dynasty in the 19th century BC. Hammurabi ('Ammurāpi) expanded Babylonian rule in response to Elamite invasions, soon coming to include all of Mesopotamia. It was up and down from then on, much like Assyria and other major powers of the area. The expanding Akkadian populations of Babylonia and Assyria absorbed the Sumerians and led to the disappearance of ancient Sumer. For four centuries in the later 2nd millennium a dynasty of Kassite origin seized power in Babylon.
The period from the Amorite dynasty onward is known as the Old Babylonian period, and ended with Neo-Assyrian domination in the 10th century. At the same time, a people called the Chaldeans migrated to central Babylonia from the south. In the late 8th century they allied with Elam and led Babylon in a failed revolt against Assyria, which ended in 689 with the demolition of the city's walls, temples and palaces at the hands of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. This was considered a sacrilege, and his successor Essarhaddon rebuilt Babylon and made a seasonal home there.
After Essarhaddon's death, his younger son Aššurbanipal became king of Assyria, while his elder, Šamaš-šuma-ukin, became prince of Babylonia. Did somebody say civil war? Šamaš-šuma-ukin's revolt (652-648) again ended in failure, and the prince allowed himself to burn with his palace as the city fell.
But Assyria itself did not last much longer; the aforementioned triple alliance of the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians finished what internecine struggles following Aššurbanipal's death had started, and left Babylon the uncontested ruler of Mesopotamia and the Levant. The Chaldean monarch Nebuchadnezzar II (Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, r. 605-562) repudiated the Scythian alliance and drove them out of Mesopotamia. He also conquered the Levant, famously taking Judah in 587,destroying Solomon's Temple and taking the Judahite nobility captive.
The Chaldean dynasty too was brief. The last king, Labashi-Marduk, was deposed in 556, the same year of his ascent, by an Assyrian, Nabonidus (Nabû-na'id), who nonetheless is regarded as a Babylonian ruler.
Then came Cyrus. In 539, after a long period of empire-building and most recently having added Susa to his domain, he turned toward Babylon. Two versions of his conquest of the city exist. According to the Babylonian Nabonidus Chronicle, Nabonidus was aware of the Persians' movements and a large battle was fought near Opis north of Babylon. Few details exist, but it is clear that the Babylonians lost badly and retreated to the capital. The Cyrus Cylinder does not mention a battle, but claims that Cyrus entered the city peacefully. According to later Greek accounts, he circumvented the city's massive walls by rerouting the Euphrates and entering through the river gates. The actual occupation seems to have been peaceful at least in Cyrus' time.
As one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the empire, Babylon became capital of the satrapy of Babylonia (Bābiru in Persian) and Assyria. The Persians were aware of Babylon's cultural importance in Mesopotamia. Cyrus tried to present himself as the legitimate ruler, favored by its patron god, Marduk, in contrast to Nabonidus, who was not of royal lineage and whom the Cyrus Cylinder portrays as impious.
But Babylon was a rebellious country early in the Achaemenid period. Among the empire-wide insurrections that followed Darius the Great's ascension, Nidintu-Bêl set himself up as King Nebuchadnezzar III in October of 522; after Darius crushed this rising in December, an Armenian named Arakha proclaimed himself Nebuchadnezzar IV from August to November of 521 before being defeated and captured by Intaphrenes. Two more rebel leaders, Bêl-šimânni and Šamaš-eriba, arose some time during the reign of Xerxes, probably in 484. Perhaps for this reason, Babylonians are not mentioned as taking part in the invasion of Greece. The sequence of events in this rebellion is unclear, but Jona Lendering suggests that the partition of the satrapy of Babylon followed the end of the rebellion in October. Herodotus states that Xerxes thereafter confiscated an idol from the temple of Babylon. The mysterious "Daiva Inscription" of Xerxes, wherein he crushes a rebellion in an unnamed country and destroys the temple of daiva-worshippers, may refer to this incident.
There are hints that yet another rebellion occurred in 479; this would help explain the sudden departure of Xerxes from Greece in that year. If so, it would have immense import for the course of the Graeco-Persian wars.
As an economic center with a huge population, Babylon was particularly heavily taxed - in Herodotus' time, the city paid a thousand silver talents yearly along with supporting the royal court and army for a third of a year. The city began to economically decline over the course of the Achaemenid dynasty, but it remained relatively very wealthy even to the last years.
The Battle of Gaugamela, the last major battle of Darius III and Alexander the Great, took place near Babylon, but the Persian officials surrendered Babylon without a fight when Alexander arrived late in October of 331. When his closest friend Hephaestion died in 324, his funeral was held here, and Alexander himself died the next year in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
Most Greeks left Babylon in 275 for the new capital of the Seleucid empire, Seleucia, though the natives remained. A new wave of Greek colonists arrived at the behest of Antiochus Epiphanes in the early 2nd century, but by the Parthian period the city's population was in decline. The new year festival was still observed for many years and there is evidence that some of the city's facilities such as the Greek theater were still being kept up into the early centuries AD. It is difficult to pin down when Babylon became entirely abandoned or when the Babylonians ceased to identify as such, but the process was certainly complete after the post-Islamic Arabization of Mesopotamia if not before.
Religion
As a dominant city in the 2nd millennium, Babylon became an important center of Mesopotamian religion. Its patron god was Marduk, who in the Babylonian creation myth Enûma Eliš, replaces the earlier Sumerian god Enlil as supreme god and slayer of the primordial dragon Tiamat. This elevation corroborated with Babylon's rise to prominence in the 18th century BC. When ancient writers spoke of Bêl ("the Lord") in connection with Babylon, they refer to Marduk. In art he was pictured in human form alongside a four-legged dragonlike creature called the muš-huššu . Babylonian astronomers also associated him with the planet Jupiter.
Other major Akkadian gods were Anu, god of the heavens and father of the gods, Ea, god of water, Nabû, god of writing, and Ištar, goddess of fertility, from whom the Iranian yazata Anahita would acquire the aspects of war and association with Venus during the Achaemenid period. The association of gods with stars/planets, and the resulting importance of astrology in Babylonian religion, compelled careful star observations that amounted to genuine astronomy. In Greek, the term "Chaldean" came to refer to Asian priests who specialized in study of the stars and their portents.
Due to the dominance of Babylon in Mesopotamian politics and culture, it became a religious center as well. In the middle of the city was the Ésagila, the main temple complex, wherein was the golden statue of Marduk and other deities. On the new year holiday, Akitu, the statue of Nabû was transported from Borsippa to Babylon to commune with his father Marduk, and the Enûma Eliš was recited. The king was supposed to receive his scepter in the temple of Nabû (part of the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to imply that Cambyses as Cyrus' regent of Babylon was refused this honor because of his Elamite robe). The next day, the king would lay down his royal insignia and humble himself before the statue of Marduk. Festivities lasted an entire week; the divine statues were taken to a series of stations, hymns were sung and good tidings proclaimed for the new year.
Language
Of the Babylonian language, much the same can be said as of the Assyrian: The native tongue was a dialect of Akkadian, but in the Achaemenid period it began to give way to Aramaic just as had happened in Assyria.
Clothing and arms
Clothing
The usual two sources, Persepolis and Naqš-e Rostam, provide us with looks at Babylonian clothing around 500 BC. They wear tunics coming down past the knee, which are probably similar to Neo-Assyrian ones, and an un-fringed shawl with one end visible hanging down the right front of the torso and gathered into a single large tassel. Their hats are short, broad cones that are apparently soft and have long straps hanging down from their tops.
Their footwear appears to be low-quarter slip-on shoes with closed toes. The tops of these shoes are low on the sides but rise in front and around the heel. They resemble a style of slipper made from two pieces, a vamp and heel counter, along with the sole.
Weapons
Babylonians do not seem to have served the Persian empire as soldiers very much. They are not mentioned by Herodotus among Xerxes' invasion forces, though he pays much attention to the city itself; Achaemenid art doesn't show them with weapons - in fact, the Babylonian at Naqš-e Rostam is the only individual in the entire relief who is not armed. Of course, they did have access to weapons; the fact that they were able to rebel repeatedly makes that a necessity. From what little I can gather about the Neo-Babylonian military, it was modeled on the Assyrian one. It also seems likely (though this is just a guess, and useless as far as showing anything unique) that Babylonians would also pick up some Medo-Persian weaponry, especially in the later uprisings.
UPDATE (May 1, 2013): I seem to have been wrong about the above: There were Babylonians in the Persian army, although I have yet to find out much about them.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Peoples of the empire: The Arachosians
Arachosia (O.P. Harauvatiyâ) was located just to the south of Aria and Bactria, around the Arghandab River and straddling modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. The name is cognate to Sanskrit Sarasvati and refers to bodies of water (rivers or ponds).
History
Arachosia enters history with the Behistun inscription, wherein it is already a Persian satrapy under a Vivâna, who successfully put down the rebellion in that area in 522-521 BC in the midst of the chaos that followed Darius' killing of Gaumâta. The leader of the rebellion, Vahyazdâta, was (so said Darius) a Persian who claimed to be the deceased Bardiya/Smerdis and sent his army into Arachosia. Thus there is no reason to suppose that Arachosia itself was a rebellious satrapy. After being defeated, Vahyazdâta was brought back to Persia and crucified. Vivâna's successor was Bakabaduš.
Herodotus does not mention Arachosians among the participants in the invasion of Greece. However, Rüdiger Schmitt suggests that the people of Arachosia were known to Herodotus as the Thamanaei, while the later writer Ptolemy refers to several tribes, the Parsyetae, Sydri, Rhoplutae and Eoritae.
Currently an editor at Wikipedia is saying that the Arachosians were Pactyes (who are probably the same as the Pashtuns), this sounds plausible, especially as Persian sources do not mention Pactyes and they clearly come from around the same area. But I'm not willing to assume that this is the case, since neither Iranica nor Livius.org give it any mention. The quote from Isidore of Charax's Parthian Stations, "And the Parthians call this Pakhtara...", is very suspect indeed since the vast majority of translations have him say, "And the Parthians call this White India..." I can't track down a copy of the original Greek online, but for the record, if the usual translation is correct, the original should read Indike Leuke. For the time being, I am treating the Arachosians and Pactyes as different peoples.
At Persepolis, the Arachosian delegation appears bearing ornate pottery and leading a Bactrian camel adorned with a bell.
Little or nothing is known of the history of the region from the time of Vivâna and Vahyazdâta until Alexander's invasion, when in March of 329 he visited the satrapy, then ruled by someone named Barsaëntes, who joined Bessus in opposing Alexander. According to Jona Lendering, Alexander renamed the satrapal capital Kapisakaniš as Alexandria in Arachosia.
(Some historians believe that this city is identical to modern Kandahar, and its name derives from a mutation of "Alexandria"; others believe the name comes from the nearby land of Gandhara, while others think connect it to the Persian and Pashto word for "candy" because the area is known for producing fruit.)
Like many regions, Arachosia was fought over by a series of kingdoms from the Seleucids onward. The Indo-Scythians settled in Arachosia and Drangiana in the 2nd century BC, giving the region the alternative name of Sakastan ("land of the Saka"), which was later contracted to Sistan. Like Aria, the rule of Sistan was contested in recent centuries by Iran and Afghanistan. This time, the dispute was arbitrated by the British (who were heavily involved in the region at the time) and the region divided into modern Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran and Nimruz, Kandahar and Zabul provinces in Afghanistan.
I can find virtually nothing about the religion or language of Arachosia in Achaemenid times, though it is plausible that Eastern Iranian languages were dominant. From the Islamic conquest of Iran until the 11th century, Arab writers said that the Sistanis worshipped a god named Zun, of whom was made a golden statue with ruby eyes.
Clothing and arms
Arachosians and Drangians, who are portrayed identically at Persepolis and Naqš-e Rostam (the tomb of Darius) wear close-fronted tunics like the Medes and Persians, combined with baggy trousers seen more among Eastern Iranians. Like the Arians, their trousers are tucked into pull-on boots with pointed, upturned toes, similar to heel-less cowboy boots. The ones at Persepolis come up to just over the ankle, those at Naqš-e Rostam are knee-high. Some of the Persepolis boots have little cords hanging over the front of the boot tops, possibly a forerunner of blousing bands.
Persepolis also provides some excellent illustrations of Arachosian accessories. Instead of hats, they wear headbands with square ends, tied in the back, and the hanging ends pulled up and tucked in. They also wear distinct earrings consisting of a ring from which hang two beads and then a long inverted-teardrop pendant.
Almost nothing is shown of their weapons other than the one at Naqš-e Rostam who wears an akinakes. Spears and B-style bows carried in gorytoi are plausible but I can neither confirm nor deny at this time.
History
Arachosia enters history with the Behistun inscription, wherein it is already a Persian satrapy under a Vivâna, who successfully put down the rebellion in that area in 522-521 BC in the midst of the chaos that followed Darius' killing of Gaumâta. The leader of the rebellion, Vahyazdâta, was (so said Darius) a Persian who claimed to be the deceased Bardiya/Smerdis and sent his army into Arachosia. Thus there is no reason to suppose that Arachosia itself was a rebellious satrapy. After being defeated, Vahyazdâta was brought back to Persia and crucified. Vivâna's successor was Bakabaduš.
Herodotus does not mention Arachosians among the participants in the invasion of Greece. However, Rüdiger Schmitt suggests that the people of Arachosia were known to Herodotus as the Thamanaei, while the later writer Ptolemy refers to several tribes, the Parsyetae, Sydri, Rhoplutae and Eoritae.
Currently an editor at Wikipedia is saying that the Arachosians were Pactyes (who are probably the same as the Pashtuns), this sounds plausible, especially as Persian sources do not mention Pactyes and they clearly come from around the same area. But I'm not willing to assume that this is the case, since neither Iranica nor Livius.org give it any mention. The quote from Isidore of Charax's Parthian Stations, "And the Parthians call this Pakhtara...", is very suspect indeed since the vast majority of translations have him say, "And the Parthians call this White India..." I can't track down a copy of the original Greek online, but for the record, if the usual translation is correct, the original should read Indike Leuke. For the time being, I am treating the Arachosians and Pactyes as different peoples.
At Persepolis, the Arachosian delegation appears bearing ornate pottery and leading a Bactrian camel adorned with a bell.
Little or nothing is known of the history of the region from the time of Vivâna and Vahyazdâta until Alexander's invasion, when in March of 329 he visited the satrapy, then ruled by someone named Barsaëntes, who joined Bessus in opposing Alexander. According to Jona Lendering, Alexander renamed the satrapal capital Kapisakaniš as Alexandria in Arachosia.
(Some historians believe that this city is identical to modern Kandahar, and its name derives from a mutation of "Alexandria"; others believe the name comes from the nearby land of Gandhara, while others think connect it to the Persian and Pashto word for "candy" because the area is known for producing fruit.)
Like many regions, Arachosia was fought over by a series of kingdoms from the Seleucids onward. The Indo-Scythians settled in Arachosia and Drangiana in the 2nd century BC, giving the region the alternative name of Sakastan ("land of the Saka"), which was later contracted to Sistan. Like Aria, the rule of Sistan was contested in recent centuries by Iran and Afghanistan. This time, the dispute was arbitrated by the British (who were heavily involved in the region at the time) and the region divided into modern Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran and Nimruz, Kandahar and Zabul provinces in Afghanistan.
I can find virtually nothing about the religion or language of Arachosia in Achaemenid times, though it is plausible that Eastern Iranian languages were dominant. From the Islamic conquest of Iran until the 11th century, Arab writers said that the Sistanis worshipped a god named Zun, of whom was made a golden statue with ruby eyes.
Clothing and arms
Arachosians and Drangians, who are portrayed identically at Persepolis and Naqš-e Rostam (the tomb of Darius) wear close-fronted tunics like the Medes and Persians, combined with baggy trousers seen more among Eastern Iranians. Like the Arians, their trousers are tucked into pull-on boots with pointed, upturned toes, similar to heel-less cowboy boots. The ones at Persepolis come up to just over the ankle, those at Naqš-e Rostam are knee-high. Some of the Persepolis boots have little cords hanging over the front of the boot tops, possibly a forerunner of blousing bands.
Persepolis also provides some excellent illustrations of Arachosian accessories. Instead of hats, they wear headbands with square ends, tied in the back, and the hanging ends pulled up and tucked in. They also wear distinct earrings consisting of a ring from which hang two beads and then a long inverted-teardrop pendant.
Almost nothing is shown of their weapons other than the one at Naqš-e Rostam who wears an akinakes. Spears and B-style bows carried in gorytoi are plausible but I can neither confirm nor deny at this time.
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