Cambyses II

Cambyses II was the second king of the Achaemenid Empire and the initiator of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt, ruling from 530 to 522 BC. He was the eldest son of Cyrus the Great and Cassandane. Before his kingship and during the reign of Cyrus, he held the title of “King of Babylon” and was a viceroy.Based on the Behistun inscription and official Babylonian texts, Cambyses died after July 522 BC. He was still in Egypt when Gaumata took his place in Iran on March 11, 522 BC and ascended the throne. According to Herodotus, while returning to Iran, he was in Syria when he learned about Gaumata’s ascendance from a herald.The death of Cambyses is shrouded in ambiguity and legend: based on the Behistun inscription, he “died a natural death.” This phrase does not clarify whether Cambyses committed suicide or, as some have argued, that Darius meant a death resulting from ignorance and the consequences of Cambyses’ actions.Ernst Herzfeld believes that the structure commonly referred to as “Takhte Rostam” is intended as the tomb of Cambyses, located near Naghshe Rostam and four kilometers north of Persepolis, but remained unfinished after his death.