Cambyses II: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Cambyses II''' ([[Persian language|Persian]] ''Kambujiya'' (کمبوجیه), d. [[521 BC|521 BCE]]) was the son of [[Cyrus the Great]].

When Cyrus conquered [[Babylon]] in [[539 BC|539 BCE]] he was employed in leading religious ceremonies (Chronicle of Nabonidus), and in the cylinder which contains Cyrus's proclamation to the Babylonians his name is joined to that of his father in the prayers to [[Marduk]]. On a tablet dated from the first year of Cyrus, Cambyses is called king of Babel. But his authority seems to have been quite ephemeral; it was only in [[530 BC|530 BCE]], when Cyrus set out on his last expedition into the East, that he associated Cambyses on the throne, and numerous Babylonian tablets of this time are dated from the accession and the first year of Cambyses, when Cyrus was "king of the countries" (i.e. of the world). After the death of his father in the spring of [[528 BC|528 BCE]], Cambyses became sole king. The tablets dated from his reign in Babylonia run to the end of his eighth year, i.e. March [[521 BC|521 BCE]]. [[Herodotus]] (3. 66), who dates his reign from the death of Cyrus, gives him seven years five months, i.e. from 528 to the summer of 521. For these dates cf. Ed. Meyer, ''Forschungen zur alten Geschichte'', ii. 470ff.

== The traditions of Cambyses ==

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== The Lost Army Of Cambyses ==

According to [[Herodotus]], Cambyses sent an army to threaten the Oracle of [[Amun]] at the [[Siwa Oasis]]. The army of 50,000* men was halfway across the desert when a massive sandstorm sprung up, burying them all. Although many Egyptologists regard the story as a myth, people have searched for the remains of the soldiers for many years. These have included [[Count Lazlo de Almásy]] (on whom the novel [[The English Patient]] was based) and modern geologist Tom Brown. Some believe that in recent petroleum excavations, the remains may have be uncovered. [http://touregypt.net/featurestories/cambyses2.htm] A [[2002]] novel by [[Paul Sussman]] ''The Lost Army Of Cambyses'' (ISBN 0593048768) recounts the story of rival archaeological expeditions searching for the remains.

* - This number is highly speculative seeing that ancient sources like to exaggerate with such numbers. In the documentary on the History Channel with Tom Brown, the number of soldiers that Cambyses II actually sent was only 5,000 men. One can suppose, if the force was even bigger, then bigger remnants would stil remain, for 50,000 men is a huge number!

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