The Cadusii (also called Cadusians; grc, Καδούσιοι, ''Kadoúsioi'';
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
: ''Cadusii'') were an ancient
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
tribe that lived in the mountains between
Media and the shore of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
. The area that the Cadusii lived in bordered that of the
Anariacae and Albani. The Dareitai and Pantimati people may have been part of the Cadusii.
According to tradition, the legendary
Assyria
Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n king
Ninus subdued the Cadusii. The Greek physician and historian
Ctesias () was highly interested in the Cadusii, incorporating them in his invented history of an early
Median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic f ...
dynasty. The Cadusii later voluntarily submitted to
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
(), the first ruler of the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
(550 BC–330 BC). According to
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...
, as Cyrus was about to pass away, he appointed his younger son Tanaoxares (
Bardiya
Bardiya or Smerdis ( peo, 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹 ; grc, Σμέρδις ; possibly died 522 BC), also named as Tanyoxarces ( grc, Τανυοξάρκης ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both ...
) as
satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...
over the Medes,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
, and Cadusii.
The Cadusii were most likely part of the satrapy of Media, and perhaps occasionally that of
Hyrcania. Although they fought on side of the Achaemenids under a certain
Artagerses at the
Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC, the Cadusii appear to have had ongoing conflicts with the Achaemenid central administration. They are known to have led numerous revolts, including one that began around 405 BC, near the end of
Darius II
Darius II ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ), also known by his given name Ochus ( ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC.
Artaxerxes I, who died in 424 BC, was followed by h ...
's rule (), and lasted until the rebellion of
Cyrus the Younger
Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...
. Around 380 BC, king
Artaxerxes II ()
led an expedition against the Cadusii, which in the words of German
Iranologist Rüdiger Schmitt "was a complete fiasco". The Achaemenid forces only managed to retreat through the diplomatic efforts by the satrap
Tiribazus. Artaxerxes II himself was forced to march on foot.
In the 350s BC, during the reign of
Artaxerxes III (), another Achaemenid expedition was made against the Cadusii. During a battle, Artashata (later known as
Darius III
Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC.
Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dariu ...
) distinguished himself by slaying a warrior in single combat. His exploit was noticed by Artaxerxes III, who sent him gifts and gave him the satrapy of Armenia. Some historians report that the Cadusian contingent fought together with Medes and other Northerners in the Achaemenid forces at the
Battle of Gaugamela
The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great a ...
against the
Macedonians. Other historians, however, describe a different ethnic composition of the army.
According to the Iranologist
Richard N. Frye, the Cadusii may be the ancestors of the
Talysh people. Local Talysh experts commonly claim that the Talyshis are descended from the Cadusii. According to
Garnik Asatrian
Garnik Serobi Asatrian ( hy, Գառնիկ Սերոբի Ասատրյան; born March 7, 1953) is an Iranian-born Armenian professor who studies and teaches Kurdish culture at Yerevan State University in Yerevan, Armenia.
Asatrian became well-known ...
and
Habib Borjian; "this is one of the rare cases when a folk self-identification with an ancient people can be, at least tentatively, substantiated with historical and linguistic backgrounds."
Notes
References
Sources
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Ancient peoples
History of Talysh
History of Gilan
Historical Iranian peoples