Gobryas ( grc, Γοβρύας; peo, 𐎥𐎢𐎲𐎽𐎢𐎺 g-u-b-ru-u-v, reads as ''Gaub(a)ruva''?; Elamite: ''Kambarma'') was a common name of several Persian noblemen.

Gobryas (Cyrus the Great's general)

This Gobryas is mentioned in the

Cyropedia The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of So ...

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 a general who helped in the conquering of

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

. The A.K. Grayson translation of the Nabonidus Chronicle, based on that of T.G. Pinches, considers both the names ''Ugbaru'' and ''Gubaru'' found in the latter to be references to this Gobryas. However the names are distinct in the text and refer to two different individuals, the one called ''Gubaru'' being the ruler placed over Babylon thus corresponding to

Cyaxares Cyaxares (Median language, Median: ; Old Persian: ; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ; Phrygian language, Old Phrygian: ; grc, wikt:Κυαξάρης, Κυαξαρης, Kuaxarēs; Latin: ; reigned 625–585 BCE) was the third king of the Medes. C ...

of the

, not Gobryas. ''Ugbaru'' remains a candidate for Gobryas being described as the ruler of the region of Gutium dying soon after the conquest of Babylon similarly to Xenophon's portrayal of Gobryas as an elderly "Assyrian" ruler. According to William H. Shea Ugbaru and Gubaru is the same person, being the ruler placed over Babylon, dying soon after the conquest of Babylon. Old Testament scholar Robert Dick Wilson argued that 'Darius the Mede' might be identified as Gobryas, drawing upon the work of Theophilus Pinches.

George Frederick Wright George Frederick Wright (January 22, 1838 – April 20, 1921) was an American geologist and a professor at Oberlin Theological Seminary, first of New Testament language and literature (1881 – 1892), and then of "harmony of science and revelati ...

championed the view of Wilson in his ''Scientific Confirmation of Old Testament History''.

Gobryas (the lance-bearer of Darius the Great)

Struggle between Gobryas and the false Smerdis

This Gobryas was one of the six helpers of Darius in killing Gaumāta in September 522 mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

. He was appointed as Darius' lance carrier (arštibara). He is represented on the Behistun inscription and on Darius' tomb in

Naqsh-e Rustam Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into t ...

, as:

Gaubaruva \ Pâtišuvariš \ Dârayavahauš \ xšâyathiyahyâ \ arštbara
''Gobryas from Pâtišuvariš, the lance carrier of king Darius.''

Pâtišuvariš may be the mountainous region north of

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

in northern Iran, probably Mazandaran. In 521, he was sent to

Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...

to defeat the rebel king Atamaita; ( Behistun Inscription, paragraph 71) after this, he served 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 ...

of Elam. Gobryas' family was closely entwined with the family of

Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...

. Gobryas married the sister of Darius, known variously as Artazostre or Radušdukda. Their son Mardonius, was the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...

in the

Second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasio ...

, married Darius' daughter

Artazostre Artazostre (or Artozostre) (Old Persian *''Artazauštrī'') was a Persian princess, daughter of king Darius the Great (521-485 BC) by Artystone, daughter of Cyrus the Great. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (VI, 43) Artazostre was given ...

. A daughter of Gobryas, from an earlier marriage, was married to Darius.

References

*T. Gaston, ''Historical Issues in the Book of Daniel'', 2009

External links

Gobryas 1

Year of death missing Median people Babylonian people Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire 6th-century BC Iranian people 7th-century BC births Defectors Darius the Great {{ANE-bio-stub