Arukku (
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
: or , or ; ; ; ; * before 656 BC) was the eldest son of King
Kuras (
Cyrus I
Cyrus I (Old Persian language, Old Persian: ''Kuruš'') or Cyrus I of Anshan or Cyrus I of Persia, was King of Anshan (Persia), Anshan in Persia from to 580 BC or, according to others, from to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather of C ...
) from Parsumaš.
Mention in Assyrian records
In connection with the destruction of
Susa
Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
, which was effectively the dissolution of the kingdom of
Elam
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
by
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal (, meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir")—or Osnappar ()—was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the th ...
, Kuras (Cyrus I) sent Arukku to Nineveh to recognize the supremacy of the Assyrians in 639 BC. The distinction equating
Parsua
Parsua (earlier Parsuash, Parsumash) was an ancient tribal kingdom/chiefdom (860-600 BC) located between Zamua (formerly: Lullubi) and Ellipi, in central Zagros to the southwest of Sanandaj, western Iran. The name ''Parsua'' is from an old Iran ...
with Parsumaš would mean that the referenced Cyrus may have meanwhile taken over the sovereignty of one of many kings. In 835 BC, in the 24th year of the reign of
Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC.
His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...
, Parsua was described as a country with 27 kings.
Traditional identifications
Traditionally Arukku is usually identified as the son of Cyrus I. The mention serves as proof for the oldest message in the Persian royal family. This was followed by the derivation that
Cambyses I must have been another son. According to this chronology, in which Cyrus already occurs as a father and king, the birth of Cyrus would be no later than 680 to 675 BC.
Alternative explanations
The Kyros mentioned by Ashurbanipal did not have vassal status, but gave voluntary gifts to Assyria to ensure friendly relations with the new neighbor. However, these gifts were recorded in the Assyrian king's lists as a tribute. The traditional derivation is not always mentioned by all historians, since the age of Cyrus is thought to be too high and the reading of the name Arukkus is considered uncertain. Other historians doubt the equation of Parsumaš with Parsa and comment on the traditional identifications as obsolete and refuted .
[Klaas Veenhof: History of the Ancient Near East until the time of Alexander the Great , p. 274]
References
Further reading
* {{cite encyclopedia , title = Arukku , last = Dandamayev , first = M. , author-link = Muhammad Dandamayev , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arukku-assyrian-a-ru-uk-ku-a-son-of-cyrus-i-king-of-parsumas-and-grandfather-of-cyrus-the-great-cyrus-ii , editor-last = , editor-first = , editor-link = , encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6 , pages = 665–666 , location = , publisher = , year = 1986 , isbn =
7th-century BC Iranian people
Teispids