Gobryas

Gobryas (Ancient Greek: Γοβρύας; Old Persian: 𐎥𐎢𐎲𐎽𐎢𐎺 g-u-b-ru-u-v, reads as Gaub(a)ruva?;[1] Elamite: Kambarma) was a common name of several Persian noblemen.

Gobryas (Cyrus the Great's general)

This Gobryas is mentioned in the Cyropedia of Xenophon as a general who helped in the conquering of Babylon.

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 of the Cyropedia, 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.[2]

Old Testament scholar Robert Dick Wilson argued that 'Darius the Mede' might be identified as Gobryas, drawing upon the work of Theophilus Pinches.[3] George Frederick Wright championed the view of Wilson in his Scientific Confirmation of Old Testament History.[4]

Gobryas (the lance-bearer of Darius the Great)
Gobryas, father of Mardonius, and lance-bearer of Darius, on the reliefs of Behistun.[5]
Gobryas on the tomb of Darius I.[6]
"The struggle between Gobryas and the false Smerdis", 19th century print.
Darius I, and five other conspirators, including Gobryas, invoking the sun to become King.

This Gobryas was one of the six helpers of Darius in killing Gaumāta in September 522 BC mentioned by Herodotus. He was appointed as Darius' lance carrier (arštibara). He is represented on the Behistun inscription and on Darius' tomb in Naqsh-e Rustam, as:[6]

Gaubaruva \ Pâtišuvariš \ Dârayavahauš \ xšâyathiyahyâ \ arštbara
Gobryas from Pâtišuvariš, the lance carrier of king Darius.[6][7]

Pâtišuvariš may be the mountainous region north of Alborz in northern Iran, probably Mazandaran.[8][9] In 521 BC, he was sent to Elam to defeat the rebel king Atamaita;[10] after this, he served as satrap of Elam.

Gobryas' family was closely entwined with the family of Darius the Great. Gobryas married the sister of Darius,[11] known variously as Artazostre or Radušdukda. Their son Mardonius, was the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of Xerxes I in the Second Persian invasion of Greece, married Darius' daughter Artazostre. A daughter of Gobryas, from an earlier marriage, was married to Darius.[12]

Gobryas (a philosopher and magus)

Another person with the name of Gobryas is a Persian magus and philosopher, who has been mentioned by Xanthus of Lydia.[13] Gobryas is said to be in succession of Zoroaster, next to other philosophers like Ostanes, Sortes Astrampsychi, and Patizeithes.[13]

References
  1. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  2. The Search for Darius the Mede; Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 12/1 (Spring 2001)
  3. Wilson, Robert Dick (1906). "Belshazzar and Darius the Mede" (PDF). The Bible Student and the Teacher. 4 (2): 88–93. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  4. Wright, George Frederick (1913). Scientific Confirmations of the Old Testament History (3rd ed.). Bibliotheca Sacra Company. p. 51.
  5. Baddeley, Sam; Fowler, Paul; Nicholas, Lucy; Renshaw, James (2017). OCR Ancient History GCSE Component 1: Greece and Persia. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 9781350015173.
  6. Kuhrt, Amélie (2013). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. p. 450. ISBN 9781136017025.
  7. DNc - Livius.
  8. "Pâtišuvariš" (in Persian). Encyclopaediaislamica.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-04.
  9. ITshomal.com. "پتشخوارگر". Mazandnume.com. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  10. Darius; Leonard William King; Reginald Campbell Thompson; Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge (1907). The sculptures and inscription of Darius the Great: on the rock of Behistûn in Persia. London: British museum. pp. 78-81. (Behistun Inscription, paragraph 71)
  11. Herodotus 7.5.1
  12. Jona Lendering. "Gobryas". Livius.org. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  13. Ogden, Daniel (2002). Magic, witchcraft, and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds : a sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780198034483.
  • T. Gaston, Historical Issues in the Book of Daniel, 2009
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