page_title: Cambyses II
section_title: Administration
hierarchical_section_title: Cambyses II / Administration
caption_attribution_description: English: KINGS of LYDIA. Time of Cyrus to Darios I. Circa 545-520 BC
context_page_description: Cambyses II was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great and his mother was Cassandane.
  Before his accession, Cambyses had briefly served as the governor of northern Babylonia under his father from April 539 BC to December 538 BC. Afterwards, he continued to roam in the Babylonian cities of Babylon and Sippar, before being appointed by his father as co-ruler in 530 BC, who set off to mount an expedition against the Massagetae of Central Asia, where he met his end. Cambyses thus became the sole ruler of the vast Achaemenid Empire, facing no noticeable opposition.
  His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in Africa, notably Egypt, which he conquered after his victory over the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik III at the battle of Pelusium in 525 BC. After having established himself in Egypt, he expanded his holdings in Africa even further, such as his conquest of Cyrenaica. In the spring of 522 BC, Cambyses hurriedly left Egypt to deal with a rebellion in Persia.
  While en route in Syria, he received a wound to the thigh, which was soon affected by gangrene.
context_section_description: Although a tax system existed both during the reign of both Cyrus and Cambyses, it was not a systematic one, and thus the subjects of the king were either obligated to give gifts, or pay taxes. Like under his father, Cambyses' satraps were all of Persian stock: Gubaru in Babylonia-Trans-Euphrates: Aryandes in Egypt: Oroetes in Sardis, Mitrobates in Dascylium, Dadarsi in Bactria, and Vivana in Arachosia. Likewise, the imperial treasurer in Babylon, Mithradata, was also from a Persian family. Indeed, the retinue of Cambyses in Egypt was composed solely of Persians. The most notable of these Persians were relatives of the king himself, such as his cousin Darius, who occupied high offices under Cyrus and Cambyses, serving as a spear-bearer under the latter. Darius' father, Hystaspes, served as the governor of Parthia and Hyrcania, or at least held a prominent role there. Important offices centered around the king was also occupied by the Persians, as in the case of Prexaspes, who served as the "message-bearer" of Cambyses, and Sisamnes, who was the royal judge, and later executed by Cambyses.
caption: Achaemenid coin minted at Sardis, possibly under Cambyses II.
exif: {}