6 – King Darius’ Revenge
In the 6th century BC, it was common for Persia and neighboring nations to torture rebels by cutting off their nose and ears. However, King Darius I took things a few steps further when there was a rebellion against him in the early years of his reign. He became king in September 522 BC, but within a couple of months, there were rebellions against him throughout the Achaemenid Empire. Darius managed to quell the uprisings within a year and in his own words, he executed ‘eight lying kings’ and left detailed accounts of the rebellions in the famous Behistun Inscription.
One of his rivals, Nidintu-Bel of Babylon, was impaled along with 49 of his followers. However, this was a mild punishment compared to what Darius did to some of the others. For example, a rebel leader named Cicantakhma was sent to the king. According to Darius: “I cut off both his nose and ears and put out one eye, he was kept bound by my palace entrance and all the people saw him.” Eventually, Darius impaled Cicantakhma at Arbela.
Ancient sources point out that Darius made sure the brutal torture was on full display. Everyone who walked by his castle at Persepolis saw the mutilated bodies of the rebels. The lieutenants of the so-called liar kings were decapitated, and their heads were hung from the top of Persepolis’ citadel. The rebel leaders were jeered and beaten by passersby for weeks before they were eventually allowed to die.
After defeating the rebels, Darius ordered copies of the Behistun Inscription to be sent to every country in the Achaemenid Empire. It was designed to let everyone know that Darius was the undisputed Great King and that anyone who challenged his authority would meet the same grisly fate as the rebels. His warning was not heeded as there were other rebellions during his long reign; including the Ionian Revolt of 499 – 493 BC.