In the Battle of Gaugamela (October 1, 331 BC), in which Alexander defeated Darius III, Bessus commanded the troops of his satrapy. This means that he was a very important Persian nobleman and probably a close relative of king Darius III Codomannus (336-330), because the … Ancient reports contradict each other about the nature of Bessus's execution. According to classical sources, he killed his predecessor and relative [2] [1] , Darius III , after the Persian army had been defeated by Alexander the Great . After burning the crops Bessus fled east, crossing the river Oxus. Bessus immediately proclaimed himself king and adopted the throne name Artaxerxes V. His self-proclaimed ascension was logical, since the satrap of Bactria, known as mathišta, was the noble next in the line of succession to the Persian throne. He explains that Darius III "obtained the help of those Indians who bordered on the Bactrians, together with the Bactrians and Sogdianians themselves, all under the command of Bessus, the Satrap of Bactria". On 1 October 331, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (336-323) defeated the Persian army at Gaugamela. Except me, have an upvote.

[3.21.6] The news made it plain to Alexander that he must continue to press his pursuit without a moment's delay. In 329 BC, Alexander entered Bactria to crush Persian resistance there, and Bessus fled across the River Oxus; however, his Bactrian levies deserted rather than abandon their homeland. A fellow conspirator against Darius, Satibarzanes Satrap of Aria, had already surrendered to Alexander and had been pardoned. His self-proclaimed ascension was logical, since the Satrap of Bactria, known as Mathišta, was the Persian noble next in the line of succession to the Persian throne. But in a bombshell new theory, a scholar and practicing clinician suggests that Alexander may have suffered from the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), which caused his death. Bessus tried to defend Bactria and Sogdia, and in fact forced Alexander to make a detour through Drangiana, Arachosia and Gandara, that is through southern Afghanistan. Ancient reports contradict each other about the cause of his death. In early July 330, Darius was executed; his murderers fled to Bactria. Quintus Curtius Rufus, the historian, says he was crucified in the place where Darius had been killed, Arrian states that he was tortured and then decapitated in Ecbatana, and Plutarch suggests that he was torn apart in Bactria by recoiling trees after a Macedonian trial, a style which was according to Persian custom: two trees would have been forcibly bent towards each other, the victim tied to both, and then the trees released, causing an agonizing and drawn-out death in which the ligaments, tendons, muscles and organs would slowly come apart as the trees straightened themselves.". If they remained loyal to their king, the Macedonians would invade the eastern satrapies.

In 1912, Robert Hertz, a French historian and anthropologist, collected at Cogne a different version of Saint Bessus' death, which was part of an oral tradition passed from generation. On the other hand, if they arrested Darius and delivered him to the invaders, there would be no war, because it was unlikely that the Macedonians were interested in faraway countries, where they would be forced to fight a war of an unknown type. Sinis the Pine-Bender? Bessus (died 329 BC), also known as Artaxerxes V , was Shah of the Persian Empire from 330 to 329 BC, succeeding Darius III and preceding Alexander the Great. But since most of the Persian Empire had already been conquered and Bessus only ruled over a loose alliance of those provinces not yet occupied by the Macedonians, historians do not generally regard him as an official King of Kings of Persia. He was then captured by Ptolemy and turned over to Alexander, who had him whipped and taken to Hamadan for trial and punishment. They said they did but the way was through uninhabited country and there was no water - but no matter: Alexander at once ordered them to act as guides. I think Theseus was supposed to have defeated a bandit who executed his victims similarly. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. In fact, Bessus gave Alexander an excuse to continue his march to the east. I can't see any way this would be slow unless their release was controlled. I wonder if the Macedonians (or Plutarch) were inspired by the legend and not just Persian custom. That's some outside the box thinking, there. Ancient reports contradict each other about the cause of his death. Slowly? Press J to jump to the feed. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the todayilearned community. In military matters he was the feeblest and most incompetent of men; in other spheres his conduct appears to have been moderate and decent - though the truth may well be that, as his accession to the throne coincided with the declaration of war by Macedonia and Greece, he had no opportunity to play the tyrant. It is not clear whether Bessus was motivated primarily by personal ambition or by disillusionment with Darius as a leader. His courtiers arrested, perhaps because they thought that extraditing him would guarantee their own lives, or perhaps because they wanted to choose a new, stronger king. They were straggling along unarmed; only a few made any offer of resistance; most of them incontinently fled the moment they saw it was Alexander himself who was upon them. Homicide is a general term and may refer to a noncriminal act as well as the criminal act of murder.Some homicides are considered justifiable, such as the killing of a person to prevent the commission of a serious felony or to aid a representative of the law.

File:The punishment of Bessus by Andre Castaigne (1898-1899).jpg. [3.21.9] Alexander himself then started off again at dusk with all the speed he could make, and covering some eighty kilometers in the course of the night, came up with the Persians just as dawn was breaking.note[Near a place called Choara.]. He was fifty years old. It was the Persian equivalent of the Greek denial of burial. The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap of Bactria and kinsman, Bessus, in 330BC. However, Bessus, Barsaentes (the satrap of Arachosia and Drangiana), and Satibarzanes (the satrap of Aria), assessed the situation differently. Other homicides are said to be excusable, as when a person kills in self-defense. According to sources, the panicked conspirators stabbed Darius and left him dying in a cart to be found by a Macedonian soldier. He may have intended to surrender the deposed king to the Macedonians, but Alexander ordered his forces to continue to pursue the Persians. Bessus, conspiring with fellow satraps, deposed Darius and put him in golden chains. The following description is taken from the Anabasis (section 3.21.6-22.2) by Arrian of … Darius III was taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman. Bessus survived the battle and remained with his king, whose routed army eluded Alexander's forces and spent the winter in Ecbatana. Alexander was forced to move his force to suppress the uprising in 329 BC. However, after a few weeks, according to Arrian of Nicomedia, Bessus proclaimed himself king and took the name Artaxerxes V. This was a mistake, because Alexander considered himself the rightful Persian king; he now had to attack Bessus. After the death of Bessus, Oxyartes deposited his wife and daughters for safety in a rock fortress in Sogdiana, which was deemed impregnable, but nevertheless soon fell into the hands of Alexander's forces. At the Battle of Gaugamela (1 October 331 BC), in which Alexander defeated Darius III, Bessus commanded the left wing of the Persian army, chiefly composed of warriors from his Satrapy who had been mobilized before the Battle of Issus. At Hamadan, Alexander ordered that Bessus's nose and earlobes be cut off, which was a Persian custom for those involved in rebellion and regicide; the Behistun inscription relates that Darius the Great punished the usurper Phraortes of Media (who was the son of Upadaranma, king of Media) in a similar manner (c. Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom). Alexander was so angry, however, that he bade his guards seize Bessus, and had him put to death in the most barbarous way. According to sources, the panicked conspirators mortally wounded Darius III and left him to be found by a Macedonian soldier. The site has been identified near modern Ahuan. [...]. Alexander ordered that Bessus’ nose and ears be cut off, which was a Persian custom for those involved in rebellion and regicide; the Behistun inscription relates that Darius I punished the usurper Phraortes in a similar manner. He quite likely intended to surrender the king to the Macedonians, but Alexander ordered his forces to brutally pursue the Persians even after receiving word of Darius’ arrest. After this battle, when the fortunes of Dareius seemed hopelessly ruined, Bessus formed a plot with Nabarzanes and others to seize the king, and either to put him to death and make themselves masters of the emlpire, or to deliver him up to Alexander, according to circumstances. [3.22.1] Alexander sent Darius' body to Persepolis to be buried in the royal tombs, like the kings before him. He was the last Persian shahanshah, having deposed and murdered his predecessor following the Battle of Gaugamela, only for Alexander to crush his Bactrian rump state and execute him for regicide. Arresting and extraditing Darius could have been instrumental to save the eastern satrapies - except for the fact that Alexander had decided to stay in Asia. Darius was now forced to go to the eastern satrapies, which were famous for their mounted archers. [3.21.10] Bessus and his friends did not at once abandon the attempt to get Darius away in the wagon, but when Alexander was close upon them, Nabarzanes and Barsaentes struck him down and left him and made their escape with 600 horsemen. He Bessus tried to prevent the Macedonian crossing of the Oxus river by burning all available ships. The site has been identified near modern Ahuan. Posted by. Bessus: Persian nobleman, murderer and successor of king Darius III Codomannus. Yeah and a lot of them had gruesomely theatrical ways of punishing and killing people. Alexander had Bessus cruelly mutilated: his ears and nose were cut off. The historian, Quintus Curtius Rufus, says he was crucified in the place where Darius had been killed, Arrian states that he was tortured and then decapitated in Ecbatana, and Plutarch suggests that he was torn apart in Bactria by recoiling trees after a Macedonian trial, a style which was according to Persian custom: two trees would have been forcibly bent towards each other, the victim tied to both, and then the trees released, causing an agonizing and drawn-out death in which the ligaments, tendons, muscles and organs would slowly come apart as the trees straightened themselves. Bessus (died summer 329 BC) was a prominent Persian nobleman and satrap of Bactria, and later self-proclaimed king of Persia.According to classical sources, he killed his predecessor and relative, Darius III, after the Persian army had been defeated by Alexander the Great. The Babylonian Chronicle known as BCHP 1 indicates this happened in July 330 BC. Bessus, conspiring with fellow satraps, deposed Darius III. The site has been identified near modern Ahuan. If he could reach Bactria, he would be save. Bessus' courtiers Spitamenes and Datames arrested Artaxerxes V Bessus and handed him over to Ptolemy, Alexander's friend and future biographer.