Eminent physician Dr Farokh Udwadia traces the
ascent and the fall of the first Persian Empire
Farrokh Jijina
"How did Persian tribes who occupied a small south-western corner of the Iranian plateau come to rule an empire stretching from the Indus to Egypt and from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf?” Dr Farokh Udwadia questioned his audience on September 21, 2016 at The K. R. Cama Oriental Institute (KRCOI). The eminent physician, who at the outset disclaimed being a historian, was speaking on "The rise, decline and fall of the Achemenid Empire” that existed from 550 BC to 330 BC. The doctor provided the answers in a broad-brush review of the 220-year-history of the eponymous Empire.
Illustration of human phalanx
Prof Shereen Ratnagar (left) and Dr Nawaz Mody
Crediting Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) with the establishment of the Empire, the history aficionado explained that the monarch was the son of Cambyses, and that his mother was a daughter of the king of the Medes, a sister tribe. Rising in revolt against the Medes, Cyrus II defeated them easily, after which he attacked Lydia which was then ruled by the famed, wealthy King Croesus. Just as Croesus was to be burned at the stake, narrated Udwadia, the fire was extinguished by rain. Taking it as a sign from above, Cyrus II forgave Croesus. Moving on to Babylonia, the Persian king annexed that kingdom too, paying homage to their god Marduk. "He then moved towards the Indus, to create the first universal state,” said the physician. Killed in battle with Queen Tomyris (of the Massagatea), his body was taken to Pasargadae, which later became a place of investiture of future Achemenid kings. "There was war and bloodshed in his time,” summed up the amateur historian, "but far removed from those who preceded him.”
Cyrus II’s heir Cambyses II was given Babylonia to rule, and his second son Bardiya, was made ruler of the Persian heartland. Cambyses II went on to invade Egypt but proved to be an unpopular ruler, having confiscated the property of the priests there.
The next to rule was Darius I, who rose to that position from being a lance bearer on Cambyses II’s Egyptian campaign. Assassinating Bardiya by proclaiming that he was actually a member of the magi (priest) who had hoodwinked the people, Darius I did not find favor with "the majority of the Persian provinces who did not accept him as their king… He had to fight 17 battles in one year alone,” said the doctor. But, he was successful in setting up a good administration, and "did everything in the name of Ahura Mazda,” said Udwadia. The kingdom was divided into satrapies (provinces); roads were built, including the grand 1,500-mile-road linking the Persian capital of Susa to Sardis, the erstwhile capital of Lydia. Darius I’s rule also saw the completion of the grand palace of Persepolis. Defeat at the hands of the Athenians in the battle of Marathon left a mark on the psyche of Darius I, as to "how a tiny state like Athens could defeat the mighty Persian Empire,” said the doctor.
Darius I’s heir Xerxes kept the Empire together and was best known for his victory at the Battle of Thermopylae over the Greeks, after which he marched towards Athens, but this resulted in a naval defeat for him. The swift assassination of Xerxes (in 465 BC) saw his eldest son Artaxerxes I on the throne, after whose death "the Empire was magnificent from the outside, with squalor within,” said Udwadia. Subsequent kings fought the Greeks and their rule was characterized by "palace plots.” Artaxerxes III, for instance, credited with the re-conquest of Egypt, was murdered by his minister.
Macedonia, meanwhile
The doctor explained that Macedonia, on the northern periphery of Greece, was a vassal state at the time of Darius I. The Macedonians were in the process of strengthening their army, using military tactics that included the first human phalanx. This strategy, he said, proved to be successful in the wars against the Persians at Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, led by Alexander (termed the Great). The Macedonians marched on Persepolis, the Persian capital, which surrendered in early 330 BC. Reminding the audience that Alexander is the only person in the Zoroastrian scriptures to be equated with Ahriman, the destructive spirit in Zoroastrianism, the doctor paid tribute to his military capabilities: "He knew the mind of Darius III” who fought him at Gaugamela.
Udwadia does not ascribe the fall of the Achemenids to moral or physical decline: they were a force to reckon with, skilled in horsemanship, archery and always taught to speak the truth; the end came only due to Alexander’s military genius and the ineptness of Darius III. "Universal states always dissolve and die,” said Udwadia. They are like summers masking autumns, the harbingers of winters, he explained. This thought was echoed in her summing up comments by historian and archeologist Prof Shereen Ratnagar who chaired the session. "The Achemenids failed to Persianize their conquered races,” she stated.
In response to a question from the audience, Udwadia mentioned that Zoroastrianism was not the state religion of the Empire, but "tenets of Zoroastrianism were sweeping Persia, and the Achemenids fuelled it … There were other deities that were worshipped.”
Earlier that evening, Udwadia and Ratnagar jointly released Firdawsii Millennium Indicum: Proceedings Of The Shahnama Millenary Seminar, held in January 2011, edited by Sunil Sharma and Burzine Waghmar.
Dr Nawaz Mody, honorary secretary of KRCOI welcomed the audience in the packed-to-capacity Dr Sir J. J. Modi Hall of the Institute. A vote of thanks by her concluded the evening.