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Who was Bardiya, and why did Darius I have him killed?

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Darius the Great — Darius I This chromolithograph of a frieze at Susa depicts attendants serving Darius I.

Bardiya (died 522 BCE) was a son of Cyrus the Great and a member of the Achaemenid royal family.12

According to the official account provided by Darius I in his inscription at Bisotun, the real Bardiya had been secretly murdered by his brother, Cambyses II. Darius claimed that a magus named Gaumata subsequently impersonated Bardiya and usurped the throne. Darius stated that he killed this impostor to restore the kingship to the rightful Achaemenid house.123

However, many modern historians challenge this narrative, suggesting that Darius may have invented the story of the "false Bardiya" to justify his own seizure of the throne and to legitimize his rule, as he was not the direct heir. In this view, the man Darius killed was indeed the son of Cyrus. Regardless of the man's true identity, Darius viewed him as a usurper whose removal was necessary to secure his own authority over the empire.132