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Gobryas

Persian noble, helper and kinsman of Darius I, late sixth century BCE

In the game: Level 3: The Lie, Level 5: The Charter, Level 6: The Bridge of Boats

Gobryas (Old Persian Gaubaruva) was one of the six Persian nobles who helped Darius seize the throne in 522. Darius named him in his inscriptions, sent him to crush a revolt in Elam, and had him carved on the façade of his tomb as his spear-bearer. Herodotus says two marriages made him the King's close kinsman, and his son Mardonius later commanded the Persian war in Greece.

In the game: The game's chronicle note presents Gobryas as one of the six, the King's double in-law, and the general who ended Elam's third revolt. The first and last points come from Behistun; the marriages come from Herodotus.

Named by Darius himself

In the record

In the Behistun inscription Darius tells how he killed the man he calls Gaumata the magus in 522, and later lists the six men who stood with him. Among them is Gaubaruva, son of Marduniya, a Persian. Darius asks future kings to protect the families of these helpers, which marks them as a privileged circle at the new court. Herodotus's list of the conspirators differs slightly, but both include Gobryas.

DB §13, §68-69

Victory over Athamaita in Elam

In the record

An added fifth column at Behistun, covering Darius's second and third years as king (about 520-519), records that Elam rebelled again under a leader named Athamaita. Darius sent Gobryas with an army. He defeated the Elamites, captured Athamaita and brought him to the King, who put him to death. Athamaita does not appear on the relief: of the later captives, only the Saka chief Skunkha was added to the line of bound rebels.

DB §71

The spear-bearer at Naqsh-e Rostam

In the record

On the façade of Darius's rock tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam, a short label names a figure as Gobryas, a Persian of the Patishuvarish clan, spear-bearer of Darius the King. The title placed him among the King's most trusted attendants. Elamite tablets from the Persepolis Fortification archive probably refer to him under the form Kambarma, receiving rations on official journeys.

DNc; Persepolis Fortification tablets

Herodotus on the plot and the family

Ancient account

Herodotus says Otanes first brought Gobryas into the conspiracy against the false Smerdis. In the fight in the palace, Gobryas grappled with one of the magi in a dark room and told Darius to strike even at the risk of hitting him. Herodotus adds that Darius had married a daughter of Gobryas before he became king, and that Gobryas married Darius's sister, the mother of Mardonius.

Herodotus 3.70, 3.78, 7.2, 7.5

The Scythian gifts

Later legend

During Darius's campaign north of the Ister, Herodotus tells that the Scythians sent a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. Darius read them as a sign of surrender, but Gobryas explained them as a warning: unless the Persians could fly, hide underground or leap into marshes, they would die by Scythian arrows. The tale has the shape of a Greek riddle story and cannot be checked.

Herodotus 4.131-132