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| Xerxes. Image from Wikipedia, with added photoshop clarifications |
The Sons of Darius
The multitude of sons of Darius is owed to his good health. His endless vitality. His love of beautiful women. And most importantly his Persian lineage and loyalty to the bloodline. You find 11 sons. I share that there are 20 or more sons that are known. To call them lesser sons is a misnomer.
Any known son of Darius was treated with the utmost respect and placed in powerful positions within the ranks and within the household. Most were sent out at emissaries and became leaders with regional authority and jurisdiction or commanded great armies. But recall that only the sons of the important bloodlines were treated to the complete royal life. That included my brothers by my mother and her sisters.
The three eldest brothers and sons of my father’s first union were thick and sturdy like their mother’s father the landowner. Built for strength and endurance. Of these the youngest was my first friend. Only two years older than I he was the one who desired my company and allowed me entry to their childhood games. He was kind and generous and I enjoyed his company. The older were tolerant of me but protective of their own mother and this often caused some strife between us.
In our early years none of us knew of the internal struggles to come with the death of our father. But let us remain in our youth for a bit longer now. Allow me to group the brothers with their mother’s in mind. Recall my father took many wives. He also made unions with other women both wittingly and unwittingly.
My mother’s sons were to become the full sword and shield of the Achaemenid bloodline. Her own father was a son of a son of a King of Kings. That in itself strengthened the family hold on the Persian throne. Her lineage was enough removed from the original to only be strengthened by the union with my father. The sons of Atossa were revered the most and this was known throughout the lands.
Our younger brothers were treated as younger brothers are often treated. Teased. Taunted. And loved. My mother’s sisters gave Darius four more sons. Four more heirs to secure the Achaeminid line. The irony is these wives also gave Darius most of his daughters and therefore most of his troubles. Recall that Darius was a good and strong father who doted on his heirs. He left the raising of his daughters to their mothers. And this makes for another story at another moment.
A handful of sons were the result of Darius’ travels. These unions might last a month but not much longer. When a son was later born Darius was alerted by those loyal to him and the son and mother were brought into the palace. Most were content with this position.
As in most families there is a stray or two and this is true in the instance of our extensive family. Two of my father’s younger sons left never to return. The first was the son of a woman with whom Darius had only one child. The fortunate union between the two was a brief encounter in Darius’ travels east farther from the reach of his own loyal men. When Darius learned of this son years later he sent for the mother and child to be housed within the palace. The son was treated well. The mother was treated well. When the son came of age the mother returned to her people. The son remained for a short time. He left later never to be heard from again.
The other wanderer was born from a fraught union. His mother the daughter of a Commander in Darius’ army. A union created on a chance encounter after a well placed dinner. The daughter young and enticing to the rarely satisfied Darius. The Commander was unhappy with the mix. The daughter was delighted. Purposeful. Ambitious. She gave birth to a healthy boy but when she learned there was no place in the palace for her beside Darius she disfigured her own child. The damage was irreparable. This young woman was swifted away by her father so that no retribution would be made by Darius. The child was raised in the palace. His every want and need was attended to. His desire was near isolation and the company of only one or two scholars to quench his unending thirst for knowledge. He left in the night. Unaccompanied. Never to return.
Although Darius sent others to follow and to trace the path of these young sons. No word was ever received of the final destination of these prodigal sons or of their individual destinies.
There of course are endless stories of the lives of the sons of Darius. It is within these records that I desire to provide an image of the moments that are a summation of the lineage. Details too many to share here. The sons of Darius gave sons to the Achaemenid line and within these numbered well into one hundred grandsons. Thus lives the evidence that the lineage of the King of Kings did not die within the house of the Achaemenid. Persia lives on to this moment.
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