Xerxes - The Sons of Darius

 

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.



Copyright 2023  Terran Cognito

Xerxes - My Father: Darius

 

My Father: Darius

As is true in the beginning of most unions my young mother adored her strong and handsome husband. Their time alone was cherished. He adored her as well and gave her every attention possible when two are in the beginning of a new union. That is true and accurate. What is also true and accurate is that the first, initial adoration between the two was short lived. Darius had a shorter span of adoration than most men of his stature and when mother became with child – me – father began to show attention to other women quite quickly.

But this story is not of my mother’s treatment. Rather this is the story of Darius. The side unseen by human eye. This is true of most great ones who are only chronicled by their enemies for historical purposes. So this story of Darius is the side unseen.

We began with his journey out of the wood. Post battle. Separated from his men. He was the leader then of that battle. His men were decimated. He was alone. He journeyed past the field of the benevolent landowner who befriended him. Joined his household through his recovery. And married the eldest, most beautiful of the landowner’s daughters. That much we have said.

What was not yet shared is that these moments with this benevolent host and his gracious family changed the life of the Great Darius sure and well. Darius was treated with kindness and respect but this was not the luxury and constant support of which he was accustomed as the son of a king.

It was on this bucolic land that my father gained insight into the human condition. It was on this plot of farmland that my father gained insight into the ingenuity and possibilities of the human mind. It was in this healing and rustic environment my father created his vision for the future of Persia.

It is true my father was the third king of Persia in his immediate line. It is true and accurate that his title known far and wide was ‘King of Kings’. This was not a self-given title by those who reigned before him. The title was the gift of the ancient Asian empire of Zheng to my father’s third father before.

Darius grew in these moments of solace to be a thinking man. To imagine the great possibilities that innovation and architecture could bring to Persia. He imagined buildings and bridges and even boats as he healed his body.

Returning now to his time of my birth, Darius was a strong and influential guide in my upbringing yet he left the daily duties of care and decisions to my mother. By my first year my father had already taken another bride and created new life within her. My mother was not slighted by this move as the bride was her own dear sister.

The country estate was booming with family and friends and Darius was well pleased. It was from here that he met with his advisors to plan the great cities of Persia. These cities are known Persepolis. Tynad, Senchort. Lesser known are Tylama, Bagzhat, Meliopor. All lost to historical function now. Deserted and desert. But known and loved in our lifetime.

To continue with the pleasing perspective of Darius. He was strong. Vital. Innovative. Loyal to his bloodline. Considerate of the women in his life. Discrete. Temperate. And often solemn. His story is told by those who feared him and by more who abhorred him. As is true of most great ones, the absolute story is rarely known.

Copyright 2023 - Terran Cognito

Xerxes: The Beginning

 

What follows is an experiment by Denice and myself in self publishing. These articles are copyrighted but I share them with my readers who have been so generous in their support over the years.  There will be a bound version eventually. Xerxes has long wanted to tell his story, separate from his history as the warrior King of Persia. All that we have in history is really from the Greek historian Herodotus. The Greeks have an entirely different perception of  Xerxes than the Persians do.  I don't read Farsi so I can't really vouch for what is known about him in Iran. Whether he chooses to address any conquests I leave to him, but my sense is he wants Persia to see a bigger possibility of life now than bloody wars.  I sense love for his roots, if you will. 

I understand why he chose Denice as she is really really good at this.  And she has three modes that she can receive data.  She does not channel.  He claims to know me, but I don't have any recall of that life (yet).  He hasn't said what personage I was during that time.  I only have some memories from 4 or 5 lives and those are fragments.  otherwise I'm as amnesiac as the rest of humanity on this planet.

We weren't really sure what direction this would go, but so far I'm finding it an interesting read. I love the way he uses words, he can be very poetic. He takes full responsibility for setting a precedent for war in both Iran and Afghanistan (both were of the Persia Empire) which echoes even today. 

These will be his words, not mine, in any case I have no way to vouch for what he writes other than how it feels. This is not a channeling, its a telepathic conversation. He has returned to Earth at an undisclosed location. I am assuming he's in a new body since he was assassinated in his prior Earth incarnation. 

I take for granted that consciousness never dies, and that we live life after life, some on Earth and some elsewhere as we journey through our lives in form for the joy of experience. I realize for many, these are big assumptions, and if that is true of you, or your religion doesn't allow for such possibility then view this is as science fiction if you need too. I won't be offended if your views don't match my own.  It is still a fun read either way. -Terran

The Beginning 

The beginning is never truly that. There is always a hint of a back story. A precedent. History. For all purposes, we begin this here and now at this position in the story. We call it the beginning.

Now. Picture this image. A fallow field. Brown and gray. Whisps of dust caught in a light whirling breeze that blows by. Trees dark and a palette of greens in the backdrop. A path cut along this field entering the forest or leaving it? Perspective of course. A crow with hues of iridescent blue making noise from its perch on a rock at the edge of the field. 

A man in the costume of a defeated soldier. Lone. bloodied. Dragging his hilt and shield. Dropping to his knees at the crow. At the rock. What is not seen yet is a small stone structure. A home. A family. The bustling of the normal work of the day. Watering the animals. Feeding the hens. Threshing the harvest near a wooden barn. The mother sees the soldier and sends her two young sons to assist. 

Thus begins the story of my father’s union and progeny. . His healing and recovery at the hands of the gentle couple and their family created a respite for him from his rigid royal life.. Crossing paths by the divine guidance that sent him out the wood past that particular dusty field. 

It is here that my father gains a true friend. The farmer. His first wife. The farmer’s daughter. My father was a royal living and healing among those he ruled.. Gaining the strength and fortitude of heart and mind to follow the new path before him in the coming ages. Darius the Great. 

This part of the story is again a place to begin. But it is not my beginning. Its import is that my father’s first wife is not my mother. But that is where my story begins. If his young love had been my own mother, my path would have taken a very different direction. 

 Copyright 2023 Terran Cognito