The Persian Empire at the Height of its Extension

Foreword by Brit-Am
According to the article
"Achaemenids" by Jona Lendering,
The Achaemenids (Hakhamanisiya) were a royal dynasty of ancient Persia, named after its legendary founder Achaemenes (Hakhamanis).
"The Achaemenid or Persian empire was founded by Cyrus the Great, who became king of Persis in 559 BCE and defeated his overlord Astyages of Media in 550. "
Cyrus conquered Media, Cappadocia and Armenia in the west and Parthia, Aria and Hyrcania in the east, as well as Lydia,  Bactria, and Sogdia, parts of India and the city of Babylon in 539. His capital was Pasargadae.
Cyrus took over the Babylonian Empire and issued a decree allowing the Exiles of Judah to return to their land and rebuild the Temple.
In the past Brit-Am suggested that Cyrus was of Israelite origin from the Tribe of Gad. His clan was known as Pasargadae (which name was later given to his capital) and this name can mean (as noted already by de Gobineau) "Sons of Gad".
See:
"Was Cyrus an Israelite"
Came Rea later developed this idea in a separate article, "Cyrus the Israelite".
"In 530, Cyrus was killed during a campaign against the Massagetae, a Scythian tribe."
Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses, who conquered Egypt (525).
Darius who was a distant relative later became king and expanded the Empire.
Jona Lendering points out that:
"It should be stressed that there is not a single piece of contemporary evidence that calls Cyrus or Cambyses Achaemenids. (The texts that do, were written during the reign of Darius.) It is possible that there was no link between the two first Persian kings and the family of Darius. "
After Darius came Xerxes who campaigned against the Greeks (480-479). Then came others the identity of whom is disputed. Conventional historians rely on Greek accounts who give a series of monarchs that however do not conform with those mentioned in other sources. At all events eventually the Achaemenian dynasty came to an end and with it the Persian Empire which was replaced by the Greeks under Alexander the great and his successors in the region the Seleucids.
In the article below Cam Rea suggests that the Achaemenids were of Israelite origin.
  

Different Depictions of Cyrus and Darius

Cyrus

Cyrus

Cyrus

Darius

 
WERE THE EARLY GREAT KINGS OF PERSIA ISRAELITES?
by Cam Rea
 
The Achaemenid dynasty's foundation is based on a man by the name of Achaemenes. Not much is known about the man himself. However, he is considered the eponymous founder according to the Behistun inscription of Darius I listed in his genealogy. Cyrus the Great says nothing on the Babylonian cylinder about the founder of their dynasty. However, Cyrus refers to himself as an Achaemenid on the inscriptions found at Pasargadae, but it is also debated whether the inscriptions are of Cyrus the Great as it could be quite possible that Darius I wrote those inscriptions after Cyrus died. Nevertheless, there most likely was a man by the name of Achaemenes. The only problem surrounding Achaemenes is, who was he?[1]
            Let us start with the name Achaemenes. Achaemenes is a Greek form of his name. His name in Old Persian is Hakhamanish,[2] or Haxamanis, or in Babylonian Ahamaniis, and in Elamite Haakkamannuis.[3] In addition, we also have Hakhamanas[4] and Hakhamaneshi[5] as well as Hakamanish.[6]  As you can see, there are various spellings and pronunciations of his name. Now, the name Hakhamanish is said to possibly mean "friendly-minded". Hakha or Sakha means "friend or friendly", while the man in "manish" means "mind or minded."[7]  This may be true, but there is another alternative to his name that should be considered. Sakha is Sanskrit and Hakha is Old Persian. Both languages are related to a certain degree.[8]  However, the term Sakha that is used in India is also used when referring to the Saka and you can find the name Saka in Sakha Sakha. In-addition, there was a tribe of Scythians called Sakha/Saka that migrated into Northern India[9] and seem to have settled in the Panjab/Punjab region. The Sakha/Saka are also called Shaka, and their capital was Shakala in Eastern Punjab.[10]  It now becomes possible that Hakha in Hakhamanish is another form for the term "Saka". To give you fuller detail lets us look at the similarities between the two names. Now, the Hakha and Sakha, both obviously have "akha" found in the name, but consider that both share the letters aka which is found in the word "Saka"?. Now, look at the name Hakha and the Scythians called Shaka. Both once again share the "haka" in the name and Haka was another form of Hakha. It also seems that Sakha/Hakha are similar to the name "Sahak"  which was another name for King Astyages and which means Isaac, and Isaac is also rendered as "Ishak". Notice the "hak" in Ishak, which bears similarities to Hakha and Sakha. In-addition, it also becomes possible that Hak is an epithet of "Haik", which also means Isaac.  Thus, it becomes quite possible to suggest that Hakha or Sakha is not just the word friend or friendly, but can also represent an origin, and that name seems to point to none other then the Saka/Scythian tribes that bear the name Isaac.[11] 
            The next bit that needs to be focused on is the manish in Hakhamanish. As you have already read, there is a number of ways it is spelled. Manish, Manis, Maniis, Mannuis, Manas, Maneshi, Menes. When looking at the various forms of Manish, it becomes possible and thus speculated that all the various names for Manish you have just read, point to the tribe known as Manasseh. Take the name Manas that you have just read. Manas is also another name for Manasseh. The same can be said for Mannuis, which seems to be similar to Mannus, and is also linked to Manasseh. The name Menes could be linked to the name "Menesen", which also seems to be connected to Ma-nasshe as well. In-addition, the name Hakhamanish also bears the suffix ?ish or esh? which represents a sense of being or be-longing to a certain tribe or a person of ancestry. Thus, in conclusion to the meaning of the name Hakhamanish, it seems plausible that his name could mean "Isaac of Manasseh".[12]
 
[1] M. A. Dandamayev. ?ACHAEMENES,? http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f4/v1f4a108.html
[2] Bienkowski, Millard, Dictionary of the Ancient Near East, p. 1
[3] Tavernier, Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.), p. 17-18
[4] Herzog, Hauck, Realencyklopadie fur protestantische Theorogie und Kirche, p. 390
[5] Nabarz, The Mysteries of Mithras, p. 149
[6] Nanavutty, The Parsis, p. 177/ Culican, The Medes and Persians, p. 49
[7] Burton, Camoens: His life and His Lusiads, p. 656
[8] Wieseh?er, Ancient Persian, p. 239
[9] Hackmann, Buddism as a Religion: Its Historical Development and its pre-sent conditions, p. 49
[10] Narain, Later Indo-Scythians, p. 121-122
[11] Davidy, Lost Israelite Identity, p. 56, 288
[12] Davidy, Lost Israelite Identity, p. 153-154/ Davidy, The Tribes, p. 147, 389, 404, 425, 350

 

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  1. Heschel, The Prophets, 184-185

  2. Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia, p. 285/ Sykes, A History of Persia, p. 118

  3. Herodotus, The Histories, p. 70

  4. Davidiy, The Tribes, p. 120

  5. Boardman, The Cambridge Ancient History, p. 11

  6. Rawlinson, A Manual of Ancient History: From the earliest times to the fall of Rome, p. 85

  7. Davidiy, The Tribes, p. 90, 116

  8. Burke, Shahanshah: A Study of the Monarchy of Iran, p. 67

  9. De Blois, Dahae I: Etymology", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 6, Cosa Mesa: Mazda, p. 581

  10. Collins, Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower And its Role In Biblical History, p. 17

  11. Herodotus, The Histories, p. 60

  12. Davidiy, The Tribes, p. 30, 243

  13. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East Vol 1, p. 206

  14. Dandamaev, A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, p. 67-68  

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