Tom Holland

And indeed is eyeing up Egypt.

Am I right?

So Cyrus doesn't attack Egypt.

He goes off into Central Asia.

And that's where he reaches the Indus.

He reaches the Hindu Kush.

He goes even further.

And that's where he's killed.

His son has eyes up Egypt.

Cambyses, right?

His son, yes.

So when Cyrus dies fighting in Central Asia in 529, he leaves behind him two sons.

And the first of these you just mentioned, Cambyses, he becomes the new king of kings.

But Cyrus also has a younger son called Bardiya, and Bardiya is entrusted with the rule of the eastern satrapies, the eastern provinces as they're called.

And it's obvious that Cyrus is very keen to ensure that the rule of the world remains within the family.

So to ensure that kind of rival nobles can't get in on the act, Cambyses has married both his sisters.

And this is an unprecedented display of incest.

There's nothing in Persian custom that would license that.

But Cyrus, Cambyses, Bardiya, you know, they want it to remain a kind of family concern.

And this is obviously bad news for even distant cousins of the Persian royal family.