Violencia y conflicto político-religioso en el acceso al trono de Darío I

Abstract

The details of the events which led Darius I of Persia to power in the year 522 B. C. are a great historiographical question still today. The historic sources regarding it are scant, partial and belong overall to the Greco-Roman literature. Because of that, the inscription of Darius in Mount Behistun is essential to try to understand this process “from within”. Controversial elements of political and religious conflict around the figure of the god Ahuramazda and the magi are intermingled in the course of events. The divine legitimation places Darius I in the field of usurpation, which he could have hidden with different elements, giving a great religious dimension to his accession to power. All this converges in such a way that the question is always open to new interpretations of the few available and confusing data, for the purpose of trying to respond better and better an issue that today seems to be unresolved.