Derbices

Derbices or Derbikes Persian: دربیک‌هاwere a small pocket of tribial people located at or around Hyrcania, which is an area located in the northern borders of the Iranian Plateau. Most of what history can recount of this tribe is from the writings of Ctesias. Led by their leader, Amoraeus, Derbices led a rebellion against Cyrus the Great causing the mortal wounding of the king. They are however eventually defeated by Cyrus and incorporated into the Persian Empire. It is critical to note that the account of Derbices is basically the work of Ctesias and offers one of the plausible versions by which Cyrus the Great is killed. Other plausible accounts include that of Herodotus which revolves around the Massagatae, and various other versions including one by Xenophon which states Cyrus the Great actually died peacefully at his palace. Regardless, this article (and Derbices by association) makes sense in the context of historical reportings of Ctesias, which according to at least a few historians is the most credible version (along with that of Herodotus) since "...he [Cteias] had been a long while in Persia as a doctor."

Background

Derbices were originally a small population cluster with some control over the area south of Caspian Sea and were part of the Persian satrapy of Hyrcania. Influenced by Indian tribes, they raised in revolt against Cyrus. In retaliation, Cyrus would march with his army north to meet them in battle and to subdue the rebellion.

Militarilly, the Derbices were equipped with elephants supplied by the Indians, as well as a large, well-stocked Indian cavalry stationed at Hyrcania, awaiting the coming of the Persian army led by Cyrus the Great. As Cyrus approached Gilan and Mazandaran (Hyrcania), he and his Persian army are ambushed by both Indian, and Derbices soldiers. In the heat of the battle, an Indian soldier pushes Cyrus the Great off his horse, and mortally wounds him in the leg (in the thigh) with a javelin. The Indian soldier however is soon slain by a small group of Persian soldiers who crowd Cyrus the Great, carrying him to safety while still alive. The remainder of the Persian army fights the insurgents in one of the bloodiest battles in the history of Oxus, leading to some 10,000 casualties on each side.

Amorges a Persian general, once hearing of what has transpired, hastily comes to aid the king with an army of 20,000 Sacan soldiers. In what pursues the Persians and the Sacae gain the upper hand, and slain the Derbrices' king Amoraeus, and his two sons. Some 30,000 Derbices and Indians fall, as do 9,000 Persians in the battle. After the battle Derbices surrenders full control to the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great, now mortally wounded and in care of his troops, appoints Spitaces the new satrap of Hycrania. It is said that on his death bed, Cyrus urges Spitaces, to obey and respect him mother Spitamas, and also appoints his son Cambyses II of Persia to be the legitimate king of the empire, and his younger brother Bardiya to be the governor of Parthia, Choramnia, Bactria, and Carmania. Cyrus the Great would die three days later from complications of the thigh injury, after some thirty years of kingship.