Darius Vs Herodotus

Yin-Yen: There are many different accounts of Darius's rise to the throne but the most important came from both Darius and Herodotus. Both accounts state he killed Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and claimed the throne with assistance of 6 other nobles. Darius claimed in his Behistun inscription that the supposed Smerdis was actually an impersonator called Gaumata, a Magian. Darius therefore stated that he was restoring the kingship to the rightful Achaemenid house. However, according to Herodotus, Smerdis was actually the legitimate king and it is undoubtedly certain that Darius merely just made up this reason to make his claim for the throne legitimate. Once Smerdis was killed Darius and the 6 nobles decided to take on a test to ultimately decide
who deserved to be the king. They gathered outside the palace, mounted on their horses at sunrise, and the man whose horse neighed first in recognition of the rising sun would become king. However, Darius was thirsty for the throne and thus cheated. He ordered his slave to rub the genitals of a mare that Darius favoured and when the 6 gathered the slave placed his hands besides the nostrils of Darius’s horse who became excited at the scent and neighed. As well as that, according to Herodotus following the neigh, lightning and thunder came and caused to others to praise Darius, however this just proves that Darius had this whole process planned and he merely stumbled upon luck displaying his lust for power. Also Darius's ownership of a slave once again highlights his inner selfishness and greed and shows that he isn't even a true Persian . So not only is he an usurper to the throne but he is criminal who should be executed for his crimes.
Persian Wars: