ššina

ššina: son of Upadarma, rebel leader from Elam, who rose against the Persian king Darius I the Great.

ššina
ššina

ššina's revolt took place after Darius latter had killed the Magian usurper Gaumâta. ššina's rebellion probably started in the first days of October 522. It is remarkable that this man, an Elamite, has an Iranian name.

The revolt was suppressed almost immediately. This can be deduced from the relief above the Behistun inscription, which shows Darius' opponents in the sequence of their death; the man standing behind ššina, Nidintu-Bêl, was defeated in December. In the inscription itself, Darius writes that ššina was brought to him in fetters, and that he personally killed the rebel.

This was not the end of the unrest in Elam, however, because a new king continued the struggle, Martiya. He ruled for some time, but was killed by the Elamite population in June 521. Martiya in turn was succeeded by king Atamaita, who was captured by the Persian general Gobryas in the autumn of 521 or the following winter. Again, Darius killed him personally.

The picture shows ššina as he is represented at Behistun.

This page was created in 1998; last modified on 24 September 2020.