The Teispids (descendants of Teispes) (c. mid-7th century BC-522 BC) were an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

branch of the

Achaemenid dynasty The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian: ; Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) was an ancient Persian royal dynasty that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, an Iranian empire that stretched from Egypt and Southeastern Europe in the west to the Ind ...

originally ruling the southern

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

, in ancient

Anshan Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...

. The dynasty’s realm was later expanded under

Cyrus II Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, wikt:𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the History of Iran, first Persian empire.#refachaemenids-EI, Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty ...

, who conquered a vast area in

southwestern Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes ...

, founding what was later known as the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

under

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

. The titulary of the Teispids is recorded on the

Cyrus Cylinder The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. Kuhrt (2007), p. 70, 72 It dates from the 6th ...

, in which Cyrus II identifies himself and his ancestors with the title ''King of Anshan'', as an Elamite tradition. Teispes being the eponymous ancestor and founder, the dynasty furthermore included

Cyrus I Cyrus I (Old Persian: ''Kuruš'') or Cyrus I of Anshan or Cyrus I of Persia, was King of Anshan in Persia from to 580 BC or, according to others, from to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather of Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II ...

, Cambyses I, Cyrus II,

Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyse ...

and

Bardiya Bardiya or Smerdis ( peo, 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹 ; grc, Σμέρδις ; possibly died 522 BC), also named as Tanyoxarces ( grc, Τανυοξάρκης ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both ...

. Anshan was part of the

Elamite Kingdom Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

during the second millennium BC. During the Neo-Elamite Period, the Elamite Kingdom weakened and Anshan became less reliant on the kingdom, with the Neo-Elamite kings unable to assert their authority over Anshan, and a large number of Iranians moved into the region. In 646 BC, the Elamite capital city of

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

was sacked by the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew ...

and the Elamite Kingdom disappeared. At some time in the seventh century BC, Anshan became its own independent kingdom under Teispes. Pierre Briant places the formation of the kingdom of Anshan in this context, and dates Teispes' ascension to kingship c. 635 BC. The

, a Babylonian text, contains the oldest genealogy of the Kings of Anshan. It establishes the line of kings up to

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

as Teispes–Cyrus I–Cambyses I–Cyrus II, and establishes that their entire domain before Cyrus the Great was Anshan, now identified as the plain near

Marvdasht Marvdasht ( fa, مرودشت, also romanized as Marv Dasht) is a city and the capital of Marvdasht County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,858, in 29,134 families. Name Some historians hold that Marvdasht was ...

in Fars Province. No mention is made of Achaemenes, who according to a later genealogy provided by

Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...

in the Behistun Inscription was the father of Teispes and the first King of Anshan. The Teispid line was succeeded by the Achaemenids with Darius I seizing the throne, after killing the last members of the Teispids. According to Maria Brosius and

Bruce Lincoln Bruce Lincoln (born 1948) is Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Religions in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, where he also holds positions in the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Co ...

, Darius attempted to construct a lineage through common ancestry to the Teispid kings to legitimate his claim to the throne. To do so, he created the impression that they were Achaemenids. He did so by means of inscriptions. He presented Cyrus II as a member of the Achaemenids, in the Pasargadae inscriptions (CMa). All of these inscriptions, which date back to c. 510 BC, repeat "I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian". In the Behistun Inscription, Darius created the image of a double line of royal rulers through a common ancestor named Teispes, and a putative eponymous ancestor Achaemenes.

Notes

References

* * * * {{refend

External links

*Visual representation of the divine and the numinous in early Achaemenid Iran: old problems, new directions; Mark A. Garrison, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX; last revision: 3 March 2009
see page: 9
Iranian dynasties Achaemenid dynasty