Gubaru

"Gubaru" (also: "Ugbaru", old Persian: "Gaubaruva" "beef-eater", Elamite: "Kambarma") was a common name of several Persian noblemen. The name is rendered in Greek as "Gobryas"

Gaubaruva (Cyrus the Great's general)

This Gobryas played an important role in the Persian capture of Babylon in October 539 BCE. He was the Median governor of Babylon following the conquest of that city by Persian ruler Cyrus the Great until he died a few weeks later, on 4 March 538.Gubaru was previously governor of Gutium [ [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_1.html General Gaubaruva] ] [S. R. (Samuel Rolles) Driver, Authority and Archaeology, Sacred and Profane: Essays on the Relation of Monuments to Biblical and Classical Literature, p. 125, Ayer Publishing 1971, ISBN 0836957717] .Some have claimed that he is the Darius the Mede named in the Book of Daniel, suggesting that Darius was a title assumed by Median kings.

Gaubaruva (the governor of Babylonia)

He was appointed in this function by the Cyrus the Great in 535 BCE and is mentioned in several cuneiform texts from Babylonia, in which he is called Gubâru.In Ancient times, he was best known for the canals he had dug or repaired. Several cuneiform tablets are related to this activity, and more than six centuries later, the Roman author Pliny the Elder knew of a 'prefect' Gobares who cut a canal to protect Babylonia from the Euphrates flooding [ [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_3.html Satrap of Babylonia and the countries 'across the river' (Euphrates)] ] .

Gaubaruva (the helper of Darius the Great)

One of the six helpers of Darius in killing Gaumāta in September of 522. He was appointed as Darius' lance carrier (arštibara).He is represented on the Behistun inscription and on Darius' tomb in Naqsh-e Rustam, as

Gobryas from Pâtišuvariš, the lance carrier of king Darius.

""Pâtišuvariš" , is perhaps the mountainous region north of Alborz in northern Iran, probably Mazandaran [ [http://www.encyclopaediaislamica.com/madkhal2.php?sid=2666 "encyclopaedia islamica", Pâtišuvariš (in Persian)] ] [ [http://www.mazandnume.com/?PNID=V679 www.mazandnume.com (In Persian)] ] .In the 521,he was sent to Elam,to defeat the rebel king Atamaita; after this, he served as satrap of Elam.Gobryas married to the sister of Darius, Artazostre [See also Kellens, J: [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f6/v2f6a022.html "Artazostra"] , in Encyclopaedia Iranica] or Radušdukda. They had a son, Mardonius, one of the generals of Xerxes during campaign to Greece. A daughter of Gobryas, from an earlier marriage, was married to Darius. [ [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_2.html Gaubaruva the helper of Darius] ]

Possible Separation of Gaubaruva of the Behistun Inscription and the Gubaru of the Nabonidus Chronicle

Gaubaruva is found in the Behistun Inscription, ca. 516 B.C., as a follower of Darius I of Persia as he "slew Gaumata the Magian." However, as noted by Olmstead [Olmstead, A.T., The History of the Persian Empire. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1948.] , the satrap Gobryas had disappeared by 520 B.C. and replaced by Hystanes (Greek version of the name) or Ushtani (native). This is a hard connection to make, considering the wide change in position and the fact this took place a good 23 years after Gubaru was made governor in 539 B.C. All things considered, this is more likely to be a separate person entirely.

Possible Separation of Gubaru and the Ugbaru of the Nabonidus Chronicle

The Nabonidus Chronicle list a series of events after the peaceful conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great. However, the two names generally translated together as Gobryas are actually two separate names in the Chronicle.

(Line 15) - "The 16th day, Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Gutium and the army of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle."

(Line 19 & 20) - "Cyrus sent greetings to all Babylon. Gobryas (Gubaru), his governor, installed (sub)-governors in Babylon."

(Line 22) - "In the month of Arahshamnu, on the night of the 11th day, Gobryas (Ugbaru) died."

Cuneiform materials from 535-525 B.C. all show a Gubaru as governor of Babylon (with no cuneiform material available from the period of Ugbaru's death to 525 B.C.). This either means that Gubaru and Ugbaru are really separate people, as the Nabonidus Chronicle states quite clearly, or Gobryas died in line 22 and was then replaced by someone else with the exact same name, under the same ruler, in the same office within four years. It's much more likely that Gubaru and Ugbaru were separate people, and that Gubaru reigned from 539-525 B.C. while Ugbaru died few weeks or a year after the Babylon conquest. [Whitcomb, John. Darius the Mede. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959.]

References

External links

* [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_1.html gobryas 1]
* [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_2.html gobryas 2]
* [http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/gobryas/gobryas_3.html gobryas 3]