Persepolis, The centre of the great Persian Empire

Darius I, however, claimed the man he killed was not Bardiya but a clever usurper named Gaumata who only looked like Bardiya. The actual Bardiya, Darius I claimed, had been killed by Cambyses II years before. Darius I, therefore, as a cousin of Cambyses II, was the legitimate heir to the throne. Very few of the satrapies believed this story, and Darius I had to spend the first few years of his reign putting down revolts.