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Artaxerxes who?

With Darius being laid to rest, I knew that the Persian Empire was no more. I was the King of Asia. However, there was a novice amateur who was a nuisance to me. He had to be dealt with, and dealt with fast.

Bessus was this threat, and I am being courteous by calling him a threat. But Bessus was a local and I was a foreigner, and this was not be underestimated. Future conquerors take note.

This is where propaganda once again played a key role in my destiny. I immediately brandied Bessus as a rebel, guilty of regicide. The rest was history.

We honored Persian tradition and cut off Bessus’ nose and ears. He and his conspirators were killed.

Considering the fact that I had honored Darius with a proper ceremony befitting a fallen king, I felt like I would be embraced as Persia’s King. I even married one of his daughters, Stateira (told you she would be mine eventually). Effectively, this further lent credence to my kinship over the Persians.

The reason I did all of this was twofold. I felt the need to rightfully honor the final king of the Achaemenid Empire.

I needed to restore the institution that was being King in Persia, how could I otherwise become King of Kings, King of all people otherwise?

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