Many of the Persian rulers followed the Zoroastrian beliefs when ruling, causing these rulers to perform different actions when conquering or ruling. When Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, he claimed that Nabonidus, the previous king, was not worshiping the gods correctly. In the Statement of the Ideas of Persian Kingship, Zoroastrian beliefs made Darius have different beliefs about what is right and wrong. Finally, as written in the Behistun Inscription, the Persian ruler Darius would behave differently when confronted about his land.
Cyrus the Great conquered Mesopotamia by using religion to his advantage, because Zoroastrian beliefs taught to be accepting of other religions. He conquered Persia by manipulating the Babylonian peoples into thinking their previous ruler was intervening with the Babylonian religion, claiming that “daily [Nabonidus] did blabber [incorrect prayers]. He (furthermore) interrupted in a fiendish way the…show more content… Darius describes his land, claiming that it was granted by Ahuramazda. He says, “Ahuramazda has granted unto me this empire. Ahuramazda brought me help, until I gained this empire; by the grace of Ahuramazda do I hold this empire” (The Behistun Inscription, paragraph 9). In addition, when describing how he acted towards actions on his land, Darius says, “Within these lands, whosoever was a friend, him have I surely protected; whoever was hostile, him have I utterly destroyed” (The Behistun Inscription, paragraph 8). Darius treats all his land as equal, even rebellious ones, because they were given to him by Ahuramazda. However, if anybody would attack or be hostile, Darius would have them destroyed immediately. The Zoroastrian beliefs changed King Darius’ attitude towards his empire; because land was granted by the great king Ahuramazda, Darius protects all the land that he owns, and treats it all
