Acina

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Acina or Âššina was one of the last kings of the kingdom of Elam, and ruled briefly in 522 BCE. He was toppled by Darius I and later depicted in chains in the Behistun Inscription.^[1]

Variants

Jat clans

History

According to Darius in his inscription:

King Darius says: After I had slain Gaumâta, the Magian, a certain man named Âššina, the son of Upadarma, raised a rebellion in Elam, and he spoke thus unto the people of Elam: 'I am king in Elam.' Thereupon the people of Elam became rebellious, and they went over unto that Âššina: he became king in Elam. And a certain Babylonian named Nidintu-Bêl, the son of Kîn-Zêr, raised a rebellion in Babylon: he lied to the people, saying: 'I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus.' Then did all the province of Babylonia go over to Nidintu-Bêl, and Babylonia rose in rebellion. He seized on the kingdom of Babylonia. King Darius says: Then I sent (an envoy?) to Elam. That Âššina was brought unto me in fetters, and I killed him.

— Behistun inscription^[2]^[3]

Mention by Pliny

Pliny^[4] mentions Ethiopia.... All these differences, however, have since been settled; for the persons sent by Nero for the purposes of discovery have reported that the distance from Syene to Meroë is eight hundred and seventy-one miles, the following being the items. From Syene to Hiera Sycaminos¹⁴ they make to be fifty-four miles, from thence to Tama seventy-two, to the country of the Evonymitæ¹⁵, the first region of Æthiopia, one hundred and twenty, to Acina fifty-four, to Pittara twenty-five, and to Tergedus one hundred and six.

14 Or the sacred "sycamore tree."

15 Situate beyond the Great Cataract, and on the western bank.

References

↑ Potts, D. T. (2015). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781107094697.
↑ Potts, D. T. (2015). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781107094697.
↑ Kuhrt, Amélie (2013). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 9781136016943.
↑ Natural History by Pliny Book VI/Chapter 35

[1] Potts, D. T. (2015). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781107094697.

[2] Potts, D. T. (2015). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781107094697.

[3] Kuhrt, Amélie (2013). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 9781136016943.

[4] Natural History by Pliny Book VI/Chapter 35

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