Cambyses II succeeded Cyrus the Great as ruler of Persia in 530 BCE.
Cambyses II was the elder son of Cyrus the Great and became king after Cyrus died during a campaign in Central Asia. His reign continued Achaemenid expansion, most famously through the conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE. The Persian army defeated Pharaoh Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium, allowing Cambyses to become pharaoh.
Cambyses also controlled Cyprus and parts of the eastern Mediterranean world. Ancient writers preserve many stories about his character and policies, but some accounts are hostile and were written long after his reign, so individual anecdotes require caution.
He died in 522 BCE while returning from Egypt. A succession crisis followed, eventually bringing Darius I to the throne. Cambyses therefore ruled between the empire’s founder, Cyrus, and its great organizer, Darius.