Which Median leader rebelled against Darius I in 522 BC?

Which Median leader rebelled against Darius I in 522 BC? The rebel was Phraortes, also known in Old Persian as Fravartish.

His revolt formed part of the wider Achaemenid crisis that followed the death of Cambyses II and Darius I’s seizure of the throne in 522 BC. Phraortes claimed to be Khshathrita, a descendant of the old Median royal house associated with Cyaxares, and gained support in Media and nearby regions.

Darius’ Behistun Inscription presents the rebellion as one of several uprisings threatening his new rule. Persian forces fought Phraortes during the civil war, defeating him in 521 BC; he was later captured and executed. The conflict was eventually absorbed into Darius’ broader reconquest of the empire, which continued through roughly 520 BC.

This figure is easily confused with the earlier Phraortes, the Median king traditionally dated to the seventh century BC and described as the father of Cyaxares. Modern lists sometimes call the rebel Phraortes II, but “Phraortes” is the standard quiz answer for Darius I’s 522 BC opponent.