Histories

but, to the contrary, in this confusion killed two prominent Persians, Mitrobates, the governor from Dascyleium, who had taunted him about Polycrates, and Mitrobates' son Cranaspes; and on top of many other violent acts, he set an ambush down the road after a messenger from Darius came with a message which displeased him and killed that messenger on his homeward journey, and concealed the man's body and horse.

So when Darius became king, he wanted to punish Oroetes for all his wrongdoing, and especially for killing Mitrobates and his son. But he thought it best not to send an army openly against the satrap, seeing that everything was still in confusion and he was still new to the royal power; moreover he heard that Oroetes was very powerful, having a guard of a thousand Persian spearmen and being governor of the Phrygian and Lydian and Ionian province.