"The imposter magician Smerdis" is mentioned in the short story by Jorge Luis Borges, Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.
The concept of a magus takes its name from the priests of the Magian religion of the ancient Medes, who wielded considerable power and influence, until they were suppressed as a result of a revolt by the pretender Smerdis against Cambyses II.
Gaumata the Magian pretended to be Smerdis and proclaimed himself king on the mountain Arakadrish near the town Paishiyauvada.
He also defined it as a comparatively recent political ideal, which re-emerged in the late 17th century, after its slow and inarticulate birth in the Ancient doctrines of Antiphon the Sophist, the Cyrenaic discipleship, and of Otanes after the death of pseudo-Smerdis.