User:HistoryofIran/Artaxerxes II

Artaxerxes II 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂
Great King King of Kings King of Persia King of Countries
Relief of Artaxerxes II on his tomb at Persepolis, Iran.
King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire
Reign	405/4–358 BC
Predecessor	Darius II
Successor	Artaxerxes III
Born	453/445 BC
Died	358 BC (aged 86 or 94)
Burial	Persepolis
Consort	Stateira
Issue	Darius Ariaspes Artaxerxes III Rhodogune
Dynasty	Achaemenid
Father	Darius II
Mother	Parysatis
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Arsaces (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎣, romanized: Aršak), better known by his dynastic name of Artaxerxes II (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂, romanized: Artaxšaçāʰ) was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II (r. 423 – 405/4 BC) and his mother was Parysatis.

Soon after his accession, Artaxerxes II faced opposition from his younger brother Cyrus the Younger, who assembled an army composing of troops from his satrapy as well as Greek mercenaries in his bid for the throne. The forces of the brothers clashed at Cunaxa in 401 BC, which resulted in the defeat and death of Cyrus. Following this, Artaxerxes II had to contend with several other revolts; a revolt by Evagoras I (r. 411–374 BC) in Cyprus between 391–380 BC, by the Phoenicians in c. 380 BC, and most importantly, the revolts by the western satraps (known as the Great Satraps' Revolt) in the 360s and 350s BC, led by distinguished figures such as Datames, Ariobarzanes, and Autophradates.

The rulers of the Parthian Empire notably considered Artaxerxes II their progenitor.

Name and etymology

The personal name of Artaxerxes II was Arsaces (Aršak), which was a diminutive form of the Old Persian name *Ṛšā-. His name has been transliterated several ways in different accounts, which include; Arsikas (Plutarch), Arsakas and Arsakes (Persica); Oarses (Dinon); and Aršu in Babylonian sources, which is represented in Greek sources as Arses.

Artaxerxēs (Αρταξέρξης) is the Greek rendition of the Old Persian Artaxšaçā ("whose reign is through truth"). It is known in other languages as; Elamite Ir-tak-ik-ša-iš-ša, Ir-da-ik-ša-iš-ša; Akkadian Ar-ta-ʾ-ḫa-šá-is-su; Middle Persian and New Persian Ardašīr.

Greek authors gave Artaxerxes II the epithet "Mnemon" (Ancient Greek: Μνήμων; Old Persian: abiataka), meaning "remembering" or "having a good memory."

Historiography

The life and reign of Artaxerxes II is mostly attested in classical Greek sources, which generally focuses on the history of the western front. However, due to Artaxerxes II's younger brother Cyrus the Younger recruiting many Greeks during his rebellion against his brother, the reign of Artaxerxes II is well documented until Cyrus' death at the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC. Following that, detailed information on the rest of Artaxerxes II's reign become much more sparse.

Plutarch, when writing his Life of Artaxerxes II, used Ctesias, Dinon, Xenophon and a few others as references. The work is the only biography of a Achaemenid king. According to the modern historian Carsten Binder, Plutarch's work is "eloquent but hardly reliable source of information" and that it "should be treated with the greatest caution".

Background and early life

Arsaces was the eldest son of Darius II, who ruled the Persian Achaemenid Empire from 424 to 405/4 BC. His mother was Parysatis, a half-sister of Darius II. Arsaces was born in 453 or 445 BC, before the accession of his father. Darius II and Parysatis had thirteen children, most of whom died prematurely. Thus the only known full siblings of Arsaces were his younger brothers Cyrus, Ostanes, Oxathres, and an older sister, Amestris.

With the exception of Arsaces and Cyrus, not much is known about the children of Darius II and Parysatis. Cyrus was most likely born in 424/423 BC, just after the accession of Darius II. In 408 BC, at the age of 15 or 16, Cyrus was appointed the satrap of Lydia, Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia. He also succeeded Tissaphernes as the commander-in-chief of the Persian force stationed at Castolus, east of the city of Sardis. Cyrus was given the title of karanos (Old Iranian: *Karana), which greatly expanded his authority both politically and militarily, and allowed him to become largely autonomous.

Before his accession, Arsaces married Stateira, the daughter of the Persian nobleman Hydarnes, who was descended from Hydarnes, one of the seven Persian conspirators who overthrew the Pseudo-Smerdis. The marriage was part of a political alliance which Darius had sought during his early reign, due facing opposition against his rule. Amestris was also married to Hydarnes' son Teritoukhmes, while Hydarnes was appointed the satrap of Hyrcania.

When Darius II was on his deathbed, Arsaces was by his side. According to Xenophon, Darius II summoned Cyrus, who arrived with Tissaphernes and 300 Greek hoplites. Plutarch, however, reports that it was Parysatis who summoned Cyrus, as she favoured him over Arsaces. He further adds that she attempted to convince Darius II to choose Cyrus as his heir, as the position was still vacant. Modern historians question Plutarch's account, and state that Arsaces must have already been chosen as heir previously, probably several years earlier.

During the coronation of Arsaces at the southern capital of Pasargadae, Cyrus allegedly attempted to have his brother assassinated. The plan was exposed by Tissaphernes, but Cyrus was spared following the intervention of Parysatis and sent back to Asia Minor. The authenticity of this event is deemed uncertain by modern historians. According to Binder, the transition of power between Darius II and Arsaces was seemingly peaceful. During his investiture, Arsaces adopted the throne name of Artaxerxes.

Reign

Secession of Egypt

Since 525 BC, Egypt had been under Persian control. Contrary to the other satrapies of the empire, the Egyptians frequently revolted, eventually gaining independence at the end of the 5th-century BC. According to the 3rd-century BC Egyptian writer Manetho, in 405/4 BC Egypt seceded from the Persian Empire, thus inaugurating the Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt ruled by Amyrtaeus. However, the regnal years of Artaxerxes II continued to be mentioned in the Elephantine papyri and ostraca until 401 BC, which demonstrates that all of Egypt with the exception of the Nile Delta remained under Artaxerxes II's rule until at least that year.

Expedition to Cyprus

In 386/385 BC, Orontes was made joint commander of the Persian expedition against Evagoras I (r. 411–374 BC), the king of Salamis in Cyprus. He was assigned to the lead the Persian land forces, while Tiribazus, the satrap of Ionia, led the navy. Tiribazus had also participated in battle at Cunaxa, and reportedly knew Orontes from his early days in Armenia, where he had served as the hyparch of its western part till 395 BC.

Evagoras had previously been a vassal of the Persian king, but had started to act more independently. Initially only ruling over Salamis, he had now gained control over several cities of Cyprus, despite Artaxerxes II's demand to refrain from doing so. Normally the Persian kings were little interested in the affairs of Cyprus, and would not interfere in the affairs of its kings. However, the conflict between Evagoras and the cities of Cyprus had caused instability. This disrupted Artaxerxes II's plans to attack Egyptia, as Cyprus would also have to play a part in his expedition. As a result, Artaxerxes II sought to establish direct control over the island.

Coin minted by Evagoras I at Salamis

By 382 BC, preparations for the campaign had been made, with a battle taking place the following year near the Cyprian city of Kition, where the Persians emerged victorious due to their larger fleet. Evagoras withdrew to Salamis, which was soon besieged by the Persians. Failing to gain help from the Egypt pharaoh Hakor (r. 392/1–379/8 BC), Evagoras started to negotiate a peace treaty with Tiribazus, offering to withdraw from all the cities of Cyprus except Salamis, and pay a fixed yearly tribute to the Persian crown. Tiribazus was inclined to accept the offer, but the negotiations failed after Evagoras refused to also cede his status as king.

The negotations made Orontes fear that Tiribazus would reap all the honor and rewards if he also finished the Cypriot War just after having led the reconquest of the eastern Mediterranean lands. As a result he sent a number of accusations to Artaxerxes II, which mentioned that Tiribazus was deliberately prolonging the war and planning to declare independence. Artaxerxes II was unable to make a proper assessment due to his distance, but could not risk Tiribazus ruin the recent Persian accomplishments, and as a result had him jailed in Susa.

Glos, who was the father-in-law of Tiribazus and commander of the fleet, feared that he might be accused of cooperation. As a result he returned to western Asia Minor, taking with him much of Greek unit of the Persian forces. This heavily weakened the strength of the campaign force, as most of it was composed of Greeks. When the news reached the Asian Greek cities, some of them—mostly Ionian cities—attempted to gain independence. With the remaining forces, Orontes resumed the siege of Salamis, and launched an attack which was repelled. Moreover, he also faced insubordination and indifference from his troops, as a result of Tiribazus' arrest. Due to his weakened position, Orontes was forced to make peace with Evagoras in 380 BC. The terms of the treaty was that Evagoras was obligated to pay tribute to the Persian king, but as a subordinate king rather than a slave. Artaxerxes III did not deem the conclusion of the war satisfactory, as it had cost 15,000 talents, and a result Orontes fell into disfavour. It may have after this event that Orontes was dismissed as satrap of Armenia and sent to distant region of Mysia. Meanwhile, Tiribazus was pardoned and restored to his former position.

Religious policies

Since the reign of Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC), Achaemenid inscriptions make mention of unnamed gods alongside Ahura Mazda, who was considered the supreme god of Zoroastrian pantheon by the royal family. It was first under under Artaxerxes II that the identities of these gods were uncovered. In an trilingual inscription at Susa, he invokes the deities Anahita and Mithra alongside Ahura Mazda.

Artaxerxes II was thus the first known Achaemenid king to recognize Anahita, who was the divinity of "the Waters" and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. He promoted the worship of Anahita, erecting and temples and statues of across the empire. This included the cities of Ecbatana, Susa, and Babylon.

The temple of Anahita in Istakhr was also most likely founded by Artaxerxes II. At the start of the 3rd century AD, the temple was repaired and adorned by the Persian Sasanian family, who acted as the hereditary caretakers of the temple.

Legacy and assessment

The rulers of the Parthian Empire notably considered Artaxerxes II their progenitor.

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