Artasyras
Artasyras († after 401 BC) was a general and official in the Persian empire of the Achaemenids in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. He came from the province of Bactria .
Artasyras may have been identical to the generals of the same name who served Great King Darius II . He was commissioned to put down a revolt of the king's brother Arsites and the noble Artyphios , which took place after Darius II came to power in 423 BC. Had conspired against him. At first, however, he was beaten twice by Artyphios, but then he managed to end the revolt by bribing the Greek mercenaries of the rebels and thus depriving them of the basis of their military potential.
The last time Artasyras is in the entourage of the great king Artaxerxes II during the fight against the prince Cyrus the younger in the year 401 BC. Called BC. On the battlefield of Kunaxa he found the corpse of the rebelling king brother and brought the news of his death to the great king. Artasyras was called "the eye of the king" by Plutarch , which was the description of a royal office. Xenophon reported that “the eyes and ears of the king” described a system of informers with which the great king monitored the work of his provincial governors (satraps). In recent research, however, this definition is considered controversial.
Artasyras was the father of Orontes I , the progenitor of the Orontids .
literature
- Otto Puchstein : Artasyras 2 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, column 1308.
- MA Dandamayev: ARTASYRAS 3 and 4 . In: Ehsan Yarshater (ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica . Volume 2, p. 652, as of August 15, 2011 (English, including references)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ktesias Persika FGrH 688 F 15 §52; Thucydides 8.28
- ↑ Plutarch Artaxerxes 12.1-3
- ↑ Xenophon Cyropädie 8.2.10-12
- ↑ Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae (OGIS) 264a, 392
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Artasyras |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | General and official in the great Persian empire of the Achaemenids |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th century BC Chr. |