Artaxerxes II


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Related to Artaxerxes II: Cyrus the Younger

Artaxerxes II,

d. 358 B.C., king of ancient Persia (404–358 B.C.), son and successor of Darius IIDarius II,
d. 404 B.C., king of ancient Persia (423?–404 B.C.); son of Artaxerxes I and a concubine, hence sometimes called Darius Nothus [Darius the bastard]. His rule was not popular or successful, and he spent most of his reign in quelling revolts in Syria, Lydia (413),
..... Click the link for more information. . He is sometimes called in Greek Artaxerxes Mnemon [the thoughtful]. Early in his reign Cyrus the YoungerCyrus the Younger,
d. 401 B.C., Persian prince, younger son of Darius II and Parysatis. He was his mother's favorite, and she managed to get several satrapies in Asia Minor for him when he was very young.
..... Click the link for more information.  attempted to assassinate him and seize the throne. Artaxerxes finally crushed Cyrus' rebellion at the battle of Cunaxa (401 B.C.), where Cyrus was killed. The story of the Greek contingent in the battle was made famous by Xenophon. Artaxerxes was ruled by the will of his wife and mother and relied heavily upon his officials; in addition, the satraps PharnabazusPharnabazus
, d. after 374 B.C., Persian governor. He had an important satrapy in Asia Minor under Darius II and Artaxerxes II. He was responsible for the assassination (404 B.C.) of Alcibiades, and in the same year he supported Artaxerxes in the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger.
..... Click the link for more information.  and TissaphernesTissaphernes
, d. 395 B.C., Persian satrap of coastal Asia Minor (c.413–395 B.C.). He was encouraged by Alcibiades (412) to intervene in the Peloponnesian War in support of Sparta.
..... Click the link for more information.  had real ruling power. They managed by liberal distribution of Persian gold to gain great influence in Greece, and the Peace of Antalcidas (386 B.C., see Corinthian WarCorinthian War
(395 B.C.–86 B.C.), armed conflict between Corinth, Argos, Thebes, and Athens on one side and Sparta on the other. Angered by Sparta's tyrannical overlordship in Greece after the Peloponnesian War, several Greek states took advantage of Sparta's involvement
..... Click the link for more information. ) marked the imposition of Persian control of the Greek city-states. The provinces of the empire eventually became restless. EvagorasEvagoras
, d. c.374 B.C., despot of Cyprus. Exiled in his youth, he returned (411 B.C.) and made good his claim as ruler of Salamis. By 410 B.C. he had spread his control over the whole island.
..... Click the link for more information.  made himself independent as a ruler of Cyprus but finally (c.381) submitted to the king. Pharnabazus and Iphicrates, sent to reduce Egypt, disagreed and accomplished nothing. A formidable and longlasting revolt of the satraps (among them Mausolus) against the king was put down just before his death. He was eventually succeeded by Artaxerxes IIIArtaxerxes III,
d. 338 B.C., king of ancient Persia (358–338 B.C.), son and successor of Artaxerxes II. He was originally named Ochus and is sometimes called Artaxerxes Ochus.
..... Click the link for more information. . The reign of Artaxerxes II also saw a revival of the cult of MithraMithra
, ancient god of Persia and India (where he was called Mitra). Until the 6th cent. B.C., Mithra was apparently a minor figure in the Zoroastrian system. Under the Achaemenids, Mithra became increasingly important, until he appeared in the 5th cent. B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Artaxerxes II

died ?358 bc, king of Persia (?404--?358). He defeated his brother Cyrus the Younger at Cunaxa (401)
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References in periodicals archive ?
Brosius reconsiders the widely held notion, most recently restated by Briant, that the goddesses Artemis Persike and Artemis Anaitis, known in Asia Minor from a variety of Greek sources, were hellenized manifestations of the Persian deity Anahita, first introduced into Persia by Artaxerxes II.
van der Spek treats of the reign of Artaxerxes II from the perspective of the Babylonian cuneiform astronomical diaries.
Studies in Persian History: Essays in Memory of David M. Lewis
I believe there is an important additional piece of evidence for the religious importance of Artaxerxes II and for his adherence to Zoroastrianism that has been overlooked by Boyce and other scholars.
The mythical Bahman and the historical Artaxerxes II were fused into a single prototype in an imaginative reconstruction of history by Ardasir, the founder of the Sasanian empire.
2) My hypothesis is that the "*Artaxsahr who is called Vahuman," and the spelling of whose name is curiously archaized, is the Artaxerxes II surnamed Mnemon (Vahuman).
We find evidence for the attachment of the eclectic Artaxerxes II to Vohu Manah in the spread of the worship of Omanus/Vohu Manah in Cappadocia and Pontus where, three centuries later, Strabo still saw wooden statues of Omanus ([Greek text omitted]) being carried in processions (Boyce and Grenet 1991: 270).
It is, however, possible that Artaxerxes II assumed the theophoric epithet Vahuman some half a century earlier.
Ardasir was not entirely original in claiming descent from Artaxerxes II in mythical disguise.
If my hypothesis is accepted, further confusion of Artaxerxes I (and through him of Cyrus the Great) with Artaxerxes II would not be difficult to explain.
Artaxerxes, Ardasir, and Bahman

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