Artaxerxes II

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Artaxerxes II

Artaxerxes II, d. 358 B.C., king of ancient Persia (404–358 B.C.), son and successor of Darius II. He is sometimes called in Greek Artaxerxes Mnemon [the thoughtful]. Early in his reign Cyrus the Younger 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 Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes 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 War) marked the imposition of Persian control of the Greek city-states. The provinces of the empire eventually became restless. Evagoras 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 III. The reign of Artaxerxes II also saw a revival of the cult of Mithra.

Artaxerxes II

died ?358 bc, king of Persia (?404--?358). He defeated his brother Cyrus the Younger at Cunaxa (401)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

References in periodicals archive ?

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.

I believe the hitherto unexplained epithet Mnemon enables us to establish the basic identification of Ardasir-Bahman with Artaxerxes II. 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.

Ankelsaria 1956: 297-98).(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.

This tradition is corroborated in the Nisa documents, which mention a vineyard (artaxsahrakan), which, according to Diakonoff and Livshits (1960: 20), "was probably named in honor of the legendary ancestor of the Arsacids, Artaxerxes II." What is even more intriguing is the claim by the great king Antiochus I of Commagene (69-31 B.C.E.) to descend from Artaxerexes II through his daughter (see Boyce 1990: 24).

Artaxerxes, Ardasir, and Bahman

-366 A ii 8, referring to the reign of Artaxerxes II.

Artaxerxes II: on the fragments of royal inscriptions from Babylon, see F.

2), from the reign of Artaxerxes (perhaps Artaxerxes II), mentioning two persons called "servant (qallu) of G.

Iranians in Babylonia

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