Battus IV of Cyrene

Battus IV of Cyrene surnamed The Handsome or The Fair (Greek: Βάττος ο Καλός, ruled 515 BC - 465 BC) was the seventh and second last Greek King of Cyrenaica of the Battiad dynasty. He was the first Cyrenaean king to rule as a client king under the Persian Empire.

Ancestry

Battus was the son and only child of the fifth Cyrenaean king, Arcesilaus III. His mother was the daughter of Alazir, a Libyan who served as governor of Barca. Herodotus states that his father and his maternal grandfather were related and his maternal grandmother is unknown.

Reign

Battus succeeded his paternal grandmother in late 515 BC. She had died from a skin disease in Egypt. From 515 BC until 465 BC, Battus ruled as King of Cyrenaica. Very little is known about his reign although it seems that his reign was peaceful. During his reign, Cyrenaica exported wheat, barley, olive oil and silphium (a now extinct plant that had aromatic & medicinal properties). He was succeeded by his son Arcesilaus IV and was buried near his paternal ancestors.

See also

• List of Kings of Cyrene
• Silphium

Sources

• Herodotus, The Histories, Book 4
• Smith, W, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Volume 1
• http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrenaica/cyrenaica.html
• http://www.mediterranees.net/dictionnaires/smith/cyrene.html