Darius II

Darius II
The Great King of Persia
Pharaoh of Egypt
Prospective tomb of Darius II of Persia in Naqsh-e Rustam.
King of Persia and Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign 423–404 BC
Predecessor Sogdianus
Successor Artaxerxes II as King of Persia
Amyrtaeus as Pharaoh of Egypt
Nomen
Antriusha
Darius
initirwiiwASA
Nebty name
Meryamun Raneb Hebuserkhopesh
G16
imn
n
rA Z1		 V30
h		 bX1
O49		 F12M4r
D40		 F24
N38
Died 404 BC
Spouse Parysatis
Issue Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Ostanes
House Achaemenid
Father Artaxerxes I
Mother Cosmartidene of Babylon

Darius II (Old Persian: Dārayavahuš), was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 [1] or 405 BC.[2]

The Elephantine papyri mention Darius II as a contemporary of the high priest Johanan of Ezra 10:6.[3][4]

Artaxerxes I, who died on December 25, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II. After a month and a half Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus or Sogdianus (the form of the name is uncertain). His illegitimate brother, Ochus, satrap of Hyrcania, rebelled against Sogdianus, and after a short fight killed him, and suppressed by treachery the attempt of his own brother Arsites to imitate his example. Ochus adopted the name Darius (Greek sources often call him Darius Nothos, "Bastard"). Neither the names Xerxes II nor Sogdianus occur in the dates of the numerous Babylonian tablets from Nippur; here effectively the reign of Darius II follows immediately after that of Artaxerxes I.[1]

Historians know little about Darius II's reign. A rebellion by the Medes in 409 BC is mentioned by Xenophon. It does seem that Darius II was quite dependent on his wife Parysatis. In excerpts from Ctesias some harem intrigues are recorded, in which he played a disreputable part.[1]

As long as the power of Athens remained intact he did not meddle in Greek affairs. When in 413 BC, Athens supported the rebel Amorges in Caria, Darius II would not have responded had not the Athenian power been broken in the same year at Syracuse. As a result of that event, Darius II gave orders to his satraps in Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, to send in the overdue tribute of the Greek towns and to begin a war with Athens. To support the war with Athens, the Persian satraps entered into an alliance with Sparta. In 408 BC he sent his son Cyrus to Asia Minor, to carry on the war with greater energy. Darius II died in 404 BC, in the nineteenth year of his reign, and was followed as Persian king by Artaxerxes II.[1]

Issue

Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, one of whom fathered Artabazanes, who served as King of Media Atropatene in the second half of the 3rd century BC.[5][6][7]

By Parysatis (his half-sister)
Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Oxathres or Oxendares or Oxendras
Artoxexes
Ostanes
Amestris wife of Teritouchmes & then Artaxerxes II
& seven other unnamed children
By other wives
Artostes
The unnamed satrap of Media at 401 B.C.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Meyer, Eduard (1911). "Darius". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 833.
  2. ↑ Brill's New Pauly, "Darius".
  3. ↑ Pritchard, James B. ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton University Press, third edition with supplement 1969, p. 492
  4. ↑ Bezalel Porten (Author), J. J. Farber (Author), C. J. F. Martin (Author), G. Vittmann (Author), The Elephantine Papyri in English (Documenta Et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui, book 22), Koninklijke Brill NV, The Netherlands, 1996, p 125-153.
  5. ↑ ARTABAZANES, Encyclopedia Iranica
  6. ↑ García Sánchez, M (2005): "La figura del sucesor del Gran Rey en la Persia Aqueménida", in V. Troncoso (ed.), Anejos Gerión 9, La figura del sucesor en las monarquías de época helenística.
  7. ↑ Hallock, R (1985): "The evidence of the Persepolis Tablets", in Gershevitch (ed.) The Cambridge History of Iran v. 2, p. 591.
Darius II
Born: ?? Died: 404 BC
Preceded by
Sogdianus		 The Great King of Persia
423–404 BC		 Succeeded by
Artaxerxes II
Pharaoh of Egypt
423–404		 Succeeded by
Amyrtaeus
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.