Artaxerxes

The name of four rulers of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, which controlled most or all of Mesopotamia from about 550 to 330 B. c. (Artaxerxes is a Greek corruption of the Persian name Artakh-shathra.) The first Artaxerxes (ar-ta-ZERK-seez), who reigned from 464 to 424 b. c., was the son of King Xerxes I, who had invaded but failed to conquer Greece in 480 B. C. The new king had to deal with many rebellions in the empire’s provinces, including Egypt, and his capable general Megabyzus defeated a large force of Athenian troops who were aiding the Egyptian rebels. Artaxerxes is well spoken of in the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah for his benevolence to the Jews who lived under his rule. The first of these books includes the text of a letter given by Arta-xerxes to the Jewish priest Ezra, which reads in part:

You are to be sent by the king [Artaxerxes] ... to convey the silver and gold which the king. . . [has] freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem. ... With this money... you shall buy bulls, rams, and lambs. . . and you shall offer them [in sacrifice] upon the altar of the house of your God. . . . Whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do so. (Ezra 7.14-18)

The second Artaxerxes ruled Persia from 404 to 358 B. C. The son of King Darius II, he was highly influenced by his wife and mother, and many of his decisions seem to have been based on the advice of two strong Persian governors, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. Artaxerxes II is best known for putting down a major rebellion led by his brother, Cyrus the

Younger, in 401 b. c. Artaxerxes defeated and killed Cyrus at Cunaxa in central Mesopotamia, then murdered the leaders of the Greek mercenaries Cyrus had hired, among them the writer Xenophon, who later recalled the expedition in his Anabasis.

Artaxerxes III (reigned 358-338 b. c.), whose original name was Ochus, was the son of Artaxerxes II. The new king reconquered Egypt, which had rebelled again. But he was unable to stop his own assassination, as he and many other members of his family were slain, perhaps by a powerful adviser, Bagoas, or else by the king’s own son, Arses, with Bagoas’s support. Arses then took the title Artaxerxes IV and ruled from 338 to 336 b. c. That reign witnessed frequent rebellions, and the king was finally killed by Bagoas and was replaced by Darius III.

See Also: Anabasis; Battle of Cunaxa; Persian Empire; Xerxes