Achaemenid Dynasty > Artaxerxes I
Artaxerxes I
Background
Artaxerxes IKing of KingsKing of PersiaPharaoh of EgyptArtaxerxes I image.pngRelief of Artaxerxes from his tomb in Naqsh-e RustamKing of PersiaReign465–424 BCPredecessorXerxes ISuccessorXerxes IIBorn??Died424 BCBurialNaqsh-e Rustam, PersiaSpouseQueen DamaspiaAlogyne of BabylonCosmartidene of BabylonAndia of BabylonHouseAchaemenidFatherXerxes IMotherAmestrisHiero Ca1.svgG1E23N17Aa1M8M8s Hiero Ca2.svgnomen or birth nameArtaxerxes[1]in hieroglyphsArtaxerxes I /ˌɑːrtəˈzɜːrksiːz/ (Persian: اردشیر یکم, Old Persian: ARATAXASHASSA Artaxšaça,[2] "whose rule is through arta (truth)";[3] Hebrew: אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתָּא ; Greek: Ἀρταξέρξης[4]) was the fifth King of Persia from 465 BC to 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I.He may have been the "Artasyrus" mentioned by Herodotus as being a Satrap of the royal satrapy of Bactria.In Greek sources he is also surnamed μακρόχειρ Macrocheir (Latin: Longimanus), allegedly because his right hand was longer than his left.[5]Contents [hide]1Succession to the throne2Egyptian revolt3Relations with Greece4Portrayal in the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah5Interpretations of actions6Medical analysis7Issue8See also9References10External linksSuccession to the throne[edit]Artaxerxes was probably born in the reign of his grandfather Darius I, to the emperor's son and heir, Xerxes I. In 465 BC, Xerxes I was murdered by Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court (Hazarapat/commander of thousand), with the help of a eunuch, Aspamitres.[6] Greek historians give contradicting accounts of events. According to Ctesias (in Persica 20), Artabanus then accused the Crown Prince Darius, Xerxes's eldest son, of the murder and persuaded Artaxerxes, to avenge the patricide by killing Darius. But according to Aristotle (in Politics 5.1311b), Artabanus killed Darius first and then killed Xerxes. After Artaxerxes discovered the murder he killed Artabanus and his sons.[7][8]Egyptian revolt[edit]The ancient Egyptian god Amun-Min in front of Artaxerxes' cartouche.He had to face a revolt in Egypt in 460–454 BC led by Inaros II, who was the son of a Libyan prince named Psamtik, presumably of the old Saite line. In 460 BC, Inaros II revolted against the Persians with the help of his Athenian allies, and defeated the Persian army commanded by satrap Akheimenes. The Persians retreated to Memphis, and the Athenians were finally defeated in 454 BC, by the Persian army led by Megabyzus, after a two-year siege. Inaros was captured and carried away to Susa.Relations with Greece[edit]Themistocles stands silently before king ArtaxerxesAfter Persia had been defeated at Eurymedon (ca. 469 BC), military action between Greece and Persia was at a standstill. When Artaxerxes I took power, he introduced a new Persian strategy of weakening the Athenians by funding their enemies in Greece. This indirectly caused the Athenians to move the treasury of the Delian League from the island of Delos to the Athenian acropolis. This funding practice inevitably prompted renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the Battle of Cyprus. After Cimon's failure to attain much in this expedition, the Peace of Callias was agreed among Athens, Argos and Persia in 449 BC.Artaxerxes I offered asylum to Themistocles, who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy for his victory at the Battle of Salamis, after Themistocles was ostracized from Athens. Also, Artaxerxes I gave him Magnesia, Myus, and Lampsacus to maintain him in bread, meat, and wine. In addition, Artaxerxes I gave him Palaescepsis to provide him with clothes, and he also gave him Percote with bedding for his house.[9] Themistocles would go on to learn and adopt Persian customs, Persian language, and traditions.[10][11]Portrayal in the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah[edit]Artaxerxes (Hebrew: אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתְּא, pronounced [artaχʃast]) commissioned Ezra, a Jewish priest (kohen) and scribe, by means of a letter of decree (see Cyrus's edict), to take charge of the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the Jewish nation. A copy of this decree may be found in Ezra 7:13-28.Ezra thereby left Babylon in the first month of the seventh year[12] of Artaxerxes' reign, at the head of a company of Jews that included priests and Levites. They arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of the seventh year (Hebrew Calendar).The rebuilding of the Jewish community in Jerusalem had begun under Cyrus the Great, who had permitted Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of Solomon. Consequently, a number of Jews returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C., and the foundation of this "Second Temple" was laid in 536 BC, in the second year of their return (Ezra 3:8). After a period of strife, the temple was finally completed in the sixth year of Darius, 516 BC (Ezra 6:15).In Artaxerxes' 20th year (445 BC),[13][14][15] Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer, apparently was also a friend of the king as in that year Artaxerxes inquired after Nehemiah's sadness. Nehemiah related to him the plight of the Jewish people and that the city of Jerusalem was undefended. The king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem with letters of safe passage to the governors in Trans-Euphrates, and to Asaph, keeper of the royal forests, to make beams for the citadel by the Temple and to rebuild the city walls.[16] Although this decree is assumed to have occurred on 14 March 445 B.C,[17] the Biblical passage does not state an exact date nor has any historical record been found to confirm it.Interpretations of actions[edit]Roger Williams, a 17th-century Christian minister and founder of Rhode Island, interpreted several passages in the Old and New Testament to support limiting government interference in religious matters. Williams published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, arguing for a separation of church and state based on biblical reasoning. Williams believed that Israel was a unique covenant kingdom and not an appropriate model for New Testament Christians who believed that the Old Testament covenant had been fulfilled. Therefore, the more informative Old Testament examples of civil government were "good" non-covenant kings such as Artaxerxes, who tolerated the Jews and did not insist that they follow his state religion.[18]Medical analysis[edit]According to a paper published in 2011,[19] the discrepancy in Artaxerxes’ limb lengths may have arisen as a result of the inherited disease neurofibromatosis.Issue[edit]By queen DamaspiaXerxes IIBy Alogyne of BabylonSogdianusBy Cosmartidene of BabylonDarius IIArsitesBy Andia of BabylonBogapaeusParysatis, wife of Darius II OchusBy another(?) unknown wifeAn unnamed daughter, wife of Hieramenes, mother of Autoboesaces and Mitraeus[20]By various wivesEleven other childrenSee also[edit]ArtoxaresEzra–NehemiahReferences[edit]Jump up ^ Henri Gauthier, Le Livre des rois d'Égypte, IV, Cairo 1916 (=MIFAO 20), p. 152.Jump up ^ Ghias Abadi, R. M. (2004). Achaemenid Inscriptions (کتیبههای هخامنشی) (in Persian) (2nd ed.). Tehran: Shiraz Navid Publications. p. 129. ISBN 964-358-015-6.Jump up ^ R. Schmitt. of Iran "ARTAXERXES". Encyclopædia Iranica. 15 December 1986. Retrieved 12 March 2012.Jump up ^ The Greek form of the name is influenced by Xerxes (Encyclopedia Iranica).Jump up ^ Plutarch, Artaxerxes, l. 1. c. 1. 11:129 - cited by Ussher, Annals, para. 1179Jump up ^ Iran-e-Bastan/Pirnia book 1 p 873Jump up ^ DandamayevJump up ^ History of Persian Empire-Olmstead p 289/90Jump up ^ Themistocles, Part II, by PlutarchJump up ^ Thucydides I, 137Jump up ^ Plutarch, Themistocles, 29Jump up ^ The Book of Daniel. Montex Publish Company, By Jim McGuiggan 1978, p. 147.Jump up ^ New International Bible Dictionary. Zondervan, 1987, p. 95.Jump up ^ Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.-A.D. 75. Brown University Press, 1956, pp. 17-18Jump up ^ Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Zondervan, 1977, pp. 127-128Jump up ^ Nehemiah 2:1-9Jump up ^ 'The Coming Prince', Sir Robert Anderson pp.106Jump up ^ James P. Byrd, The challenges of Roger Williams: Religious Liberty, Violent Persecution, and the Bible (Mercer University Press, 2002)[1] (accessed on Google Book on July 20, 2009)Jump up ^ Ashrafian, Hutan. (2011). "Limb gigantism, neurofibromatosis and royal heredity in the Ancient World 2500 years ago: Achaemenids and Parthians". J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 64 (4): 557. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2010.08.025. PMID 20832372.Jump up ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, Book II, Chapter 1External links[edit]Wikimedia Commons has media related to Artaxerxes I.Encyclopedia Iranica ARTAXERXESEncyclopedia Iranica ARTAXERXES I a son of Xerxes I and AmestrisArtaxerxes I of PersiaAchaemenid dynastyBorn: ?? Died: 424 BCPreceded byXerxes IKings of Persia464 BC – 424 BCSucceeded byXerxes IIPharaoh of Egypt465 BC – 424 BC
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