Darius II

Early years

Darius was the son of Artaxerxes I, from the Babylonian concubine Cosmartidena (hence his Greek nickname Noth ( ancient Greek Νόθος ) - “Illegitimate,” although this epithet appeared rather late and was first mentioned in Pausanias ^[1] ).

Before accession to the throne, he was a satrap of Hyrcania and, according to classical Greek sources, wore the name Ox ( ancient Greek Ωχος ; ancient Persian * Vauka or * Va (h) uš ; akad. Ú-ma-kušor Ú- ma-su ).

According to Ctesias (a rather unreliable source), Darius II Oh came to the throne after the short reigns of two of his brothers, Xerxes II and Sekudian . With the support of a group of influential people, he seized power and executed Sekudiana. However, these kings are not mentioned in the date formulas of the Babylonian business documents, and it seems that Ox directly inherited Artaxerxes I. Upon assuming the throne, Ox took the throne name Darius. The earliest date dating the board of Darius and known to us is February 13, 423 BC. er

Fight for the throne

Three eunuchs Artoksar , Artibarzan and Athos enjoyed a strong influence on the king, but the real mistress of the situation was the wife and sister of Darius, queen Parisistida , issued by her father even when he was a satrape of Hyrcania. The king obeyed her unquestioningly ^[2] .

After becoming king, Darius was forced to fight with his brother Arsit, who also claimed the throne. His claims were supported by Artiff , the son of Megabiz. Darius sent his commander Arthasir against him, but he was defeated in two battles. Then Arthasir bribed the Greek mercenaries Artifia and won the third battle. Artifia, whom Arsit did not have time to help, was forced to surrender, hoping for the king’s mercy. The king wanted to execute him immediately, but on the advice of Parisatida postponed the punishment. With such feigned complacency, he made it clear to Brother Arsit that he could also be forgiven and that he surrendered to the king. By order of Parisatida, both rebels were thrown into a pit filled with hot ashes and died in agony. Ctesias notes that Darius did not want his brother to die, but Parisistide, partly by persuasion, and partly by coercion, managed to get his way. Having established himself on the throne, Darius could claim to be the legitimate avenger for the death of Xerxes II . Pharnack, who was an accomplice of Sekudian in the murder of Xerxes, was stoned to death, and Menostan , while in custody and awaiting execution, committed suicide ^[3] .

Eunuch Artoksar, who once laid a tiara on Darius and had a great influence on the king, arranged a conspiracy against him, intending to ascend the kingdom. By law, eunuchs could not claim a higher authority, so Artoxar ordered his wife to make a fake beard and mustache so that he could look like an ordinary person and act in that capacity, but according to her denunciation, he was seized, delivered to Parisatide and put to death ^{[ 4]} .

Much more serious in its consequences was the conspiracy of Terytevhma, who received the satrapy of his father Gidarna- Hyrcania , marrying the daughter of King Amistra. Arsak, the eldest son of the king, who later took the name Artaxerxes II , in turn, married the daughter of Gidarna Statira . From his father's side, Teritevhma had a sister, Roxanne, of extraordinary beauty, distinguished in archery and javelin throwing. Having inflamed her passion, Terytevhm joined in with her, having hated Amistr. Since it was impossible to divorce such a high-born wife, he decided to revolt against the king. He drew 300 noble warriors to the uprising, and in order to seal the union with blood, they decided to stick Amister into the bag and together pierce her with swords. Darius became aware of the upcoming rebellion, and with the help of large gifts he convinced a certain Odiast, who had a strong influence on Terytevhma, to save his daughter and kill the rebel. Terytevhm fought courageously, killing the multitude; it is said that up to thirty-seven people died from his hand. Amister was thus saved ^[5] .

The revenge of Queen Parisatida for the attempt to encroach on the life of her daughter was terrible. Mother Teritevhma was captured, his two brothers Metrost and Gelik and two sisters; they were all buried alive. As for Roxanne, she, alive, was cut into pieces. However, the son of Terytevhma somehow escaped punishment, and the son of Odiast Mithridates, the former squire of Terytevhma and absent during the uprising, seized the city of Zaris and gave it to his son Terytevhma. Darius demanded execution and Statira, but Arsak begged forgiveness for her from his mother Parisistida, but Darius told Parisatida that she, one day, would greatly regret her decision ^{[6] [7]} .

Tissaferna Activity

About 413 BC. er Satra Lydia Pissoufn , who relied on Greek mercenaries under the command of the Athenian Likon , rebelled against Darius. The suppression of the uprising was entrusted to Tissafern . Tissafern was a major statesman and an outstanding diplomat, although not always discriminating in the means of achieving his goal. Despite the fact that his brother Teretevm plotted to overthrow Darius, and was executed for this, along with the majority of their relatives. Tissafern managed to maintain his influence. Having received the order to suppress the rebellion Pissufna. Tissafern bribed his Greek mercenaries, in a treacherous way seized the rebellious satrap and executed him. As a reward, Tissafern received the Lydian satrapy, Caria, and Ionian cities. In turn, Tissafern granted extensive estates to the commander of the Greek mercenaries Likona ^[8] .

In 413 BC. er During the Peloponnesian War , Athens suffered a crushing defeat in Sicily from the Syracusans and their Sicilian and Peloponnesian allies. Losses in people and ships were so great that it was impossible to recover them in the near future. In addition, the Spartans firmly settled in Dakelei (a place 20 km north of Athens) and made constant strikes from there, ravaging Attica and directly threatening Athens itself. The most important allies of Athens — the cities of Evia , Lesbos, and Chios — established a secret relationship with the Peloponnese. To support the separatists, Sparta needed a large fleet, but its construction required a lot of money, which the Spartans did not have. Under these conditions, there was a rapprochement between Sparta and Persia. Sparta received the subsidies she needed, but she recognized the power of the Persian king over the whole of Asia Minor , including the coastal Greek cities. Persia gained the opportunity with the help of Sparta to settle accounts with his old opponent - Athens. ^[9]

When the illegal son of Pissoufna Amorg , supported by the Athenians, raised an uprising in Caria , Tissafern made an alliance with Sparta. The Allies captured the city of Yas in Caria , where the Spartans captured Amorg and handed him over to Tissaferna. During these events, the Lycian king Kerem, a longtime enemy of the Athenians, had a strong support for Tissaferna. But Tissafern, wanting to defeat Athens with the help of Sparta, at the same time did not want to over-gain Sparta. Therefore, he often failed to fulfill allied obligations with regard to the Lacedaemonians, and, inciting these two Greek states to each other, sought in mutual feuds to achieve the weakening of both Athens and Sparta. ^[ten]

In October 411 BC. er a naval battle took place between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians under Abydos . A talented Athenian commander Alcibiades , who was in the service of Tissafern after he had to flee from the Athenians in 415 BC. er because of the accusations of blasphemy, he again went over to the side of Athens, together with the ships at his disposal. The Peloponnesians were defeated. The Persians could not help their allies and took part only in the rescue of the Spartans from sinking ships. Then the Athenians seized the city of Sest on the Chersonese from the Persians. And in 409 BC. er the Athenian fleet under the leadership of Alkibiades won a great victory in the Kizik harbor over the Spartan fleet and the ships of the satrap of the Hellespont Phrygia Pharnabaz , and forced the latter to flee. After that, the Athenians seized the city of Kizik, and taking possession of the Hellespont , began to successfully attack the Persian and Peloponnesian troops. ^[11] By this time, the position of the Persians became difficult, as the Medes had risen to revolt against Darius, and he had to transfer his main forces to suppress the rebels.

Alkibiades surrounded Halkedon, which dissolved the alliance with Athens. Attempts to break the siege ended in failure and Farnabaz in 408 BC. er concluded in Kizik with Athens the following agreement: he undertakes to pay a certain amount of money to the Athenians, Halkedon must return under the authority of the Athenians, and the latter in turn pledged not to rob the possession of Pharnabaz. Then Alcibiades besieged Byzantium , also dissolved the alliance with Athens. The city was left without food and, despite the presence in it of the Peloponnesian garrison, was surrendered to residents. Alkibiades was reinstated in civil rights, awarded a golden wreath and appointed as sole commander on land and at sea. ^{[12] [13]}

Activities of Cyrus the Younger

But, unfortunately for Athens , a turning point came to Persian politics. Darius decided to end the balancing between Athens and Sparta and provide strong support for the Lacedaemonians.

Tissafern, who successfully directed these two states at each other for a long time, has now been removed from the post of governor of Lydia and several other provinces and has managed to retain only Kariya . In 408 BC. er Parisistide's wife and half-sister Darius, who reached a powerful position at the court, managed to secure the appointment of her son Cyrus the Younger as the vicar of several Asia Minor satrapies - Lydia , Phrygia and Cappadocia . In addition, the governor received the post of supreme commander of all Persian troops in Asia Minor . Cyrus the Younger was an energetic ruler and capable commander. In his relations with other states, he acted quite sovereignly and ancient authors called him king. Arriving in Asia Minor, he pacified the rebellious missionaries and the Pisidians living between Lydia and Cilicia, and appointed to them a viceroy acceptable to him.

Cyrus began to pursue a friendly policy of Sparta, and even issued a new Spartan commander, navarh (commander of the fleet) Lysander 10 thousand Darik for the maintenance of the Peloponnesian fleet. After the removal of Tissafern from the post of the Lydian satrap, the Ionian cities still remained under his rule. But soon they, besides Miletus , were captured by Lysander and transferred to Cyrus. But then Lysander began to rob the area of ​​Pharnabaz, for which he was dismissed from his post by Ephors ^{[14] [15]} .

Defeat of Athens

At the end of 407 BC. er . at the head of a squadron of 100 trirers Alkibiades sailed from Athens to conquer Ionia. In the spring of 406 BC. er The Spartans, taking advantage of the temporary absence of Alkibiades, inflicted a partial defeat on the Athenian army. The damage inflicted on the Athenians was insignificant, but the Athenian people, who were changeable in their moods, condemned Alcibiades in absentia, and the latter fled to Phrygia to Pharnabazu.

Left without a skilled commander, the Athenian fleet was defeated and blocked in the port of Mytilene on Lesbos . In Athens, all precious initiations kept in temples on the Acropolis were turned into money; this money was equipped with a new fleet of 110 Trier, on which, for lack of citizens, they also put Meteks and freed slaves. In 406 BC. er during the fierce battle at the Arginus Islands , near Lesbos defeated the Pelonnes fleet. Of the 140 Spartan ships, 70 were sunk. In battle, the new navakh of the Peloponnesian Navy Callicratid fell. The victory was decisive, but the hysterical Athenian masses accused the strategists that after the battle they did not pick up the sailors from their own damaged and sinking ships. Although the defendants referred, in their defense, to a raging storm, all the strategists who appeared at the trial in Athens were sentenced to death.

Lysander was again brought to command. Although he was not appointed navarkh, but in fact the command of the ships passed into his hands. Athenian strategists took a not too successful position on the banks of Thracian Chersonesos at the mouth of the Egospotama River (winter 405 BC ) Lysander waited for a convenient moment and attacked the Athenians when they did not expect it . Athenian ships stood without a crew near the shore, and the Spartans easily captured 170 of the total of 180 ships. 3,000 Athenians who were captured were executed.

The defeat at the Egospotama was a disaster for the Athenians. They no longer had the opportunity to make up for the losses. In the autumn of 405 BC. er Lysander with 150 ships appeared at Athens. At the same time, Spartan ground forces approached the city from two sides. In the spring of 404 BC. er the situation of the besieged became unbearable, and Athens was forced to make peace under extremely difficult conditions. In the same 404 BC. er Lysander sent a letter to Pharnabaz with the request to kill Alcibiades, which he did ^[16] .

Characteristic of the board of Darius

For the period of the rule of Darius were characterized: a further weakening of the central government, palace intrigues and conspiracies, increasing the influence of the court nobility. In addition to this, from the end of the 5th century BC. er the satraps of Asia Minor constantly waged wars among themselves, to which the Achaemenid kings did not attach importance and in which they usually did not interfere. Separate satraps often rebelled against the central government and, with the help of Greek mercenaries, sought to achieve complete independence. In addition, the uprisings of the conquered peoples did not stop. These uprisings were due to the fact that the Persian administration during the late Achaemenids doomed the population of the conquered countries to ruin. The rulers now did not seek to find support for their power in the conquered countries and hoped to eliminate all difficulties with the help of force and bribing with gold. Between 410-408 BC. er there were uprisings in Asia Minor and Mussels (410/409 BC) ^[17] , which were only hardly managed to be crushed. Around 405 BC. er The uprising began in Egypt under the leadership of Amirtei .

The cuneiform sources from the reign of Darius II are scarce; All his inscriptions are related to construction activities. He built mostly in Susa.

Darius II died in March 404 BC. er after 19 years of reign ^{[18] [19]} . According to Ctesias, it happened in Babylon, and he died from a disease ^[20] . He is credited with one of the three tombs in Naksh-Rustam . He was the last of the Achaemenid dynasties buried there ^[21] .

Family

• Parisistida ( ancient-Persian. Parušyātiš [Parushiyatish], literally "(delivering) a lot of bliss"). She was the sister of Darius from the same father, but different mothers. From her, Darius, according to Ctesias, had thirteen children, but many died in childhood ^[2] .
  • Amistra , daughter
  • Arsac (later known as Artaxerxes II )
  • Cyrus the Younger
  • Artosten
  • Oksendr

And the first two children were born even when Darius was a satrap of Hyrcania, and the next ones, starting with Cyrus, when he already became king. Cyrus was the mother's favorite son.

An asteroid (888) Parisatida is named after Darius II's wife Parisisatida opened in 1918.

• Turaev B.A. . History of the Ancient East / Edited by V. V. Struve and I. Snegirev L. - 2nd stereo. ed. - L .: Sotsekgiz, 1935. - T. 2. - 15 250 copies.
• Dandamaev M.A. Political history of the Achaemenid state. - M .: The main editorial board of the oriental literature of the Nauka publishing house, 1985. - 319 p. - 10 000 copies
• Ancient East and antiquity . // The rulers of the world. Chronological genealogical tables on world history in 4 vols. / Compiled by V. V. Erlikhman . - T. 1.
• Darius II // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Darius II (English) . - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
• Iranik Encyclopedia: Darius II