Abdastart II ( Straton II ; "slave of Astarte " [1] ; date. 'Abd-'ashtart or date. 
, Greek Στράτων ) is the king of Tire (about 359-349 BC).
| Abdastart II | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| date fruit. 'Abd-'ashtart | |||||||
| |||||||
| Predecessor | ? | ||||||
| Successor | Azimilk | ||||||
| Death | IV century BC e. | ||||||
| Children | son: Azimilk (?) | ||||||
Biography
Abdastart II is known from a single narrative source : the work of Mark Unian Justin "Epitome of the composition of Pompey Trog." It reports that about 359 BC. e. slaves revolted in Tire against the ruler of the Achaemenid state, Artaxerxes II . They seized power in the city, killed almost all the noble inhabitants, and took their widows to their wives. However, soon after realizing how difficult it was to rule the city in lawless conditions, they elected Abdastart as their king. After the death of this king, his son ascended to the throne of Throne, and then his grandson [2] [3] [4] [5] .
Some historians consider the story of Mark Junian Justin to be one of the Tyr legends, suggesting that there was no such uprising at all. Others are of the opinion that Mark Junian Justin was mistaken, and that these events did not take place in the 4th century BC. e., and in the X century BC e., when as a result of a conspiracy the king of Tyr Abdastart I was killed. However, many modern historians have full confidence in the testimony of Mark Unian Justin. Following this ancient historian, they believe that the cruelty of Alexander of Macedon to the Tyrants after the capture of the city was caused, among other things, by the recollections of the recent murder of the nobility by the townspeople [3] .
Several artifacts attributed to the rule of Abdastart II have survived. Among them is a seal on which Tiru paid tribute to the city of Libnat (possibly identical to ) in the first year of the reign of the king named Abdastart [4] .
In addition to the story of Mark Junian Justin, there are no other reliable testimonies of Abdastart II in the works of ancient authors . It is assumed that Abdastart II can be identical to that of an unnamed ruler of Tire, who in 355 BC. e. received from Artaxerxes III part of the possessions of King Sidon Abdastart I. The king of Tyr was awarded this gift as a reward for his loyalty to the Achaemenids during the rebellion in which the Sidon monarch participated. However, already in 351 BC. e. Tyr joined the anti-Persian rebellion, raised by the Egyptian pharaoh Nektaneb II , King Sidon Tabnit II and the rulers of the kingdoms of Cyprus . Soon after the suppression of this rebellion, the Tyr ruler was stripped of Artaxerxes III power, and not later than 349 BC. e. King Azimilk , son or at least a close relative of his predecessor, was enthroned to the throne of Sidon [4] [6] .
Notes
- ↑ Menander of Ephesus . Fragments // Phoenician mythology / translation B. Turaeva A. - SPb. : Summer Garden , Neva , 1999.
- ↑ Mark Unian Justin . Epitome of the composition of Pompey Trog (book XVIII, chapter 3).
- ↑ 1 2 Tsirkin Yu. B. From Canaan to Carthage. - LLC Astrel Publishing House; LLC "Publishing house AST". - M. , 2001 .-- S. 166-167. - ISBN 5-17-005552-8 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Elayi J. An Updated Chronology of the Reigns of Phoenician Kings during the Persian Period (539–333 BCE) // Transeuphratène. - P. , 2006. - No. 32 . - P. 11-43.
- ↑ Bunnens G. L'histoire événementielle Partim Orient // Handbuch der Orientalistik: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten / Krings V. - BRILL, 1995 .-- P. 235. - ISBN 978-9-0041-0068-8 .
- ↑ The Oxford Handbook of the Archeology of the Levant: C. 8000-332 BCE / Steiner ML, Killebrew AE - Oxford: Oxford University Press , 2014 .-- P. 117-118. - ISBN 978-0-1992-1297-2 .