Ardakhshir I (also spelled Artaxerxes I;

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

: ''rtḥštry'') was a dynast ('' frataraka'') of Persis in the late 3rd-century BC, ruling sometime after 220 to .

Name

''Ardakhshir'' (''Ardashir'') is the

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

form of the

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

''Ṛtaxšira'' (also spelled ''Artaxšaçā'', meaning "whose reign is through

truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

"). The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

variant of the name is '. Three kings of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

were known to have the same name.

Reign

Since the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, Persis had been ruled by local dynasts subject to the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

. They held the ancient Persian title of '' frataraka'' ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era. The Achaemenid Empire, which had a century earlier ruled most of the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, originated from the region. The ''frataraka'' themselves emphasized their close affiliation with the prominent Achaemenid

king of kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

, and their court was probably at the former Achaemenid capital of Persepolis, where they financed construction projects on and near the Achaemenid plateau. The ''frataraka'' had traditionally been regarded as priestly dynasts or advocates of religious (and political) opposition to Hellenism, however, this is no longer considered the case. The chronology of the early Persid rulers is disputed. The traditional view was that the chronology of the early rulers were; Baydad, Ardakhshir I, Wahbarz,

Wadfradad I Wadfradad I (also spelled Autophradates I) was a dynast ('' frataraka'') of Persis in the late 2nd-century BC, ruling from 146 to 138 BC. He was succeeded by Wadfradad II Wadfradad II (also spelled Autophradates II) was a dynast (''frataraka'') ...

and

Wadfradad II Wadfradad II (also spelled Autophradates II) was a dynast (''frataraka'') of Persis in the late 2nd-century BC, ruling sometime after 138 BC. He was appointed as ''frataraka'' by the Parthian king Mithridates I (), who granted him more autonomy, ...

. However, recent findings of Persis coins have led to more a likely chronology; Ardakhshir I, Wahbarz, Wadfradad I, Baydad and Wadfradad II.

References

Sources

* . * * * * * * * {{Fratarakas of Persis 3rd-century BC Iranian people History of Fars Province Seleucid Empire 3rd-century BC rulers in Asia Zoroastrian rulers Frataraka rulers of Persis