Ariobarzanes ( peo, *Aryābr̥zaⁿs; grc, Ἀριοβαρζάνης ; fa, آریوبرزن; died 330 BC), was an

Achaemenid 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 emp ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, satrap and a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

military commander who led an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

of the Persian army at the

Battle of the Persian Gate The Battle of the Persian Gate was a military conflict between a Persian force, commanded by the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes, and the invading Hellenic League, commanded by Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes led a l ...

against

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ian King

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

in the winter of 330 BC.

Life

Though the exact birth date of Ariobarzanes is unknown. His sister was the ancient Persian noblewoman and warrior

Youtab Youtab meaning "unique" in Old Persian (4th century BC - 330 BC) was an ancient Persian noblewoman. She was the sister of Ariobarzanes, Satrap of Persis. She is notable for fighting alongside her brother against Macedonian King Alexander the Grea ...

. Ariobarzanes was appointed as the first satrap of

Persis Persis ( grc-gre, , ''Persís''), better known in English as Persia ( Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''; fa, پارس, ''Pârs''), or Persia proper, is the Fars region, located to the southwest of modern-day Iran, now a province. T ...

(the southern province of Fars in present-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) in 335 BC by

Darius III Codomannus Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dariu ...

. Historians are surprised that Darius III appointed a satrap for

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

and

; apparently, that office did not previously exist. Ariobarzanes commanded part of the Persian Army fighting against the Macedonians at the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

in 331 BC. Following the Persian defeat at , Darius III realized he could not aptly defend his capital in Persepolis and traveled east to rebuild his armies, leaving Ariobarzanes in command.

Death

After the Battle in Gaugamela, Alexander the Great split his army and led his 14,000-strong force towards the Persian capital via the

Persian Gates Persian Gate or the Susian Gate was the ancient name of the pass now known as Tang-e Meyran, connecting Yasuj with Sedeh to the east, crossing the border of the modern Kohgiluyeh va Boyer Ahmad and Fars provinces of Iran, passing south of the Kuh ...

. There Ariobarzanes successfully ambushed Alexander the Great's army, inflicting heavy casualties. The Persian success at the

was short-lived though; after being held off for 30 days, Alexander the Great outflanked and destroyed the defenders. Some sources indicate that the Persians were betrayed by a captured tribal chief who showed the Macedonians an alternate path that allowed them to outflank Ariobarzanes in a reversal of

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...

. Ariobarzanes managed to escape, but when he reached Persepolis, he was denied entrance to the city. The commander of the city's garrison had decided the outcome of the battle, and was convinced that Alexander was bound to the throne of the empire. Ariobarzanes made his

last stand A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tactic ...

at the Persian Gates; and was likely killed by the advancing Macedonian army. Afterward, Alexander continued towards Persepolis, seizing the city and its treasury, and eventually looting the city months after its fall. Alexander the Great replaced him with

Phrasaortes Phrasaortes was a Persian satrap of Persis under Alexander the Great from circa 330 BCE. He was a son of Rheomithres. Phrasaortes replaced the Achaemenid satrap Ariobarzanes, who had confronted Alexander at the Battle of the Persian Gate, where ...

as Hellenistic satrap of

References

External links

Ariobarzanes
An Article by Jona Lendering.
Pharnabazus
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006.
King Darius III
A Research Article on Darius-III Codomannus
Gabae
The name of two places in Persia and Sogdiana.

Photos of the battlefield.
Ariobarzanes of Persis by Nabil Rastani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariobarzan 368 BC births 330 BC deaths 4th-century BC Iranian people Governors of Fars Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire Military personnel killed in action

Life

Death

See also

References

External links