Artystone ( peo,
*R̥tastūnā; grc,
Ἀρτυστώνη ;
Elamite
Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...
, {{transl, elx, Ir-da-iš-du-na) was 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 ...
princess, daughter of king
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
, and sister or half-sister of
Cambyses II
Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane.
Before his accession, Cambyses ...
,
Atossa
Atossa (Old Persian: ''Utauθa'', or Old Iranian: ''Hutauθa''; 550–475 BC) was an Achaemenid empress. She was a daughter of Cyrus the Great, and a wife of Darius I.
Name
The name "Atossa" (or "Atusa") means "bestowing very richly" or "well ...
and
Smerdis
Bardiya or Smerdis ( peo, 𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹 ; grc, Σμέρδις ; possibly died 522 BC), also named as Tanyoxarces ( grc, Τανυοξάρκης ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Pe ...
(Bardiyā). Along with Atossa and her niece
Parmys
Parmys (Old Persian ''(H)uparviyā'', Elamite ''Uparmiya'') was a Persian princess, the only daughter of Bardiya (Smerdis), son of Cyrus the Great.Herodotus, '' Histories'', book 3, chapter 88section 3 She was the granddaughter of Cyrus the Great ...
, Artystone married king
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
. It is argued that by marrying the female offspring of Cyrus, the founder of the empire, the new king aimed to prevent his rule from being contested, since Darius himself was not of royal blood.
Artystone and Darius had at least two sons,
Arsames
Arsames ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶 Aršāma, modern Persian:،آرسام، آرشام Arshām, Greek: ) was the son of Ariaramnes and the grandfather of Darius I. He was traditionally claimed to have briefly been king of Persia during the ...
and
Gobryas
Gobryas ( grc, Γοβρύας; peo, 𐎥𐎢𐎲𐎽𐎢𐎺 g-u-b-ru-u-v, reads as ''Gaub(a)ruva''?; Elamite: ''Kambarma'') was a common name of several Persian noblemen.
Gobryas (Cyrus the Great's general)
This Gobryas is mentioned in the Cyro ...
, and a daughter,
Artazostre. According to the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
historian
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
Artystone was Darius' favourite wife. She is also mentioned in the
Persepolis Fortification Tablets
The Persepolis Fortification Archive and Persepolis Treasury Archive are two groups of clay administrative archives — sets of records physically stored together – found in Persepolis dating to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The discover ...
, an administrative archive from
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 ...
.
According to
James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
, Artystone may have been another name for the biblical queen
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
, since
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
also called her Artystone the Virgin. While Esther is commonly known as the wife of
Xerxes or
Artaxerxes, the Book of Esther lists her cousin
Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acco ...
as present during
Nebuchadnezzar's capture of
Jehconiah in 599 BC, and
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
referencing him as a contemporary of Darius,
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11:4:9
/ref> making it impossible for Mordecai to be alive during Xerxes' or Artexerxes' reigns.
Primary sources
*Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, 3.88.2 bis; 7.69.2; 7.72.2.
*The Persepolis Fortification Archive
The Persepolis Fortification Archive and Persepolis Treasury Archive are two groups of clay administrative archives — sets of records physically stored together – found in Persepolis dating to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The discover ...
*Annals of the World by James Ussher, 797; 1036
Notes
References
*Brosius, M. (1998): ''Woman in Ancient Persia''.
Artystone
, in W. Smith (ed.), ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology''.
*Lendering, J (2007 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...
:
Artystone
, in https://www.livius.org/
*Schmitt, R (1987): "Artystone", in E. Yarshater (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, vol. II.
*James Ussher (1650): ''Annals of the World''.
*Josephus, F: ''Antiquities of the Jews,'' Book 11
6th-century BC women
5th-century BC women
6th-century BC births
5th-century BC deaths
6th-century BC Iranian people
Achaemenid princesses
Family of Darius the Great
Teispids