Artoxares (;

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 ...

*''Artaxšara'') (c. 465 BC - after 419 BC) was a

Paphlagonian Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and s ...

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

, who played a central role during the reigns of

Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I (, peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I. He may have been the " Artasy ...

and

Darius II Darius II ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ), also known by his given name Ochus ( ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC. Artaxerxes I, who died in 424 BC, was followed by h ...

Persia 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 ...

. According to

Ctesias Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fi ...

, when he was twenty years old, Artoxares participated in an embassy to the rebel satrap

Megabyzus Megabyzus ( grc, Μεγάβυζος, a folk-etymological alteration of Old Persian Bagabuxša, meaning "God saved") was an Achaemenid Persian general, son of Zopyrus, satrap of Babylonia, and grandson of Megabyzus I, one of the seven conspirator ...

. King Artaxerxes I and the rebel satrap reconciled in around 445 BC. Nevertheless, Megabyzus fell again into disgrace and was exiled to a

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

town. Artoxares, who had helped Megabyzus to gain the favour of the Persian king, was expelled from the court to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. It has been argued that he actually was appointed as satrap of Armenia, but this is not explicitly stated by Ctesias. When Artaxerxes died (424 BC), his sons

Xerxes II Xerxes II (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc, Ξέρξης ; died 424 BC) was a Persian king who was very briefly a ruler of the Achaemenid Empire, as the son and successor of Artaxerxes I. After a reign of forty-five days—wh ...

Sogdianus Sogdianus ( or ; grc-gre, Σογδιανὸς ) was briefly a ruler of the Achaemenid Empire for a period in 424–423 BC. His short rule—lasting not much more than six months—and the little recognition of his kingdom are known primarily fr ...

and

Darius II Ochus Darius II ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ), also known by his given name Ochus ( ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC. Artaxerxes I, who died in 424 BC, was followed b ...

started a civil war against each other. Arbarius, a cavalry commander,

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 th ...

, the satrap of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and Artoxares all decided to follow Darius. When Darius defeated his brothers, Artoxares became one of the most powerful members of the court. Nevertheless, after a short time he plotted against the new king and was executed on the orders of queen

Parysatis Parysatis (; peo, Parušyātiš, grc, Παρύσατις; 5th-century BC) was a powerful Persian Queen, consort of Darius II and had a large influence during the reign of Artaxerxes II. Biography Parysatis was the daughter of Artaxerxes I, Em ...

. Artoxares' plot took place just after the revolts of

Arsites Arsites ( peo, *R̥šitaʰ; grc, Ἀρσίτης ; fa, آرستیس) was Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia in the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century BC. His satrapy also included the region of Paphlagonia. In 340 BC, he sent a mercen ...

and

Artyphius Artyphius ( Old Persian: ''Ardufya'') was a general of the Achaemenid Army during the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BCE). He was the son of Artabanus, grandson of Hystaspes, and therefore nephew of Darius the Great and first degr ...

, and of the satrap

Pissuthnes Pissuthnes, also known as Pissouthnes, (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ) was an Achaemenid satrap of Lydia, which included Ionia, circa 440–415 BCE. His capital was Sardis. He was the son of Hystaspes, probably himself the son of Darius I, wh ...

. While plotting he attempted to acquire an artificial beard, being unable to grow one himself, for the purpose of creating a suitable impression. From the Murashu family archives from

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...

, we know a certain Artahshar (''Artahŝar''), who has been identified with the Artoxares of the classical sources. According to this archives, the domains of ''Manuštånu'' (identified with

Menostanes Menostanes ({{IPAc-en, m, ə, ˈ, n, ɒ, s, t, ə, n, iː, z; died 423 BC) was a Persian prince, son of Artarius, the satrap of Babylonia and thus nephew of king Artaxerxes I. Around 445 BC he commanded the Persian army against the rebel satrap ...

, a follower of Sogdianus) passed to ''Artahŝar'' after Darius' coronation. Artoxares could have inspired 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 ...

playwright

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

for the Plaphagonian character in his play ''

The Knights ''The Knights'' ( grc, Ἱππεῖς ''Hippeîs''; Attic: ) was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, who is considered the master of an ancient form of drama known as Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of clas ...

''.

References

*Bowie, ''Aristophanes: Myth, Ritual and Comedy'' (1995

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

, Cambridge U. Press. *Clay, A.: ''The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. Series A: Cuneiform Texts'' vol. X, ''Business Documents of the Marashu Sons of Nippur'' (1904). * *{{cite encyclopedia , title = ARTOXARES, last = Dandamayev , first = M. , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/artoxares , editor-first = , encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6, pages = 664, location = , publisher = , year = 1986 , isbn = Iranian eunuchs 5th-century BC people People from the Achaemenid Empire Darius II Artaxerxes I Achaemenid satraps of Armenia Ancient slaves