Masistes (
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 ...
𐎶𐎰𐎡𐏁𐎫, ''Maθišta'';
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 ...
Μασίστης, ''Masístēs'';
Old Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian plateau, Iranian Pl ...
*''Masišta'') (?- c. 478 BC) 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 ...
prince of the
Achaemenid Dynasty
The Achaemenid dynasty ( Old Persian: ; Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) was an ancient Persian royal dynasty that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, an Iranian empire that stretched from Egypt and Southeastern Europe in the west to the In ...
, son of 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 ...
(reign: 520-486 BC) and of his wife
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 full brother of king
Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...
(reign: 486-465 BC). He was
satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
(governor) of
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
during his brother's reign, where he attempted to start a revolt in 478 BC.
Chief marshal
Masistes was one of the six chief marshals of the
Greek campaigns of Xerxes (480-479 BC). Along with general
Mardonius, he commanded the army column that crossed
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
along the coast; however, he was almost completely absent during the course of the war, including the battles of
Salamis and
Plataea
Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...
.
He reappeared close to the end of the war, when he fought in the
Battle of Mycale (479 BC). According to Herodotus, the battle was just about to take place at sea, but the Persians decided to come ashore in
Ionia
Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
,
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, and fight on land. The Greek and the Persian armies finally fought in Mycale, and the Persians were completely defeated. Commanders
Tigranes
Tigranes (, grc, Τιγράνης) is the Greek transliteration of the Old Iranian name ''*Tigrāna''. This was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia.
The name of Tigranes, which was theophoric in nature, was u ...
and
Mardontes died during the battle, but
Artayntes and
Itamithres, as well as Masistes, managed to escape. According to Herodotus, on their way to
Sardis
Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...
, where the king stayed, Masistes accused Artayntes of cowardice and blamed him of being "worse than a woman". In response, Artayntes unsheathed his sword and tried to kill Masistes, but was stopped by a
Carian
The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...
named
Xenagoras of Halicarnassus.
Masistes' family stayed near the battle, in Sardis,
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, which was a common practice of the nobility of the Persian Empire. In Herodotus' ''Histories'', he comments that while Masistes was fighting, his brother, king Xerxes, seduced Masistes' wife (see below).
Love affairs and Masistes' revolt
The tale
Masistes is one of the main characters in a bloody episode in Herodotus' ''Histories'' (IX 108-110). Herodotus relates that, after his defeat in Greece, Xerxes fell in love with the wife of Masistes, but failed in all attempts to win her favour. In order to be closer to his sister-in-law, Xerxes married his son
Darius to his niece
Artaynte
Artaynte (f. 478 BC), was the wife of the Crown Prince Darius.
Life
Daughter of an unnamed woman and Prince Masistes, a marshall of the armies during the invasion of Greece in 480-479 BC, and the brother of King Xerxes I.
During the Greek campa ...
, a daughter of Masistes. The wedding was celebrated in Sardis, but when the court returned to
Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
, Xerxes decided that he wanted the daughter rather than the mother, and Artaynte became his lover. One day, Xerxes visited Artaynte wearing a robe that had been woven by queen
Amestris
Amestris ( el, Άμηστρις, ''Amēstris'', perhaps the same as Άμαστρις, ''Amāstris'', from Old Persian ''Amāstrī-'', "strong woman"; died c. 424 BC) was a Persian queen, the wife of Xerxes I of Persia, mother of Achaemenid King ...
. He offered Artaynte to grant her whatever wish she desired. She chose the robe, and when she wore it in public, the affair was discovered.
When Amestris heard the news she sought revenge, not from Artaynte, strangely enough, but from her mother, the wife of Masistes. It was customary in Persia that on the king's birthday he had to grant all the wishes he was asked, so Amestris waited until that date to ask Xerxes to have Masistes' wife killed. Under Amestris' orders, Masistes' wife was tortured and mutilated: her breasts, nose, ears, lips and tongue were cut out. In the meantime, Xerxes offered Masistes the hand of one of his daughters. Masistes refused, and when he saw his mutilated wife he fled to Bactria to start a revolt; however, he was intercepted on his way by troops sent by the king, and put to death along with his followers and his three sons.
Historical background
The tale refers to an ill-fated attempt of Masistes to lead a revolt against his brother Xerxes. Although the exact date is unknown, it could not have happened too long after the battle of Mycale (479 BC), perhaps in 478 BC.
It was originally considered that Xerxes, affected by his defeats in Greece, became involved in
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
intrigues that would cause turmoil in the court and eventually result in the decadence and ruin of the Empire. This view is widely criticised by more modern authors. Many of the episode's themes appear in many legendary tales of Persian origin - the plot is the same, only the names of the characters are changed. Thus, although the tale is based on Persian oral accounts of Masistes' revolt, it is impossible to consider it as a historical fact and to derive literal conclusions from it.
Relating to this, it has been argued that the royal
robe
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...
(which Amestris wove for Xerxes in the story) was not just a piece of clothing but a symbol of the Persian monarchy. According to this reasoning, and within the symbolic context of Persian culture of this period, when Artaynte asked Xerxes for his robe she was actually asking for the throne, although not for her, as she was married to the heir, prince Darius, but perhaps for her father Masistes. This could explain why Amestris punished Masistes' wife instead of her daughter Artaynte. It has also been noted that the punishment that Masistes' wife received was usually reserved for rebels.
Other legendary Persian episodes share the theme of the royal robe, amongst these:
*
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 ...
receives the royal
Mede robe when he marries the daughter of Mede king
Astyages
Astyages (Median: ; Akkadian: ; Ancient Greek: grc, Αστυαγης, Astuagēs, , romanized: , , romanized: ; la, Astyages, , ; reigned 585–550 BC) was the last king of the Median Empire. The son of Cyaxares; he was dethroned in 550 BC by h ...
(
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
, ''Cyropaedia'' VIII 5 18).
*
Cyrus the Younger
Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...
is just about to kill his brother, king
Artaxerxes II
Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...
, but stops when he sees him dressing himself with the royal robe (
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, ''Artoxerxes'' III 1-4).
*During a hunting expedition, nobleman
Tiribazus
Tiribazus, Tiribazos or Teribazus (Old Iranian: ''Tīrībāzu'') (c.440 BC-370 BC) was an Achaemenid satrap of Western Armenia and later satrap of Lydia in western Anatolia.
Satrap of Western Armenia
He was highly regarded by the Persian King Ar ...
wears the royal robe of king Artaxerxes II, causing disgust amongst his courtiers, as it is forbidden (
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, ''Artoxerxes'' V 2).
Masistes and ''mathishta''
It has been noted that the name ''Masistes'' (which the Greek sources give) is related to 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 ...
title ''mathishta'' (''maθišta'', "the greatest", "the highest", "the longest"; "chief
f the troop
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
; as a title, "the greatest after the king", "the second after the king") given to the royal heir designated by the king. The problem lies in that the heir designated by Darius I is Xerxes, not Masistes, although the succession was not free of conflict. According to Herodotus, the eldest son by Darius was Artabazanes, but he had been born prior to Darius' ascent to the throne. Xerxes was the first-born son of Darius after he was crowned king, and he was also son of
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 ...
, the daughter of
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 ...
, founder of the empire. After many disputes in the court, Darius finally chose Xerxes. This is corroborated by Xerxes himself, who in his "Harem Inscription" of
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 ...
states that his father designated him ''mathishta'' despite having other sons.
Pompeius Trogus
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy.
Life
Pompeius Trogus's grandfat ...
, a later author, relates the same story, but refers to Artabazanes as Ariamenes. On the other hand,
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
states that Xerxes, when he is chosen as heir, offers Ariamenes the position of "second after the king". The Ariamenes who appears in Plutarch, although he plays the role of the Artabazanes referred to by Herodotus and the Ariamenes referred to by Trogus, has similarities with Masistes. First, Ariamenes governs over Bactria in Plutarch's version, just as Masistes does in Herodotus. Also, the phrase "second after the king" coincides with the meaning of the title ''mathishta'', which seems to be related to the name of Masistes. However, in Plutarch, the "second after the king" refers to the most powerful person after the king himself, but not to the heir, as occurs with the title ''mathishta''.
It is possible, as it has been argued, that ''Masistes'' was not the real name of the younger brother of Xerxes, but simply his title, (''mathishta''). Facing this possibility, it is important to note that ''Masistes'' was in fact a given name used at the time. In a clay
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
tablet ( a commercial document, specifically) from the
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n city of Nippur dated to 429 BC (during
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 ...
's reign) mention is made of a certain Masishtu (''Masištu''), whose name has been identified as the
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
form of Masistes.
[Zadok & Zadok 1997, p. 5; Briant 1997, pp. 54, 91-92.]
Notes
References
*Briant, P (1997):
Bulletin d'Histoire Achéménide" in ''Topoi'' 1.
*Briant, P. (2002): ''From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire'', Eisenbrauns.
*Brosius, M (1998): ''Woman in Ancient Persia'', Clarendon Press.
*Burn, AR (1962): ''Persia and the Greeks'', St. Martin's Press.
*Dandamaev, M (1989): ''A Political History of the Persian Empire'', Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, trad. de W. Vogelsang.
*Eddy, SK (1961): ''The King Is Dead: Studies in the Near Eastern Resistance to Hellenism, 334-31 B. C'', University of Nebraska Press.
*García Sánchez, M (2005):
La figura del sucesor del Gran Rey en la Persia Aqueménida, in V. Troncoso (ed.)
''Anejos Gerión'' 9 ''La figura del sucesor en las monarquías de época helenística''.
*Green, P (1998): ''The Greco-Persian Wars'', University of California Press.
*Shrimpton, GS (1997): ''History and Memory in Ancient Greece'', McGill-Queens University Press.
*Lendering, J (a):
, i
Livius.org*Lendering, J (b):
, i
Livius.org*Olmstead, ATE (1959)
948
Year 948 ( CMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Arab–Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into Asia Minor ...
''History of the Persian Empire'', University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
*Sancisi-Weerdenburg, H. (2002): "The Personality of Xerxes, King of Kings ", in ''Brill's Companion to Herodotus'', Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, originally published in L. de Meyer & E. Haerinck (eds.) ''Archaeologia Iranica et Orientalis Miscellanea in Honorem Louis Vanden Berghe Peeters'', Gent, 1989, pp. 549–560.
*Sancisi-Weerdemburg, H (2005)
983
Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...
"Exit Atossa: Images of Woman in Greek Historiography on Persia", in A. Kuhrt & A. Cameron (eds.)
Images of Woman in Antiquity', Routledge.
*Wiesehöfer, J (2006)
001 Ancient Persia from 550 BC to 650 AD', I. B. Tauris, translated by A. Azodi.
*Zadok, R; & T. Zadok (1997):
LB texts from the Yale Babylonian Collection, in ''NABU'' 1997-13.
{{Achaemenid rulers
Achaemenid satraps of Bactria
5th-century BC Iranian people
Family of Darius the Great
Achaemenid princes