Otanes (

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 ...

: ''Utāna'', grc-gre, Ὀτάνης), son of

Sisamnes Sisamnes was, according to Herodotus' ''Histories'', a corrupt royal judge active in the Persian empire during the reign of Cambyses II of Persia. When Cambyses learned that Sisamnes had accepted a bribe to influence a verdict, he had him promp ...

, was an

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

judge and later Satrap of

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 ...

during the reign of

Darius the Great 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 d ...

, circa 500 BC.

Career

Otanes first replaced his father as judge, when the latter was condemned for corruption by

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 ...

. He later took on military responsibilities under Darius, that led him to have an important role in suppressing the

Ionian Revolt The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisf ...

. In ''Histories'' 5 (''Histories'' 5.25-5.28), Herodotus speaks of an Otanes - a son of a previously mentioned

(3.31) - who served as a judge under

and later under Darius I, who followed the

European Scythian campaign of Darius I The Scythian campaign of Darius I was a military expedition into parts of European Scythia by Darius I, the king of the Achaemenid Empire, in 513 BC. The Scythians were an East Iranian-speaking people who had invaded Media, revolted against Dariu ...

, and became governor in

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 ...

Ionian revolt

Otanes succeeded

Megabazus Megabazus (Old Persian: ''Bagavazdā'' or ''Bagabāzu'', grc, Μεγαβάζος), son of Megabates, was a highly regarded Persian general under Darius, to whom he was a first-degree cousin. Most of the information about Megabazus comes from ' ...

as the governor/supreme commander of the united forces of the peoples of the Aegean (5.26.1), and subjugated

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

and other cities during the

Ionian revolt The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisf ...

(5.123.1, 5.116.1). According to Herodotus: According to

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 ...

, this Otanes also married one of Darius' daughters (5.116.1): "

Otanes Otanes (Old Persian: ''Utāna'', grc-gre, Ὀτάνης) is a name given to several figures that appear in the ''Histories'' of Herodotus. One or more of these figures may be the same person. In the ''Histories'' Otanes, son of Pharnaspes He ...

" is a name given to several figures that appear in the ''Histories'' of

. One or more of these figures may be the same person.

References

Sources

* {{Achaemenid rulers Herodotus 6th-century BC Iranian people Officials of Darius the Great Achaemenid satraps of Ionia Military leaders of the Achaemenid Empire Ionian Revolt