The Pharnacid dynasty 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 ...

dynasty that ruled the

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 ...

y of

Hellespontine Phrygia Hellespontine Phrygia ( grc, Ἑλλησποντιακὴ Φρυγία, Hellēspontiakē Phrygia) or Lesser Phrygia ( grc, μικρᾶ Φρυγία, mikra Phrygia) was a Persian satrapy (province) in northwestern Anatolia, directly southeast of t ...

under 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 ...

from the 5th until the 4th century BCE. It was founded by Artabazus, son of satrap

Pharnaces I Pharnaces I ( el, Φαρνάκης; lived 2nd century BC), fifth king of Pontus, was of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two siblin ...

(younger brother of Hystaspes, who was born shortly before 565 BCE), son of

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 ...

(died ca. 520 BCE). They were directly related to 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 ...

itself. The last member of the dynasty was

Pharnabazus III Pharnabazus III (Old Iranian: ''Farnabāzu'', Ancient Greek: ''Φαρνάβαζος''; c. 370 BC - after 320 BC) was a Persian satrap who fought against Alexander the Great. His father was Artabazus II, and his mother a Greek from Rhodes. Youth ...

. Before the Pharnacids,

Mitrobates Mitrobates ( Old Persian: , Ancient Greek: ); (fl.c. 525 - 520 BC) was an Achaemenid satrap of Daskyleion (Hellespontine Phrygia) under the reigns of Cyrus the Great, who nominated him for the role, and Cambyses. After Cambyses died, and duri ...

(ca. 525–522 BCE) had ruled Hellespontine Phrygia for

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

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 ...

, before being killed and his territory absorbed by the satrap of

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 ...

Oroetes Oroetus, or Oroetes (Old Iranian: ''Arvita'', Ancient Greek: ''Ὀροίτης''), was a Persian Satrap of Lydia (c. 530-520 BC), during the reigns of Cyrus the Great, Cambyses and Darius the Great, succeeding Harpagus, and being followed by ...

. Following the reorganization of

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 ...

, Mitrobates was succeeded by

Oebares II Oebares II (Old Persian: ''Vaubara'') was, according to Herodotus (Herodotus 6.33) a son of Megabazus, himself a first degree cousin of Darius I. Oebares became satrap of Daskyleion (Hellespontine Phrygia) in 493 BC, after his father. Herodot ...

(c.493), son of

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 ...

, before Artabazus became satrap circa 479 BCE and started the Pharnacid dynasty, which would rule

until the conquests of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

(338 BCE). The residence of the Pharnacid Dynasty was at

Dascylium Dascylium, Dascyleium, or Daskyleion ( grc, Δασκύλιον, Δασκυλεῖον), also known as Dascylus, was a town in Anatolia some inland from the coast of the Propontis, at modern Ergili, Turkey. Its site was rediscovered in 1952 and ...

(near modern-day Ergili, Turkey). After the conquests of

, several women of the Pharnacid family, all daughters of

Artabazos II Artabazos II (in Greek Ἀρτάβαζος) ( fl. 389 – 328 BC) was a Persian general and satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of the Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Pharnabazus II, and younger kinsman (most probably ...

, married Alexandrine nobility: Artonis married

Eumenes Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in t ...

, Artakama married Ptolemy I, while

Barsine Barsine ( el, Βαρσίνη; c. 363–309 BC) was the daughter of a Persian father, Artabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and a Greek Rhodian mother, the sister of mercenaries Mentor of Rhodes and Memnon of Rhodes. Barsine became the wi ...

may have married Alexander the Great and given him a son,

Heracles of Macedon Heracles of Macedon ( grc, Ἡρακλῆς; c. 327 – 309 BC) was a reputed illegitimate son of Alexander the Great of Macedon by Barsine, daughter of Satrap Artabazus of Phrygia. Heracles was named after the Greek mythological hero of the same ...

The Pharnacids

(

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 ...

: ''Parnaka''; c. 550–497 BC) * Artabazus I ( fl. 480–455 BCE) * Pharnabazus I (fl. 455–430 BCE) *

Pharnaces II of Phrygia Pharnaces II (Old Iranian: ''Farnaka''; fl. 430 BCE - 422 BCE) ruled the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia under the Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. Hellespontine Phrygia (Greek: Ἑλλησποντιακὴ Φρυγία) comprised the lands of Troad ...

(fl. 430–422 BCE) *

Pharnabazus II Pharnabazus II (Old Iranian: ''Farnabāzu'', grc-gre, Φαρνάβαζος ; ruled 413-374 BC) was a Persian soldier and statesman, and Satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of Pharnaces II of Phrygia and grandson of Pharnabazus I ...

(fl. 422–387 BCE) * Ariobarzanes of Phrygia (

: ''Ariyabrdhna''; (fl. 407–362 BCE) *

Artabazus II Artabazos II (in Greek Ἀρτάβαζος) (fl. 389 – 328 BC) was a Persian general and satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of the Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Pharnabazus II, and younger kinsman (most probably ...

(fl. 389–329 BCE) *

(fl. 370–320 BCE) Family tree of the later Pharnacids complete

References

* Heidemarie Koch, ''Es kündet Dareios der König. Vom Leben im persischen Großreich''. 1992, Mainz.

External links

"''Pharnaces'' (1)" at Livius.org
* {{Achaemenid Empire Iranian dynasties