The Great Satraps' Revolt, or the Revolt of the Satraps (366-360 BC), was a rebellion in the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

of several

satraps 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 con ...

against the authority of the Great King

Artaxerxes II Mnemon 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 s ...

. The Satraps who revolted were Datames, Ariobarzanes and Orontes of Armenia.

Mausolus Mausolus ( grc, Μαύσωλος or , xcr, ��𐊠��𐊸𐊫𐊦 ''Mauśoλ'') was a ruler of Caria (377–353 BCE) and a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by h ...

the Dynast of

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...

participated in the Revolt of the Satraps, both on his nominal sovereign Artaxerxes Mnemon's side and (briefly) against him. They were supported by the pharaohs of Egypt, Nectanebo I, Teos, and Nectanebo II, to whom was sent Rheomithres who came back with 50 ships and 500 talents, and all joined forces against Artaxerxes II.

Revolt of Datames (372-362 BC)

Datames, the satrap of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

and a talented military commander, had inherited his satrapy from his father

Camissares Camisares (died 385 BC) was an Iranian,; father of Datames, who was high in favour with the Persian Great King Artaxerxes II (404–358 BC), by whom he was made satrap of a part of Cilicia bordering on Cappadocia. He fell in Artaxerxes' war ag ...

after 384 BC but later problems with the court led him to revolt in 372 BC. The court commanded the neighboring satraps, Autophradates 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 ...

and

Artumpara Artumpara, also Arttum̃para, Artembares (Persian name, *Rtambura, self-identified as "the Mede) was an Achaemenid Satrap of Lycia circa 400-370 BCE. He was involved in the Great Satraps' Revolt on the side of central Achaemenid authority in 366 ...

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

, to crush the rebellion but Datames successfully resisted their attacks.Brosius 2006, p. 28 Datames was killed in 362 BC after his son in law Mitrobarzanes betrayed him, falsely claiming to be his ally against the Achaemenid king.Brosius 2006, p. 28

Revolt of Ariobarzanes (366-363 BC)

Ariobarzanes, satrap of

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

and a son of the ruler of Pontus, had been made acting satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia until Artabazos, the legitimate heir of the satrapy could take office. But when Artabazos was ready to take the satrapy Ariobarzanes refused to surrender it and joined Datames' revolt in 366 BC.Brosius 2006, p. 28 Ariobarzanes sought foreign aid and he received it from King Agesilaus II of

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

.Brosius 2006, p. 29 Ariobarzanes withstood a siege at Adramyttium in 366 BC, from

and Autophradates of

, until Agesilaus negotiated the besiegers' retreat.Gershevitch 1985, p. 378 As signal of sympathy in the effort, Athens made Ariobarzanes and three of his sons citizens of Athens. Ariobarzanes was betrayed by his son Mithridates to his overlord, the

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 ...

king, who had Ariobarzanes crucified.Xenophon, ''Cyropaedia'
viii. 8
Aristotle
v. 10
/ref>Brosius 2006, p. 29

Revolt of Orontes (362 BC)

In 362 Orontes, satrap of

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 ...

, revolted after he was ordered by the King to move to Mysia. His noble birth led the other satraps to recognize him as leader of the revolt, but Orontes later sought a compromise with the King and betrayed the other satraps, and the rebellion collapsed shortly afterward.Nelson 1984, p. 131 Orontes received much of the Aegean coastNelson 1984, p. 131 while Datames was killed after his son in law Mitrobarzanes betrayed him.Brosius 2006, p. 28 Ariobarzanes was also killed, but the other satraps were pardoned, thus ending the rebellion.Nelson 1984, p. 131

References

Sources

* * p386 * p94 * {{Achaemenid Empire 360s BC conflicts Rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire Ancient Anatolia 370s BC 360s BC Artaxerxes II