Oroetus, or Oroetes (

Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

: ''Arvita'',

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: ''Ὀροίτης''), was a Persian Satrap of Lydia (c. 530-520 BC), during the reigns of Cyrus the Great,

Cambyses Cambyses may refer to: * Cambyses I, King of Anshan 600 to 559 BCE * Cambyses II, King of Persia 530 to 522 BCE * Cambyses, ancient name of the Iori river in the South Caucasus * ''Cambyses'', a tragedy (published 1569) by Thomas Preston (writer) ...

and Darius the Great, succeeding Harpagus, and being followed by Bagaeus. He is described by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

in the third book of his '' Histories'', where he achieved notoriety for the death of

Polycrates Polycrates (; grc-gre, Πολυκράτης), son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Sources The main source for Polycrates' life and activit ...

, tyrant of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

: Oroetus became the first satrap recorded as demonstrating insubordination towards the central power of Persia. When Cambyses (ruled 530-522 BC), who succeeded his father Cyrus, died, the Persian Empire was in chaos prior to Darius the Great (522-486 BC) finally securing control. Oroetus defied Darius' orders to assist him, whereupon the

Achaemenid 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 emp ...

nobleman Bagaeus was sent by Darius to arrange his murder.

Oroetus in Art

File:The crucifixion of Polycrates the tyrant after his capture by the Persians MET DP837539.jpg, The crucifixion of Polycrates the tyrant after his capture by the Persian Oroetus (17th century). File:Oroetus.jpg, Oroetus (detail). File:Salvator Rosa - Polycrates' Crucifixion - 1942.292 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, The crucifixion of

by Oroetus.

Sources

Jona Lendering. Oroetus
*
From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire
',

Pierre Briant Pierre Briant (born 30 September 1940 in Angers) is a French Iranologist, Professor of History and Civilisation of the Achaemenid World and the Empire of Alexander the Great at the Collège de France (1999 onwards), Doctor Honoris Causa at the Uni ...

, Eisenbrauns: 2002, 6th-century BC Iranian people Achaemenid satraps of Lydia Officials of Cyrus the Great Officials of Darius the Great 520s BC deaths {{Achaemenid rulers