Arses ascended the throne, after his father Artaxerxes III—who had caused a resurgence of the Persian Empire—was poisoned by the eunuch Bagoas. The latter put Arses on the throne with the expectation of being able to control him. With the weakening of the Achaemenid Empire from the assassination of Artaxerxes III and the succession of Arses, the Greek league sent troops into Asia in 336.
Arses, in an attempt to free himself from Bagoas' influences, tried to have the eunuch poisoned; but did not succeed, instead succumbing to poison himself at the orders of Bagoas. Bagoas put Arses' cousin Darius III on the throne after him.
He is known as Arses in Greek sources and that seems to have been his real name, but the Xanthus trilingue and potsherds from Samaria report that he took the royal name of Artaxerxes IV, following his father and grandfather.
Arses is the Greek form of the Old PersianR̥šā, which is also attested in the Avestan form Aršan- and is used in multiple Old Persian compound-names, such as Aršaka, Aršāma, and Xšayaaršan. The term is linguistically related to Greek arsēn, meaning "male, manly".[2]
Biographyedit
Arses was the youngest son of Artaxerxes III and his wife Atossa.[2] Arses had several brothers, only one whose name is attested, a certain Bisthanes.[2] Persia was experiencing a resurgence under Artaxerxes III, who reorganized his empire, and suppressed revolts throughout the country.[3] However, the fortunes of Persia came to an abrupt end in autumn of 338, when Artaxerxes III was murdered by the ambitious eunuch and chiliarchBagoas, who had the king poisoned.[4] Artaxerxes III's early death proved to be a problematic issue for Persia,[3] and may have played a role in the weakening of the country.[2] The majority of Artaxerxes III's sons, with the exception of Arses and Bisthanes, were also murdered by Bagoas.[3] Bagoas, who wanted to be kingmaker, put the young Arses on the throne.[3][2]
On his ascension to the throne, Arses most likely assumed the regnal name of Artaxerxes IV.[5] He was put on the throne by Bagoas due to his youth, which the latter sought to take advantage of in order to control him. Around the same period, most of the Greek city-states had joined the Greek league under the leadership of the Macedonian kingPhilip II, who took advantage of the events in Persia by demanding compensation from the country for helping the town of Perinthus during the reign of Artaxerxes III.[2] Arses declined, and as a result, a Greek expedition was started with Philip II as general, who sent 10,000 Macedonian soldiers into Asia in 336 BC.[2] At the same time, however, Arses was determined on trying to free himself from Bagoas' authority and influence; he made an unsuccessful effort to have the latter poisoned, only to be poisoned himself along with the rest of his family by Bagoas, who put Arses' cousin Darius III on the throne.[2] Macedonian propaganda, made in order to legitimize the conquests of Alexander the Great a few years later, accused Darius III of playing a key role in the murder of Arses, who was portrayed as the last king of the Achaemenid royal house.[6]
Coinageedit
Coinage of Mazaios, Satrap of Cilicia, 361/0-334 BC, thought to represent Artaxerxes III on the obverse, and a young Arses on the reverse.[1]
There is no dynastic coinage of Artaxerxes IV, but it is thought he may be depicted as a young ruler wearing the Pharaonic crown on the reverse of some of the contemporary coinage of satrapMazaios in Cilicia, while his father Artaxerxes III appears seated, also in Pharaonic dress, on the obverse.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcKovacs, Frank L. (2002). "Two Persian Pharaonic Portraits". Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte. R. Pflaum. pp. 55–60.
Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus.
Modern worksedit
Briant, Pierre (2002). From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns. pp. 1–1196. ISBN9781575061207.
LeCoq, P. (1986). "Arses". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/5: Armenia and Iran IV–Art in Iran I. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 548. ISBN978-0-71009-105-5.
Schmitt, R. (1986). "Artaxerxes III". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/6: Art in Iran I–ʿArūż. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 658–659. ISBN978-0-71009-106-2.
Waters, Matt (2014). Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0521253697.
arses, persia, this, article, about, king, persia, other, uses, arses, disambiguation, arses, persian, šā, greek, Ἀρσής, also, known, regnal, name, artaxerxes, ɑːr, ɜːr, persian, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠, artaxšaçāʰ, greek, Ἀρταξέρξης, twelfth, achaemenid, king, kings, from, a. This article is about a king of Persia For other uses see Arses disambiguation Arses Old Persian R sa Greek Ἀrshs also known by his regnal name Artaxerxes IV ˌ ɑːr t e ˈ z ɜːr k s iː z Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxsacaʰ Greek Ἀrta3er3hs was the twelfth Achaemenid King of Kings from 338 to 336 BC Arses𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎣King of Kings Great King King of Persia Pharaoh of Egypt King of CountriesProbable portrait of Arses wearing the Egyptian Pharaonic crown 1 King of Kings of the Achaemenid EmpireReign338 336 BCPredecessorArtaxerxes IIISuccessorDarius IIIPharaoh of EgyptReign338 336 BCPredecessorArtaxerxes IIISuccessorDarius IIIDied336 BCRegnal nameArtaxerxes IVDynastyAchaemenidFatherArtaxerxes IIIMotherAtossaReligionZoroastrianism Arses ascended the throne after his father Artaxerxes III who had caused a resurgence of the Persian Empire was poisoned by the eunuch Bagoas The latter put Arses on the throne with the expectation of being able to control him With the weakening of the Achaemenid Empire from the assassination of Artaxerxes III and the succession of Arses the Greek league sent troops into Asia in 336 Arses in an attempt to free himself from Bagoas influences tried to have the eunuch poisoned but did not succeed instead succumbing to poison himself at the orders of Bagoas Bagoas put Arses cousin Darius III on the throne after him Contents 1 Name 2 Biography 3 Coinage 4 References 5 Bibliography 5 1 Ancient works 5 2 Modern worksName editHe is known as Arses in Greek sources and that seems to have been his real name but the Xanthus trilingue and potsherds from Samaria report that he took the royal name of Artaxerxes IV following his father and grandfather Arses is the Greek form of the Old Persian R sa which is also attested in the Avestan form Arsan and is used in multiple Old Persian compound names such as Arsaka Arsama and Xsayaarsan The term is linguistically related to Greek arsen meaning male manly 2 Biography editArses was the youngest son of Artaxerxes III and his wife Atossa 2 Arses had several brothers only one whose name is attested a certain Bisthanes 2 Persia was experiencing a resurgence under Artaxerxes III who reorganized his empire and suppressed revolts throughout the country 3 However the fortunes of Persia came to an abrupt end in autumn of 338 when Artaxerxes III was murdered by the ambitious eunuch and chiliarch Bagoas who had the king poisoned 4 Artaxerxes III s early death proved to be a problematic issue for Persia 3 and may have played a role in the weakening of the country 2 The majority of Artaxerxes III s sons with the exception of Arses and Bisthanes were also murdered by Bagoas 3 Bagoas who wanted to be kingmaker put the young Arses on the throne 3 2 On his ascension to the throne Arses most likely assumed the regnal name of Artaxerxes IV 5 He was put on the throne by Bagoas due to his youth which the latter sought to take advantage of in order to control him Around the same period most of the Greek city states had joined the Greek league under the leadership of the Macedonian king Philip II who took advantage of the events in Persia by demanding compensation from the country for helping the town of Perinthus during the reign of Artaxerxes III 2 Arses declined and as a result a Greek expedition was started with Philip II as general who sent 10 000 Macedonian soldiers into Asia in 336 BC 2 At the same time however Arses was determined on trying to free himself from Bagoas authority and influence he made an unsuccessful effort to have the latter poisoned only to be poisoned himself along with the rest of his family by Bagoas who put Arses cousin Darius III on the throne 2 Macedonian propaganda made in order to legitimize the conquests of Alexander the Great a few years later accused Darius III of playing a key role in the murder of Arses who was portrayed as the last king of the Achaemenid royal house 6 Coinage edit nbsp Coinage of Mazaios Satrap of Cilicia 361 0 334 BC thought to represent Artaxerxes III on the obverse and a young Arses on the reverse 1 There is no dynastic coinage of Artaxerxes IV but it is thought he may be depicted as a young ruler wearing the Pharaonic crown on the reverse of some of the contemporary coinage of satrap Mazaios in Cilicia while his father Artaxerxes III appears seated also in Pharaonic dress on the obverse 1 References edit a b c Kovacs Frank L 2002 Two Persian Pharaonic Portraits Jahrbuch fur Numismatik und Geldgeschichte R Pflaum pp 55 60 a b c d e f g h LeCoq 1986 p 548 a b c d Schmitt 1986 pp 658 659 Waters 2014 p 197 Briant 2002 p 769 Briant 2002 p 770 Bibliography editAncient works edit Arrian The Anabasis of Alexander Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca historica Justin Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus Modern works edit Briant Pierre 2002 From Cyrus to Alexander A History of the Persian Empire Eisenbrauns pp 1 1196 ISBN 9781575061207 LeCoq P 1986 Arses In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Volume II 5 Armenia and Iran IV Art in Iran I London and New York Routledge amp Kegan Paul p 548 ISBN 978 0 71009 105 5 Schmitt R 1986 Artaxerxes III In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Volume II 6 Art in Iran I ʿAruz London and New York Routledge amp Kegan Paul pp 658 659 ISBN 978 0 71009 106 2 Waters Matt 2014 Ancient Persia A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire 550 330 BCE Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521253697 Arses of PersiaAchaemenid dynastyBorn c 357 BC Died 336 BC Preceded byArtaxerxes III King of Kings of Persia338 336 BC Succeeded byDarius III Pharaoh of EgyptXXXI Dynasty338 336 BC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arses of Persia amp oldid 1210682726, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
