Artaxerxes III

Ochus, known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III, was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son of Artaxerxes II and his mother was Stateira. Before becoming king, Artaxerxes served as a satrap and commander of his father's army. He took the throne after a troubled time that included the deaths of several family members, and he worked hard to secure his rule.

Artaxerxes started two big campaigns to bring Egypt back under Persian control. The first campaign did not succeed, but the second one did, and he defeated Pharaoh Nectanebo II, reuniting Egypt with the empire after sixty years.

Later in his rule, Philip II of Macedon grew stronger in Greece and tried to encourage revolts against the Persian Empire. Artaxerxes opposed this and helped the city of Perinthus resist a Macedonian attack.

In his later years, Artaxerxes built new structures at Persepolis, including a new palace and his own tomb. However, his assassination led to instability, and soon the empire fell to the armies of Alexander the Great.

Etymology

The name Artaxerxes comes from the Greek word Artaxerxes, which itself is based on the Old Persian word Artaxšaçā, meaning "whose reign is through truth."

His personal name was Ochus. This name appears in different forms in various ancient languages, such as Ú-ma-kuš in Babylonian.

Background

Ochus was the son of Artaxerxes II and his wife Stateira. He had two older brothers, Ariaspes and Darius, and many other brothers from other mothers. Darius was meant to be the next ruler but was executed for planning against his father. After that, Ochus tricked his brother Ariaspes into harming himself. Ochus was finally named the next ruler before his father died.

Revolt of Artabazus

When Artaxerxes III became king between November 359 and March 358 BC, he asked all leaders in western Anatolia to let go of their hired soldiers. He wanted to make sure no one had too much power. Before this, some leaders had used these soldiers to act almost like independent rulers.

Later, in 356 BC, Artaxerxes III tried to remove Artabazus II from his leadership role in Hellespontine Phrygia, which led Artabazus to rebel. Artaxerxes III sent other leaders to stop the rebellion. Artabazus teamed up with an Athenian commander and they won several battles. Eventually, Artabazus stopped fighting and fled to Macedonia, where he was welcomed by its king, Philip II.

First Egyptian Campaign (351 BC)

Around 351 BC, Artaxerxes tried to take back Egypt, which had fought against his rule. At the same time, there was trouble in Asia Minor, helped by Thebes. Artaxerxes gathered a large army and went to Egypt, fighting Nectanebo II. After a year of battle, the Egyptian Pharaoh, Nectanebo, won a big victory with help from Greek soldiers. Artaxerxes had to pull back and wait to try again.

Rebellion of Cyprus and Sidon

After Egypt was defeated, places like Phoenicia, Anatolia, and Cyprus decided they no longer wanted to follow Persian rules. In 343 BC, Artaxerxes asked Idrieus, a prince from Caria, to help bring Cyprus back under control. Idrieus used 8,000 Greek soldiers and forty fast ships called triremes, led by a man named Phocion from Athens and Evagoras, the ruler of Cyprus. With this help, Idrieus was able to bring Cyprus back under Persian control.

Artaxerxes then decided to deal with Sidon. He sent two leaders, Belesys and Mazaeus, to attack the city. However, they were defeated badly by the king of Sidon, Tennes, who had help from 4,000 Greek soldiers sent by Nectanebo II and led by Mentor of Rhodes. The Persian forces were forced to leave Phoenicia.

After this, Artaxerxes decided to lead the fight against Sidon himself. He gathered a huge army of 330,000 people, including foot soldiers, cavalry, ships, and support ships. He asked for help from some Greek cities, and though Athens and Sparta said no, he got some soldiers from Thebes, Argos, and other places in Greece and Anatolia. Even though these Greek soldiers were only about 10,000, they were very important for his success.

When Artaxerxes came close to Sidon, the king Tennes became worried. He tried to save himself by giving up 100 important people from Sidon to Artaxerxes and letting the king into the city. But Artaxerxes was very harsh—he killed those 100 people and then did the same to 500 more who came asking for mercy. Sidon was burned down, and many people sadly lost their lives. Later, Artaxerxes sold the remains of the city and had Tennes killed because he felt the king was no longer needed. He also sent some Jews who had supported the revolt to a place called Hyrcania near the Caspian Sea.

Conquest of Egypt

See also: Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt

In 340 or 339 BC, Artaxerxes III reclaimed Egypt for the Persian Empire. He gathered a large army, including soldiers from Thebes, Argos, and Asia Minor, and set out for Egypt. The journey was difficult, but Artaxerxes organized his forces into groups led by both Greek and Persian commanders.

After some early setbacks, Artaxerxes's troops captured several Egyptian cities. The Egyptian ruler, Nectanebo II, withdrew to Memphis. Eventually, the Egyptian forces surrendered, allowing Artaxerxes to control Egypt. He took treasures from temples and imposed heavy taxes to keep Egypt weak under Persian rule. He left a governor, Pherendares, to lead Egypt and returned to Persia with the wealth he had gathered.

Later years

After defeating Egypt, Artaxerxes returned to Persia and worked hard to stop uprisings in different parts of his empire. Soon after winning Egypt, the whole Persian Empire was firmly under his control again. Egypt stayed part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Great took it over.

After the victory in Egypt, there were no more revolts against Artaxerxes. Two important generals, Mentor of Rhodes and Bagoas, were given important positions. Mentor was successful in bringing many rebel leaders under control along the Asian coast. Bagoas helped keep peace in the empire from the capital. During the last years of Artaxerxes III’s rule, the empire was governed well and stayed peaceful.

Persian forces regained control of areas like Ionia, Lycia, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean Sea, taking over parts of what was once Athens’s territory. The growing strength of Philip II of Macedon worried Artaxerxes, so he tried to limit Macedon’s influence. In 340 BC, Persian forces helped the city of Perinthus resist Philip’s siege. By the end of Artaxerxes’s rule, Philip was already planning to invade the Persian Empire, though the Greek city-states did not support him.

Legacy

See also: Zoroastrianism, Mithra, and Anahita

Kings of the Achaemenid Empire followed ideas from Zoroaster. During the rule of Artaxerxes II, there was a focus on the worship of Anahita and Mithra. Artaxerxes III is believed to have focused more on worshipping Ahuramazda and Mithra. Some writings suggest he saw Ahuramazda and Mithra as one.

Artaxerxes III used his name on special coins made in the style of coins from Athens. These coins had writing in Egyptian that said "Artaxerxes Pharaoh. Life, Prosperity, Wealth".

In literature

It is thought that the story in the Book of Judith might be inspired by Artaxerxes III's actions in Phoenicia.

Construction

See also: Persepolis

There were new building projects at Persepolis, though some were not finished when Artaxerxes III’s rule ended. Two of his buildings included a large hall with thirty-two columns and a palace for himself. Work also began on roads and gates that would connect important buildings. After returning from Egypt in 341 BC, Artaxerxes III started building a big hall in Babylon.

The palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon grew larger during Artaxerxes III’s time. His tomb was carved into the mountain behind Persepolis, close to the tomb of his father.

Family

Further information: Achaemenid family tree

Artaxerxes III was the son of Artaxerxes II and Statira. Artaxerxes II had many sons, but most were not considered true family members. Some of Artaxerxes III’s important brothers and sisters were Rodogune, Apama, Sisygambis, Ocha, Darius, and Ariaspes. Many of them were removed from the kingdom after Artaxerxes III became king.

Artaxerxes III had children with different wives. With Atossa, he had Artaxerxes IV Arses. With another unknown wife, he had Bisthanes and Parysatis II, who later married Alexander the Great. He also married a daughter of his sister Ocha and a daughter of Oxyathres, who was the brother of Darius III.