Empire in Chaos
Introduction
The story of the decline and fall of the Achaemenid Empire is similar to the story of other powerful dynastic powers. Universally, these powers are founded by a powerful conqueror that enlarges his territory, followed by an organiser- manager who establishes the power of the dynasty. The rulers who follow will try with varying degrees of success to maintain the power they have inherited, in the process, starting to dismantle the work of their predecessors. Finally, the lack of organisation results in general chaos and rebellion throughout the territories, sometimes with periods of prosperity or temporary relief, but invariably leading to the demise of the power. The reign of Darius II and Artaxerxes II marks the early eras of the last stage of this decline.
Reign of Darius II Nothos
Artaxerxes I (arta-xsaça) died sometimes between the December of 424 BCE and March 423 BCE. He was immediately replaced by his eldest son, Xerxes II who ruled only for 45 days and was murdered by his courtiers. A second brother, Sekondianus in Greek texts, and sometimes Sogdianus (maybe a reference to his place of rule in Sogdiana?), was chosen to occupy the throne. This ruler enjoyed minimum popularity and could only count on the loyalty of a eunuch and the son of the Satrap of Babylonia. Shortly after ascending the throne, his half brother Vahuka (Gr.: Ochus; son of Artaxerxes and a Babylonian concubine, hence the nickname of Nothos), the Satrap of Hyrkania who at the time resided in Babylon, declared his own claim to the throne. Sekondianus abdicated the throne on the favour of Vahuka, hoping lenience from the new king, but finding little of it indeed, since he was executed immediately.
Vahuka crowned himself Darius II and promptly proceeded to execute the rest of his relatives whom he saw as danger to his sovereignty, establishing the unpleasant tradition in the Achaemenid household. His reign began by general strike of satrapies around the empire, particularly the ones in Asia Minor from whom we have sufficient data. With the proceeding of the Peloponnesian Wars, the Achaemenid Emperors found the time to reorganise their rule in the Ionian satrapies. The relationship with Cyprus was improved and Phoenician power in the Mediterranean helped the spread of Achaemenid power. Ionian trade was once again controlled by the Persian court, and new Satraps established their local power. However, these new establishments provided a local base for the Satraps, and soon rebellions, made in alliance with Sparta and other Greek city-states, became the norm. Pharnabazus, Satrap of Phrygia, was among the local rulers who undertook a rebellion against Darius II, and after his defeat, he was again re-appointed to the same position!
Our knowledge of central and eastern Iran during this time is minimal. We can only guess that traditionally loyal satrapies such as Parthia, Zrankia, Hyrcania, and Media, were ruled by the members of the royal household and this stayed largely calm and faithful to the Great King. Provinces of Transoxiana (Bactria, Sogdiana, Chorasmia) were most likely semi- autonomous, as evidenced by the meagre discovery of Achaemenid influence on their archaeological remains. They probably were already establishing their trade-routes that would become prominent in the Middle Iranian period, and local dynasties were starting to form, as we will see in their resistance against the forces of Alexander.
The most significant rebellion of Darius’ time took place in Egypt. Around 410 BCE, the people of Lower Egypt who traditionally lived in clam and friendly relations with the Jewish garrison of Elephantine, suddenly destroyed the Temple of the Jews. The cause does not to seem to be one of religious intolerance (Egyptians and Jews shared many religious traditions), rather a sign of Egyptian frustration from the chaotic Persian rule, embodied by the Jewish garrison who were vassals of the Persians. The Jews, complained to the local commander who took the side of the Egyptians, probably due to financial dealings of his family with the Egyptians. The conflict arose and reached the attention of Arsames, the Satrap of Egypt. The Persian commander of Elephantine was promptly removed, but a rebellion had already started and it soon found a leader in the person of Amyrtaeus of Sais. By 402, Amyrtaeus had already conquered all of Upper Egypt and by 400, he was the ruler of both Egypts and first and last Pharaoh of the 28th dynasty. Persians were unable to recover Egypt until 65 years later, during which Egypt experienced 3 dynasties. Although these local rules managed to improve Egypt’s economy, especially since silver, the currency of the kingdoms, was no longer being taken to Persia, nonetheless, none managed to return Egypt to its previous glory.
Reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon
Darius II died in the March of 404, right before the final victory of Amyrtaeus in Egypt. His successor was his eldest son Arsames who was crowned as Artaxerxes II in Pasargadea and received the title of Menomn from Greeks who found his memory exceptional. Even before his coronation, Artaxerxes was facing threats to his rule from his younger brother, Cyrus the Younger.
Four years earlier, Cyrus was appointed by his father as the supreme governor of the provinces of Asia Minor. There, he managed to pacify the local rebellions and become a popular ruler among both the Iranians and Greeks. Around the end of 405 BCE, Cyrus got news of his father’s illness. By gathering support from the local Greeks and by hiring Greek mercenaries commanded by Clearchus, Cyrus started marching down towards Babylonia, initially declaring his intention for crashing the rebellious armies in Syria. At the time of Darius II’s death, Cyrus had already succeeded against the Syrians and Cilicians and was commanding a large army made up of his initial supporters plus those who had joined him in Phrygia and beyond. Upon hearing of his father’s death, Cyrus the Younger declared his claim to the throne, based on the argument that he was born to Darius and Parysatis after the former’s decent to the throne, while Artaxerxes was born when Vahuka was only the satrap of Hyrcania.
Artaxerxes initially wanted to resolve the issue of his brother’s claim via peaceful negotiations, but these tactics failed, as did minor conflicts with Cyrus’ army by local rulers faithful to Artaxerxes. Finally, in third of September of 401 BCE, the armies of the Great King and his younger brother met near the village of Cunexa in Babylonia. Despite Cyrus’ superb command and total devotion of Greek mercenaries and their leader, Clearchus, to Cyrus, the result favoured Artaxerxes who personally participated in the battle. Cyrus was killed during the battle and the Greek mercenaries started a hasty retreat to their homeland whose account, along with much of Cyrus’ story, is preserved by Xenophon who personally witnessed all of the adventures.
Much has been written about Parysatis, the King’s mother, who apparently favoured his younger son Cyrus and was even accused by Artaxerxes’ queen, Stateira, of conspiring against Artaxerxes in favour of Cyrus. Tales of her cold blooded revenge against those who caused the death of Cyrus, particularly the famous general Tissaphernes, have been the subject of many Greek histories. We know that she preserved a large amount of influence on the court of Artaxerxes and with the help of eunuchs, who since the time of Xerxes I were important players on the courtly power struggles, managed to turn many fortunes in her own favour.
The first consequence of the defeat of Cyrus’ army was the Spartans fear of Artaxerxes’ revenge for their support of his brother. Incidentally, such revenge does not seem to have been in the mind of Artaxerxes who generally preferred to manage the court and devoted more time to spirituality than affairs of the state. Nonetheless, the Spartans entered a war against the Persian Empire that was to consume much of Aratxerxes’ reign and which finally ended, without much victory for either side, with the Peace of Antalcidas in 386 BCE, commenced in Susa.
The rest of Artaxerxes rule was spent in pacifying various rebellions around the empire. Unlike his ancestors, Artaxerxes was far removed from the day to day running of the country and was instead interested in his harem and his religious beliefs. The general policy of Achaemenid emperors in finding local allies for their rule, providing freedom of religion and conduct, and establishing the rules of the Ordinance of Good Behaviour, was ignored by Darius II and Artaxerxes II. Instead, the use of military power for restraining insurgencies and extraction of high taxes became the normal practice of the empire. Local rulers, mostly Persian satraps, eventually gained large amounts of personal wealth and property and managed to make their rules virtually hereditary, this establishing the basis of post-Achaemenid dynasties such as the Persian rulers of Pontus and Phrygia. The rise of local powers, financial corruption, and general dissatisfaction throughout the empire was slowly dissolving the unity of the Empire and providing a context of its final collapse. Only temporarily could this be restrained, as we will see from the rule of Artaxerxes III, but the empire’s fall was unavoidable.
Artaxerxes finally died in 459 BCE after 45 years of inglorious rule, and not before making a final mistake. His involvement in another court conspiracy, brewed by his third son Vahuka, ended up in the execution of his eldest son, Darius, and suicide of his second son, Arsames, leaving the throne to Vahuka, a remarkable, albeit not likeable, Great King.
Life, Art, and Religion During the Rule of Artaxerxes II
Early Achaemenid Emperors, Darius I and Xerxes I in particular, were avid builders of monuments and palaces, as attested by great royal complexes in Susa and Persepolis. They also left many detailed inscriptions of their activities and even their personal beliefs, giving us a glimpse of their royal minds. Darius II and his son Artaxerxes on the other hand have barely left us enough to prove their rule. It is speculated that they probably never lived in Persepolis and thus did not construct anything in that site; while in Susa we can name the completion of one palace to the reign of Artaxerxes. The tombs in Persepolis and Naqsh-i Rustam, assumed to be that of Darius and Artaxerxes, are other constructions of their reign, although since they never lived in Persia, we have no reason to assume these tombs really belong to them. Their inscriptions are also clumsy copies of Darius’ inscriptions, sometimes with obvious grammatical and spelling mistakes. This phenomenon has been related to the fact that cuneiform was becoming obsolete by this time and that Old Persian was in its early stages of turning into Middle Persian (as attested by confusion or dropping of grammatical endings and case markers).
In religious terms however, we see the keen attention of Artaxerxes to divinities not mentioned by his ancestors, particularly Mithra and Anahita, the god of social contracts and the goddess of fertility and rejuvenation respectively. Much has been said about the religion of Darius and Xerxes. Their constant mention of Ahura-Mazda and obsession with the very Zoroastrian concepts of Rightness (rta) and Wrongness (drauja) has convinced many of their Zoroastrian beliefs. On the other hand other scholars prefer to think of these Emperors as adherents to an ancient thought system that was also taken by Zarathushtra, but not necessarily Zoroastrians per se. An argument can be presented when we notice that the province of Persis becomes the stronghold of Zoroastrianism during the Macedonian and Parthian times, and the very Zoroastrian family of Sasanians also rise from this province. It is fair to conclude that the ruling class of the Persis province adhered to some form of Zoroastrianism and in all likelihood the latter Achaemenid Emperors also followed the same religion.
However, Artaxerxes’ apparent fondness for Mithra and Anahita become problematic if we notice Zarathushtra’s strong opposition to worship of gods other than Ahura-Mazda. Different accounts tell us about the Temple of Anahita that was built by Artaxerxes, and he himself mentions Mithra and Anahita in his inscriptions along with Ahura-Mazda. It is not known to what extent this would have created a problem with the Zoroastrianism of his time, as we can see that Sasan, the grandfather of Ardeshir I, founder of the Sasanian Dynasty, was also a priest of the Temple of Anahid in Staxr, near Persepolis.
Our knowledge of the life of the common people during this time is very minimal. The position of Babylon as the centre of Empire’s economy was slowly deteriorating, as evidenced by the confused state of remaining economic inscriptions. We can assume that the lack of central authority contributed to a neglect of irrigation systems and thus a plunge in the Babylonian agriculture. Amassing of local autonomy and the loss of Egypt also contributed in weakening of trade and economy of the empire, giving rise to popular rebellions like that of Cadusians (see next chapter).
In short, the disorganised state of the Empire made it a faded picture of its former glory under the rule of Darius I and Xerxes I. The temporary successes of the rule of Artaxerxes III would only delay the final collapse of the Empire, but could in no way prevent it altogether.
For Further Reading
Briant, Pierre. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns, 2002
Brown, Stuart C. “Media In Achaemenid Period” in Achaemenid History IV: Centre and Periphery, edited by Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg and Amélie Kuhrt, Nederlads Instutuut voor Het Nabije Oosten, Leiden, 1990
Dandemaev, M.A. A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire. Translated by W.J. Vogelsang. E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1989
Herrenschmidt, Clarisse. “Nugae Antico-Persianea” in Achaemenid History IV: Centre and Periphery, edited by Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg and Amélie Kuhrt, Nederlads Instutuut voor Het Nabije Oosten, Leiden, 1990
Lyonnet, Bertille. “Les Rapport Entre L’Asie Central et L’Empire Achéménide d’Après les Données de Arché ologie” in Achaemenid History IV: Centre and Periphery, edited by Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg and Amélie Kuhrt, Nederlads Instutuut voor Het Nabije Oosten, Leiden, 1990
Stolper, Matthew W. Entrepreneurs and Empire. Nederlads Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, 1985
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