Darius II: Difference between revisions

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'''Darius II''' ({{lang-langx|peo|[[wiktionary:𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁|𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁]]}} {{transl|peo|Dārayavaʰuš}}; {{lang-langx|grc-gre|[[wiktionary:Δαρεῖος|Δαρεῖος]]}} {{transl|grc|Dareios}}), also known by his given name '''Ochus''' ({{lang|grc|Greek: Ὦχος}} {{transl|grc|Ochos}}), was [[King of Kings]] of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] from 423 BC to 405<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|Brill's New Pauly]]'', "Darius".</ref> or 404 BC.<ref name="EB1911"/>

Historians know little about Darius II's reign. A rebellion by the [[Medes]] in 409 BC is mentioned by [[Xenophon]]. It does seem that Darius II was quite dependent on his wife [[Parysatis]]. In excerpts from [[Ctesias]] some [[harem]] intrigues are recorded, in which he played a disreputable part.<ref name="EB1911"/> The [[Johanan (High Priest)#Archaeology|Elephantine papyri]] mention Darius II as a contemporary of the [[Johanan (High Priest)|high priest Johanan]] of [[Ezra#Timeline|Ezra]] 10:6:10.<ref>Pritchard, James B. ed., ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton University Press, third edition with supplement 1969'', p. 492</ref><ref>Bezalel Porten (Author), J. J. Farber (Author), C. J. F. Martin (Author), G. Vittmann (Author), The Elephantine Papyri in English (Documenta Et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui, book 22), Koninklijke Brill NV, The Netherlands, 1996, p 125-153.</ref> Darius II is mentioned in the books of [[Book of Haggai|Haggai]], [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]], and [[Ezra–Nehemiah]] of the [[Hebrew Bible]] (the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Old Testament]]). There is some debate on whether these books refer to Darius the Great though.

Darius II may have expelled various Greek dynasts who had been ruling cities in Ionia: [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that the sons of [[Themistocles]], which include [[Archeptolis]], Governor of [[Magnesia on the Meander|Magnesia]], "appear to have returned to Athens", and that they dedicated a painting of Themistocles in the [[Parthenon]] and erected a bronze statue to [[Artemis Leucophryene]], the goddess of Magnesia, on the [[Acropolis]].<ref name="DH200"/><ref>Paus. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%201.1.2&lang=original 1.1.2], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz72pKpgpx8C&pg=PA38 26.4]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Habicht |first1=Christian |title=Pausanias Guide to Ancient Greece |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520061705 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cJYpYbScEUC&pg=PA5 |language=en}}</ref> They may have returned from [[Asia Minor]] in old age, after 412 BC, when the Achaemenids took again firm control of the Greek cities of Asia, and they may have been expelled by the Achaemenid [[satrap]] [[Tissaphernes]] sometime between 412 and 399 BC.<ref name="DH200">{{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=David |last2=Wilkins |first2=John |title=The Rivals of Aristophanes: Studies in Athenian Old Comedy |date=2002 |publisher=ISD LLC |isbn=9781910589595 |page=200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQVPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 |language=en}}</ref> In effect, from 414 BC, Darius II had started to resent increasing Athenian power in the [[Aegean seaSea|Aegean]] and had Tissaphernes enter into an alliance with [[Sparta]] against [[Athens]], which in 412 BC led to the Persian conquest of the greater part of [[Ionia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology|last=Smith|first=William|publisher=Little, Brown|year=1867|volume=3|location=Boston|pages=1154–1156}}</ref>

[[Category:5th-century BC Pharaohspharaohs]]