Artabazos II

In 362 BC, Artabazos was sent by Artaxerxes II to capture Datames, the satrap of Cappadocia, who had joined in the Satraps' revolt in which Artabazus' brother, Ariobarzanes, was a participant. However, Artabazos was defeated by Datames.{{r|diod_15.91}} Artaxerxes II ultimately prevailed, and Ariobarzanes was crucified and Datames assassinated.

Following the capture and death of his brother, Artabazos was made satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, but in 356 BC he refused obedience to the new Persian king, Artaxerxes III. Artaxerxes had ordered the disbanding of all the satrapal armies of Asia Minor, as he felt that they could no longer guarantee peace in the west and was concerned that these armies equipped the western satraps with the means to revolt.{{cite book |title=The Persian Army 560–330 BC: 560–330 BC |url=https://archive.org/details/persianarmybc00seku |url-access=limited |last=Sekunda |first=Nick |author-link=Nicholas Sekunda |first2=Simon |last2=Chew |date=1992 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=1-85532-250-1 |page=28 }} The order was ignored by Artabazus, who asked for the help of Athens in a rebellion against the king. Artabazos then became involved in a revolt against the king and against other satraps who acknowledged the authority of Artaxerxes III.

Artabazos was at first supported by Chares, an Athenian general, and his mercenaries, whom he rewarded very generously. The gold coinage of Artabazos is thought to have been issued specifically to reward the troops of Chares.{{cite book |title=CNG: MYSIA, Lampsakos. Artabazos. Satrap of Daskylion, circa 356 BC. AV Stater (16mm, 8.44 g, 4h). |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=272598}} The Satrap of Mysia, Orontes I, was also on his side. Later, Artabazos was also supported by the Thebans, who sent him 5,000 men under Pammenes. With the assistance of these and other allies, Artabazos defeated the King in two great battles.

However, Artaxerxes III was later able to deprive Artabazos of his Athenian and Boeotian allies by counter-bribing them, whereupon Artabazos was defeated by the king's general, Autophradates, and was taken prisoner. Mentor and Memnon, two brothers-in-law of Artabazos, who had supported him, still continued the revolt, as they were aided by the Athenian mercenary leader, Charidemus. Together they were able to free Artabazos.

After this, Artabazos seems either to have continued his rebellious operations or at least started a fresh revolt. However, eventually, he had no choice but to flee with Memnon and his family. They went into exile and took refuge at the court of Philip II of Macedonia in Pella, together with their 11 sons and 10 daughters.{{cite book |last1=Heckel |first1=Waldemar |title=Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire |date=2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781405154697 |page=290 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NR4Wn9VU8vkC&pg=PT290 |language=en}} Artabazos, who was 37, and his family were exiled at the court of Philip II for about ten years, from 352 to 342, and during that time Artabazos became acquainted with the future Alexander the Great.{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=Timothy |last2=Brice |first2=Lee L. |title=Brill's Companion to Insurgency and Terrorism in the Ancient Mediterranean |date=2015 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004284739 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=248DCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Carney |first1=Elizabeth Donnelly |title=Women and Monarchy in Macedonia |date=2000 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=9780806132129 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbI2hZBy_EkC&pg=PA101 |language=en}} Barsine, daughter of Artabazos, and future wife of Alexander, grew up at the Macedonian court.

During the absence of Artabazos, Mentor of Rhodes, his brother-in-law, was of great service to the king of Persia in his war against Nectanebo II of Egypt. After the close of this war, in the summer of 342 BC, Artaxerxes gave Mentor the command against the rebellious satraps of western Asia. Mentor took advantage of this opportunity to ask the king to grant a pardon to Artabazos and Memnon. The king agreed and both men and their families were able to return to Persia.{{r|diod_16.22_34_52_dem}}

After the final defeat and death of Darius III in 330 BC, Alexander recognised and rewarded Artabazos for his loyalty to the Persian king by giving him the satrapy of Bactria, a post he held until his death in 328 BC.{{cite book |last1=Hornblower |first1=Simon |title=The Greek World 479-323 BC |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136831256 |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wKsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT352 |language=en}}

File:Claire Bloom Richard Burton Alexander the Great.jpg as Barsine, daughter of Artabazos II, and Richard Burton as Alexander the Great, in the 1956 film Alexander the Great. ]]

Artabazos' daughter, Barsine, may have married Alexander and may have been the mother of Heracles. Another daughter, Artacama, was given in marriage to Ptolemy; and a third daughter, Artonis, was given in marriage to Eumenes.

{{Quote|For Barsine, the daughter of Artabazus, who was the first lady Alexander took to his bed in Asia, and who brought him a son named Heracles, had two sisters; one of which, called Apame, he gave to Ptolemy; and the other, called Artonis, he gave to Eumenes, at the time when he was selecting Persian ladies as wives for his friends.|Plutarch, The Life of Eumenes.{{cite book |title=Plutarch: Life of Eumenes - translation |url=http://www.attalus.org/old/eumenes.html}}}}

In 328 BC, Artabazos resigned his satrapy, which was given to Cleitus the Black.{{r|arr_3.23_29_7.4_curt_3.13_5.9_12_6.5_7.3_5_8.1}}{{cite book |last1=Roisman |first1=Joseph |title=Brill's Companion to Alexander the Great |date=2002 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004217553 |page=221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qn8tDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |language=en}}

Artabazos also had a son named Pharnabazus (fl. 370–320 BC).

File:Family tree of the later Pharnacids complete.jpg

{{reflist|refs=

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Diod.+15.91.1 xv. 91]

Diodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Diod.+16.22.1 xvi. 22], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Diod.+16.34.1 34], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Diod.+16.52.1 52]; Demosthenes, Speeches, "Against Aristocrates", [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Dem.+23+154 154], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Dem.+23+155 155], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Dem.+23+157 157], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Dem.+23+159 159], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Dem.+23+163 163]

Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri, [http://websfor.org/alexander/arrian/book3b.asp iii. 23, 29], [http://websfor.org/alexander/arrian/book7a.asp vii. 4]; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni, [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/quintecurce/trois.htm iii. 13], [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/quintecurce/cinq.htm v. 9, 12], [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/quintecurce/six.htm vi. 5], [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/quintecurce/sept.htm vii. 3, 5], [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/quintecurce/huit.htm viii. 1]

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• Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051109073914/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0377.html "Artabazus (4)"]}}, Boston, (1867)
• Corso, Antonio. [http://actual-art.org/files/sb/09/Corso.pdf The Statue of Apollo Smintheus by Scopas and the Monumental Policy of the Satrap Artabazos]. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 9. Ed: A. V. Zakharova, S. V. Maltseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova. Lomonosov Moscow State University / St. Petersburg, NP-Print, 2019, pp. 75–79. ISSN 2312-2129.

• [http://www.livius.org Livius], [https://www.livius.org/arl-arz/artabazus/artabazus.htm Artabazus (2)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608032410/http://www.livius.org/arl-arz/artabazus/artabazus.htm |date=2013-06-08 }} by Jona Lendering

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