- Darius II of Persia
Darius II ("Dārayavahuš"), originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus (from Greek νοθος, meaning 'bastard'), was king of the
Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 BC.Artaxerxes I , who died shortly afterDecember 24 , 424 BC, was followed by his sonXerxes II . After a month and a half Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus orSogdianus (the form of the name is uncertain). His illegitimate brother, Ochus,satrap ofHyrcania , rebelled against Sogdianus, and after a short fight killed him, and suppressed by treachery the attempt of his own brother Arsites to imitate his example. Ochus adopted the name Darius (in the chronicles he is called "Nothos", meaning "the bastard"). Neither Xerxes II nor Secydianus occurs in the dates of the numerousBabylon ian tablets fromNippur ; here the reign of Darius II follows immediately after that of Artaxerxes I.Of Darius's reign historians know very little (a rebellion of the
Medes in 409 BC is mentioned byXenophon ), except that he was quite dependent on his wifeParysatis . In the excerpts fromCtesias someharem intrigues are recorded, in which he played a disreputable part. As long as the power ofAthens remained intact he did not meddle in Greek affairs; even the support which the Athenians in 413 BC gave to the rebel Amorges inCaria would not have roused him, had not the Athenian power been broken in the same year before Syracuse. He gave orders to his satraps inAsia Minor ,Tissaphernes andPharnabazus , to send in the overdue tribute of the Greek towns, and to begin a war with Athens; for this purpose they entered into an alliance with Sparta. In 408 BC he sent his son Cyrus to Asia Minor, to carry on the war with greater energy. In 404 BC Darius II died after a reign of nineteen years, and was followed byArtaxerxes II .ee also
*
Artoxares References
*1911
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.