After Xerxes was assassinated in 465 BC by one of his ministers, he was succeeded by his son Artakshartsha, commonly known by the Greek version of his name, Artaxerxes Longshanks (465 BC - 424 BC). He was famous for his gentleness and nobility, and his long reign was, with small interruptions, very peaceful. In 447 BC he concluded a peace treaty with Athens, ceding Ionia to the Greeks. During the Peloponnesian War, Artaxerxes supplied the Spartans with funds, a fruitful policy that brought back Ionia to the Persian sphere of influence half a century later. After his death, two of his sons, Xerxes II (424 BC) and Sogdianus (423 BC) sat on the throne in quick succession and were both murdered before another his sons, Darius II (423 BC - 405 BC), could firmly assume power. During his reign the Imperial court startled with its dissolute morals. In order to pay for his extravagant luxuries the Great King had to increase taxes, which brought about discontent and rebellions in some satrapies.
When Darius died of an illness, Artaxerxes II Memnon (405 BC - 359 BC) was crowned Great King. During the early years of his long reign there were tensions between him and his younger brother, Cyrus the Younger. The latter, satrap of Lydia and Phrygia, is said to have inherited the talents of his great predecessor Cyrus the Great (559 BC - 530 BC), the forefather of the Empire, and was thus duly given his name. That single fact is significant enough, for no other member of the dynasty before or after was awarded that name. The Persian annals are unreliable because they follow the official propaganda, in them Cyrus is described as a villain and traitor. Xenophont, on the other hand, is not short of superlatives towards him, in the "Anabasis" we see a noble virtuous Cyrus, equally skilled in war and art. Again his character is not realistic, it is idealised a great deal, but Xenophont's version is probably closer to reality. Artaxerxes meanwhile was gentler, Plutarch compares him to the first Artaxerxes in that aspect.
The differences between the two brothers strengthened and eventually grew into an open conflict, as Cyrus gathered an army whose basis was Greek mercenaries, and marched it through Asia Minor down to Mesopotamia, where he was opposed by the king's forces. In the following battle of Cunaxa, to the north of Babylon, the Greek mercenaries won a stunning victory over what would later scornfully be called "Asiatic hordes", Cyrus however was killed while pursuing the enemy (401 BC). The 10,000 Greek hoplites had to withdraw, which they performed brilliantly, for neither the terrain nor the Persian army could do anything to stop them, despite their will to do so. This successful march showed the vulnerability of the Persian Empire, and it would not be too long before a young Macedonian conqueror would follow the steps of Xenophont and his adventurous troops.
After Cyrus and the Greeks were out of the way and the immediate threat was gone, Artaxerxes was slowly drawn back to court intrigues, in which the main figures were his mother and wife. And while the dynastic struggles continued to plague the aging empire, foreign foes were taking advantage of its many weaknesses. Around 411 BC the important island of Cyprus gained its independence, Egypt quickly followed suit in 404 BC, and the weak ineffectual rulers could not prevent these losses even when they enjoyed prolonged periods of peace. The only big success of that time was the so-called "King's Peace" (386 BC), according to which the Great King was accepted as a decent arbitrator in the never ending quarrels between the Greek states. That was all, though. "Soft countries breed soft men." had once said Cyrus the Great with contempt, "It is not the property of any soil to give birth to good fruits and strong men in the same time". These words, albeit intended not towards Persians, seemed prophetic. The Achaemenids were declining rapidly and it seemed that the huge empire would disband before long, when a remarkable thing occurred. Amidst the pitiful members of the ruling dynasty, a strong and determined leader emerged. Ochus was one of the many sons of Artaxerxes II and he was not his designated heir. Through ruthless actions, however, he brought his brother, the crown prince Darius, to suicide and when his old father finally died, assumed the throne as Artaxerxes III Ochus (359 BC - 338 BC). The new king, though incredibly cruel (in the first few years of his reign he murdered most of his relatives who could pose a threat to him), managed to unite the Empire through "blood and iron". This did not come about easily, though. In 351 BC Artaxerxes launched an assault on Egypt, which ended in complete disaster, as the Persian army was demolished. Immediately rebellions broke out in western Asia Minor and other parts of the Empire - they were methodically put down by the king, the hitherto more or less independent satrapies were slowly taught obedience and soon swore allegiance to Persepolis just as they did in the long forgotten days of Cyrus and Darius I. Once in firm control of the empire, Artaxerxes attacked Egypt once more and in 343 BC re-conquered it. A few years later, however, in 338 BC, he was assassinated by his chief eunuch Bagoas, who placed his son Arces (338 BC - 336 BC) on the throne. Arces tried to kill his father's murderer, but was himself slain by the all-powerful eunuch, who then made Darius III Codomanus (336 BC - 330 BC) ruler. The first business of the new Great King was to present Bagoas with a cup of poison, which the latter consumed and consequently died. Darius was not a direct heir to the throne, in fact he was a cousin of the previous king, but everyone else with a better claim was already dead. He was in his fifties at that time and is said to have been one of the strongest wrestlers in the reign of Artaxerxes Ochus. After he had dealt with Bagoas properly, Darius set about restoring the empire and in 335 BC invaded a rebellious Egypt. It was too late to save it, though. In 334 BC the young Alexander of Macedon (336 BC - 323 BC) crossed the Hellespont at the head of his army and defeated the Persian forces at Granicus (334 BC), Issos (333 BC) and Gaugamela (331 BC). The Great King was present personally at the last two battles and chose to flee when their outcome was negative; he was eventually murdered by the satrap of Bactria, Bessus, in 330 BC. Later that year a drunk Alexander burnt down Persepolis, which marked the end of the Achaemenid era. It passed into history having lasted but a vague two and a half centuries. |
