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Artaxerxes II and III

Artaxerxes II was the son of King Darius II of Persia. He claimed the throne of Persia in 404 B.C. and he ruled until 358 B.C. which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline with World History. Once he came to power his brother Cyrus the Younger made a claim to the throne. Cyrus was a governor and general in the service of his father Darius II and when the king died Cyrus wanted to become the next ruler of Persia. Cyrus wasn’t able to fulfill that goal because he was accidently killed by one of his soldiers named Mithridates. There was great celebration given in Persia by King Artaxerxes II after this incident occurred. Mithridates attended the function and heard King Artaxerxes II boast about killing his brother. Once he heard the king he then started to tell everyone the truth about the incident. King Artaxerxes II had the young soldier executed for hurting his reputation with his subjects.

King Artaxerxes II reign was defined by the amount of wars that he fought to keep the empire intact. The most notable battle of his reign was against the Spartans who invaded his territory around 396 B.C. The king managed to repel the Spartans after fighting them over a two year time period. From 385 B.C. to 373 B.C. King Artaxerxes II tried to retake Egypt and place it back under Persian control but he wasn’t able to achieve this goal. Toward the end of his reign, various satraps or Persian governors began to revolt against his power. These revolts occurred in Phrygia, Armenia, Caria, and Maussolus. These revolts were put down in 362 B.C. King Artaxerxes II had two wives. One was named Statira and his other wife’s name was unknown. He had three sons named Darius, Artaxerxes III Ochus, and Ariaspes. His daughters were named Apama, Atossa, Amestris, and Rhodogyne. He died in 358 B.C. and was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes III.

Artaxerxes III
King Artaxerxes III was born as Ochus and he took over the Persian Empire in 358 B.C. shortly after his father died. One of his brothers was murdered and the other committed suicide and only he was left to lay claim to the throne. King Artaxerxes murdered the rest of his royal family once he took over. When his father King Artaxerxes II was alive he served as a governor and military commander in his service.

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Artaxerxes II tomb Persepolis Iran.

Artaxerxes III continued the campaign against the Spartans and Greeks, he fought against the Egyptians and he constantly dealt with the rebellious provinces in his empire. He managed to defeat the Egyptians and then became the Pharaoh of the 31st dynasty. Some sources claim that King Artaxerxes III was a ruthless monarch who used force and power to govern his lands. His aggressive style of rule allowed him to stop the rebellions that were occurring within the empire. Toward the end of his reign, he had managed to bring about a six-year peace to the empire. He was poisoned by an official named Bogoas in 338 B.C. Before his death, he fathered over 150 children from his many concubines.

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2 thoughts on “Artaxerxes II and III

  1. The Elyphantine papyri mention the high priest Johanan of Ezra 10:6 during the last years of Darius II.

    Considering this the Darius of Ezra 6:1 would be Darius II and the Artaxerxes succeeding him at Ezra 7:1 Artaxerxes II.

    1. typo: Elephantine papyri

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