Artaxerxes III Ochus: Achaemenid
king of the Persian Empire
Relatives:
- Father: Artaxerxes II Mnemon
- Mother: Statira
- Wife: Unknown
- Sons: Bisthanes, Artaxerxes IV Arses
- Daughter: Parysatis (married to Alexander
the Great)
Main deeds:
- Accession in February or the first half of
March 358
- 355: Athens accepts defeat in the Social War
after it has received a letter from the great
king
- 343: Invasion and reconquest of Egypt; rise
of Bagoas and Mentor of Rhodes
- Death between 26 August and 25 September 336
(natural causes; Diodorus' story about poisoning
is contradictedt by BM 71537)
Artaxerxes III Ochus ruled Persia from 358 BC to
338 BC. He was the son of Artaxerxes II and was
succeeded by Arses of Persia (also known as
Artaxerxes IV). Soon after becoming the king,
Artaxerxes killed all of his relatives to protect
Persia from civil wars. In 343 BC Artaxerxes III
defeated Nectanebo II, driving him from Egypt, and
made Egypt once again a Persian satrapy.
There is evidence for a renewed building policy
at Persepolis, where Artaxerxes III erected a new
palace.
According to the Greek historian Diodorus,
Artaxerxes was murdered by his minister, Bagoas, but
this is contradicted by cuneiform texts. |