Artystone bint Cyrus II II

• Preferred Name: Artystone bint Cyrus II II^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
  
• Gender: F
  
• FSID: 9H1T-VZC
  
• Birth: ABT 560 BC
  
• Death: Y
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Artystone (Old Persian: *R̥tastūnā; Ancient Greek: Ἀρτυστώνη Artustṓnē; Elamite Ir-taš-du-na, Ir-da-iš-du-na) was a Persian princess, daughter of king Cyrus the Great, and sister or half-sister of Cambyses II, Atossa and Smerdis (Bardiyā). Along with Atossa and her niece Parmys, Artystone married king Darius I. It is argued that by marrying the female offspring of Cyrus, the founder of the empire, the new king aimed to prevent his rule from being contested, since Darius himself was not of royal blood.
  
  Artystone and Darius had at least two sons, Arsames and Gobryas, and a daughter, Artazostre. According to the Greek historian Herodotus Artystone was Darius' favourite wife. She is also mentioned in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets, an administrative archive from Persepolis.
  
  According to James Ussher, Artystone may have been another name for the biblical queen Esther, since Herodotus also called her Artystone the Virgin. While Esther is commonly known as the wife of Xerxes or Artaxerxes, the Book of Esther lists her cousin Mordecai as present during Nebuchadnezzar's capture of Jehconiah in 599 BC, and Josephus referencing him as a contemporary of Darius, making it impossible for Mordecai to be alive during Xerxes' or Artexerxes' reigns.
  
  === A superstar's kid, Atossa was the daught ===
  A superstar's kid, Atossa was the daughter of Persian megamonarchCyrus, who was called "the Great" even after being killed in battle by awoman, the Scythian warrior queen Tomyris. Like the Egyptians, the Persians thought nothing of brother-sistermarriages and other interestingly incestuous alliances. Acover-all-bases kind of gal, Atossa first married her drunken brotherCambyses II, who became king when Daddy took a dive. That marital boutwas followed by a mininuptial with a royal wanna-be who styled himselfthe pseudo-Smerdis. When heads rolled again, as they did withdistressing frequency in the Persian succession sweepstakes, Atossamarried her other brother, Darius. Soon after marriage three, the queen got a growth on her breast, whichabscessed and spread until she was seriously ill; their on-callphysician, a Greek captive, guaranteed a cure - but only if she'd talkher husband into letting him return home. The doc did the trick, soAtossa reciprocated by convincing Darius to send a spy mission with thegood doctor as guide. Now with a new lease on life, Atossa as co-regent helped Darius rulefor 35 years. They built Susa, the new capital of what was onceBabylonia, and a jazzy palace at Persepolis, on a site to die for. Inroyal politics, Atossa came to have the pivotal vote on who would succeedDarius - and chose her oldest son Xerxes. She might not have done himany favors: Xerxes (even with his reputed 2.6 million troops) went downto mortifyingly major defeat in the Greek-Persian War of 480-479 B.C.(Uppity Women of Ancient Times, by Vicki Leon, 1995)

1. Title: Livius.org - Artystone
   Publication: Name: https://www.livius.org/articles/person/artystone/;
   Note: Artystone's marriage to Darius the Great, briefly after his coup d'état in 521 BCE, was important because it connected two lines of the Achaemenid dynasty, which was necessary because the elder branch had died out and Darius belonged to the younger branch. A similar marriage was concluded between Darius and Artystone's elder sister Atossa. According to the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus, Artystone was Darius' favorite wife; he erected a golden statue of her.note The couple had three children: Arsames, Gobryas, and Artozostre. In the Persepolis Fortification Tablets, this queen is called Irtašduna. She appears to have been one of the most influential women at the Achaemenid court, and owned large estates in Persis.
   
2. Title: Iranicaonline.org - Women in pre-Islamic Iran - Artystone
   Author: M. Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia: 559-331 BC, Oxford, 1996. Idem, “The Royal Audience Scene Reconsidered,” in The World of Achaemenid Persia, ed. J. Curtis and St. J. Simpson, London, (forthcoming). [ Chronicle of Seert ] “Histoire nestorienne inédite: Chronique de Séert,” tr. l’abbé Pierre, ed. A. Scher, Patrologia Orientalis IV, 1908, pp. 215-312; V, 1910, pp. 217-344; VII, 1911, pp. 95-203; XIII, 1919, pp. 437-639; repr., 4 vols., Turnhout, Belgium, 1950-73; Arabic text with French tr. L. de Clerq et al., Collection de Clerq: Catalogue méthodique et raisonné – Antiquités assyriennes: Vol. I – Cylindres orientaux, 2 pts., Paris, 1888. M. A. R. Colledge, The Parthians, London, 1967. Idem, Parthian Art, London, 1977. A. Daems, “The Iconography of Pre-Islamic Women in Iran,” Iranica Antiqua 36, 2001, pp. 1-150.
   Publication: Name: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/women-i;
   Note: Royal women owned land and estates in Persis (Fārs) as well as outside the Persian heartland, e.g., in Babylonia, Syria, Egypt, and Media. They employed their own workforce and it also appears that certain administrative officials were assigned to them (e.g., BE 9 28, 9 50; Hdt., 2.98.1; Xen., An. 1.4.9; 2.4.27; Plato, Alc. I 121C-123CD; Plut., Art. 19.10). Most notable is Irdabama, a royal woman of the court of Darius I (r. 522-486) and unknown to Greek sources. She possessed her own workforces, mainly centered on Tirrazziš (Shiraz), which could include up to 480 laborers (PF 1028; PF-NN 1068, 1146). A small workforce known as matištukkašp also was assigned to her. With her own seal (PFS 51) Irdabama authorized the transactions of foodstuffs, while officials, such as Uštana and Rašda, using seal PFS 36 and 78 respectively, carried out her orders (Brosius, 1996, pp. 135-44). Estates are attested as belonging to Irtašduna, identified as Artystone, wife of Darius I. She also used her own seal (PFS 38) to authorize transactions and ration payments for her workforce. Greek historiography predominantly depicts Persian royal women as intriguing and interfering individuals at the Persian court, and they thus appear as instigators of rebellion and upheaval. However, few incidences attest to the fact that the women’s rank and close proximity to the king allowed them to intervene between the king and members of the royal family and the nobility. They were thus able to lessen a punishment or ask for the reinstatement of a disgraced family member, as in the case of Amestris and Amytis saving the life of Megabyzus (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 13). Overall their actions seem to be determined by their ambition to protect the royal family and consequently avenge the death of a family member or endeavor to save his life.
   
3. Title: Human Family Project
   Author: Mary H. Slawson, Human Family Project - Reconstruction of the Irish Surnames from Milesus to 1600 (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Medieval History Specialist, Ireland 2005).
   
4. Title: Wikipedia - Artystone
   Author: Primary sources Herodotus, 3.88.2 bis; 7.69.2; 7.72.2. The Persepolis Fortification Archive Annals of the World by James Ussher, 797; 1036 References Brosius, M. (1998): Woman in Ancient Persia. "Artystone", in W. Smith (ed.), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. Lendering, J (2007 [1999]): "Artystone", in https://www.livius.org/ Schmitt, R (1987): "Artystone", in E. Yarshater (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. II. James Ussher (1650): Annals of the World. Josephus, F: Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artystone;
   Note: Artystone (Old Persian: *R̥tastūnā;[1] Ancient Greek: Ἀρτυστώνη Artustṓnē; Elamite Ir-taš-du-na, Ir-da-iš-du-na) was a Persian princess, daughter of king Cyrus the Great, and sister or half-sister of Cambyses II, Atossa and Smerdis (Bardiyā).[2] Along with Atossa and her niece Parmys, Artystone married king Darius I. It is argued that by marrying the female offspring of Cyrus, the founder of the empire, the new king aimed to prevent his rule from being contested,[3] since Darius himself was not of royal blood.[4] Artystone and Darius had at least two sons, Arsames and Gobryas, and a daughter, Artazostre. According to the Greek historian Herodotus Artystone was Darius' favourite wife. She is also mentioned in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets, an administrative archive from Persepolis. According to James Ussher, Artystone may have been another name for the biblical queen Esther, since Herodotus also called her Artystone the Virgin.[5] While Esther is commonly known as the wife of Xerxes or Artaxerxes, the Book of Esther lists her cousin Mordecai as present during Nebuchadnezzar's capture of Jehconiah[6] in 599 BC, and Josephus referencing him as a contemporary of Darius,[7] making it impossible for Mordecai to be alive during Xerxes' or Artexerxes' reigns.