Michael Matthew Groat PhD's Genealogical Database

Individuals: 97,713  Families: 61,838  
Gedcom Last Modified: December 14, 2025 00:59:10

Achaimenes Hakhamani 1st King of Parsumash



Family 2: MRS Achaemenes of ELAM ANSHAN,      
Sources:
  1. Title: Wikiwand: Old Persian
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Old_Persian;
    Note: Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan). Like other Old Iranian languages, this language was known to its native speakers as Iranian language. Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets and seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran, Romania (Gherla), Armenia, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt, with the most important attestation by far being the contents of the Behistun Inscription (dated to 525 BCE). Recent research (2007) into the vast Persepolis Fortification Archive at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago have unearthed Old Persian tablets, which suggest Old Persian was a written language in use for practical recording and not only for royal display. Origin and overview As a written language, Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. It is an Iranian language and as such a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscriptions. Old Persian is one of the oldest Indo-European languages which is attested in original texts. The oldest date of use of Old Persian as a spoken language is not precisely known. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by a tribe called Parsuwash, who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province. Their language, Old Persian, became the official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give a good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, "Parsuwash" (along with "Matai," presumably Medians) are first mentioned in the area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III. The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian "pārsa" itself coming directly from the older word "pārćwa." Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median, according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BCE, which is when Old Persian was still spoken and extensively used. He relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. Classification Main article: Old Iranian languages Old Persian belongs to the Iranian language family, which is a branch of the Indo-Iranian language family, itself within the large family of Indo-European languages. The common ancestors of Indo-Iranians came from Central Asia sometime in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. The extinct and unattested Median language is another Old Iranian language related to Old Persian (for example, both are classified as Western Iranian languages and many Median names appeared in Old Persian texts) The group of Old Iranian languages was presumably a large group; however knowledge of it is restricted mainly to Old Persian, Avestan and Median. The former are the only languages in that group which have left written original texts while Median is known mostly from loanwords in Old Persian. Language evolution By the 4th century BCE, the late Achaemenid period, the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III differ enough from the language of Darius' inscriptions to be called a "pre-Middle Persian," or "post-Old Persian." Old Persian subsequently evolved into Middle Persian, which is in turn the ancestor of New Persian. Professor Gilbert Lazard, a famous Iranologist and the author of the book "Persian Grammar" states: "The language known as New Persian, which usually is called at this period (early Islamic times) by the name of Parsi-Dari, can be classified linguistically as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. Unlike the other languages and dialects, ancient and modern, of the Iranian group such as Avestan, Parthian, Soghdian, Kurdish, Pashto, etc., Old, Middle and New Persian represent one and the same language at three states of its history. It had its origin in Fars and is differentiated by dialectical features, still easily recognizable from the dialect prevailing in northwestern and eastern Iran." Middle Persian, also sometimes called Pahlavi, is a direct continuation of Old Persian and was used as the written official language of the country. Comparison of the evolution at each stage of the language shows great simplification in grammar and syntax. However, New Persian is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Substrates Old Persian "presumably" has a Median language substrate. The Median element is readily identifiable because it did not share in the developments that were peculiar to Old Persian. Median forms "are found only in personal or geographical names [...] and some typically are from religious vocabulary and so could in principle also be influenced by Avestan." "Sometimes, both Median and Old Persian forms are found, which gave Old Persian a somewhat confusing and inconsistent look: 'horse,' for instance, is [attested in Old Persian as] both asa (OPers.) and aspa (Med.)." Script Main article: Old Persian cuneiform Old Persian texts were written from left to right in the syllabic Old Persian cuneiform script and had 36 phonetic characters and 8 logograms. The usage of logograms is not obligatory. The script was surprisingly not a result of evolution of the script used in the nearby civilisation of Mesopotamia. Despite the fact that Old Persian was written in cuneiform script, the script was not a direct continuation of Mesopotamian tradition and in fact, according to Schmitt, was a "deliberate creation of the sixth century BCE." The origin of the Old Persian cuneiform script and the identification of the date and process of introduction are a matter of discussion among Iranian scholars with no general agreement having been reached. The factors making the consensus difficult are, among others, the difficult passage DB (IV lines 88–92) from Darius the Great who speaks of a new "form of writing" being made by himself which is said to be "in Aryan": "King Darius says: By the grace of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I have made. Besides, it was in Aryan ("ariyâ") script, and it was composed on clay tablets and on parchment. Besides, a sculptured figure of myself I made." — "Behistun Inscription (IV lines 88–92)" Also, the analysis of certain Old Persian inscriptions are "supposed or claimed" to predate Darius the Great. Although it is true that the oldest attested Old Persian inscriptions are from Behistun monument from Darius, the creation of this "new type of writing" seems, according to Schmitt, "to have begun already under Cyrus the Great." The script shows a few changes in the shape of characters during the period it was used. This can be seen as a standardization of the heights of wedges, which in the beginning (i.e. in DB) took only half the height of a line. Phonology The following phonemes are expressed in the Old Persian script: Vowels . Long: /aː/ /iː/ /uː/ . Short: /a/ /i/ /u/ Consonants Labial Dental/ Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal m n Plosive p b t d k ɡ Fricative f θ x h Affricate t͡s t͡ʃ d͡ʒ Sibilant s z ʃ Rhotic r Approximant l j w Notes: Lycian "𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀," "Kizzaprñna," "~ 𐊈𐊆𐊖𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀," "Zisaprñna" for (genuine) Old Persian "Ciçafarnā" (besides the Median form "Ciθrafarnah") = Tissaphernes suggests "/t͡s/" as the pronunciation of "ç" (compare and Kloekhorst 2008, p. 125 in for this example, who, however, mistakenly writes "Çiçafarnā," which contradicts the etymology [PIIr. "Čitra-swarnas-"] and the Middle Persian form "Čehrfar" ["ç" gives Middle Persian "s"]). The phoneme /l/ does not occur in native Iranian vocabulary, only in borrowings from Akkadian (a new /l/ develops in Middle Persian from Old Persian /rd/ and the change of /rθ/ to /hl/). The phoneme /r/ can also form a syllable peak; both the way Persian names with syllabic /r/ (such as Brdiya) are rendered in Elamite and its further development in Middle Persian suggest that before the syllabic /r/, an epenthetic vowel [i] had developed already in the Old Persian period, which later became [u] after labials. For example, Old Persian "Vᵃ-rᵃ-kᵃ-a-nᵃ" /vrkaːna/ is rendered in Elamite as "Mirkānu-," rendering transcriptions such as "V(a)rakāna," "Varkāna" or even "Vurkāna" questionable and making "Vrkāna" or "Virkāna" much more realistic (and equally for "vrka-," "wolf," "Brdiya" and other Old Persian words and names with syllabic /r/). While "v" usually became /v/ in Middle Persian, it became /b/ word-initially, except before [u] (including the epenthetic vowel mentioned above), where it became /g/. This suggests that it was really pronounced as [w]. Grammar Nouns Old Persian stems: . a-stems (-a, -am, -ā) . i-stems (-iš, iy) . u- (and au-) stems (-uš, -uv) . consonantal stems (n, r, h) -a -am -ā Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Nominative -a -ā -ā, -āha -am -ā -ā -ā -ā -ā Vocative -ā -ā Accusative -am -ām Instrumental/ Ablative -ā -aibiyā -aibiš -ā -aibiyā -aibiš -āyā -ābiyā -ābiš Genitive -āyā ..
  2. Title: Wikiwand: Elamite language
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Elamite_language;
    Note: Elamite is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in present-day southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. The last written records in Elamite appear around the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great. Elamite is generally thought to have no demonstrable relatives and is usually considered a language isolate. The lack of established relatives makes its interpretation difficult. Writing system Elamite cuneiform, adapted from Akkadian cuneiform, was used from c. 2500 to 331 BC. Elamite cuneiform was largely a syllabary of some 130 glyphs at any one time and retained only a few logograms from Akkadian but, over time, the number of logograms increased. The complete corpus of Elamite cuneiform consists of about 20,000 tablets and fragments. The majority belong to the Achaemenid era, and contain primarily economic records. Two earlier scripts of the area remain undeciphered but plausibly have encoded Elamite: . Proto-Elamite is the oldest known writing system from Iran. It was used during a brief period of time (c. 3100 – 2900 BC); clay tablets with Proto-Elamite writing have been found at different sites across Iran. It is thought to have developed from early cuneiform (proto-cuneiform) and consists of more than 1,000 signs. It is thought to be largely logographic. . Linear Elamite is attested in a few monumental inscriptions. It is often claimed that Linear Elamite is a syllabic writing system derived from Proto-Elamite, but it cannot be proven. Linear Elamite was used for a very brief period of time during the last quarter of the third millennium BC. Linguistic typology Elamite is an agglutinative language, and its grammar was characterized by a well-developed and pervasive nominal class system. Animate nouns have separate markers for first, second and third person, a rather unusual feature. It can be said to display a kind of Suffixaufnahme in that the nominal class markers of the head are also attached to any modifiers, including adjectives, noun adjuncts, possessor nouns and even entire clauses. History The history of Elamite is periodized as follows: . Old Elamite (c. 2600–1500 BC) . Middle Elamite (c. 1500–1000 BC) . Neo-Elamite (1000–550 BC) . Achaemenid Elamite (550–330 BC) Middle Elamite is considered the “classical” period of Elamite, but the best attested variety is Achaemenid Elamite, which was widely used by the Achaemenid Persian state for official inscriptions as well as administrative records and displays significant Old Persian influence. Documents from the Old Elamite and early Neo-Elamite stages are rather scarce. Neo-Elamite can be regarded as a transition between Middle and Achaemenid Elamite, with respect to language structure. Phonology Because of the limitations of the language's scripts, its phonology is not well understood. Its consonants included at least stops /p/, /t/ and /k/, sibilants /s/, /ʃ/ and /z/ (with an uncertain pronunciation), nasals /m/ and /n/, liquids /l/ and /r/ and fricative /h/, which was lost in late Neo-Elamite. Some peculiarities of the spelling have been interpreted as suggesting that there was a contrast between two series of stops (/p/, /t/, /k/ as opposed to /b/, /d/, /g/), but in general, such a distinction was not consistently indicated by written Elamite. Elamite had at least the vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ and may also have had /e/, which was not generally expressed unambiguously. Roots were generally CV, (C)VC, (C)VCV or, more rarely, CVCCV (the first C was usually a nasal). Morphology Elamite is agglutinative but with fewer morphemes per word than, for example, Sumerian or Hurrian and Urartian and it is mostly suffixing. Nouns The Elamite nominal system is thoroughly pervaded by a noun class distinction, which combines a gender distinction between animate and inanimate with a personal class distinction, corresponding to the three persons of verbal inflection (first, second, third, plural). The suffixes are as follows: Animate: 1st person singular: "-k" 2nd person singular: "-t" 3rd person singular: "-r" or "Ø" 3rd person plural: "-p" Inanimate: "-Ø, -me," "-n," "-t" The animate third-person suffix -r can serve as a nominlizing suffix and indicate nomen agentis or just members of a class. The inanimate third-person singular suffix "-me" forms abstracts: sunki-k “a king (first person),” i.e., “I, a king,” "sunki-r," “a king (third person),” "nap-Ø" or "nap-ir," “a god (third person),” "sunki-p," “kings,” "nap-ip," “gods,” "sunki-me," “kingdom, kingship,” "hal-Ø," “town, land,” "siya-n," “temple,” "hala-t," “mud brick.” Modifiers follow their (nominal) heads. In noun phrases and pronoun phrases, the suffixes referring to the head are appended to the modifier, regardless of whether the modifier is another noun (such as a possessor) or an adjective. Sometimes the suffix is preserved on the head as well: "u šak X-k(i)" = “I, the son of X” "X šak Y-r(i)" = “X, the son of Y” "u sunki-k Hatamti-k" = “I, the king of Elam” "sunki Hatamti-p" (or, sometimes, "sunki-p Hatamti-p") = “the kings of Elam” "temti riša-r" = “great lord” (lit. “lord great”) "riša-r nap-ip-ir" = “greatest of the gods” (lit. "great of the gods") "nap-ir u-ri" = my god (lit. “god of me”) "hiya-n nap-ir u-ri-me" = the throne hall of my god "takki-me puhu nika-me-me" = “the life of our children” "sunki-p uri-p u-p(e)" = ”kings, my predecessors” (lit. “kings, predecessors of me”) This system, in which the noun class suffixes function as derivational morphemes as well as agreement markers and indirectly as subordinating morphemes, is best seen in Middle Elamite. It was, to a great extent, broken down in Achaemenid Elamite, where possession and, sometimes, attributive relationships are uniformly expressed with the “genitive case” suffix "-na" appended to the modifier: e.g., "šak X-na," “son of X.” The suffix "-na," which probably originated from the inanimate agreement suffix "-n" followed by the nominalizing particle "-a" (see below), appeared already in Neo-Elamite. The personal pronouns distinguish nominative and accusative case forms. They are as follows: Case 1st sg. 2nd sg. 3rd sg. 1st pl. 2nd pl. 3rd pl. Inanimate Nominative u ni/nu i/hi nika/nuku num/numi ap/appi i/in Accusative un nun ir/in nukun numun appin i/in In general, no special possessive pronouns are needed in view of the construction with the noun class suffixes. Nevertheless, a set of separate third-person animate possessives "-e" (sing.) / "appi-e" (plur.) occasionally is used already in Middle Elamite: "puhu-e," “her children”; "hiš-api-e," “their name." The relative pronouns are "akka," “who” and "appa," “what, which.” Verbs The verb base can be simple ("ta-," “put”) or “reduplicated” ("beti" > "bepti" “rebel”). The pure verb base can function as a verbal noun, or “infinitive.” The verb distinguishes three forms functioning as finite verbs, known as “conjugations.” Conjugation I is the only one with special endings characteristic of finite verbs as such, as shown below. Its use is mostly associated with active voice, transitivity (or verbs of motion), neutral aspect and past tense meaning. Conjugations II and III can be regarded as periphrastic constructions with participles; they are formed by the addition of the nominal personal class suffixes to a passive perfective participle in "-k" and to an active imperfective participle in "-n," respectively. Accordingly, conjugation II expresses a perfective aspect, hence usually past tense, and an intransitive or passive voice, whereas conjugation III expresses an imperfective non-past action. The Middle Elamite conjugation "I" is formed with the following suffixes: 1st singular: "-h" 2nd singular: "-t" 3rd singular: "-š" 1st plural: "-hu" 2nd plural: "-h-t" 3rd plural: "-h-š" Examples: "kulla-h," ”I prayed”; "hap-t," ”you heard”; "hutta-š," “he did"; "kulla-hu," “we prayed”; "hutta-h-t," “you (plur.) did”; "hutta-h-š," “they did.” In Achaemenid Elamite, the loss of the /h/ reduces the transparency of the Conjugation I endings and leads to the merger of the singular and plural except in the first person; in addition, the first-person plural changes from "-hu" to "-ut." The participles can be exemplified as follows: perfective participle "hutta-k," “done”; "kulla-k," “something prayed”; i.e. “a prayer”; imperfective participle "hutta-n," “doing” or “who will do”, also serving as a non-past infinitive. The corresponding conjugation is, for the perfective, first person singular "hutta-k-k," second person singular "hutta-k-t," third person singular "hutta-k-r," third person plural "hutta-k-p"; and for the imperfective, 1st person singular "hutta-n-k," 2nd person singular "hutta-n-t," 3rd person singular "hutta-n-r," 3rd person plural "hutta-n-p." In Achaemenid Elamite, the Conjugation 2 endings are somewhat changed: 1st person singular "hutta-k-ut," 2nd person singular "hutta-k-t," 3rd person singular "hutta-k" (hardly ever attested in predicative use), 3rd person plural "hutta-p." The participles can be exemplified as follows: perfective participle "hutta-k," “done”; "kulla-k," “something prayed”, i.e., “a prayer”; imperfective participle "hutta-n," “doing” or “who will do,” also serving as a non-past infinitive. The corresponding conjugation is, for the perfective, first person singular "hutta-k-k," second person singular "hutta-k-t," third person singular "hutta-k-r," third person plural "hutta-k-p"; and for the imperfective, 1st person singular "hutta-n-k," 2nd person singular "hutta-n-t," 3rd person singular "hutta-n-r, "3rd person plural "hutta-n-p." In Achaemenid Elamite, the Conjugation 2 endings are somewhat changed: 1st person singular "hutta-k-ut," 2nd person singular "hutta-k-t," 3rd person singular "hutta-k" (hardly ever attested in predicative use), 3rd person plural "hutta-p." There is al..
  3. Title: Encyclopædia Iranica: ACHAEMENES
    Author: Originally Published: December 15, 1983 Last Updated: July 21, 2011 This article is available in print. Vol. I, Fasc. 4, p. 414 Cite this entry: M. A. Dandamayev, “ACHAEMENES,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/4, p. 414; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenes-greek (accessed on 2 February 2014).
    Publication: Name: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenid-dynasty#pt1;
    Note: ACHAEMENES (Greek Achaiménēs), Old Persian proper name Haxāmaniš, traditionally derived from "haxā-," “friend” and "manah," “thinking power” (but see Achaemenid Dynasty). 1. The eponymous founder of the Persian royal house, the Achaemenids. According to the Behistun inscription of Darius I (I.6 and A.8) and Herodotus (7.11; cf. also 3.75), Achaemenes was the father of Teispes, ancestor of Cyrus II and Darius I. If Achaemenes was a historical personage, he should have lived at the end of the 8th and the first quarter of the 7th century B.C. But Cyrus II does not mention Achaemenes at all in his detailed genealogy, given in the Babylonian cylinder. It is true that in his inscriptions from Pasargadae Cyrus II calls himself an Achaemenid. But at present it can not be decided for certain whether these texts were written during the reign of Cyrus II himself or, after his death, by an order of Darius I. It is quite possible that Achaemenes was only the mythical ancestor of the Persian royal house. Plato ("Alcibiades" 1) makes him the son of Perseus (another version considers him to be the son of Aegeus), son of Zeus. According to Nicolaus of Damascus, he was a hero from whom the Achaemenidae descended (see Jacoby, "Fragmente" I/2, p. 361). According to Aelianus ("De hist. anim." 12.21), he was bred by an eagle. Bibliography: G. G. Cameron, "History of Early Iran," New York, 1936, p. 179. Kent, "Old Persian," pp. 116, 119, 134, 212. 2. Son of Darius I by Atossa and full brother of Xerxes. After the suppression of the first rebellion of Egypt in January, 484 B.C., Xerxes appointed him satrap of the country. During the expedition of Xerxes against Greece he commanded the Egyptian fleet at Salamis. In 459 B.C. he was defeated and slain at the battle of Papremis by Inarus, the leader of the second rebellion of Egypt. In mockery his corpse was sent by Inarus to the king Artaxerxes I, nephew of Achaemenes. Ctesias wrongly calls him Achaimenides. Bibliography: Herodotus 3.12; 7.7.97, 236. Ctesias "Persica," 14-15.63. A. T. Olmstead, "History of the Persian Empire," Chicago, 1948, pp. 235, 303. 3. Prince of the Achaemenid dynasty and landowner in the Nippur area in Babylonia in the second half of the 5th century B.C. It is possible that he was a grandson of no. 2. Bibliography: M. A. Dandamayev, “The Domain-lands of Achaemenes in Babylonia,” "Altorientalische Forschungen" 1, Berlin, 1974, pp. 123-27 (with references to the cuneiform texts). (M. A. Dandamayev)
  4. Title: Wikiwand: Atossa
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Atossa;
    Note: Atossa was an Achaemenid empress and daughter of Cyrus the Great and Cassandane. She lived from 550 BC to 475 BC and was a sister-wife of the Persian king of kings Cambyses II and wife of Darius I. Name The name Atossa (or Atusa) means "skilled or learned." It can also mean "well trickling" or "well granting." Atossa is the Grecized (Ancient Greek: "Ἄτοσσα") form of the Old Persian name "Utauθa." Her name in Avestan is Hutaosā. Life Atossa was born in 550 BC in Pasargadae. She was eldest daughter of Cyrus the Great and Cassandane. Atossa married her brother Cambyses II, probably after death of her father. When Darius I defeated the followers of a man claiming to be Bardiya (Smerdis), the younger brother of Cambyses II in 522 BC, he married Atossa. Atossa played an important role in the Achaemenid royal family, as she bore Darius the Great the next Achaemenid king, Xerxes I. Atossa had a "great authority" in the Achaemenid royal house and her marriage with Darius I likely was due to her power, influence and the fact that she was a direct descendant of Cyrus. Herodotus records in "The Histories" that Atossa was troubled by a bleeding lump in her breast. She wrapped herself in sheets and sought a self-imposed quarantine. Ultimately, a Greek slave, Democedes, persuaded her to allow him to excise the tumor. This is the first recorded case of mastitis. Xerxes I was the eldest son of Atossa and Darius. Atossa lived to see Xerxes invade Greece. Being a direct descendant of Cyrus the Great, Atossa had a great authority within Achamenian imperial house and court. Atossa's special position enabled Xerxes, who was not the eldest son of Darius, to succeed his father. Literary references Aeschylus included her as a central character in his tragedy "The Persians." Atossa is also one of the major characters in the Gore Vidal novel "Creation." Atossa also is included in Herodotus' "The Histories" and is shown to be a strong woman with a lot of influence. He even goes as far as to suggest that her wanting a Greek maiden was a reason why Darius the Great decided to begin his campaign to Greece. In his history of cancer, "The Emperor of All Maladies," Siddhartha Mukherjee imagines Atossa traveling through time, encountering different diagnoses and treatments for her breast cancer. Atossa becomes emblematic of cancer sufferers through history. Legacy Minor planet 810 Atossa discovered by Max Wolf, is named in her honor.
  5. Title: Copy of "The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]," by Mehrdad Kia
    Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=B5BHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=Arshama+%5BArsames%5D+of+Parthia+King&source=bl&ots=4bZ04psENX&sig=8j46bGv7h2rkC1EIUeSsd9Nnneg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJzL7bi5TSAhVK1oMKHcRZDWYQ6AEIMDAF#v=onepage&q=teispes&f=false;
    Note: ABC-CLIO, Jun 27, 2016
  6. Title: Wikiwand: Achaemenid family tree
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Achaemenid_family_tree;
    Note: The Achaemenid Empire was the first Persian empire, founded in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great. This article contains the Achaemenid family tree. [Chart of Family tree]
  7. Title: Wikiwand: Darius the Great
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Darius_the_Great;
    Note: Darius I (Old Persian: "Dārayava(h)uš," New Persian: "داریوش‎ Dāryuš"; Hebrew: "דָּרְיָוֶשׁ," Modern: "Darəyaveš,} Tiberian: "Dāryāwéš"; c. 550–486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the fourth Persian King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire. He ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, parts of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia, and Paeonia), most of the Black Sea coastal regions, parts of the North Caucasus, Central Asia, as far as the Indus Valley in the far east and portions of north and northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya, and coastal Sudan. Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing Gaumata, a claimed usurper. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt and subjugate Greece. Although ultimately ending in failure at the Battle of Marathon, Darius succeeded in the re-subjugation of Thrace, expansion of the empire through the conquest of Macedon, the Cyclades and the island of Naxos and the sacking of the city of Eretria. Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing satraps to govern it. He organized Achaemenid coinage as a new uniform monetary system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also put the empire in better standing by building roads and introducing standard weights and measures. Through these changes, the empire was centralized and unified. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, focusing on Susa, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Babylon, and Egypt. He had the cliff-face Behistun Inscription carved to record his conquests, an important testimony of the Old Persian language. Darius is mentioned in the biblical books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra–Nehemiah. Etymology Main article: Darius (given name) Dārīus and Dārēus are the Latin forms of the Greek "Dareîos" ("Δαρεῖος"), itself from Old Persian "Dārayauš" ("𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁"; "d-a-r-y-uš"), which is a shortened form of "Dārayavaʰuš" ("𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁," "d-a-r-y-v-u-š"). The longer form is also seen to have been reflected in the Elamite "Da-ri-(y)a-ma-u-iš," Babylonian "Da-(a-)ri-ia-(a-)muš," Aramaic "drywhwš "("𐡃𐡓𐡉𐡅𐡄𐡅𐡔"), and possibly the longer Greek form "Dareiaîos" ("Δαρειαῖος"). The name is a nominative form meaning "he who holds firm the good(ness)," which can be seen by the first part "dāraya," meaning "holder," and the adverb "vau," meaning "goodness." Primary sources See also: Behistun Inscription, DNa inscription, and Herodotus At some time between his coronation and his death, Darius left a trilingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun, which was written in Elamite, Old Persian and Babylonian. The inscription begins with a brief autobiography including his ancestry and lineage. To aid the presentation of his ancestry, Darius wrote down the sequence of events that occurred after the death of Cyrus the Great. Darius mentions several times that he is the rightful king by the grace of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda. In addition, further texts and monuments from Persepolis have been found, as well as a clay tablet containing an Old Persian cuneiform of Darius from Gherla, Romania (Harmatta) and a letter from Darius to Gadates, preserved in a Greek text of the Roman period. In the foundation tablets of Apadana Palace, Darius described in Old Persian cuneiform the extent of his Empire in broad geographical terms: "Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says: This is the kingdom which I hold, from the Sacae who are beyond Sogdia to Kush, and from Sind (Old Persian: 𐏃𐎡𐎭𐎢𐎺, 'Hidauv,' locative of 'Hiduš.' i.e., 'Indus valley') to Lydia (Old Persian: 'Spardâ') - [this is] what Ahuramazda, the greatest of gods, bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal house!" — "DPh inscription of Darius I in the foundations of the Apadana Palace" Herodotus, a Greek historian and author of "The Histories," provided an account of many Persian kings and the Greco-Persian Wars. He wrote extensively on Darius, spanning half of Book 3 along with Books 4, 5 and 6. It begins with the removal of the alleged usurper Gaumata and continues to the end of Darius's reign. Early life Darius was the eldest of five sons to Hystaspes and Rhodogune in 550 BCE. Hystaspes was a leading figure of authority in Persia, which was the homeland of the Persians. The Behistun Inscription of Darius states that his father was satrap of Bactria in 522 BCE. According to Herodotus, Hystaspes was the satrap of Persis, although the French Iranologist Pierre Briant state that this is an error. Also according to Herodotus (III.139), Darius, prior to seizing power and "of no consequence at the time," had served as a spearman ("doryphoros") in the Egyptian campaign (528–525 BCE) of Cambyses II, then the Persian Great King; this is often interpreted to mean he was the king's personal spear-carrier, an important role. Hystaspes was an officer in Cyrus' army and a noble of his court. Before Cyrus and his army crossed the Aras River to battle with the Armenians, he installed his son Cambyses II as king in case he should not return from battle. However, once Cyrus had crossed the Aras River, he had a vision in which Darius had wings atop his shoulders and stood upon the confines of Europe and Asia (the known world). When Cyrus awoke from the dream, he inferred it as a great danger to the future security of the empire, as it meant that Darius would one day rule the whole world. However, his son Cambyses was the heir to the throne, not Darius, causing Cyrus to wonder if Darius was forming treasonable and ambitious designs. This led Cyrus to order Hystaspes to go back to Persis and watch over his son strictly, until Cyrus himself returned. Darius did not seem to have any treasonous thoughts as Cambyses II ascended the throne peacefully; and, through promotion, Darius was eventually elevated to be Cambyses' personal lancer. Accession There are different accounts of the rise of Darius to the throne from both Darius himself and Greek historians. The oldest records report a convoluted sequence of events in which Cambyses II lost his mind, murdered his brother Bardiya, and was killed by an infected leg wound. After this, Darius and a group of six nobles traveled to Sikayauvati to kill an usurper, Gaumata, who had taken the throne by pretending to be Bardiya during the true king's absence. Many modern historians believe that Gaumata was in fact the true heir Bardiya, with the historical account being altered by Darius to make the coup d'état appear more legitimate. Darius's account, written at the Behistun Inscription, states that Cambyses II killed his own brother Bardiya, but that this murder was not known among the Iranian people. A would-be usurper named Gaumata came and lied to the people, stating he was Bardiya. The Iranians had grown rebellious against Cambyses's rule and on 11 March 522 BCE a revolt against Cambyses broke out in his absence. On 1 July, the Iranian people chose to be under the leadership of Gaumata, as "Bardiya." No member of the Achaemenid family would rise against Gaumata for the safety of their own life. Darius, who had served Cambyses as his lance-bearer until the deposed ruler's death, prayed for aid and in September 522 BCE, along with Otanes, Intaphrenes, Gobryas, Hydarnes, Megabyzus and Aspathines, killed Gaumata in the fortress of Sikayauvati. Herodotus provides a dubious account of Darius's ascension: Several days after Gaumata had been assassinated, Darius and the other six nobles discussed the fate of the empire. At first, the seven discussed the form of government; a democratic republic ("Isonomia") was strongly pushed by Otanes, an oligarchy was pushed by Megabyzus, while Darius pushed for a monarchy. After stating that a republic would lead to corruption and internal fighting, while a monarchy would be led with a single-mindedness not possible in other governments, Darius was able to convince the other nobles. To decide who would become the monarch, six of them decided on a test, with Otanes abstaining, as he had no interest in being king. They were to gather outside the palace, mounted on their horses at sunrise, and the man whose horse neighed first in recognition of the rising sun would become king. According to Herodotus, Darius had a slave, Oebares, who rubbed his hand over the genitals of a mare that Darius's horse favored. When the six gathered, Oebares placed his hands beside the nostrils of Darius' horse, who became excited at the scent and neighed. This was followed by lightning and thunder, leading the others to dismount and kneel before Darius in recognition of his apparent divine providence. In this account, Darius himself claimed that he achieved the throne not through fraud, but cunning, even erecting a statue of himself mounted on his neighing horse with the inscription: "Darius, son of Hystaspes, obtained the sovereignty of Persia by the sagacity of his horse and the ingenious contrivance of Oebares, his groom." According to the accounts of Greek historians, Cambyses II had left Patizeithes in charge of the kingdom when he headed for Egypt. He later sent Prexaspes to murder Bardiya. After the killing, Patizeithes put his brother Gaumata, a Magian who resembled Bardiya, on the throne and declared him the Great King. Otanes discovered that Gaumata was an impostor, and along with six other Iranian nobles including Darius, created a plan to oust the pseudo-Bardiya. After killing the impostor along with his brother Patizeithes and other Magians, Darius was crowned king the following morning. Early reign Early revolts Following his coronation at Pasargadae, Darius moved to Ecbatana. He soon learned that support for Bardiya was strong, and revolts in Elam and Babylonia had broken..
  8. Title: Wikiwand: Achaemenes
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Achaemenes;
    Note: Achaemenes (Old Persian: Hakhāmaneš) was the apical ancestor of the Achaemenid dynasty of rulers of Persia. Other than his role as apical ancestor, nothing is known of his life or actions. It is quite possible that Achaemenes was only the mythical ancestor of the Persian royal house, but if Achaemenes was a historical person, he would have lived around the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 7th century BC. Name The name used in European languages (Greek: Ἀχαιμένης (Achaiménēs), Latin: Achaemenes) ultimately derives from Old Persian Haxāmaniš (𐏃𐎧𐎠𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁), as found together with Elamite 𒄩𒀝𒋡𒉽𒉡𒆜 (Ha-ak-ka-man-nu-iš or Hâkamannuiš) and Akkadian 𒀀��𒈠𒉌𒅖𒀪 (A-ḫa-ma-ni-iš-ʾ) in the non-contemporaneous trilingual Behistun Inscription of Darius I. The Old Persian proper name is traditionally derived from haxā- (Sanskrit Sakhā) "friend" and manah "thinking power," yielding "having a friend's mind." A more recent interpretation reads haxā- as "follower", giving "characterized by a follower's spirit." The name is spelled هخامنش (Haxâmaneš) in Modern Persian. Historicity
  9. Title: Copy of Encyclopædia Iranica: CHRONOLOGY OF IRANIAN HISTORY PART 1
    Publication: Name: http://www.iranicaonline.org/pages/chronology-1;
  10. Title: Wikiwand: List of monarchs of Persia
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_monarchs_of_Persia;
    Note: This article lists the monarchs of Persia (Iran) from the establishment of the Median Empire by Medes around 705 BC until the deposition of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Earlier monarchs in the area of modern-day Iran are listed in: . List of rulers of the pre-Achaemenid kingdoms of Iran Minor dynasties and vassal monarchs can be found in: . List of rulers of Parthian sub-kingdoms . Islamic dynasties of Iran Median Empire (678–549 BC) Main article: Medes Portrait Name Family relations Reign Notes Median Kingdom (678 BC–549 BC) Deioces 700–647 BC First known ruler of Media Phraortes Son of Deioces 647–625 BC Scythian rule (624–597 BC) Cyaxares Son of Phraortes 624–585 BC The dynasty of the Median kings was known as Cyaxarid dynasty, named after him or a pre-Deicoes king. Astyages Son of Cyaxares 585–549 BC Last king of the Medes Achaemenid Kingdom (~705–559 BC) Main article: Achaemenid Kingdom Portrait Name Family relations Reign Notes Achaemenid dynasty (~705–559 BC) Achaemenes ~705 BC First ruler of the Achaemenid kingdom Teispes Son of Achaemenes ~640 BC Cyrus I Son of Teispes ~580 BC Cambyses I Son of Cyrus I and father of Cyrus II ~550 BC Achaemenid Empire (559–334/327 BC) Main article: Achaemenid Empire Portrait Titles Regnal name Personal name Birth Family relations Reign Death Notes Achaemenid dynasty (559–334/327 BC) The Great King, King of Kings, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Corners of the World Cyrus the Great – 600 BC Son of Cambyses I king of Anshan and Mandana daughter of Astyages 559–530 BC 530 BC King of Anshan from 559 BC. Killed in battle with Massagetes The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Cambyses II – ? Son of Cyrus the Great 530–522 BC 521 BC Died while en route to put down a rebellion. Pharaonic titulary: Horus: Smatawy, Nswbty: Mesutire The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Bardiya Gaumata (?) ? Son of Cyrus the Great (possibly an imposter claiming to be Bardiya) 522 BC 522 BC Killed by Persian aristocrats The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Darius I – 550 BC Son of Hystaspes 522–486 BC 486 BC Pharaonic titulary: Horus: Menkhib Nswbty: Stutre The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Xerxes I – 519 BC Son of Darius I 485–465 BC 465 BC Most likely is the King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Artaxerxes I Arses ? Son of Xerxes I 465–424 BC 424 BC Believed by some to be the King Ahaseurus of the Book of Esther The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Xerxes II Artaxerxes ? Son of Artaxerxes I 424 BC 424 BC Only recognised in Persia itself, killed by Sogdianus The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt ? Sogdianus ? Son of Artaxerxes I 424–423 BC 423 BC Only recognised in Persia and Elam, killed by Darius II The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Darius II Ochus ? Son of Artaxerxes I 424–404 BC 404 BC The Great King, King of Kings Artaxerxes II Arsaces 436 Son of Darius II 404–358 BC 358 BC The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Artaxerxes III Ochus ? Son of Artaxerxes II 358–338 BC 338 BC Killed The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Artaxerxes IV Arses ? Son of Artaxerxes III 338–336 BC 336 BC Killed The Great King, King of Kings, Pharaoh of Egypt Darius III Artashata 380 Son of Arsames son of Ostanes son of Darius II 336–330 BC 330 BC Killed by Artaxerxes V The Great King, King of Kings Artaxerxes V Bessus ? Probably a descendant of Artaxerxes II 330–329 BC 329 BC Killed by Alexander III "Note: Ancient Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the collapse of the Achaemenid dynasty as a result of the Wars of Alexander the Great." Macedonian Empire (336–306 BC) Main article: Macedonian Empire Portrait Title Name Birth Family relations Reign Death Notes Argead dynasty (336–306 BC) King Alexander the Great 356 BC Son of Philip II of Macedonia 336–323 BC 13 June 323 BC King of Macedonia from 336 BC as Alexander III King Philip III c. 359 BC Son of Philip II of Macedonia June 323– 317 BC 317 BC Killed by Olympias King Alexander IV Sept. 323 BC Son of Alexander III Sept. 323–309 BC 309 BC King of Macedonia as Alexander IV until 309 BC. Killed by Cassander son of Antipater Regent Perdiccas ? June 323–321 BC 321 BC Regent for Alexander IV & Philip III, Prince of Orestis Regent Antipater 398 BC Son of Iollas 321–319 BC 319 BC Regent for Alexander IV & Philip III Regent Polyperchon 394 BC Son of Simmias 319–316 BC 303 BC Regent for Alexander IV & Philip III. Exercised no actual power in Persia. Regent Cassander c. 350 Son of Antipater 316–309 BC 297 BC Regent for and murderer of Alexander IV. Exercised no actual power in Persia. Seleucid Empire (311–129 BC) Main article: Seleucid Empire Portrait Title Regnal name Personal name Birth Family relations Reign Death Notes Seleucid dynasty (311–129 BC) King Seleucus I Nicator – c. 358 BC Son of Antiochus son of Seleucus 311–281 BC 281 BC Assumed title of "King" from 306 BC. King Antiochus I Soter – ? Son of Seleucus I 281–261 BC 261 BC Co-ruler from 291 King Antiochus II Theos – 286 BC Son of Antiochus I 261–246 BC 246 BC King Seleucus II Callinicus – ? Son of Antiochus II 246–225 BC 225 BC King Seleucus III Ceraunus Alexander c. 243 BC Son of Seleucus II 225–223 BC 223 BC Great King Antiochus III the Great – c. 241 BC Son of Seleucus II 223–187 BC 187 BC King Seleucus IV Philopator – ? Son of Antiochus III 187–175 BC 175 BC King Antiochus IV Epiphanes Mithridates c. 215 BC Son of Antiochus III 175–163 BC 163 BC Killed in Elymais King Antiochus V Eupator – c. 172 BC Son of Antiochus IV 163–161 BC 161 BC King Demetrius I Soter – 185 BC Son of Seleucus IV 161–150 BC 150 BC King Alexander Balas – ? Purported son of Antiochus IV 150–146 BC 146 BC King Demetrius II Nicator – ? Son of Demetrius I 146–139 BC 139 BC Defeated and captured by Parthians. He married Rhodogune daughter of Mithridates I King Antiochus VI Dionysus – 148 BC Son of Alexander III. 145–142 BC 138 BC In competition with Demetrius II. King Antiochus VII Sidetes – ? Son of Demetrius I 139–129 BC 129 BC Killed in battle with Phraates II Fratarakas Main article: Frataraka The Fratarakas appear to have been Governors of the Seleucid Empire. Name Date Coinage Family Relations Note 1 Bagadates/ Baydād (bgdt) 3rd century BC Fratarakā dynasty - son of Baykard Governor of the Seleucid Empire. Coin legend bgdt prtrk’ zy ’lhy’ (“Baydād, fratarakā of the gods”) in Aramaic. 2 Ardaxšīr I (rtḥštry) mid-3nd century BC Fratarakā dynasty Governor of the Seleucid Empire 3 Vahbarz (whwbrz - called Oborzos in Polyenus 7.40) mid-3nd century BC Fratarakā dynasty Governor of the Seleucid Empire 4 Vādfradād I (wtprdt) 3nd century BC Fratarakā dynasty - son of Vahbarz Governor of the Seleucid Empire 5 Vadfradad II c. 140 BC Fratarakā dynasty Governor of the Seleucid Empire. Transition period. Eagle emblem on top of stylized kyrbasia. Aramaic coin legend wtprdt [p]rtrk’ zy ’ly’ (“Vādfradād, frataraka of the gods”). 6 ‘Unknown king I’ (Syknlt?) 2nd half of 2nd century BC ? Transition period. No inscription Kings of Persis Main article: Kings of Persis Name Date Coinage Family Relations Note 7 Darev I 2nd century BC (end) ? Darev I and his successors were sub-kings of the Parthian Empire. Crescent emblem on top of stylized kyrbasia. Aramaic coin legend d’ryw mlk (𐡃‬𐡀𐡓𐡉‬‬𐡅‬ 𐡌𐡋‬𐡊‬, "King Darius").[5] 8 Vadfradad III 1st century BC (1st half) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire. Coin legend wtprdt mlk (𐡅‬𐡕‬𐡐‬𐡓‬𐡃‬𐡕 𐡌‬𐡋𐡊‬, "King Vadfradad") in Aramaic script. 9 Darev II 1st century BC son of Vadfradad III Sub-king of the Parthian Empire. Aramaic coin legend d’ryw mlk brh wtprdt mlk’ ("King Darius, son of King Vadfradad"). 10 Ardashir II 1st century BC (2nd half) son of Darev II Sub-king of the Parthian Empire. Killed by his brother Vahshir I 11 Vahšīr/ Vahshir I (Oxathres) 1st century BC (2nd half) son of Darev II Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 12 Pakor I 1st century CE (1st half) son of Vahshir I Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 13 Pakor II 1st century CE (1st half) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 14 Nambed 1st century CE (mid) son of Ardashir II Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 15 Napad 1st century CE (2nd half) son of Nambed Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 16 ‘Unknown king II’ 1st century CE (end) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 17 Vadfradad IV 2nd century CE (1st half) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 18 Manchihr I 2nd century CE (1st half) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 19 Ardashir III 2nd century CE (1st half) son of Manchihr I Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 20 Manchihr II 2nd century CE (mid) son of Ardashir III Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 21 Uncertain King III/ tentatively Pakor III 2nd century CE (2nd half) ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 22 Manchihr III 2nd century CE (2nd half) son of Manchihr II Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 23 Ardashir IV 2nd century CE (end) son of Manchihr III Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 24 Vahshir II (Oxathres) c. 206-210 CE ? Sub-king of the Parthian Empire. The last of Bazarangids. 25 Shapur 3rd century CE (beg.) Brother of the first Sasanian, Ardashir I Sub-king of the Parthian Empire 26 Ardashir V (Sasanian Dynasty Ardashir I) 3rd century CE (beg.) First Sasanian ruler, under the name of Ardashir I Sub-king of the Parthian Empire Parthian Empire (247 BC – CE 228) Main article: Parthian Empire The Seleucid dynasty gradually lost control of Persia. In 253, the Arsacid dynasty established itself in Parthia. The Parthians gradually expanded their control, until by the mid-2nd century BC, the Seleucids had completely lost control of Persia. Control of eastern territories was permanently lost by Antiochus VII in 129 BC. For more comprehensive lists of kings, queens, sub-kings and sub-queens of this Era see: . List of rulers of Parthian sub-ki..
  11. Title: Wikiwand: Achaemenid Empire
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Achaemenid_Empire;
    Note: The Achaemenid Empire (/əˈkiːmənɪd/; "𐎧𐏁𐏂," "Xšāça" (Old Persian) "The Empire" c. 550–330 BC), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia founded by Cyrus the Great. Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning 5.5 million square kilometers. Incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths, it is notable for its successful model of a centralized, bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the south-western portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis, which came to be their heartland. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, establishing the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered most of the empire by 330 BC. Upon Alexander's death, most of the empire's former territory fell under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence at that time. The Iranian elites of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire. The Achaemenid Empire is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The historical mark of the empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Despite the lasting conflict between the two states, many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their daily lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange, some being employed by or allied to the Persian kings. The impact of Cyrus's edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, and the empire was instrumental in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far east as China. The empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of Iran (also known as Persia). Etymology The term Achaemenid means "of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes" (Old Persian: "𐏃𐎧𐎠𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁," "Haxāmaniš"; a bahuvrihi compound translating to "having a friend's mind"). Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. History See also: Achaemenid Kingdom Part of a series on the History of Iran Timeline Iran portal Achaemenid timeline Astronomical year numbering Origin Main articles: Achaemenes, Teispids, and Achaemenid family tree "The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here. ... : the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished; they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the remainder—the Dai, Mardi, Dropici, Sagarti, being nomadic." — Herodotus, "Histories 1.101 & 125" The Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The name "Persia" is a Greek and Latin pronunciation of the native word referring to the country of the people originating from Persis (Old Persian: "𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿," "Pārsa"). The Persians were an Iranian people who arrived in what is today Iran c. 1000 BC and settled a region including north-western Iran, the Zagros Mountains and Persis alongside the native Elamites. For a number of centuries they fell under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC), based in northern Mesopotamia. The Persians were originally nomadic pastoralists in the western Iranian Plateau and by 850 BC were calling themselves the Parsa and their constantly shifting territory Parsua, for the most part localized around Persis. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as the Medes, another group of Iranian peoples, established a short-lived empire and played a major role in the overthrow of the Assyrian. The Achaemenids initially were rulers of the Elamite city of Anshan near the modern city of Marvdasht; the title "King of Anshan" was an adaptation of the earlier Elamite title "King of Susa and Anshan." There are conflicting accounts of the identities of the earliest Kings of Anshan. According to the Cyrus Cylinder (the oldest extant genealogy of the Achaemenids) the kings of Anshan were Teispes, Cyrus I, Cambyses I and Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great, who created the empire (the later Behistun Inscription, written by Darius the Great, claims that Teispes was the son of Achaemenes and that Darius is also descended from Teispes through a different line, but no earlier texts mention Achaemenes). In Herodotus' "Histories," he writes that Cyrus the Great was the son of Cambyses I and Mandane of Media, the daughter of Astyages, the king of the Median Empire. Formation and expansion Further information: Battle of the Persian Border, Persian Revolt, Battle of Pteria, Battle of Opis, Battle of Pelusium (525 BC), Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley, and European Scythian campaign of Darius I Cyrus revolted against the Median Empire in 553 BC, and in 550 BC succeeded in defeating the Medes, capturing Astyages and taking the Median capital city of Ecbatana. Once in control of Ecbatana, Cyrus styled himself as the successor to Astyages and assumed control of the entire empire. By inheriting Astyages' empire, he also inherited the territorial conflicts the Medes had had with both Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. King Croesus of Lydia sought to take advantage of the new international situation by advancing into what had previously been Median territory in Asia Minor. Cyrus led a counterattack which not only fought off Croesus' armies, but also led to the capture of Sardis and the fall of the Lydian Kingdom in 546 BC. Cyrus placed Pactyes in charge of collecting tribute in Lydia and left, but once Cyrus had left Pactyes instigated a rebellion against Cyrus. Cyrus sent the Median general Mazares to deal with the rebellion, and Pactyes was captured. Mazares, and after his death Harpagus, set about reducing all the cities which had taken part in the rebellion. The subjugation of Lydia took about four years in total. When power in Ecbatana changed hands from the Medes to the Persians, many tributaries to the Median Empire believed their situation had changed and revolted against Cyrus. This forced Cyrus to fight wars against Bactria and the nomadic Saka in Central Asia. During these wars, Cyrus established several garrison towns in Central Asia, including the Cyropolis. Nothing is known of Persian-Babylonian relations between 547 BC and 539 BC, but it is likely that there were hostilities between the two empires for several years leading up to the war of 540–539 BC and the Fall of Babylon. In October 539 BC, Cyrus won a battle against the Babylonians at Opis, then took Sippar without a fight before finally capturing the city of Babylon on 12 October, where the Babylonian king Nabonidus was taken prisoner. Upon taking control of the city, Cyrus depicted himself in propaganda as restoring the divine order which had been disrupted by Nabonidus, who had promoted the cult of Sin rather than Marduk, and he also portrayed himself as restoring the heritage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire by comparing himself to the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. The Hebrew Bible also unreservedly praises Cyrus for his actions in the conquest of Babylon, referring to him as Yahweh's anointed. He is credited with freeing the people of Judah from their exile and with authorizing the reconstruction of much of Jerusalem, including the Second Temple. In 530 BC, Cyrus died while on a military expedition against the Massagetae in Central Asia. He was succeeded by his eldest son Cambyses II, while his younger son Bardiya received a large territory in Central Asia. By 525 BC, Cambyses had successfully subjugated Phoenicia and Cyprus and was making preparations to invade Egypt with the newly created Persian navy. The great Pharaoh Amasis II had died in 526 BC and had been succeeded by Psamtik III, resulting in the defection of key Egyptian allies to the Persians. Psamtik positioned his army at Pelusium in the Nile Delta. He was soundly defeated by the Persians in the Battle of Pelusium before fleeing to Memphis, where the Persians defeated him and took him prisoner. Herodotus depicts Cambyses as openly antagonistic to the Egyptian people and their gods, cults, temples and priests, in particular stressing the murder of the sacred bull Apis. He says that these actions led to a madness that caused him to kill his brother Bardiya (who Herodotus says was killed in secret), his own sister-wife and Croesus of Lydia. He then concludes that Cambyses completely lost his mind, and all later classical authors repeat the themes of Cambyses' impiety and madness. However, this is based on spurious information, as the epitath of Apis from 524 BC shows that Cambyses participated in the funeral rites of Apis styling himself as pharaoh. Following the conquest of Egypt, the Libyans and the Greeks of Cyrene and Barca in Libya surrendered to Cambyses and sent tribute without a fight Cambyses then planned invasions of Carthage, the oasis of Ammon and Ethiopia. Herodotus claims that the naval invasion of Carthage was cancelled because the Phoenicians, who made up a large part of Cambyses' fleet, refused to take up arms against their own people, but modern historians doubt whether an invasion of Carthage was ever planned at all. Herodotus claims that the naval invasion of Cartha..
  12. Title: Copy of The Genealogy of the Achaemenids
    Publication: Name: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenid-dynasty#pt1;
  13. Title: Wikiwand: Greek language
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Greek_language;
    Note: Greek (Modern Greek: "ελληνικά," "elliniká") is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, Albania and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning at least 3500 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds an important place in the history of the Western world and Christianity; the canon of ancient Greek literature includes works in the Western canon such as the epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey." Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science, especially astronomy, mathematics and logic and Western philosophy, such as the Platonic dialogues and the works of Aristotle, are composed; the New Testament of the Christian Bible was written in Koiné Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, the study of the Greek texts and society of antiquity constitutes the discipline of Classics. During antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world, West Asia and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire and develop into Medieval Greek. In its modern form, Greek is the official language in two countries, Greece and Cyprus, a recognized minority language in seven other countries, and is one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, and Turkey and by the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are often used to coin new words for other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary. History Main article: History of Greek Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages. Periods The Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods: . Proto-Greek: the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age. . Mycenaean Greek: the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards. . Ancient Greek: in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire. Ancient Greek fell into disuse in western Europe in the Middle Ages, but remained officially in use in the Byzantine world and was reintroduced to the rest of Europe with the Fall of Constantinople and Greek migration to western Europe. . Koine Greek: The fusion of Ionian with Attic, the dialect of Athens, began the process that resulted in the creation of the first common Greek dialect, which became a lingua franca across the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. Koine Greek can be initially traced within the armies and conquered territories of Alexander the Great and after the Hellenistic colonization of the known world, it was spoken from Egypt to the fringes of India. After the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, because the Apostles used this form of the language to spread Christianity. It is also known as Hellenistic Greek, New Testament Greek, and sometimes Biblical Greek because it was the original language of the New Testament and the Old Testament was translated into the same language via the Septuagint. . Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek: the continuation of Koine Greek, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. "Medieval Greek" is a cover phrase for a whole continuum of different speech and writing styles, ranging from vernacular continuations of spoken Koine that were already approaching Modern Greek in many respects, to highly learned forms imitating classical Attic. Much of the written Greek that was used as the official language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. . Modern Greek (Neo-Hellenic): Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period, as early as the 11th century. It is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. Diglossia Main article: Greek language question In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia: the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki, the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa, meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek, which was developed in the early 19th century and was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, having incorporated features of Katharevousa and giving birth to Standard Modern Greek, which is used today for all official purposes and in education. Historical unity The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, "Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English," (Greek has seen fewer changes in 2700 years than English has in 900 years). Geographic distribution Further information: Greeks and Greek diaspora Greek is spoken by at least 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Historically, there were traditional Greek-speaking settlements and regions in the neighboring countries of Albania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as in several countries in the Black Sea area, such as Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and around the Mediterranean Sea, Southern Italy, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya and ancient coastal towns along the Levant. Particularly in Albania due to the immigration wave towards Greece today a significant percentage of the population can speak the Greek language, or at least has some basic knowledge of it. The language is also spoken by Greek emigrant communities in many countries in Western Europe, especially the United Kingdom and Germany, Canada, the United States, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Africa and others. Official status Greek is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish). Because of the membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages. Furthermore, Greek is officially recognized as a minority language in parts of Italy and official in Dropull and Himara (Albania) and as a minority language all over Albania, as well as in Armenia, Romania, and Ukraine as a regional or minority language in the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Greeks are also a recognized ethnic minority in Hungary. Characteristics See also: Ancient Greek grammar, Koine Greek grammar, and Modern Greek grammar The phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to the modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because at all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Phonology See also: Modern Greek phonology Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and a fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts. The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): . replacement of the pitch accent with a stress accent. . simplification of the system of vowels and diphthongs: loss of vowel length distinction, monophthongization of most diphthongs and several steps in a chain shift of vowels towards /i/ (iotacism). . development of the voiceless aspirated plosives /pʰ/ and /tʰ/ to the voiceless fricatives /f/ and /θ/, respectively; the similar development of /kʰ/ to /x/ may have taken place later (the phonological changes are not reflect..
  14. Title: Geni: Achaemenes, king of Anshan
    Publication: Name: https://www.geni.com/people/Achaemenes-king-of-Anshan/6000000006131105658;
    Note: Achaemenes Gender: Male Birth: circa -720 (Anshan), Iran Death: after circa -675 (Anshan), Iran Immediate Family: Father of Teispes, king of Anshan Added by: François-Régis Allouis on September 10, 2007 Managed by: Pablo Benítez Barreto and 38 others Curated by: Jason Scott Wills Immediate Family Showing 1 person Teispes, king of Anshan son
  15. Title: "The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia," by Mehrdad Kia
    Author: ABC-CLIO, Jun 27, 2016
    Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=B5BHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=Arshama+%5BArsames%5D+of+Parthia+King&source=bl&ots=4bZ04psENX&sig=8j46bGv7h2rkC1EIUeSsd9Nnneg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJzL7bi5TSAhVK1oMKHcRZDWYQ6AEIMDAF#v=snippet&q=Achaemenes&f=false;
    Note: Knowledge of ancient Persia is often gleaned from the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans—two civilizations that viewed the Persians as enemies. This one-of-a-kind reference provides unbiased coverage of the cultural history of the Persian Empire, examining the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, Kushan, and Sasanian dynasties and tracing the development and maturation of Iranian societies during a period of nearly 1,500 years. As one of the most comprehensive studies on the topic, this historical overview explores the region's rich past while providing insight into the cultures and civilizations the Persians came to rule and influence. Using primary sources written and inscribed by the ancient Persians themselves, the encyclopedia studies the pre-Islamic civilizations of Iran in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Incorporating contributions from scholars who discuss the rise and fall of various Persian dynasties, the work offers some 180 entries that cover such topics as religion, royal nobility, the caste system, and political assassinations. The content offers perspectives from a variety of disciplines—from anthropology to archaeology, geography, and art history, among other areas.
  16. Title: Wikiwand: Behistun Inscription
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Behistun_Inscription;
    Note: The Behistun Inscription (also Bisotun, Bistun or Bisutun; Persian: بیستون‎, Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the place of god") is a multilingual inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, established by Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC). It was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script as the inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a variety of Akkadian). The inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script.
Master Index | Descendency Chart
Please send genealogical corrections, additions, or comments to Michael Matthew Groat PhD
Created by GIMMWebService Version 1.0.3 (Program Information), Copyright 2023 © Michael Groat
(Web design layout and pedigree indentation subroutine) Copyright 1996 © Randy Winch (gumby@edge.net) and Tim Doyle (tdoyle@doit.com)
(Internal GEDCOM data structures and GEDCOM file parsing) Copyright 2014-2021 © Giulio Genovese (giulio.genovese@gmail.com)

Like the program that you see? Any support is appreciated!

Paypal