Artaxerxes II

Arses (Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II (𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II (423-405/4 BC) and his mother was Parysatis. Soon after his accession, Artaxerxes II faced opposition from his younger brother Cyrus the Younger, who assembled an army composed of troops from his Lydian and Ionian satrapies as well as Greek mercenaries in his bid for the throne. The forces of the brothers clashed at Cunaxa in 401 BC, which resulted in the defeat and death of Cyrus. Following this, Artaxerxes II had to contend with several other revolts; a revolt by Evagoras I (411-374) in Cyprus between 391–380 BC, by the Phoenicians in 380 BC, and most importantly, the revolts by the western satraps (known as the Great Satraps' Revolt) in the 360s and 350s BC, led by distinguished figures such as Datames, Ariobarzanes, and Autophradates. The rulers of the Parthian Empire notably considered Artaxerxes II their progenitor. The given name of Artaxerxes II was, as rendered in Greek, Arses (Ἄρσης; Babylonian: Aršu), derived from the Old Persian *Ṛšā- ("man", "hero"). He was also widely known by the hypocorism , which is attested in several Greek forms including Arsikas (Plutarch), Arsakas and Arsaces (Persica). From Arsaces also derives the name of the Arsacid dynasty, which ruled the Parthian Empire and claimed descent from Artaxerxes II himself. (Αρταξέρξης) is the Greek rendition of the Old Persian Artaxšaçā ("whose reign is through truth"). It is known in other languages as; Elamite Ir-tak-ik-ša-iš-ša, Ir-da-ik-ša-iš-ša; Akkadian Ar-ta-ʾ-ḫa-šá-is-su; Middle Persian and New Persian Ardašīr. Greek authors gave Artaxerxes II the epithet "Mnemon" (Μνήμων; abiataka), meaning "remembering" or "having a good memory." The life and reign of Artaxerxes II is mostly attested in classical Greek sources, which generally focuses on the history of the western front.