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[German version] (Καλλωνῖτις, Kallōnîtis, other form of the name Χαλωνῖτις/ Chalōnîtis). Area mentioned by Pol. 5,54,7 and considered part of Media, directly west of the great  Zagrus passes along the upper Diyālā; here  Antiochus [5] III had the corpse of the rioter  Molon impaled; neighbouring region of Apolloniatis. Str. 16,1,1 considers C. as still part of Ἀτουρία, i.e. Mesopotamia. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography H. H. Schmitt, Unt. zur Gesch. Antiochos d.Gr. und seiner Zeit, 1964, Index s.v. Chalonitis.

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Terminology Designations for rulers include: (1) descriptive terms like the Sumerian LUGAL (literally 'big man'), equated in vocabularies with the Akkadian šarru ('shining one(?)'), malku ('adviser', Hebrew melek), Hittite ḥaššu- ('well-born one'); furthermore, Sumerian NUN and Akkadian rubāum ('most excellent one'), and Sumerian EN, Akkadian bēlu, Hittite išḫa- ('lord'); these apply regardless of the size and structure of the area of rule. Feminine forms are recorded. (2) Culture and epoch specific titles (a…

[German version] Although a distinction was made in ancient gynaecology between abortion and contraception (Sor. 1,60), the corresponding methods and practices cannot be precisely separated the one from the other. On the one hand, conception was regarded as a process, and its interruption at an early stage of pregnancy was certainly regarded as contraceptive; on the other hand, in view of deficiencies in understanding as to the point of conception, a device used as a contraceptive could also produce an abortion.  Child Exposure must also be regarded as a form of family planning. If Hipp…

[German version] Siblings (1st cent. AD), authors of the Hanshu (Qian Hanshu), the official Chinese dynastic history of the Former or Western Han, containing information on the Parthian empire (Parthians; Parthia), among other subjects. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography D.D. Leslie, K.H. J. Gardiner, The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources, 1996, s.v. Pan Ku/Pan Ch'ao.

[German version] (Γελωνοί; Gelōnoí). According to Hdt. (4,102; 108f.; 120; 136), agricultural Scythian tribe in the neighbourhood of the  Budini and speaking a Graeco-Scythian hybrid language; descendants of Gelonus; originally Greek refugees from Greek trade settlements. They apparently took part in the battle against  Darius [1] I. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)

[German version] (Ναβαρζάνης; Nabarzánēs). The chilíarchos (commander) of the royal cavalry of king Darius [3] III.; described in admiring terms by Curt. (esp. 5,9-10). Nabarzanes was the only Persian commander who was successful at the battle of Issus and was with Bessos at the time of king Darius' murder. He later surrendered to Alexander [4] the Great in Hyrcania (Arr. Anab. 3,23,3f.). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography Berve, vol. 2, no. 543.

(Μεγαβάτης; Megabátēs). Name of several distinguished Persians, including: [German version] [1] Father of Megabazus [2] Father of Megabazus [2] (Hdt. 7,97), cousin of Darius [1] I and of the satrap Artaphernes [2]. He commanded the unsuccessful assault on Naxos (500 BC; Hdt. 5,30-35). He may be identical with the M. who was replaced by Xerxes as satrap of Hellespontian Phrygia in 477 (Thuc. 1,129,1), or the M. who is described as an ‘admiral’ in [1. 8,5-7]. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 G. G. Cameron, Persepolis Treasury Tablets, 1948. [German version] [2] Son of Spithridates T…

[German version] (Ἄπαρνοι/Πάρνοι, Áparnoi/Párnoi, variant Πάρνοι/Σπαρνοι, Párnoi/Spárnoi: Str. 11,7,1; Lat. Aparni/Parni: etymology unclear). Part of the Dahae [1] tribe - aside from the Xánthioi/ Xantheíoi and Píssouroi (Str. 11,8,2; cf. 11,9,3) - who occupied the steppe of south-western Turkmenistan in the 3rd cent. BC (Str. 11,8,2f.; Justin. 41,1,10) and from there, under its leader Arsaces [1] I, invaded Parthia after 250 BC. The P. originally spoke an eastern Middle Iranian dialect (Parnian) whose nature can only be…

[German version] The Avroman documents, as they as known, were found in 1909 in a clay vessel in a grotto on the Kūh-i Sālān near the village of Pālāngān on the Kūh-i Avrōmān in the south-west of Iranian Kurdistan and are today kept in the British Museum. They consist of one Parthian and two Greek parchment documents. Whilst the Greek documents are contracts dating from 88/87 and 22/21 BC providing proof of the sale of half of the Dādbakān vineyard, the Parthian document tells (using heterographic…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt Crafts in Egypt, in Syria-Palestine and in Mesopotamia can be best categorized by the materials employed: stone, bone and other animal products, clay and glass, metals, wood, wool and flax and leather, as well as reed and plant fibres. These were used to make objects of the most varied kinds, from cooking-pots to finely worked pieces of jewellery. For the building trade, stone, clay, reed and wood were important. For the investigation of the various forms of…

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Introduction Judged by the principles of modern historiography, this discipline did not exist in the Ancient Orient. Nevertheless, the past has been treated in the literature in various ways, which indicates that history was an essential source of political and religious identity in the Ancient Orient. Frahm, Eckart (Heidelberg) [German version] B. Mesopotamia Records with a historical orientation do not emerge until the middle of the 3rd millennium BC in the form of royal inscriptions of Lagaš. Deeds are reported f…

[German version] (Σαγάρτιοι/ Sagártioi; Old Persian asagarta 'Sagartia', asagartiya 'Sagartian', 'Sagartians'). In an inscription of Darius [1] I from Persepolis that lists the lands/peoples of the empire, the S. precede the Parthians, Drangianians, Arians and Bactrians [3. DPe 15-16]. In the inscription of Bīsutūn, the same ruler reports that two 'pretenders to the throne' - the Mede Fravartiš (Phraortes [3]) and the Sagartian Ciçantaḫma (who was later executed in Arbela) - had passed themselves off as …

[German version] A hail of arrows fired backwards by mounted Parthian archers while pretending to flee (cf. Just. Epit. 41,2,7: “saepe etiam fugam simulant, ut incautiores adversum vulnera insequentes habeant” ("often, too, they pretend flight, that they may make their pursuers less careful of being wounded"). There are also depictions of the Parthian shot, for instance on Chinese reliefs from the Han period (206 BC to AD 220). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 H. von Gall, Das Reiterkampfbild in der iranischen und iranisch beeinflußten Kunst parthischer und sas…

[German version] (Πατιζείθης/ Pathizeíthēs Hdt. 3,61ff.; Πανζούθης/ Panzoúthēs Dionysius of Miletus, Schol. Hdt. 3,61 FGrH 687 F 2; identical to Παζάτης/ Pazátēs in Xanthus the Lydian; Πατζάτης/ Patzátēs Chron. pasch. 270?). According to Hdt. 3,61, a mágos who in 521 BC persuaded his brother Smerdis (Gaumāta) to rebel against Cambyses [2] II and was killed by Darius [1] I. Just. Epit. 1,9,9f. cites his name as Oropastes. P. should be interpreted as a title, although it is etymologically unclear (the same as the later πιτιάχης/ Pitiáchēs, Middle Persian btḥšy: "viceroy"?). Wiesehö…

[German version] (Μαργιανή/ Margianḗ < Ancient Persian Marguš > New Persian Marv). Fertile eastern Iranian country through which the Murġāb flows (Ptol. 6,10,1; Plin. HN 6,16; Str. 2,1,14; 11,10,1; in the Avesta M. is regarded as one of the most beautiful of countries created by Ahura Mazdā) in modern Turkmenistan. Ptol. 6,10 names the Derbicci, Massageti, Parni, Daae and Topuri as inhabitants of M. and also mentions individual cities, among which Antioch [7] Margiane (Giaur-Qala with the original Achaeme…

[German version] (Persian Nehāvand). City in Iran, south of the Alvand mountains in the Zagros range (Media). In this region (Tepe Giyan), which was already of importance in prehistoric times, the Seleucids founded the pólis Laodiceia(-N.), where a copy of the dynastic cult inscription of Antiochus [5] III was found. A Sassanid army was defeated by the Arabs near N. in AD 642, when N. was the main city of the district and diocese. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography L. Robert, Inscriptions séleucides de Phrygie et d'Iran, in: Hellenica 7, 1949, 5-22.

(Ῥοδογούνη/ Rhodogoúnē). [German version] [1] Mother of Darius I Wife of Hystaspes [2], mother of Darius [1] I (Suda and Harpocr., s. v.). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Daughter of Darius [1] I Daughter of Darius [1] I? (Hier. Adversus Iovinianum 1,45; PL 23, p. 287). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [3] Daughter of Xerxes I Daughter of Xerxes I (Ctes. FGrH 688 F 13). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [4] Daughter of Artaxerxes [2] II Daughter of Artaxerxes [2] II, wife of Orontes [2] I (Plut. Artaxerxes 27,7; cf. Xen. An. 2,4,8) an…

[German version] Site of ruins high in the Baḫtiyiārī Mountains (in Iran), c. 25 km north of the city of Īẕe (Malāmīr), in ancient Elymais. Among the numerous Hellenistic marble and bronze fragments found in a sanctuary, a bronze statue, somewhat over life size and almost completely preserved, is particularly noteworthy: it is as yet the only surviving large-scale representation in three dimensions of an Arsacid dignitary (prince?) (2nd cent. AD). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 V.S. Curtis, The Parthian Costume and Headdress, in: J. Wiesehöfer (ed.), Das Partherreic…

[German version] Chinese name of a 'nomadic people' with an original settlement area between the Qilian chain of mountains and Dunhuang, the starting point of the Silk Road in northwestern China. Driven from there between 176/174 and 161 BC at the command of Maodun, khan of the Xiongnu, the Y. turned west and in turn subjugated the Sai tribes (Sacae). Shortly afterwards, expelled from the Sai pasture lands in the Ili Basin and on Lake Ysyk by the Wusun, a subject people of the Xiongnu, the Y. foll…

[German version] ( Kūh-ī Xvāgah, Kūh-i Ḫvāǧah). Basalt mountain on an island in Lake Hāmūn in Drangiana/Iran. On its south-eastern slope is a site with ruins of impressive courtyards, gates, towers and rooms, at the earliest from the Parthian period but probably rather from the Sassanid and post-Sassanid period (Ġāga Šahr). Numerous rooms were richly decorated with stucco ornaments and above all with colourful frescos showing Graeco-Roman, Iranian and Indian stylistic elements and representing religi…

[German version] (Σατάσπης; Satáspēs). According to Hdt. 4,43 a maternal nephew of Darius [1] I, who was to be impaled for the violation of the daughter of Zopyrus. He was released upon the intercession of his mother, and as atonement he was given the task of circumnavigating Libya (Africa). He started from Egypt and left the Mediterranean through the 'Pillars of Heracles' (i.e. the Straits of Gibraltar), but turned back without having fulfilled his task; as a result Xerxes I had the originally imposed punishment carried out. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography F. Colin, Le récit…

[German version] [1] Port of Megara on the Bay of Saronia (Νίσαια/ Nísaia). Port of Megara [2] on the Saronikos Kolpos near modern Páchi [1. 259]. To the east of N. in Antiquity there was the island (now part of the mainland) of Minoa [2. 56-62], connected to the mainland by a bridge (Thuc. 3,51,3). Megara and its citizens are often described in ancient sources as ‘Nisaean’ [3. 156]. In the 6th cent. BC, N. temporarily belonged to Athens (Hdt. 1,59; Plut. Solon 12,3). In 461 BC the Athenians occupied N. a second time (Thuc. 1,103,4) and connected it with the c…

[German version] While women in archaic Greece usually nursed their own children, the use of wet-nurses became more common in the classical period. The τιθήνη/ tithḗnē or τίτθη/ títh ē (the nanny who did not nurse was referred to as τροφός/ trophós) was usually a slave (such as GVI 1729), although some free-born or freed women in Athens provided this service as well, usually ξέναι/ xénai. In the visual arts, wet-nurses played a primarily attributive role up into the 4th cent., but later one can observe an increased interest in them - that is, in their function, less as persons. In Rome, wet-nu…

[German version] I. Age thresholds The onset of pubertas, sexual maturity and the autonomy categorically connected to it (Fest. p. 250 s. v. pubes: puer qui iam generare potest), was assumed for girls to come with the completion of their 12th year (Cass. Dio 54,16,7), and was established for boys only by the inspectio habitudinis corporis ( indagatio corporis).  In AD 529, Justinian finally abolished the obligatory indagatio, considering it too offensive a procedure (Cod. Iust. 5,60,3). The attainment of pubertas by boys was recognized and celebrated on the occasion of the f…

[German version] (Ὀροντοβάτης/ Orontobátēs, Arrianus; ΡΟΟΝΤΟΠΑΤΟ, coins, HN 630). Younger brother of the Carian satrap Mausolus, Persian co-regent appointed by Darius [3] III and son-in-law of the Carian dynast Pixodarus. After the death of Pixodarus in 334 BC, O. defended Halicarnassus as satrap of Caria against Alexander [4] the Great, and ultimately the castle against Ptolemaeus. Following his flight in 333, O. commanded Persian troops at Gaugamela. Arr. Anab. 1,23; 2,5,7; 3,8,5; 11,5; Str. 14,2,17; Curt. 4,12,7. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography Briant, Index s.v. O.  S…

(Εὐλαῖος; Eulaîos). [German version] [1] Main river of the area of Susiana One of the main rivers of the area of Susiana (Arr. Anab. 7,7; Diod. Sic. 19,19,1; Plut. Eumenes 14; Str. 15,3,4; 22; Plin. HN 6,100; 31,35 et al.) on which the metropolis Susa was also situated; it appears in the Hellenistic period as the Greek polis with the name Σελεύκεια ἡ πρὸς τῷ Εὐλαίῳ(Seleucia on the E.). It is indeed certain that E. was named after the river name Ulaï that appears in Mesopotamian and Biblical testimonials; however the identification of E. and the other rivers of Susiana passed…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Diadochi and Epigoni | Alexander | Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | Hellenistic states | India, trade with | Mauryas (Ζαρίασπα/ Zaríaspa: Arr.  Anab. 4,1,5; 4,7,1; Pol. 10,49;  Str. 11,11,2; in Plin. HN 6,48 called Zariastes). Earlier name of the chief town of Bactria, which later was known as Bactra (Balkh). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)

[German version] (Γορδυηνή/ Gordyēnḗ, Plut. Lucullus 21; 26; 29 and passim; Plut. Pompey 36; Ptol. 5,12,9; Str. 11,14,2; 14,8; 14,15; App. Mith. 105; Γορδυαία/ Gordyaía, Str. 16,1,8; 1,21; 2,5). Region on the border of Armenia, the Adiabene, and the Atropatene on the upper course of the Tigris, south of Lake Van, with the poleis Sareisa (modern Šārı̄š), Satalka, and Pinaka (modern Finek) (Str. 16,1,24). Strabo identifies the inhabitants of the region, the Gordyaíoi (Γορδυαῖοι), with the   Carduchi (Καρδοῦχοι) (cf. Xen. An. 4,1,8; Plin. HN 6,44). After …

[German version] I. Mesopotamia While attention in old Egyptian culture was largely centred on existence after death, the concerns of Mesopotamia were almost exclusively with the present. A significant part of the cultural energy of ancient Mesopotamia was devoted to keeping human actions in harmony with the divine, so as to ward off such misfortunes as natural catastrophes, war, sickness and premature death. As such, heavy responsibility rested on the ruler as mediator between the world of gods and that of men. In Mesopotamia everything which is and happens was seen as a man…

[German version] (or Zarangiana), as the name of the region around the lower course of the  Etymander (the modern Hilmand/Helmand Rūd) in the Iranian province of Sı̄stān, goes back to the original Iranian name Zranka, which also described the inhabitants of the region and which has a disputed etymology. It appears in the inscription of  Bı̄sutūn of Darius I (1,16) and in Greek and Latin derivations; the ‘Persian’ variants have an initial d-. According to Strabo, D. (in the Parthian period) adjoined Areia in the north and west, Carmania in the west, Gedrosia in the …

[German version] (Μασίστης; Masistēs). According to Hdt.7,82 son of Darius [1] I and Atossa [1], satrap of Bactria (Hdt. 9,113) and Persian commander-in-chief (Hdt. 7,82). After the cruel death of his wife, M. is said to have been killed by the king's troops in 479/8 BC, together with his sons, while on his way to Bactria bent on insurrection (Hdt. 9,107-113). The name M. probably derives from the Old Persian ma θ iišta- (Greek μέγιστος/ mégistos, ‘the greatest’). Iust. 2,10,1-11 and Plut. Mor. 173b-c; 488d-f recount how, in exchange for recognising his kingship, Xerxe…

[German version] I. General The construction of a network of roads and ways and the creation of long-distance roads always correlates with settlement construction and structure. A mixed settlement structure comprises compact settlements and dispersed homesteads in large number and is in evidence across wide areas of the ancient world for the most varied epochs. Such a settlement structure produces an especially dense network of traffic routes. Ancient roads were staked out on the principle of creati…

(Ὀρόντης/ Oróntēs, MSS; Ὀρόντας/ Oróntas, OGIS 264,4; Ἀροάνδης/ Aroándēs, OGIS 390ff.). Armenian satraps and kings: O. [1-6]; the river O. [7]. [German version] [1] Relative of the Armenian royal family Relative of the royal family. After initial antagonism with Cyrus [3] the Younger, O. became his follower, and was subsequently convicted of treason and executed (Xen. An. 1,6; 9,29). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] O. I Persian governor of Armenia Son of the Bactrian Artasyras. As the Persian governor of Armenia, he married Rhodogune, the daughter of…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Alexander | Hellenistic states | India, trade with According to Appianus (Syr. 57,298, Ἑκατόμπολις/ Hekatómpolis), a new foundation of Seleucus I in Comisene; according to Pliny (HN 6,17,44), 133 miles from the Caspian Gates. Probably the modern Šahr-e Qūmes near  Damghan. After brief Arsacid occupation at the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC, it became Parthian capital. Excavation has brought to light abundant evidence from the Parthian period, including - bes…

[German version] (Μαζαῖος; Mazaîos). Persian nobleman, highly respected at the Achaemenid court (Curt. 5,1,18; Plut. Alexander 39), father of Antibelus, Artiboles and Hydarnes. Under Artaxerxes [3] III, M. was satrap of Cilicia and Persian commander in the war against the rebellious Phoenicians (Diod. Sic. 16,42,1f.). Under Darius [3] III, he administered Coele Syria and ‘Syria between the rivers’. In 331 BC, he withdrew from his position near Thapsacus, enabling Alexander [4] the Great to cross th…

[German version] Rock wall situated north of Persepolis with reliefs from the Elamite and Sassanid periods ([3. 167 No.1-8], partly with inscriptions) as well as cliff tombs with reliefs from the Achaemenid period [3. 167 No. I-IV], of which only that of Darius [1] I can be confidently attributed (through the inscription [1. DNa/b]). Others buried there are assumed to be Xerxes I, Artaxerxes [1] I and Darius [2] II. On the summit of the mountain and on the mountain generally there are numerous Zor…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Alexander (Πασαργάδαι/ Pasargádai, cf. Curt. 5,6,10: Pasargada). In the masculine form, name of the Persian tribe to whom the Achaemenids are said to have belonged (Hdt. 1,125), in the feminine form, the Greek name for the residence built by Cyrus [2] II (after his victory over Croesus c. 550 BC at the site of the victory over Astyages (Str. 15,3,8)?) in the Murġāb Plain (1900 m/N.N.), 30 km north-east of Persepolis (Elamite name form: Batraqataš). In the Achaemenid period, the chief monuments were sc…

(Ξέρξης/ Xérxēs; Old Persian Xšayāršā, 'ruling over heroes'). [German version] [1] X. I Achaemenid great king (486-465 BC), son of Darius [1] I and Atossa [1]. 'Born in the purple', X. was designated by his father as his successor (XPf 31 ff. = [6. 81-85]; Hdt. 7,2 f.; Porphyrogénnētos ). At the beginning of his reign he defeated an uprising in Egypt (Hdt. 7,3), and later the rebellions of Šamaš-Erība and Bēl-Šimmanni in Babylonia [3. 361 ff.]. A campaign to Greece (in 480/79 BC) - about which only accounts from the…

[German version] The title Great King in the ancient Oriental tradition (from the 2nd millennium BC to the Achaemenids [1]) was adopted by Hellenistic rulers as μέγας βασιλεύς; megas basileûs (and continued as rex magnus [2. 253]). It is attested for the Seleucids  Antiochus [5] III, who did not use it on coins and in royal letters, but tolerated (or even promoted) its use elsewhere [3. 75-77],  Antiochus [9] VII (Iust. 38,10,6), Ptolemy III (OGIS I 54) and IV [5. 71-74], and later also for other Hellenistic kings and petty prin…

[German version] (Middle Persian Kerdīr or Kirdīr). The name of a Sassanid religious-political official and dignitary of the 3rd cent. AD. In his four inscriptions [1. KKZ, KNRm, KNRb, KSM], originating from the times of King Vahrām II (276-293), K. describes his career from a simple hērbed (teacher priest) under Šābuhr I to mōbad and dādvar (judge) of the entire kingdom. Further, he praises his commitment to Zoroastrianism and explains his visions. The significant role attributed to him in the arrest of the Mani under Vahrām I is in fact merely se…

(Ὀξάθρης/ Oxáthrēs). [German version] [1] Youngest son of Darius [2] II and Parysatis Youngest son of Darius [2] II and Parysatis (Plut. Artoxerxes 1,5). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Abulites, commander at Gaugamela Son of Abulites, commander of his father's troops at Gaugamela; he subjugated himself to Alexander [4] the Great, but he (now governor of Paraetacene) was executed in Susa in 324 because he failed to provide assistance to the Greek army marching through the Gedrosian desert (Arr. Anab. 3,8,5; …

[German version] (Φραταφέρνης/ Phrataphérnēs). Satrap of the territories of Parthia and Hyrcania under Darius [3] III (Arr. Anab. 3,23,4); he commanded the Parthians, Hyrcanians and Topeirians in the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC ( ibidem 3,8,4). After the death of Darius he was reinstated in his old post by Alexander[4] the Great ( ibidem 3,28,2; 5,20,7; Curt. 8,3,17) and became one of the most loyal followers of the Macedonian. He took part in the suppression of the rebellion in Areia [1] ( ibidem 3,28,2; 4,18,1), arrested the insurgent Autophradates [2] (ibidem 4,18,2; Curt. 8,3,17…

[German version] I. Object of Research and Method In pre-industrial societies, the age of husband and wife at first marriage - alongside mortality and the menopause - determined the time-span available for procreation. An extension of this period usually caused a proportional rise in fertility. At the same time, the age of the husband influenced the size of the generation gap and the social and legal relations within the oíkos and familia. Ancient historians have developed various methodological approaches to establish this age, which differ in the choice of the so…

[German version] [1] City in Boeotia (Νῖσα/ Nîsa). City in Boeotia, mentioned only in the Homeric catalogue of ships (Hom. Il. 2,508). In Antiquity, it was identified (Paus. 1,39,4-6) with Megara [2], the main port of which was called Nisaea, but this is unlikely. Evidence: Str. 9,2,14; Dionysius Calliphontus 102; schol. Theocr. 12,27; schol. Hom. Il. 2,508. Freitag, Klaus (Münster) Bibliography E. Visser, Homers Katalog der Schiffe, 1997, 279f. [German version] [2] City and fortress complex in Turkmenistan This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco…

(Παρύσατις; Parysatis, Babylonian Purušātu). [German version] [1] Daughter of Artaxerxes [1] I and the Babylonian Andia Daughter of Artaxerxes [1] I and the Babylonian Andia; wife of her half-brother Darius [2] II, mother of Artaxerxes [2] II and Cyrus [3] the Younger (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 15; Plut. Artoxerxes 2,4) among other children. According to Greek tradition, she is said to have had a great influence on Darius (Ctesias ibid.; Plut. Artoxerxes 2,2), preferred Cyrus (Xen. An. 1,1,3; Ctesias FGrH 688 F 17), a…

[German version] ( Nēv Šābuhr). City founded by Šābuhr I (Sapor) (Ḥamza Iṣfah, Šahristānihā-i Ērān; Ṭabarī: Šābuhr II), capital of the Sāssānid province of Abaršahr in Westḫorāsān (Iran). Under Yazdgird II (5th cent. AD) it was for a time the most important royal residence of the Sāssānids (battles against the Hephthalites), and the city, in whose vicinity was also an important fire sanctuary, remained a flourishing metropolis until the Mongol Conquest of the 13th cent. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)

(Μανδάνη; Mandánē). [German version] [1] Daughter of the Medean king Astyages According to Hdt. 1,107, Xen. Cyr. 1,2,1 and Iust. 1,4,4, daughter of the Medean king Astyages, wife of the Persian Cambyses [1] and mother of Cyrus [2]. It seems that the dynastic link thus transmitted was meant to lend retrospective legitimation to the claims of Cyrus to the Medean (and, if M.'s mother was the Lydian princess Aryenis (Hdt. 1,74), also the Lydian) throne. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Daughter of Darius [1] I and sister of Xerxes I According to the court story surviving in …

[German version] Border territory of Media, opposite Parthyene east of the Caspian Gates (the modern territory of Dāmghān). Although it had already been lost for a period to the Seleucids before the eastern campaign ( anábasis) of  Antiochus [5] III, it did not finally fall to the Parthians (along with its central town of  Hecatompylus) until the 2nd cent. BC (cf. Str. 11,9,1). In the late Sassanid period the province ( šahr) Kōmiš, which incidentally was probably never a Christian diocese [1], separated the provinces of Gurgān and Ray. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 R. Gysel…

[German version] Fertile and densely settled area in Sogdiana, mentioned only in Curt. 8,2,14 as "bordering Scythia." The location and region are today identified with Erkurgan and its surrounding area near Karshi in the plain of the River Qashqadaryo in Uzbekistan. At the approach of Alexander [4]  the Great in the winter of 329/8 BC the inhabitants of X. expelled the Bactrians (Bactria) that had defected from the Macedonians and sought refuge in their land. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 F. Grenet, Zoroastre au Badakhshân, in: Studia Iranica 31, 2002, 193-214 2 C. Rapin, …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Xenophon | Alexander Large village (κώμη μεγάλη, probably modern Tall Gōmil near Ǧabal Maqlūb, 35 km north-east of Mosul) on the river Bumelos in northern Mesopotamia (Arr. Anab. 6,11,6), near which (cf. Arr. Anab. 3,8,7) the battle between  Alexander [4] the Great and  Darius [3] III took place on 1 October 331 (Arr. Anab. 3,11-15; Curt. 4,13,26-16; Plut. Alexander 31-33; Diod. Sic. 17,56-61; Iust. 11,14). After Alexander stalled a flanking manoe…