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[German version] (Γῆλαι / Gēlai, Str. 11,5,1, cf. 11,7,1; 11,8,1; Γηλύς / Gēlýs, Steph. Byz. s.v. Γ.; Γηλοί / Gēloí, Dionys. Per. 1019 [GGM II, 167]). Median tribe of Scythian origins, first mentioned by Strabo (according to Theophanes of Mytilene), who inhabited the south-western shores of the Caspian Sea. Some ancient authors (Plin. HN 6,48; Ptol. 6,2,5) identified them with the  Cadusii. The tribe's name lives on in the region's (or rather the Sassanid province's) modern name of Gı̄lān (middle Persian Gēlān). …

[German version] (Μασίστιος; Masístios). According to Hdt. 7,79, son of Siromitres, a Persian cavalry commander killed at Plataeae in 479 BC (Hdt. 9,20-22; Plut. Aristides 14; Diod. Sic. 11,30,4). The Athenians dedicated the armour of the ‘Persian most highly regarded after Mardonius by king and people’ (Hdt. 9,24) to Athena Polias (Paus. 1,27,1).…

(also Μεγάβυξος/ Megábyxos, Hdt. Μεγάβυζος/ Megábyzos < Old Persian Bagabuxša, Elamite Ba-ka-bu-uk-šá). [German version] [1] Distinguished Persian, conspirator against Gaumata Distinguished Persian, son of Dātūvahya (according to Hdt. 3,153 father of Zopyrus), He conspired with Darius [1] I against Gaumāta/Smerdis ([2. DB IV 85], Hdt. 3,70 passim). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Zopyrus, commander under Xerxes According to Hdt. son of Zopyrus (and hence grandson of M. [1]). Commander under Xerxes in his Greek campaign (Hdt. 7,82; 121). Later he was the opponent of the Athenians in Egypt (Thuc. 1,109,3; Diod. 11,74,6 passim) and in the battle for Cyprus (Diod. 12,3,2-4). Ctesias (FGrH 688 F 14,34ff.) describes the close relationships of M.'s family to the dynasty in a novelistic style. …

[German version] ( Iṣṭaxr, modern Taxt-i Ṭāʾūs). Site of ancient ruins located in Persis (Fārs) on the road from Iṣfahān to Shīrāz, at  Naqš-e Rostam; having been populated since prehistoric times, a fire sanctuary for  Anāhitā - according to Arabic tradition - was subsequently located there (archaeological investigations cannot prove this); Sāsān, the eponym of the  Sassanid Dynasty,…

[German version] ('Old Šīrāz', modern …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states (Φράασπα/ Phráaspa: Steph. Byz.; Φράατα/ Phráata: Plut. Antonius 38,2; Πράασπα/ Práaspa: Cass. Dio 49, 25,3; identical to Οὐέρα/ Ouéra = Vera: Str. 11,13,3). Probably a citadel in the city of Gaza(ka) in Media Atropatene (near modern Laylān on Lake Urmia?), Antony's [I 9] base in the Parthian campaign in 36 BC; not identical to Šīs. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 M. Schottky, Media …

[German version] [1] City on the west coast of the Black Sea This item can be found on the following maps: Pontos Euxeinos | Thraci, Thracia | Colonization | Apollo | Moesi, Moesia …

[German version] (Ὠρεῖται/ Ōreîtai, also Ὦροι/ Ôroi). Not an Indian ethnic group (cf. Arr. Ind. 21,8; 22,10; 25,2; incorrectly  Arr. Anab. 6,21,3) but probably an Iranian ethnic group with the…

[German version] I. Mesopotamia In contrast with cultic  rituals, the secular ceremonies of Mesopotamia have up to now rarely been the subject of academic research. On the whole, it has to be assumed that individual and communal life in the societies of the Ancient Orient in general and that of the  ruler in particular were dominated by numerous rules, resulting in more or less standardized patterns of behaviour. The reconstruction of such non-cultic ceremonies is largely dependent on secondary refe…

[German version] A place in the Iranian province of Īlām near the Iraqi border, named after Šīrīn (Shirin), the Christian wife of the…

[German version] (Παραιτακηνή/ Paraitakēnḗ; inhabitants: Παρητακηνοί/ Par ētakēnoí, among others Hdt. 1,101 and Παραιτάκαι/ Paraitálai, Arr. Anab. 3,19,2). Mountainous area in wes…

[German version] (Καρδοῦχοι; Kardoûchoi). First mentioned by Xenophon (Xen. An. 3,5,15 and passim), a mountain people living in the northernmost foothills of the  Zagrus, the Καρδούχεια ὄρη (Diod. Sic. 14,27,4). Xenophon describes the C. as living in villages and cultivating the fields, growing wine and raising cattle, as well as doing craftwork. He particularly emphasizes their military significance as archers and catapult shooters. Whilst in the Greek reports it is mainly the (‘natural’) aggression of the C. and their hostility towards the Great King that is emphasized (Xen. An. 3,5,16; Diod.…

[German version] A. The conception of childhood and attitude towards the child In antiquity, numerous terms for the child (in literature, legal language etc.) distinguish stages of childhood (βρέφος/ bréphos, παιδίον/ paidíon, παῖς/ paîs; Lat. infans, puer), stress the different significance of the child to each of its parents ( pais/ téknon) or the child's unfitness to be held guilty or responsible before the law ( infans, impuber); some of these terms possess a broad spectrum of meaning [6. 12-22]. In the dichotomy of childhood and adulthood as observed in both Greece an…

[German version] (Σισύγαμβις/ Sisýgambis, in Diodorus mostly Σισύγγαμβρις/ Sisýngambris). Daughter of Ostanes, a brother of Artaxerxes [2] II, sister and wife of Arsames [2] (Diod. Sic.17,5,5), as well as the mother of Darius [3] III. In 333 BC, after the battle of Issus she fell into the hands of Alexander [4] the Great (Arr. Anab. 2,11,9; Plut. Alexander 21; Curt. 3,11,24) and was treated with deference by him (cf. her rescue of the rebellious Uxians: Curt. 5,3,12 ff.). She stayed behind with Prince O…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient The idea of a  rulership that encompassed the entire known world was expressed in Mesopotamia in various royal epithets ─ i.a. ‘Ruler of the Four Regions (of the world)’ ( šar kibrāt arbaim/erbettim), ‘Ruler over the Totality’ ( šar kiššatim), ‘Ruler of Rulers’ ( šar šarrāni). The title ‘Ruler of the Four Regions (of the world)’ is first documented for the Akkadian ruler  Naramsin (23rd cent. BC). However, the claim inherent in this title did not hold true according to contemporary documents, since Naramsin's…

[German version] (Ὑρκανία; Hyrkanía < old Persian varkāna-, ‘Wolf's Land’; middle Persian gurgān). Historically and geographically important region of Iran (inhabitants: Ὑρκάνιοι, Ὑρκανοί, Hyrcani) on the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea (Hecataeus FGrH 1 F 291: Ὑρκανίη θάλασσα); it is shielded in the south and south-east by the eastern wing of the Elburz mountains and opens up to the north-east to the Aralo-Caspian steppe. It was favoured climatically as well as naturally by the precipitation raining down on the north side of the Elburz (Plin. HN 31,43), numerous smaller stretches of water and the larger rivers Sarnius (modern Atrek) and Maxeras (modern Rōd-i Gurgān), which both flow into the Caspian Sea. Apollodorus of Artemita (Str. 11,7,1ff.) and Ptolemy (6,9) characterize H. as fertile, rich in animal life (cf. also Ael. NA 7,38; 16,10 on the dogs trained for war and hunting and Curt. 3,2,6 on the Hyrcanian cavalry) and densely settled. Among the cities, the Achaemenid satrapal residence city Zadracarta, later Syrinx and Tambrax stood out (not localized exactly even today). According to Arrian (Anab. 3,23,1), the most important overland road from Ecbatana to Bactra did not lead through H., but rather a…

[German version] The term life expectancy (LE) is used in historical demography and population sociology to indicate how many years a person of a certain age has left to live under the mortality conditions in a specific society. It must be noted that this term in no way indicates the average age of death, and that the LE of a person changes significantly over the course of his or her life. In societies before the demographic transition (transition to a low birth and mortality rate), due to high mo…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Xenophon (Κούναξα; Koúnaxa). City on the left shore of the Euphrates river mentioned only by Plut. Artaxerxes 8,2. In its vicinity,  Cyrus [3] the Younger lost the battle and his life against his brother  Artaxerxes [2] II in the autumn of 401 BC. According to Plut., the city was 500 stadia away from Babylon, but according to Xen. An. 2,2,6, the distance was 360. Thus, until today the city's location cannot be clearly ascertained (Tell Kuneise?). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography H. Gasche, Autour des Dix Mille: Vest…

[German version] In Ionian Greek Matiene (Ματιανή/ Matianḗ, Ματιηνή/ Matiēnḗ), its inhabitants are Matieni (Ματιηνοί; Matiēnoí). According to Hdt. 5,49; 52 a region east of Armenia and the sources of the Little Zab river (Zabatus), according to Hdt. 1,202 also of the Gyndes and the Araxes [2] (contra: Strab. 11, 14, 13). M. was part of Media according to Strab. 2,1,14; 11,7,2; 11,8,8 and Steph. Byz. s.v. M., while according to Strab. 11,13,2; 7 it may have extended from the southern shore of Lake Urmia to the sources of the Little Zab and the Gyndes (on distances along the Royal Road, cf. Hdt. 5,52 with comm.). In Herodotus' tribute-list (3,94) the Matieni, who are also supposed to have taken part in Xerxes' campaign (Hdt. 7,72), together with the Saspeires an…

(Ὀστάνης/ Ostánēs). [German version] [1] Persian governor of Babylonia and the Transeuphrates Akkadian Uštani. Persian governor of Babylonia and the Transeuphrates under Darius I (attested from 521-516 BC) [1]. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 M.W. Stolper, Entrepreneurs and Empire, 1985, 8, 66. [German version] [2] Persian magician (Hostanes: Apul. Apol. 90). According to the Graeco-Roman biographical tradition, O. was a Persian magician who accompanied the expedition of Xerxes against Greece (479 BC) (Plin. HN 30,8 = [1. fragment 1]). He is said to have had contact with Greek intelle…

[German version] (Μῆδοι, Mêdoi, Old Persian …

[German version] Rock crevice with four Sāssānid reliefs (and  inscriptions) 3 km north-east of Persepolis in Persis. The reliefs show Šābuhr I (Sapor) with his entourage (with Middle Persian-Parthian-Greek inscription [1. ŠNRb]), the bust of the Zoroastrian ‘priest ’Karter ( …

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[German version] (Μεγάπανος; Megápanos). According to Hdt. 7,62 commander-in-chief of the Hyrcanians on Xerxes' Greek campaign, latter allegedly gove…

(Ὀτάνης/ Otánēs, Ancient Persian Utāna). [German version] [1] Son of Thuxra Son of Θuxra [2nd DB IV 83], one of the accomplices of Darius [1] I in the murder of Gaumāta (Smerdis). According to Hdt. 3,68-70, who gives Pharnaspes as O's father, O was even the instigator of the plot. Through his sister Cassandane (Hdt. 2,1; 3,2), O was brother-in-law of Cyrus [2] (II), and through his daughter Phaedyme father-in-law of Cambyses II, Smerdis and Darius (Hdt. 3,68). His influential status may also have secured t…

[German version] Several risings of Persian satraps against the central authority of the Great Kings are documented, esp. in the late 5th and 4th cents. BC (e.g. Megabyzus [2], Pissuthnes, Amorges, Cyrus [3] the Younger), but the term SR usually refers to the main phase (late 360s, called 'Great' by Diod. Sic. 15,90 ff, esp. 93,1) of the revolts against Artaxerxes [2] II (370s-350s). According to this source, it was characterized by joint action ( koinopragía) among numerous satraps (and peoples) of Asia Minor…

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[German version] Gorge midway between Ramhor, Hormuz and Behbahan in ancient  Elymais (region in southwestern Iran), where rock reliefs (some with Elymaean inscriptions) were carved on four stone blocks in the 2nd/3rd cents. AD. Some of the reliefs show the dynasts Abar-Basi and Orodes with dependants and …

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[German version] I. Issue and method Little research has yet been done into the complex of themes comprising the history of youth in Antiquity, except for individual problems such as the terminology of youth, the education of young people and youth organizations. What is especially needed is more gender-specific and class-specific studies, and more individual studies differentiated according to time and place. The focus of recent studies has been on the issue of whether 'adolescence' was perceived as …

[German version] I. General Before the so-called ‘demographic transition’ with its change to lower birth and death rates, societies generally  have high natality and mortality, especially infant mortality and concomitant low average life expectancy for new-born babies. This must have been the same in Antiquity, although less is known about Greece than about the Imperium Romanum. Modern scholarship assumes an ancient life expectancy of c. 20-25 years. According to modern mortality table ‘West, level 3 - often used for comparison with Rome - a ‘stable populatio…

[German version] (Ὀρόβαζος/ Oróbazos). Envoy of the Parthian king Mithridates [13] II who met Cornelius [I 90] Sulla, the proconsular governor of Cilicia, in AD 96 (Plut. Sulla 5,4) in order to offer him 'friendship and an alliance' (Liv. epitome 70; Rufius Festus 15,2; Flor. Epit. 3,12). He is said to have subsequently paid with his life for his inadequate resistance to the humiliating behaviour of the Roman (Plut. Sulla 5,4). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)

[German version] Exposure of children (Greek έκθεσις/ ékthesis; Lat. expositio/ oblatio), which must be clearly distinguished from infanticide, is to be seen as a method of ancient family planning. The decision whether to expose an infant lay with the head of the family: in Greece -- with the exception of Sparta, where the phyle elders (των φυλετῶν οί πρεσβύτατοι) examined newly born infants either to order or to forbid that they be raised -- this was the κύριος/  kýrios ; in Rome the pater familias. Demographic theories regarding the frequency of infant exposure are not unprob…

(Ῥωξάνη/ Rhōxánē). [German version] [1] Wife of Cambyses [2] II Wife of Cambyses [2] II (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 13). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Daughter of Hydarnes Daughter of Hydarnes, half-sister of Terituchmes, fell victim with her whole family to the vengeance of Parysatis [1] (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 15) because Terituchmes had turned away from his wife Amestris and devoted himself to R. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [3] Daughter of Darius [3] III According to Julius Valerius 2,33 among others, daughter of Darius [3] III who in 332 offered her…

(Κῦρος; Kŷros, Lat. Cyrus). [German version] [1] C. I. (the Elder)…

(Πάρθοι/ Párthoi, Hdt. 3,93 i.a.; Παρθυαῖοι/ Parthyaîoi Pol. 10,31,15; App. Syr. 65 i.a.; Latin Parthi, Just. Epit. 41,1,1 et passim. In a narrower sense a term for the inhabitants of the province of Parthia and/or the Parni, who invaded Parthia, and in a wider sense the inhabitants of the Arsacid Empire (Arsaces) or their political elite. [German version] I. Evidence In the written tradition (for a discussion of the evidence and literature concerning it see [21]; see also [19. 117-129, 276-278]) on the Parthians, contemporary indigenou…

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[German version] Chinese author of a dynastic history that contains i.a. information on the geography of the Parthian empire and on contacts between the Parthians and the Chinese. Born AD 398 into a family of Chinese imperial officials, F. himself held the posts of administrative district officer and general in the imperial guard. Implicated in a conspiracy under emperor Wen (Sung Dyn.), he was executed in AD 446, which prevented the completion of his 100-chapter ‘History of the later Han Dynasty (AD 25-220)’, Hou Hanshu (10 chs. ‘basic annals’, benji of emperors and empresses, 80 b…

[German version] (Ρωδάσπης; Rhōdáspēs). Son of the Parthian king  Phraates [4] IV. In order to secure the royal succession of Phraates [5] V, his father sent him in 10/9 BC, with other sons and grandsons, to Augustus in Rome (R. Gest. div. Aug. 32; Str. 16,1,28; Vell. Pat. 2,94,4; Tac. Ann. 2,1,2; Suet. Aug. 21,3; 43,4) where he died (tomb inscription: ILS 842). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 E. Nedergaard, The Four Sons of Phraates IV in Rome, in: Acta Hyperborea 1, 1988, 102-115 2 K.-H. Ziegler, Die Beziehungen zwischen Rom und dem Partherreich, 1964, 51 f.

[German version] A. Object of research, and method The object of demographic history is the description and explanation of structures and developments in (ancient) populations in their relationship to living space. So far, ancient demographic history has made studies of esp. ancient views of population development, the numerical values of ancient populations (at a particular point in time or over a particular period of time), the age and gender structures of ancient demographics and particular determinants of population development such as life …

[German version] (Σακαραῦκαι/ Sakaraûkai; on the name [2. 68]). A people originally living on the borders of Transoxiana, regarded by Str. 11,8,2 ( cf. Just. Epit. prol. 41), together with the Asii, Pasiani and Tochari, among the conquerors of Bactria (in the 2nd cent. BC). After Parthian kings had already been forced at the end of the 2nd cent. BC into conflict with nomadic peoples on the eastern border of the empire, in 78/77 BC the S. even succeeded in placing Sanatruces [1] on th…

(Γωβρύας; Gōbrýas, Akkadian Gu/Gú-ba/bar-ru( -u; Elamite Kam-bar-ma, ancient Persian Gaubaruva-). Name of various Achaemenid dignitaries. [German version] [1] Governor of Cyrus the Gr. ‘Governor’ of Cyrus the Great known from the Nabonidus Chronicle (3,20 [4]) who after the conquest of Babylonia appointed administrative officials there. Presumably identical to Ugbaru, the ‘Governor of Gutium’ mentioned in 3,15 who captured Babylon for the Persian king and died there a few days after Cyrus' arrival. In this case it i…

[German version] (νέοι; néoi). In ancient Greece, the term neoi, which was also used unspecifically (‘the young’ vs. ‘the old’, gérontes/γέροντες), as a technical term described an age group or a group of young men organized as an association: neoi were the young men over 18 who had grown out of puberty, with the boundary between neoi and ἄνδρες ( ándres/men) often remaining undefined; in poleis with the ephebeia ( ephēbeía ; Athens) they followed the paídes (Child) and éphēboi by age and, therefore, belonged to the citizens with military service obligations; Xenophon considers 30 years as the upper age limit (cf. Xen. Mem. 1,2,35; Chios: Syll.…

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(Σατιβαρζάνης; Satibarzánēs). [German version] [1] Chamberlain of Artaxerxes [1] I 'Eunuch'/chamberlain in the entourage of Artaxerxes [1] I (Plut. Artaxerxes 12,4. Plut. Mor. 173e; Ktes. FGrH 688 F 30). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Satrap of Areia, 4th cent. BC Persian satrap of Areia [1], fought in the battle of Gaugamela on the left flank (Arr. Anab. 3,8,4), follower of Bessus and one of the assassins of Darius [3] III (Arr. Anab. 3,21,9 f.). He surrendered in 330 to Alexander  [4] the Great (Arr. Anab. 3,25,1 f.; Curt. 6,6,…

[German version] (Old Persian ḫšaçapāvan-, 'protector of the kingdom/dynasty', Elamic šá-ak-šá-ba-ma, Akkadian aḫšadrapanu, Imperial Aramaic ḥšatrapan, Greek usually σατράπης/ satrápēs [9]; Latin satrapa, -es, satraps). Title of a Persian-Achaemenid (seminal: [3]), later also Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanid provincial governor (Parthian ḥštrp / ḫšahrap/; Middle Persian štrp / šahrap/). The title appears first in the Bīsutūn inscription of Darius [1] I [11. DB III 14.56], where it denotes two appointees of the new king in Bactria and Arachosi…

(Ζώπυρος; Zṓpyros). [German version] [1] Persian, took part in the capture of Babylon Prominent Persian, son of Megabyzus [1], who according to Hdt. 3,153ff. had the gates of rebelling Babylon opened to Darius [1] I by using a ruse (self-mutilation and pretending to be a victim of the Great King). For this deceptive manoeuvre (Polyaenus, Strat. 7,13; referring to King Cyrus: Frontin. Str. 3,3,4) Z. allegedly received from Darius the satrapy of Babylonia for life and tribute-free, but he was killed when the B…

(Τιριδάτης/ Tiridátēs). [German version] [1] Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch (Ael. VH 12,1). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Achaemenid commander of Persepolis, 2nd half of 4th cent. BC Achaemenid commander and 'treasurer' of Persepolis, who was kept in his post by Alexander [4] the Great after the surrender of the 'citadel' and treasure (Diod. Sic. 17,69,1; Curt. 5,5,2; 6,11). From 330/29 BC T. was a strategos of the Ariaspae and Gedrosians (Gedrosia) (Diod. Sic. 17,81,2). In 328/7 BC, Alexander gave the estates of a T. to the pa…