Artabazus
(Ἀρτάβαζος).
1. A Median, who acts a prominent part in Xenophon's account of Cyrus the Elder, whose relative Artabazus pretended to be. He is described there as a friend of Cyrus, and advising the Medes to follow Cyrus and remain faithful to him. Cyrus employed him on various occasions : when Araspes was on the point of violating Pantheia, the wife of Abradatas, Cyrus sent Artabazus to protect her; in the war against Croesus, Artabazus was one of the chiliarchs of the infantry. Cyrus bestowed upon him various honours and presents for his faithful attachment. (Xenoph. Cyrop. 1.4.27, 4.1.23, 5.1.23, 6.1. §§ 9, 34, 6.3.31, 7.5.48, 8.3.25, 4. §§ 1, 12, 24.)
2. A distinguished Persian, a son of Pharnaces, who lived in the reign of Xerxes. In the expedition of this king to Greece, B. C. 480, Artabazus commanded the Parthians and Choasmians. (Hdt. 7.66.) When Xerxes quitted Greece, Artabazus accompanied him as far as the Hellespont, and then returned with his forces to Pallene. As Potidaea and the other towns of Pallene had revolted from the king after the battle of Salamis, Artabazus determined to reduce them. He first laid siege to Olynthus, which he took; he butchered the inhabitants whom he had compelled to quit the town, and gave the place and the town to the Chalcidians. After this Artabazus began the siege of Potidaea, and endeavoured to gain his end by bribes; but the treachery was discovered and his plans thwarted. The siege lasted for three months, and when at last the town seemed to be lost by the low waters of the sea, which enabled his troops to approach the walls from the sea-side, an almost wonderful event saved it, for the returning tide was higher than it had ever been before. The troops of Artabazus were partly overwhelmed by the waters and partly cut down by a sally of the Potidaeans. He now withdrew with the remnants of his army to Thessaly, to join Mardonius. (8.126-130.)
Shortly before the battle of Plataeae, B. C. 479, Artabazus dissuaded Mardonius from entering on an engagement with the Greeks, and urged him to lead his army to Thebes in order to obtain provisions for the men and the cattle; for he entertained the conviction that the mere presence of the Persians would soon compel the Greeks to surrender. (9.41.) His counsel had no effect, and as soon as he perceived the defeat of the Persians at Plataeae, he fled with forty thousand men through Phocis, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace, to Byzantium, and led the remnants of his army, which had been greatly diminished by hunger and the fatigues of the retreat, across the Hellespont into Asia. (9.89; Diod. 11.31, 33.) Subsequently Artabazus conducted the negotiations between Xerxes and Pausanias. (Thuc. 1.129; Diod. 11.44; C. Nepos, Paus. 2, 4.)
3. One of the generals of Artaxerxes I., was sent to Egypt to put down the revolt of Inarus, B. C. 462. He advanced as far as Memphis, and accomplished his object. (Diod. 11.74, 77; comp. Thuc. 1.109; Ctesias, Pers. p. 42, ed. Lion.) In B. C. 450, he was one of the commanders of the Persian fleet, near Cyprus, against Cimon. (Diod. 12.4.)
4. A Persian general, who was sent in B. C. 362, in the reign of Artaxerxes II., against the revolted Datames, satrap of Cappadocia, but was defeated by the bravery and resolution of the latter. (Diod. 15.91; comp. Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vi. p. 129.) In the reign of Artaxerxes III., Artabazus was satrap of western Asia, but in B. C. 356 he refused obedience to the king, which involved him in a war with the other satraps, who acknowledged the authority of Artaxerxes. He was at first supported by Chares, the Athenian, and his mercenaries, whom he rewarded very generously. Afterwards he was also supported by the Thebans, who sent him 5000 men under Pammenes. With the assistance of these and other allies, Artabazus defeated his enemies in two great battles. Artaxerxes, however, succeeded in depriving him of his Athenian and Boeotian allies, whereupon Artabazus was defeated by the king's general, Autophradates, and was even taken prisoner. The Rhodians, Mentor and Memnon, two brothers-in-law of Artabazus, who had like-wise supported him, still continued to maintain themselves, as they were aided by the Athenian Charidemus, and even succeeded in obtaining the liberation of Artabazus. After this, Artabazus seems either to have continued his rebellious operations, or at least to have commenced afterwards a fresh revolt; but he was at last obliged, with Memnon and his whole family, to take refuge with Philip of Macedonia. During the absence of Artabazus, Mentor, his brother-in-law, was of great service to the king of Persia in his war against Nectanebus of Egypt. After the close of this war, in B. C. 349, Artaxerxes gave to Mentor the command against the rebellious satraps of western Asia. Mentor availed himself of the opportunity to induce the king to grant pardon to Artabazus and Memnon, who accordingly obtained permission to return to Persia. (Diod. 16.22, 34, 52; Dem. c. Aristoer. p. 671, &c.) In the reign of Dareius Codomannus, Artabazus distinguished himself by his great fidelity and attachment to his sovereign. He took part in the battle of Arbela, and afterwards accompanied Dareius on his flight. After the death of the latter, Alexander rewarded Artabazus for his fidelity with the satrapy of Bactria. His daughter, Barsine, became by Alexander the mother of Heracles; a second daughter, Artocama, was given in marriage to Ptolemy; and a third, Artonis, to Eumenes. In B. C. 328, Artabazus, then a man of very advanced age, resigned his satrapy, which was given to Cleitus. (Arrian, Arr. Anab. 3.23, 29, 7.4; Curtius, 3.13, 5.9, 12, 6.5, 7.3, 5, 8.1; Strab. xii. p.578; comp. Droysen, Gesch. Alex. des Gross. p. 497.) [L.S]
- Hdt. 7.66
- his siege of towns in Chalcidice: Hdt. 8.126-129
- disagreement with Mardonius before Plataea: Hdt. 9.41, Hdt. 9.58
- flight with his army from Plataea: Hdt. 9.66
- return to Asia: Hdt. 9.89