The Herodotus Encyclopedia. Группа авторов

The Herodotus Encyclopedia

emphasizes the size (4.87; 7.184–87) and diversity of Achaemenid PERSIA’s military forces. His CATALOGUE (7.60–88) of XERXES’ invasion force might draw upon an authentic troop roster, although more likely it reflects a parade or review army (Briant 1999, 118–20; Cawkwell 2005, 241–43). The Persian IMMORTALS and other picked units (8.113; 9.63) formed the core of the actual fighting force. The Persian army at Plataea included some 50,000 Greek infantry (9.32), with Thebans playing a key role (9.67–68).

Elements of the decimal unit organization Herodotus describes (7.81) appear in imperial records from PERSEPOLIS and Egypt (Briant 2002, 342, 431). On the other hand, Herodotus gives little inkling of the recruitment, maintenance, and mobilization practices known from Achaemenid documents (see Kuhrt 2007, 720–23).

Herodotus reveals Achaemenid logistical prowess, including water pipes and convoys (3.9), prepared depots (7.25), requisition procedures (7.118–20), BRIDGES (4.83–88, 97–98; 7.36), CANALS (7.22–24, 37), and support personnel (7.187). ARCHAEOLOGY corroborates some of his descriptions of Achaemenid SIEGE craft (1.162; 4.200; 6.18) and field FORTIFICATIONS (4.124; 9.15, 65, 97).

SEE ALSO: Engineering; Generals and Generalship; Warfare; Weapons and Armor

REFERENCES

1 Briant, Pierre. 1999. “The Achaemenid Empire.” In War and Society in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, edited by Kurt Raaflaub and Nathan Rosenstein, 105–28. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies.

2 Briant, Pierre. 2002. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, translated by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

3 Cawkwell, George. 2005. The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

4 Fischer‐Bovet, Christelle. 2013. “Egyptian Warriors: The Machimoi of Herodotus and the Ptolemaic Army.” CQ 63.1: 209–36.

5 Frost, Frank. 1984. “The Athenian Military before Cleisthenes.” Historia 33.3: 283–94.

6 Hornblower, Simon. 1991. A Commentary on Thucydides, Volume I: Books I–III. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

7 Kennell, Nigel M. 2010. Spartans: A New History. Chichester: Wiley‐Blackwell.

8 Kuhrt, Amélie. 2007. The Persian Empire. A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. London and New York: Routledge.

9 Lazenby, J. F. 1985. The Spartan Army. Warminster: Aris & Phillips.

10 Rhodes, P. J. 1993. A Commentary on the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia [reprint with addenda]. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

11 Scott, Lionel. 2005. Historical Commentary on Herodotus Book 6. Leiden: Brill.

12 Singor, Henk. 2012. “War and International Relations.” In A Companion to Archaic Greece, edited by Kurt A. Raaflaub and Hans van Wees, 585–603. Malden, MA: Wiley‐Blackwell.

13 van Wees, Hans. 2004. Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities. London: Duckworth.

14 Wilson, N. G. 2015. Herodotea. Studies on the Text of Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ARPOXAÏS (Ἀρπόξαϊς, ὁ)

CHRISTOPHER BARON

University of Notre Dame

One of three brothers (the middle) whom the SCYTHIANS claim as forefathers (4.5–6). LIPOXAÏS and Arpoxaïs were prevented by flames from touching a group of golden objects which had fallen from the sky; when the FIRE abated at the approach of the youngest brother, COLAXAÏS, they acknowledged him as sole king. From Arpoxaïs are descended the Scythian tribes CATIARI and TRASPIES. Herodotus reports this foundation story (followed by two other versions) at the beginning of his Scythian ETHNOGRAPHY. The second element in the brothers’ names may stem from the Iranian form xšay‐, “to rule.” The story has parallels elsewhere in Iranian traditions; its tripartite nature recurs throughout Indo‐European mythology.

ARSAMENES (Ἀρσαμένης, ὁ)

CHRISTOPHER BARON

University of Notre Dame

In his CATALOGUE of XERXES’ invasion force of 480 BCE, Herodotus names Arsamenes as commander of the UTIANS and MYCIANS (7.68). He was a son of DARIUS I and thus a brother of XERXES, but is otherwise unattested.

ARSAMES (Ἀρσάμης, ὁ; OP Aršāma) son of Ariaramnes

CHRISTOPHER BARON

University of Notre Dame

Patronymic, father of HYSTASPES and grandfather of the Persian king DARIUS I (1.209.2, 7.11.2 (spoken by Xerxes as he lists his lineage), 7.224.2). Arsames (OP Aršāma) appears in royal INSCRIPTIONS of Darius (e.g., DB §2), and XERXES states that both Hystaspes and Arsames were alive when Darius became king (XPf §3). Thus Arsames himself was never king (Briant 2002, 110). A brief inscription on a GOLD tablet from Hamadan, claiming to be of “Arsames the Great King” (AsH; Lecoq 1997, 180), is believed by most scholars to be an ancient forgery, part of Darius’ effort to legitimize his seizure of the throne (Rollinger 1998, 181–82).

SEE ALSO: Achaemenids; Ariaramnes son of Teispes; Arsames son of Darius; Bisitun; Pharnaces

REFERENCES

1 Briant, Pierre. 2002. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, translated by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

2 Lecoq, Pierre. 1997. Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide. [Paris]: Gallimard.

3 Rollinger, Robert. 1998. “Der Stammbaum des achaimenidischen Königshauses oder die Frage der Legitimität der Herrschaft des Dareios. ”AMI(T) 30: 155–209.

ARSAMES (Ἀρσάμης, ὁ) son of Darius

CHRISTOPHER BARON

University of Notre Dame

In his CATALOGUE of XERXES’ invasion force of 480 BCE, Herodotus names Arsames as commander of the ARABIANS and ETHIOPIANS (7.69.2). Arsames was the son of DARIUS I and his favorite wife ARTYSTONE, thus a half‐brother of Xerxes; he was named after Darius’ grandfather, according to the GENEALOGY Xerxes gives for himself (7.11.2). Arsames is attested (Elam. Iršama) in the Elamite Persepolis Fortification texts, often alongside his mother in the operation of a royal estate (Henkelman 2010, 699–703). AESCHYLUS places his death at the Battle of SALAMIS (Pers. 308), though he is probably incorrect in naming him satrap of EGYPT (Pers. 36–37).

SEE ALSO: Achaemenids; Arsames son of Ariaramnes; Parmys

REFERENCE

1 Henkelman, Wouter. 2010. “‘Consumed before the King’: The Table of Darius, That of Irdabama and Irtaštuna, and That of his Satrap, Karkiš.” In Der Achämenidenhof—The Achaemenid Court, edited by Bruno Jacobs and Robert Rollinger, 667–775. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

The Herodotus Encyclopedia. Группа авторов