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42-471: Bessus or Bessos ( Old Persian : * Bayaçā ; Ancient Greek : Βήσσος ), also known by his throne name Artaxerxes V ( Old Persian : 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçāʰ ; Ancient Greek : Ἀρταξέρξης ; died summer 329 BC), was a Persian satrap of the eastern Achaemenid satrapy of Bactria , as well as the self-proclaimed King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 330 to 329 BC. A member of

84-421: A "pre-Middle Persian," or "post-Old Persian." Old Persian subsequently evolved into Middle Persian , which is in turn the ancestor of New Persian . Professor Gilbert Lazard , a famous Iranologist and the author of the book Persian Grammar , states: The language known as New Persian, which usually is called at this period (early Islamic times) by the name of Parsi-Dari, can be classified linguistically as

126-602: A continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. Unlike the other languages and dialects, ancient and modern, of the Iranian group such as Avestan , Parthian , Soghdian , Kurdish , Pashto , etc., Old, Middle and New Persian represent one and the same language at three states of its history. It had its origin in Fars and

168-523: A few changes in the shape of characters during the period it was used. This can be seen as a standardization of the heights of wedges, which in the beginning (i.e. in DB ) took only half the height of a line. The following phonemes are expressed in the Old Persian script: Notes: Lycian 𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Kizzaprñna ~ 𐊈𐊆𐊖𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Zisaprñna for (genuine) Old Persian *Ciçafarnā (besides

210-504: A good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, Parsuwash (along with Matai , presumably Medians) are first mentioned in the area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III . The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian pārsa itself coming directly from

252-506: A sculptured figure of myself I made. Also, the analysis of certain Old Persian inscriptions are "supposed or claimed" to predate Darius the Great. Although it is true that the oldest attested Old Persian inscriptions are found on the Behistun monument from Darius, the creation of this "new type of writing" seems, according to Schmitt, "to have begun already under Cyrus the Great ". The script shows

294-414: A similar way. Voices Active, Middle (them. pres. -aiy- , -ataiy- ), Passive ( -ya- ). Mostly the forms of first and third persons are attested. The only preserved Dual form is ajīva tam 'both lived'. Barsaentes Barsaentes ( Greek : Βαρσαέντης , romanized :  Barsaéntēs ) was a Persian nobleman, who served as the satrap of Arachosia and Drangiana under

336-412: A somewhat confusing and inconsistent look: 'horse,' for instance, is [attested in Old Persian as] both asa (OPers.) and aspa (Med.)." Old Persian texts were written from left to right in the syllabic Old Persian cuneiform script and had 36 phonetic characters and 8 logograms . The usage of logograms is not obligatory. The script was surprisingly not a result of evolution of the script used in

378-576: A tribe called Parsuwash , who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province . Their language, Old Persian, became the official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give

420-496: Is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Old Persian "presumably" has a Median language substrate . The Median element is readily identifiable because it did not share in the developments that were peculiar to Old Persian. Median forms "are found only in personal or geographical names [...] and some are typically from religious vocabulary and so could in principle also be influenced by Avestan ." "Sometimes, both Median and Old Persian forms are found, which gave Old Persian

462-415: Is differentiated by dialectical features, still easily recognizable from the dialect prevailing in north-western and eastern Iran. Middle Persian , also sometimes called Pahlavi, is a direct continuation of Old Persian and was used as the written official language of the country. Comparison of the evolution at each stage of the language shows great simplification in grammar and syntax. However, New Persian

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504-532: Is from the Behistun Inscriptions . Old Persian is one of the oldest Indo-European languages which are attested in original texts. The oldest date of use of Old Persian as a spoken language is not precisely known. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in Southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by

546-599: Is rendered in Elamite as Mirkānu- , rendering transcriptions such as V(a)rakāna , Varkāna or even Vurkāna questionable and making Vrkāna or Virkāna much more realistic (and equally for vrka- "wolf", Brdiya and other Old Persian words and names with syllabic /r/ ). While v usually became /v/ in Middle Persian, it became /b/ word-initially in New Persian, except before [u] (including

588-748: The Achaemenid King of Kings Darius III ( r.  336–330 BC ). Barsaentes took part in the Battle of Gaugamela against the Macedonian king Alexander the Great ( r.  336–323 BC ) in 331 BC, where he led his regional troops, as well as the supposed "Mountain" Indians. Following the Persian defeat, Barsaentes accompanied Darius III in his flight to the Upper Satrapies. There he conspired against Darius III with other Persian grandees, such as

630-589: The Achaemenid era ( c.  600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran , Romania ( Gherla ), Armenia , Bahrain , Iraq , Turkey and Egypt , with the most important attestation by far being the contents of the Behistun Inscription (dated to 525 BCE). In 2007, research into the vast Persepolis Fortification Archive at the Oriental Institute at

672-463: The Macedonian king Alexander the Great ( r.  336–323 BC ) in 333 BC, Darius III summoned Bessus to aid him. Bessus later took part in the Battle of Gaugamela against Alexander in 331 BC, where he supplied Darius III with a contingent composed of Bactrians, Sogdians, Indians, as well as his Saka allies. He led the cavalry on the left wing of the Persian forces, with the intention of crippling Alexander's attack on that flank. Following

714-586: The Median form *Ciθrafarnah ) = Tissaphernes suggests /t͡s/ as the pronunciation of ç (compare [1] and Kloekhorst 2008, p. 125 in [2] for this example, who, however, mistakenly writes Çiçafarnā , which contradicts the etymology [ PIIr. *Čitra-swarnas- ] and the Middle Persian form Čehrfar [ ç gives Middle Persian s ]). The phoneme /l/ does not occur in native Iranian vocabulary, only in borrowings from Akkadian (a new /l/ develops in Middle Persian from Old Persian /rd/ and

756-582: The University of Chicago unearthed Old Persian tablets, which suggest Old Persian was a written language in use for practical recording and not only for royal display. As a written language , Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. It is an Iranian language and as such a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family . The oldest known text written in Old Persian

798-545: The chiliarch Nabarzanes , and Bessus , the satrap of Bactria . Together they arrested Darius III in mid-330 BC, with Bessus being chosen as the leader of the Achaemenid forces, probably due to his Achaemenid descent. The arrest of Darius III gave Alexander the pretext of avenging him. Fleeing from the pursuing Macedonian forces, Bessus and the rebels carried Darius III in a covered wagon, reportedly in golden chains. In order to buy some time for their escape, Bessus and his co-conspirators killed Darius III and left his body by

840-465: The pretext of avenging him. Fleeing from the pursuing Macedonian forces, Bessus and the rebels carried Darius III in a covered wagon, reportedly in golden chains. In order to buy some time for their escape, Bessus and his co-conspirators killed Darius III and left his body by the road. The murder took place near Hecatompylus , in July 330 BC. Darius III's body was later found by Alexander, who had him buried in

882-564: The Macedonian general Ptolemy who following Alexander's instructions, had Bessus brought to him naked in bonds. Bessus was at first flogged in public, and then his ears and nose were cut off, a traditional Persian punishment. He was finally sent to Ecbatana, where the Macedonians had him executed. The execution was supervised by Darius III's brother Oxyathres . Bessus appears in the 11th-century Persian epic Shahnameh ("Book of Kings") under

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924-562: The Old Persian Artaxšaçā ( 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 , "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 . Nothing is known about the background of Bessus, except that he belonged to the ruling Achaemenid dynasty . During the reign of the King of Kings Darius III ( r.  336–330 BC ), Bessus

966-519: The Persian defeat at the battle, Bessus followed Darius III in his flight to the city of Ecbatana in Media . There Bessus conspired against Darius III with other Persian grandees, such as the chiliarch Nabarzanes , and Barsaentes , the satrap of Arachosia – Drangiana . Together they arrested Darius III in mid-330 BC, with Bessus being chosen as the leader of the Achaemenid forces, probably due to his Achaemenid descent. The arrest of Darius III gave Alexander

1008-481: The change of /rθ/ to /hl/ ). The phoneme /r/ can also form a syllable peak; both the way Persian names with syllabic /r/ (such as Brdiya ) are rendered in Elamite and its further development in Middle Persian suggest that before the syllabic /r/ , an epenthetic vowel [i] had developed already in the Old Persian period, which later became [u] after labials. For example, Old Persian Vᵃ-rᵃ-kᵃ-a-nᵃ /wr̩kaːna/

1050-498: The consensus difficult are, among others, the difficult passage DB (IV lines 88–92) from Darius the Great who speaks of a new "form of writing" being made by himself which is said to be "in Aryan ": King Darius says: By the grace of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I have made. Besides, it was in Aryan (" ariyâ ") script, and it was composed on clay tablets and on parchment. Besides,

1092-408: The epenthetic vowel mentioned above), where it became /ɡ/ . This suggests that it was really pronounced as [w] . Old Persian has 3 types of grammatical number: singular, dual and plural. Old Persian has three grammatical genders : masculine, feminine and neuter. In contrast, Modern Persian (as well as Middle Persian ) is a genderless language . Old Persian stems: Adjectives are declined in

1134-410: The indigenous rulers now regarded Bessus as being a threat to their continued security. At Nautaca (present-day Shahrisabz ) Bessus was arrested by his Sogdian officers, who included Spitamenes, Dataphernes, and Catanes. They then handed him over to the following Macedonian forces. The handing over of Bessus took place in a village, where he had been left by Spitamenes and Dataphernes. He was picked up by

1176-407: The large family of Indo-European languages . The common ancestors of Indo-Iranians came from Central Asia sometime in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE . The extinct and unattested Median language is another Old Iranian language related to Old Persian; both are classified as Western Iranian languages , and many Median names appear in Old Persian texts. The group of Old Iranian languages

1218-425: The name of Janusipar/Janushyar. Seeing as they are in a hopeless position, Janusipar along with Mahyar (Nabarzanes) murders Dara II (Darius III) and then attempt to negotiate with Iskandar (Alexander), eventually meeting up with him. Following the funeral of Dara, Iskandar has Janusipar and Mahyar executed. Old Persian language Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets and seals of

1260-492: The nearby civilisation of Mesopotamia . Despite the fact that Old Persian was written in cuneiform script, the script was not a direct continuation of Mesopotamian tradition and in fact, according to Schmitt, was a "deliberate creation of the sixth century BCE". The origin of the Old Persian cuneiform script and the identification of the date and process of introduction are a matter of debate among Iranian scholars with no general agreement having been reached. The factors making

1302-492: The older word *pārćwa . Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median , according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before the formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Old Persian belongs to the Iranian language family , a branch of the Indo-Iranian language family, itself within

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1344-411: The river Tanais ". His flight from Bactria alienated many of his Bactrian supporters. The Canadian historian Waldemar Heckel suggests that Bessus may have in reality not been particularly popular, and adds that his most prominent supporters had either been killed or fled. The hyparchs and local dynasts of Bactria-Sogdiana now realized that they were isolated, and so a victory – at least a great one –

1386-561: The royal crypt in Persepolis . In the autumn of 330, at the Bactrian capital of Bactra , Bessus declared himself King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, assuming the royal name of Artaxerxes V. There he attempted to hold the eastern part of the empire against Alexander. His domain encompassed Bactria, the main center; Sogdia, administered by officers such as Spitamenes and Oxyartes ; the nomadic Iranian tribes of Central Asia; Aria , governed by

1428-417: The ruling Achaemenid dynasty , Bessus came to power shortly after killing the legitimate Achaemenid ruler Darius III ( r.  336–330 BC ), and subsequently attempted to hold the eastern part of the empire against the Macedonian king Alexander the Great ( r.  336–323 BC ). His realm quickly started to fall apart, including Bactria, which was the main center. Fleeing into Sogdia , he

1470-645: The satrap Satibarzanes , who had initially surrendered to Alexander; Arachosia-Drangiana, governed by Barsaentes; Parthia and Hyrcania, governed by Nabarazanes following his appointment by Bessus; and western India. Bessus' usurpation and the invigorated resistance in Central Asia created a new problem for the Macedonians. If they failed to confront Bessus, his usurpation could be seen as change in government, thus rendering Darius III's death irrelevant. However, Bessus' empire quickly started to fall apart; Nabarzanes, accepting his hopeless position, surrendered to Alexander and

1512-689: The satrap of Bactria, Bessus was able to exert his rule over Sogdia to the north, and regions that bordered India . He managed to retain the loyalty of the Iranian nomadic groups in Central Asia , the Saka , the Dahae and the Massagetae . According to the Iranologist Richard Foltz , the eastern satrapies were practically Bessus' personal domain. Following the Persian defeat at the Battle of Issus against

1554-620: Was able to muster a satrapal levy of 8,000 Bactrians, seemingly the remnants of the troops that had fought under him at Gaugamela. However, many of those soldiers dispersed after receiving news that Alexander had crossed the Hindu Kush . Instead of making a stand, Bessus fled into Sogdia by crossing the Oxus , where he hoped to obtain aid from the Sogdians, the Chorasmians , and the " Scythians dwelling beyond

1596-619: Was arrested by his own officers, who handed him over to Alexander, who had him executed at Ecbatana . Bessus appears in the 11th-century Persian epic Shahnameh under the name of Janusipar/Janushyar. "Bessus" (Βήσσος) is the Greek transliteration of the Old Persian name *Bayaçā ("protecting from fear"). Artaxerxes is the Latin form of the Greek Artaxerxes ( Αρταξέρξης ), itself from

1638-415: Was made the satrap of Bactria , an important satrapy in the eastern part of the empire. Bactria, which had been under Achaemenid rule since 545–540 BC, was prosperous and populous. As shown by archaeological findings, agriculture, trade, commerce and handicraft thrived in the area. The office of satrap of Bactria seems to have occasionally been equivalent to a "vice-king of the east" type of position. As

1680-409: Was pardoned with the help of Bagoas . Satibarzanes was defeated and killed by the Macedonian forces in 329 BC, before Bessus was able to help him. Around the same time, Barsaentes fled to India to escape the Macedonian forces. According to the 1st-century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (died 30 BC), Bessus had plans to defend Bactria, and urged its inhabitants to fight for their independence. He

1722-439: Was presumably large; however, knowledge of it is restricted mainly to Old Persian, Avestan , and Median. The first two are the only languages in that group to have left written original texts, while Median is known mostly from loanwords in Old Persian. By the 4th century BCE, the late Achaemenid period , the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III differ enough from the language of Darius' inscriptions to be called

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1764-527: Was unlikely. Alexander, since his victory at Gaugamela, had behaved in the same manner as a sovereign ruler, and had been on several occasions afterwards acknowledged as the "King of Asia." His actions indicated that he planned to continue the administrative system of the Achaemenid Empire, which meant that the local leaders in Central Asia would be allowed to maintain their authority. Furthermore, Alexander had not only pardoned many of his former opponents, but had also restored them to their former satrapies. Thus,

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