|
ARTAPHERNES II
|
|
|
Artaphernes, son of Artaphernes, was the
nephew of Darius the Great, and a general of the Achaemenid Empire. He was a
Satrap of Lydia from 492 to after 480. He was appointed, together with Datis,
to take command of the expedition sent by Darius to punish Athens and Eretria
for their support for the Ionian Revolt. Artaphernes and Datis besieged and
destroyed Eretria, but were beaten by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon
in 490. Ten years later, Artaphernes is recorded as being in command of the
Lydians and Mysians in the Second Persian invasion of Greece.
|
|
|
Artaphernes the Younger was one of the
defeated Persian commanders at the battle of Marathon in 490. He was the son of
Artaphernes the Elder, half-brother of Darius I and satrap of Lydia during the
Ionian Revolt. Artaphernes the Younger was thus the nephew of Darius.
In 492 Mardonius led an unsuccessful attack on Greece. A successful invasion of
Macedonia and Thrace ended after his fleet suffered heavy damage in a storm. In
490 Artaphernes the Younger and Datis the Mede commanded Darius's second
attempt to punish Athens and Eretria for their part in the Ionian revolt.
Artaphernes was the higher ranked on the two, but Datis the more able military
man. Their army crossed the Aegean, taking Naxos on the way. They successfully
captured Eretria, before crossing to the mainland. They then landed at
Marathon, north-east of Athens, where they were defeated by the Athenian army.
Artaphernes survived the failure of the invasion, and in 480 when Xerxes
carried out his own failed invasion of Greece, he commanded the Lydian and
Mysian contingents in the Imperial army, although we don't have any details of
his performance in this role.
|
|
|
How to cite this article: Rickard, J (30 September 2016), Artaphernes
the Younger (fl.490-480 BC) ,
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_artaphernes_younger.html
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|