Artaphernes
Who was Artaphernes?
5th-century Persian general and satrap
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Artaphernes (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Artaphernes, son of Artaphernes, was a well-known general in the Achaemenid Persian Empire and a nephew of Darius the Great. Born in Lydia, he was part of the Persian royal circle and gained military importance during a key period of conflict between Greece and Persia. His career was marked by his involvement in Persian campaigns against Greek city-states, efforts that influenced ancient Mediterranean history. As part of the Achaemenid ruling family, Artaphernes had the privilege and responsibility of representing Persian goals in the west.
Artaphernes is most famous for sharing command with the Median general Datis in the punitive expedition ordered by Darius the Great against Athens and Eretria. These cities had supported the Ionian Revolt against Persian rule, which disrupted the empire's western areas. Darius saw their support as open rebellion needing a strong military response. Artaphernes and Datis led their forces across the Aegean, showing Persian naval and military reach.
The campaign started strong as Persian forces besieged and destroyed Eretria, deporting many of its residents to Persia. However, they faced a major defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, where Athenian forces, with Plataean allies, beat the Persian army. This was a significant setback, stopping Persia's immediate plans to advance into Greece. The battle became one of the most celebrated Greek victories, though Artaphernes and Datis withdrew with most of their forces intact.
Even after the failure at Marathon, Artaphernes kept his position in the Persian military. Ten years later, during Xerxes' Second Persian invasion of Greece, Artaphernes led the Lydians and Mysians from western Anatolia. His continued role in Persian military operations shows he remained a trusted and skilled commander, with his earlier defeat not affecting his standing at court or in the field.
Artaphernes was a high-ranking Persian aristocrat whose military career was directly tied to the key conflicts between Persia and Greece in the early fifth century BC. His actions, whether successful or not, were part of the Persian attempts to expand westward, which were ultimately stopped by Greek resistance at Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea.
Before Fame
Artaphernes was born in Lydia, on the western coast of Anatolia, which became part of the Achaemenid Empire after Cyrus the Great conquered Croesus in 547 BC. As the son of Artaphernes the Elder, the satrap of Lydia, he grew up within the administrative and military framework of Persian rule. His family's connection to Darius the Great placed him among the most privileged in Achaemenid society, where royal family members often took on military and political roles.
Artaphernes was born into a time of active imperial growth and occasional pushback. The Achaemenid Empire was the largest known then, stretching from Central Asia to the Aegean coast. Living in Lydia, on the empire's western edge, Artaphernes would have been well aware of the tensions between Persian rulers and the Greek-speaking people of Ionia. This mix of cultures and political strife set the stage for his military career.
Key Achievements
- Co-commanded the Achaemenid punitive expedition against Athens and Eretria alongside Datis, ca. 490 BC
- Successfully besieged and destroyed Eretria, deporting its population to Persia as ordered by Darius the Great
- Led the Lydian and Mysian contingents during Xerxes' Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC
- Maintained senior military standing within the Achaemenid Empire despite the Persian defeat at Marathon
- Executed one of the earliest large-scale Persian amphibious operations across the Aegean Sea
Did You Know?
- 01.Artaphernes bore the same name as his father, Artaphernes the Elder, who served as satrap of Lydia under Darius the Great, making them one of the few father-son pairs both prominent in Achaemenid military history.
- 02.The name Artaphernes derives from Old Persian Artafarna and Median Rtafarnah, reflecting the mixed Persian and Median cultural heritage common among Achaemenid nobility.
- 03.Despite commanding one of the largest Persian expeditionary forces to cross the Aegean, Artaphernes left no known Persian-language records of his campaigns; all accounts of his actions come from Greek historians, primarily Herodotus.
- 04.The Persian force Artaphernes co-commanded at Marathon reportedly included cavalry, which played little or no role in the actual battle, a tactical puzzle that historians have debated for centuries.
- 05.Artaphernes was still active in Persian military command at least a decade after Marathon, appearing in Herodotus's account of Xerxes' invasion force in 480 BC as leader of the Lydian and Mysian contingents.