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satrap
satrap , governor of a province (satrapy) of the ancient Persian Empire. He was nominated by the king and given extensive powers. Darius I reorganized the privileges and duties of his satraps in the 6th cent. BC; the number of satraps varied from 20 to 28 during his reign. To prevent the concentra...
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Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II d. 358 BC, king of ancient Persia (404-358 BC), son and successor of Darius II . He is sometimes called in Greek Artaxerxes Mnemon [the thoughtful]. Early in his reign Cyrus the Younger attempted to assassinate him and seize the throne. Artaxerxes finally crushed Cyrus' rebellion a...
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Memphis
Memphis , ancient city of Egypt, capital of the Old Kingdom (c.3100-c.2258 BC), at the apex of the Nile delta and 12 mi (18 km) from Cairo. It was reputedly founded by Menes , the first king of united Egypt. Its god was Ptah . The temple of Ptah, the palace of Apries , and two huge statues of Ra...
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Polycrates
Polycrates , d. c.522 BC, tyrant of Samos. He established Samian naval supremacy in the Aegean Sea and tried to control the archipelago and mainland towns of Ionia. He dominated the E Aegean, capturing the island of Rhenea (now Rinía) and defeating the Lesbians, who had gone to the aid of Mil...
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Alcibiades
Alcibiades , c.450-404 BC, Athenian statesman and general. Of the family of Alcmaeonidae, he was a ward of Pericles and was for many years a devoted attendant of Socrates. He turned to politics after the Peace of Nicias (421 BC), and during the Peloponnesian War he was the leader in agitating agai...
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Darius I
Darius I (Darius the Great) , d. 486 BC, king of ancient Persia (521-486 BC), called also Dariavaush and Darius Hystaspis (after his father, Hystaspes or Vishtaspa). A distant cousin of Cambyses II (see under Cambyses ), he succeeded to the throne after the fall of the impostor claiming to be Sm...
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Agesilaus II
Agesilaus II , c.444-360 BC, king of Sparta. After the death of Agis I (398? BC), he was brought to power by Lysander, whom he promptly ignored. After the Peloponnesian War the Greek cities in Asia Minor had not been ceded to Persia despite Sparta's promises, and in 396 BC Agesilaus went there to op...
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Darius III
Darius III (Darius Codomannus) , d. 330 BC, king of ancient Persia (336-330 BC). A cousin of Artaxerxes III, he was raised to the throne by the eunuch Bagoas, who had murdered both Artaxerxes and his son, Arses; Darius in turn murdered Bagoas. His rule was not stable, however. When Alexander the ...
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Bactria
Bactria , ancient Greek kingdom in central Asia. Its capital was Bactra, present-day Balkh in N Afghanistan. Before the Greek conquest, the region was an eastern province of the Persian Empire. It prospered as the area for transmitting Siberian and Indian metals and goods to the Persians. When Ale...
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Persia
Persia , old alternate name for the Asian country Iran. The article Iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern country and a short account of its history since the Arab invasion of the 7th cent. This article is concerned with the history of the ancient Persian Empire, i...
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