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66-637: The region served as a satrapy (province) of the Median Empire , a sub-province of the Achaemenid Empire , and a province within its successors, the Seleucid , Arsacid and Sasanian empires. Hyrcania bordered Parthia to the east (later known as Abarshahr ), Dihistan to the north, Media to the south and Mardia to the west. Hyrcania ( Ὑρκανία ) is the Greek name for the region,

132-633: A borrowing from the Old Persian Verkâna as recorded in Darius the Great 's Behistun Inscription (522 BC), as well as in other Old Persian cuneiform inscriptions. Verkā means "wolf" in Old Iranian , cf. Avestan vəhrkō , Gilaki and Mazandarani verk/verg , Modern Persian gorg , and Sanskrit vŗka ( वृक ). Consequently, Hyrcania means "Wolf-land". The name was extended to

198-682: A collateral branch of the Arsacid dynasty, led a revolt against the Roman-backed Vonones I in 10 AD and successfully usurped the throne, becoming Artabanus III. Roman interference in the Arsacid Empire resulted in the ascension of Tiridates III in 36 AD, exiling Artabanus III to Hyrcania for a short time. During his exile in Hyrcania, Artabanus III adopted Gotarzes , son of Ardawan, satrap of Hyrcania. Artabanus III retrieved

264-466: A goddess for a parent, nor was Dardanus the author of your race, faithless one, but the horrible Caucasus produced you from hard crags, and Hyrcanian tigers nursed you." Following its geographical listing by Isidore of Seville in the early 7th century Etymologiae (a standard Mediaeval textbook), the name of Hyrcania became known and taught as far off as Ireland, where it was included in poems such as Cú-cen-máthair by Luccreth moccu Chiara (665 AD),

330-650: A henchman of Terituchmes, for conspiring to murder Amestris and revolt against Darius so he could wed his half-sister Roxana. By the time of Alexander the Great 's invasion of the Achaemenid Empire in 334 BC, Hyrcania was reattached to the satrapy of Parthia and administered as a sub-province. Hyrcanian soldiers are mentioned in the Battle of Gaugamela against Alexander in 331 BC. After the death of Darius III in 330 BC, many Persian noblemen fled to Hyrcania. Alexander reached Hyrcania in 330 BC, where he accepted

396-468: A number of Jews returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC, and the foundation of this " Second Temple " was laid in 536 BC, in the second year of their return (Ezra 3:8). After a period of strife, the temple was finally completed in the sixth year of Darius, 516 BC (Ezra 6:15). In Artaxerxes' twentieth year, Nehemiah , the king's cup-bearer , apparently was also a friend of the king as in that year Artaxerxes inquired after Nehemiah's sadness. Nehemiah related to him

462-664: A provincial town in Toledo , Spain ; but she has misheard it and does not realise the difference. Shakespeare , relying on his Latin sources, makes repeated references in his plays to the " Hyrcan tiger " ( Macbeth , III.iv.1281) or "th' Hyrcanian beast" ( Hamlet , II.ii.447) as an emblem of bloodthirsty cruelty. In Henry VI, Part 3 , the Duke of York compares Queen Margaret unfavorably to "Tygers of Hyrcania" (I.iv.622) for her inhumanity. Even in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice ,

528-461: A series of forts and outposts with the plains of Hyrcania, was constructed to aid in the defence of Hyrcania against raids undertaken by the neighbouring Dahae tribes. At the beginning of the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 , a rebellion erupted in Hyrcania and rebels sent envoys to Emperor Nero requesting aid. The rebellion raged until 60 AD when Vologases I hastily concluded a peace treaty with

594-589: A time Artasyras continued as satrap under Cyrus, prior to his replacement by Astyages himself. According to Ctesias , Astyages' grandson Megabernes also served as satrap of Hyrcania. Hyrcanians gave their name to the Hyrcanian plain in the middle Hermus valley in Lydia where they were settled, most likely during the reign of Cyrus the Great, as part of a policy to establish military colonies in Asia Minor. Under

660-488: Is a pejorative and refers to any subordinate or local ruler, usually with unfavourable connotations of corruption. The word satrap is derived via Latin satrapes from Greek satrápes ( σατράπης ), itself borrowed from an Old Iranian *khshathra-pa . In Old Persian , which was the native language of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as khshathapavan ( 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 , literally "protector of

726-543: Is described as coming from Hyrkania, an imaginary locale bordering an inland sea based loosely on Hyrcania and set in Robert E. Howard 's fictional Hyborian Age . Howard's Conan the Barbarian also has various adventures set in this locale, including as a pirate on the inland sea. Although the below list is incomplete, they are the known governors of Hyrcania. Satrapy A satrap ( / ˈ s æ t r ə p / )

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792-569: Is described in the Bible (Ezra 7) as having commissioned Ezra , a kohen and scribe , by means of a letter of decree to take charge of the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the Jewish nation. Ezra thereby left Babylon in the first month of the seventh year of Artaxerxes' reign, at the head of a company of Jews that included priests and Levites . They arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of

858-535: Is often mentioned in relationship to tigers , which were apparently particularly abundant there during the Classical Age (though extinct in the area since the early 1970s). Virgil , in the Aeneid , had the abandoned Dido accuse Aeneas : Nec tibi diva parens generis nec Dardanus auctor, perfide, sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens Caucasus Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigres. (IV.365-7) "You had neither

924-454: The Auraicept na n-Éces , and Lebor Gabála Érenn (11th century). Hyrcania is mentioned in the short story " Rinconete y Cortadillo " by Miguel de Cervantes , and constitutes one of his exemplary stories which were published in 1613. Cervantes uses this reference to portray the illiteracy of Juliana la Cariharta, a member of Monipodio's guild. She is intending to make reference to Ocaña,

990-569: The Amatuni noble family, exile in Hyrcania in 451 AD. Priests and other nobles who had led the revolt against Yazdegerd II were also deported to Hyrcania where they stayed until they were moved to the city of New-Shapur in Abarshahr in 453 AD. During the reign of Peroz I , the Hepthalites invaded Hyrcania and quartered at Gurgan in 465/469 AD. Peroz and his son Kavadh rallied against

1056-584: The Battle of Mount Labus in 209 BC, Antiochus III invaded Hyrcania and seized the cities of Tambrax and Syrinx , forcing Arsaces II , who was permitted to continue his rule over Hyrcania and Parthia, to become a vassal of the Seleucid Empire. During the siege of Syrinx, when the wall was breached, the garrison slaughtered the Greek inhabitants and attempted to flee. Arsaces II may have reasserted his independence in 189 BC, following Antiochus' defeat at

1122-546: The Caspian Sea and underlies the name of the city Zadracarta , the then-largest city and the capital of ancient Hyrcania. Another archaic name, Dahistān (not to be confused with dehestan – a modern Iranian word for "district" or "county") is sometimes used interchangeably with Hyrcania. Dahistān refers, strictly speaking to the "place of the Dahae ": an extinct people who lived immediately north of Hyrcania, as early as

1188-603: The Church of the East is known to have existed from 424 AD. According to Paulus Orosius , following the suppression of a revolt in Phoenicia and the conquest of Egypt in 343 BC, Artaxerxes III deported Phoenician and Egyptian Jews to Hyrcania as punishment for opposing him. Some Hyrcanian Jews returned to Palestine; however, they maintained a presence within the region as late as the 4th century AD. In Latin literature , Hyrcania

1254-541: The Median era from at least 648   BCE. Up to the time of the conquest of Media by Cyrus the Great, emperors ruled the lands they conquered through client kings and governors. The main difference was that in Persian culture the concept of kingship was indivisible from divinity: divine authority validated the divine right of kings . The twenty-six satraps established by Cyrus were never kings, but viceroys ruling in

1320-613: The Parthian Empire , the king's power rested on the support of noble families, who ruled large estates and supplied soldiers and tribute to the king. City-states within the empire enjoyed a degree of self-government, and paid tribute to the king. Administration of the Sassanid Empire was considerably more centralized than that of the Parthian Empire; the semi-independent kingdoms and self-governing city states of

1386-521: The Satavahana , who ruled in central India to their south and east and the Kushan state to their immediate west. Artaxerxes I of Persia Artaxerxes I ( / ˌ ɑːr t ə ˈ z ɜːr k s iː z / , Old Persian : 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçāʰ ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἀρταξέρξης ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire , from 465 to December 424 BC. He

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1452-679: The Satrapiae . The Western Satraps or Kshatrapas (35–405 CE) of the Indian subcontinent were Saka rulers in the western and central part of the Sindh region of Pakistan , and the Saurashtra and Malwa regions of western India . They were contemporaneous with the Kushans , who ruled the northern part of the subcontinent from the area of Peshawar and were possibly their overlords, and with

1518-407: The shah , in person. The satrap was allowed to have troops in his own service. The great satrapies (provinces) were often divided into smaller districts, the governors of which were also called satraps and (by Greco-Roman authors) also called hyparchs (actually Hyparkhos in Greek, 'vice-regents'). The distribution of the great satrapies was changed repeatedly, and often two of them were given to

1584-592: The upper satrapies , in 315 BC and continued in this office until his death during the Babylonian War in battle against Seleucus in 310 BC which allowed Seleucus to conquer the eastern territories of the empire and form the Seleucid Empire . Seleucus' son, Antiochus I , appointed Andragoras as satrap of Parthia and Hyrcania at an unknown date prior to 266 BC, but rebelled against his successor Antiochus II in c. 245 BC. Andragoras may have founded

1650-524: The 5th century BC. Hyrcania formed part of the Median Empire by 600 BC, and according to Nicolaus Damascenus , was administered as a satrapy by the time of the last Median king, Astyages , who appointed a certain Artasyras as satrap (governor). Upon the fall of the Median Empire, the region willingly submitted to the Achaemenid Empire and was occupied by Cyrus the Great in 549-548 BC, and for

1716-615: The Achaemenid Empire, Hyrcania served as a sub-province of the satrapy of Parthia, which was also known as the satrapy of Parthia and Hyrcania. At times, Cadusia may have been administered as part of Hyrcania. Fortifications to protect Hyrcania against nomadic incursions were constructed during the Achaemenid period. Following Darius the Great 's victory over the Magian usurper, Gaumata , in September 522 BC, revolts spread throughout

1782-538: The Arsacid Empire only to be defeated and captured, following which he was provided a princely residence in Hyrcania and married to Rhodogune , daughter of Mithridates. In 129 BC, the Saka tribes invaded and pillaged Hyrcania, alongside other eastern provinces, and defeated and killed two successive Arsacid kings. Soon after his ascension to the throne in 124 BC, Mithridates II , recovered Hyrcania and re-established Arsacid control. Artabanus , king of Hyrcania, belonging to

1848-697: The Athenians by funding their enemies in Greece. This indirectly caused the Athenians to move the treasury of the Delian League from the island of Delos to the Athenian acropolis. This funding practice inevitably prompted renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the Battle of Cyprus . After Cimon 's failure to attain much in this expedition, hostilities ceased. Later sources argue that

1914-463: The Athenians were finally defeated in 454 BC, by the Persian army led by Megabyzus , after a two-year siege. Inaros was captured and carried away to Susa . After the Achaemenid Empire had been defeated at the Battle of the Eurymedon (c. 469 BC), military action between Greece and Persia was at a standstill. When Artaxerxes I took power, he introduced a new Persian strategy of weakening

1980-579: The Great , who conquered the Achaemenid Empire, and by his successors, the Diadochi (and their dynasties) who carved it up, especially in the Seleucid Empire , where the satrap generally was designated as strategos (in other words, military generals); but their provinces were much smaller than under the Persians. They would ultimately be replaced by conquering empires, especially the Parthians . In

2046-471: The Great King endeavoured to meld elements from all his subjects into a new imperial style, especially at his capital, Persepolis . Whenever central authority in the empire weakened, the satrap often enjoyed practical independence, especially as it became customary to appoint him also as general-in-chief of the army district, contrary to the original rule. "When his office became hereditary, the threat to

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2112-580: The Hepthalites and were defeated and captured in battle near Gurgan. At the time of the usurper Bahrām Chōbin 's movement eastward into Abarshahr in 591 AD, Hyrcania was governed by the House of Karen , one of the Seven Great Houses. Following the defeat of the usurper Bahrām Chōbin in 591 AD, Khosrow II appointed Vistahm marzban (governor) of Hyrcania as a reward for his support during

2178-556: The Hermus valley include Ormoita and Tyanolla. According to Herodotus , Hyrcanian soldiers participated in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC under the command of Megapanus. After the war, a garrison composed of Hyrcanian soldiers was posted in the valleys of the rivers Hermus and Caicus . Under Xerxes I , Hyrcania was likely detached from the satrapy of Parthia and administered separately. Some sources imply Hyrcania

2244-554: The Old and New Testament to support limiting government interference in religious matters. Williams published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience , arguing for a separation of church and state based on biblical reasoning. Williams believed that Israel was a unique covenant kingdom and not an appropriate model for New Testament Christians who believed that the Old Testament covenant had been fulfilled. Therefore,

2310-472: The Parthian Empire were replaced with a system of "royal cities" which served as the seats of centrally appointed governors called shahrabs as well as the location of military garrisons. Shahrabs ruled both the city and the surrounding rural districts. Exceptionally, the Byzantine Empire also adopted the title "satrap" for the semi-autonomous princes that governed one of its Armenian provinces ,

2376-574: The Prince of Morocco also made references to Hyrcania. He said (an excerpt), "The Hyrcanian deserts and the vasty wilds/Of wild Arabia are as thoroughfares now." Sir Walter Scott in an epigraph to the thirty-fifth chapter of Ivanhoe refers to "the tiger of the Hyrcanian deserts" as a "lesser [...] risk than [...] the slumbering fire of wild fanaticism" (the epigraph is cited as being written by an anonymous author). The comic book heroine Red Sonja

2442-590: The biblical account is not chronological. The last group of scholars regard "the seventh year" as a scribal error and hold that the two men were contemporaries. However, Ezra appears for the first time in Nehemiah 8, having probably been at the court for twelve years. The rebuilding of the Jewish community in Jerusalem had begun under Cyrus the Great , who had permitted Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild Solomon's Temple . Consequently,

2508-562: The central authority could not be ignored" (Olmstead). Rebellions of satraps became frequent from the middle of the 5th   century BCE. Darius I struggled with widespread rebellions in the satrapies, and under Artaxerxes II occasionally the greater parts of Asia Minor and Syria were in open rebellion ( Revolt of the Satraps ). The last great rebellions were put down by Artaxerxes III . The satrapic administration and title were retained—even for Greco-Macedonian incumbents—by Alexander

2574-525: The city of Dehestān during his tenure as satrap. Andragoras was killed in 238 BC during the Parni conquest of Parthia , led by Arsaces , who went on to conquer Hyrcania in 235 BC, thereafter forming part of the Arsacid Empire . Seleucus II attempted to reassert Seleucid control of Hyrcania and Parthia in 231 BC, but was unsuccessful as he was forced to return to Asia Minor to quell unrest. Following

2640-624: The commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, with the help of a eunuch , Aspamitres. Greek historians give contradicting accounts of events. According to Ctesias (in Persica 20), Artabanus then accused Crown Prince Darius , Xerxes's eldest son, of the murder, and persuaded Artaxerxes to avenge the patricide by killing Darius. But according to Aristotle (in Politics 5.1311b), Artabanus killed Darius first and then killed Xerxes. After Artaxerxes discovered

2706-463: The descendant of *khshathrapavan is shahrbān ( شهربان ), but the components have undergone semantic shift so the word now means "town keeper" ( shahr شهر meaning "town" + bān بان meaning "keeper"). Although the first large-scale use of satrapies, or provinces, originates from the inception of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great , beginning at around 530   BCE, provincial organization actually originated during

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2772-654: The empire. In December 522 BC, a revolt in support of the Median leader Phraortes erupted in Hyrcania, and in March 521 BC, the Hyrcanian rebels unsuccessfully attacked Hystaspes , satrap of Parthia. In May, Phraortes was defeated and Hyrcania returned to Achaemenid rule. Darius later settled Hyrcanians in the settlement of Dareionkome ( Greek : Δαρειονκώμη ) in the Hyrcanian Plain in Lydia. Other Hyrcanian settlements in

2838-526: The fifth month of the seventh year according to the Hebrew calendar . The text does not specify whether the king in the passage refers to Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC) or to Artaxerxes II (404–359 BC). Most scholars hold that Ezra lived during the rule of Artaxerxes I, though some have difficulties with this assumption: Nehemiah and Ezra "seem to have no knowledge of each other; their missions do not overlap", however, in Nehemiah 12, both are leading processions on

2904-503: The hands of the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC. During the reign of Antiochus IV , in the late 2nd century BC, Hyrcania still formed part of the Seleucid Empire. After Mithridates ' conquest of Media in 148 BC, Hyrcanians launched an unsuccessful revolt, which was crushed by Mithridates shortly afterwards. Hyrcania served as a royal retreat and Mithridates retired there in 141 BC. In 139 BC, Demetrius II launched an invasion of

2970-435: The king's name, although in political reality many took advantage of any opportunity to carve themselves an independent power base. Darius the Great gave the satrapies a definitive organization, increased their number to thirty-six, and fixed their annual tribute ( Behistun inscription ). The satrap was in charge of the land that he owned as an administrator, and found himself surrounded by an all-but-royal court; he collected

3036-563: The murder, he killed Artabanus and his sons. Artaxerxes had to face a revolt in Egypt in 460–454 BC led by Inaros II , who was the son of a Libyan prince named Psamtik, presumably descended from the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt . In 460 BC, Inaros II revolted against the Persians with the help of his Athenian allies, and defeated the Persian army commanded by satrap Achaemenes . The Persians retreated to Memphis , and

3102-538: The plight of the Jewish people and that the city of Jerusalem was undefended. The king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem with letters of safe passage to the governors in Trans-Euphrates, and to Asaph , keeper of the royal forests, to make beams for the citadel by the Temple and to rebuild the city walls. Roger Williams , a 17th-century Christian minister and founder of Rhode Island , interpreted several passages in

3168-615: The province"). The Median form is reconstructed as *khshathrapavan- . Its Sanskrit cognate is kshatrapa ( क्षत्रप ). The Biblical Hebrew form is aḥashdarpan אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפָּן , as found in Esther 3:12. In the Parthian (language of the Arsacid Empire ) and Middle Persian (the language of the Sassanian Empire ), it is recorded in the forms šahrab and šasab , respectively. In modern Persian

3234-905: The purported Peace of Callias was agreed among Athens , Argos and Persia in 449 BC; however, the existence of a formal treaty between the Greek States and Persia is disputed. Artaxerxes I offered asylum to Themistocles , who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy for his victory at the Battle of Salamis , after Themistocles was ostracized from Athens . Also, Artaxerxes I gave him Magnesia , Myus , and Lampsacus to maintain him in bread, meat, and wine. In addition, Artaxerxes I gave him Skepsis to provide him with clothes, and he also gave him Percote with bedding for his house. Themistocles would go on to learn and adopt Persian customs, Persian language, and traditions. A King Artaxerxes ( Hebrew : אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתְּא , אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא, pronounced [artaχʃast(ǝ)] , or אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתָּא pronounced [artaχʃasta] )

3300-433: The rebellion, however, Khosrow's mistrust for Vistahm led him to attempt to execute him by luring him to the royal court. Vistahm was informed of Khosrow's intentions and rose in revolt, conquering much of the eastern provinces of the Sasanian Empire prior to his death and defeat in battle against Smbat Bagratuni in 596 AD. Smbat was rewarded and appointed marzban of Hyrcania, which he served as until 602 AD, during which time

3366-469: The rebels to allow him to deal with the threat posed by the Romans. However, the peace treaty did not last and the Hyrcanians launched another revolt that continued until at least 75 AD. In 75 AD, the Hyrcanian rebels allied with nomadic Alan tribes and granted them safe passage through Hyrcania into Media, allowing the Alans to pillage Media and Armenia. In the time of the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161), Hyrcania had made itself independent and

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3432-401: The region is known to have prospered. Hyrcania, and the rest of Iran in Antiquity, was dominated by Zoroastrianism which was practised by the majority of the population. Christianity and Judaism were also practised in the region, and, Barshabba , the apocryphal 4th century AD bishop of Merv , is attributed to the foundation of Christian monasteries in Hyrcania. A diocese of Gurgan of

3498-521: The region. Whilst staying in Hyrcania in 420 AD, Yazdegerd I was assassinated by the nobility who alleged that he had been killed by a white horse that emerged from and disappeared into a stream. The myth propagated by the nobility led people to believe the white horse was an angel sent by Ahura Mazda to end Yazdegerd's tyranny. Gurgān is known to have held a mint as early as the reign of Yazdegerd II . An unsuccessful revolt led by Vahan Amatuni, assistant governor of Armenia, led to his, and other members of

3564-413: The same man. As the provinces were the result of consecutive conquests (the homeland had a special status, exempt from provincial tribute), both primary and sub-satrapies were often defined by former states and/or ethno-religious identity. One of the keys to the Achaemenid success was their open attitude to the culture and religion of the conquered people, so the Persian culture was the one most affected as

3630-574: The surrender of Phrataphernes , satrap of Hyrcania and Parthia, and chiliarch Nabarzanes . Alexander seized Zadracarta , the capital of Hyrcania, hereafter known as Syrinx , later that year and received the surrender of other satraps and nobles. Whilst in Hyrcania, Alexander appointed his general Amminapes as satrap of Hyrcania and Parthia, but was succeeded as satrap of Hyrcania by Autophradates, satrap of Mardia and Tapuria , not long after. In 328 BC, Autophradates rebelled against Alexander and Phrataphernes, who had been reinstated as satrap of Parthia,

3696-416: The taxes, controlled the local officials and the subject tribes and cities, and was the supreme judge of the province before whose "chair" ( Nehemiah   3:7) every civil and criminal case could be brought. He was responsible for the safety of the roads (cf.   Xenophon), and had to put down brigands and rebels. He was assisted by a council of Persians, to which also provincials were admitted and which

3762-411: The throne and was succeeded by his son Vardanes I in 38 AD, however, Gotarzes unsuccessfully attempted to usurp the throne and was forced into exile amongst the Dahae . Gotarzes invaded Hyrcania in 46 AD with the support of the Hyrcanians and Dahae to press his claim to the throne, however, upon Gotarzes' discovery of a plot amongst the nobles to remove both Gotarzes and Vardanes I and place another upon

3828-424: The throne, the two brothers made peace. Gotarzes agreed to not press his claim to the throne and was appointed satrap of Hyrcania, only to revolt with the support of a number of nobles and attempt to press his claim once more. Gotarzes was defeated in Hyrcania and forced into exile amongst the Dahae until the death of Vardanes I in 47 AD, thus becoming Gotarzes II. Under the Arsacid Empire, the Great Wall of Gorgan ,

3894-414: The wall as part of the wall dedication ceremony. So, they clearly were contemporaries working together in Jerusalem at the time the wall and the city of Jerusalem was rebuilt in contrast to the previously stated viewpoint. These difficulties have led many scholars to assume that Ezra arrived in the seventh year of the rule of Artaxerxes II, i.e. some 50 years after Nehemiah. This assumption would imply that

3960-409: Was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. A satrap served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy. The word came to suggest tyranny or ostentatious splendour, and its modern usage

4026-450: Was controlled by a royal secretary and emissaries of the king, especially the "eye of the king", who made an annual inspection and exercised permanent control. There were further checks on the power of each satrap: besides his secretarial scribe, his chief financial official (Old Persian ganzabara ) and the general in charge of the regular army of his province and of the fortresses were independent of him and periodically reported directly to

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4092-401: Was killed by Peithon , satrap of Media, in 318 BC and Peithon appointed his brother Eudemus as satrap. Eudemus was driven from Parthia and Hyrcania in 317 BC by Peithon , satrap of the Indus, who was subsequently defeated in 315 BC by Antigonus , allowing Antigonus to take control of the Asian territories of the empire. Antigonus appointed Nicanor satrap of Hyrcania and Parthia, also known as

4158-414: Was later administered as a sub-province of Media. According to Ctesias, Artaxerxes I appointed his illegitimate son Ochus as satrap of Hyrcania in c. 425 BC, who later assumed the throne as Darius II and appointed Idernes as satrap. Idernes' son Terituchmes succeeded him as satrap of Hyrcania following his death and was married to Amestris, daughter of Darius II, but Terituchmes was murdered by Udiastes,

4224-408: Was not considered part of the Arsacid Empire. Hyrcania is mentioned as Li-chien (or Li-kan, 黎幹) in the 2nd century AD Book of Han . Hyrcania was annexed to the Sasanian Empire in 225 AD by Ardashir I , after which the provincial centre was moved to Gurgān , which lent its name to the province during this period. The House of Aspahbadh , one of the Seven Great Houses , held lands principally within

4290-483: Was sent to quell the revolt. Autophradates was defeated and executed by Alexander at Pasargadae in 324 BC and Phrataphernes was granted the satrapies of Hyrcania, Tapuria, and Mardia. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his empire was divided amongst the Diadochi in the Partition of Babylon , which confirmed Phrataphernes' control of Hyrcania and Parthia. The Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC granted Parthia and Hyrcania to Philip , however, Philip

4356-420: Was the third son of Xerxes I . In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( Ancient Greek : μακρόχειρ Makrókheir ; Latin : Longimanus ), allegedly because his right hand was longer than his left. Artaxerxes was probably born in the reign of his grandfather Darius I , to the emperor's son and heir, Xerxes I . In 465 BC, Xerxes I was murdered by Hazarapat ("commander of thousand") Artabanus ,

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