Abrocomas ( grc-gre, Ἀβροκόμας) was

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

of Syria for the Achaemenid king

Artaxerxes II Mnemon Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and su ...

. He may also have been satrap of

Paphlagonia Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and ...

, with its capital at

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

e, according to the reading of some of the coinage of

e: the Aramaic reading "ˈbrkmw" has been identified as the name rendered in Greek as "Abrocomas", but this is not universally accepted. Abrocomas was sent with an army of 300,000 men to oppose

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 ...

on his march into Upper Asia. On Cyrus's arrival at

Tarsus Tarsus may refer to: Biology *Tarsus (skeleton), a cluster of articulating bones in each foot *Tarsus (eyelids), elongated plate of dense connective tissue in each eyelid *The distal segment of an arthropod leg see Arthropod tarsus *The lower le ...

in 401 BC, Abrocomas was said to be on the Euphrates. At

Issus Issus may refer to: * Issus (Cilicia), an ancient settlement in the modern Turkish province of Hatay ** Battle of Issus, in 333 BC, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III * Issus (river), a river near the town and battle site * Issus (di ...

four hundred heavy-armed

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...

, who had deserted Abrocomas, joined Cyrus. Abrocomas did not defend the Syrian passes, as was expected, but marched to join the king. He burnt some boats to prevent Cyrus from crossing the Euphrates, but did not arrive in time for the

battle of Cunaxa The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in the late summer of 401 BC between the Persian king Artaxerxes II and his brother Cyrus the Younger for control of the Achaemenid throne. The great battle of the revolt of Cyrus took place 70 km north of Bab ...

. In about 385, with Persian generals Pharnabazus and

Tithraustes Tithraustes (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ) was the Persian satrap of Sardis for several years in the early 4th century BC. Due to scanty historical records, little is known of the man or his activities. He was sent out from Susa Susa ...

, Abrocomas unsuccessfully attempted to reconquer

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

for the Persian Empire.

Notes

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

''
"Abrocamas"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

(1867) *

External links

Abrocomas
at the ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

'' Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire 5th-century BC births 4th-century BC deaths 4th-century BC Iranian people 5th-century BC Iranian people {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub