Autophradates (; , lived 4th century BC) was a Persian Satrap of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

, who also distinguished himself as a general in the reign of Artaxerxes III and

Darius III Darius III ( ; ; – 330 BC) was the thirteenth and last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Darius was a distant member of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

Rule as a satrap of Lydia

During the reign of the

Artaxerxes II Arses (; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( ; ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II () and his mother was Parysatis. Soon after his accession, Ar ...

, Autophradates captured Artabazus, the

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

and

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

who had revolted against the Persian king, and made him his prisoner, but afterwards was forced to set him free. Autophradates was also directed by Artaxerxes to put down the rebellion of the satrap of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

Datames. He went with a large army, but was obliged to retreat with heavy loss. Autophradates later joined the

Revolt of the Satraps The Great Satraps' Revolt, or the Revolts of the Satraps (c. 370-c.360 BCE), was a rebellion in the Achaemenid Empire of several satraps in western Anatolia against the authority of the Great King Artaxerxes II (r. 404-359/8). The Satraps who revo ...

Resistance to Alexander the Great

Autophradates participated to the Achaemenid resistance against the campaigns of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. Together with Pharnabazus III he supported militarily and financial the king of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

Agis III who was organizing resistance against the Macedonians. After the death of the Persian admiral, Memnon, in 333 BC, Autophradates and Pharnabazus III, satrap of neighbouring Hellespontine Phrygia, undertook the command of the fleet, and reduced

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

, the siege of which had been begun by Memnon. Pharnabazus now sailed with his prisoners to

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

, and Autophradates attacked the other islands in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

which supported

. But Pharnabazus soon after joined Autophradates again, and both sailed against

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

, which was induced by fear to surrender to the Persians.

Tomb of Payava

Achaemenid Satrap Autophradates with visitors Payava tomb

Autophradates appears as a seated satrap in audience on the tomb of the

n dignitary Payava, now visible in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Arthur Hamilton Smith in the British Museum catalogue describes the scene as follows:

Coinage

The coinage of Autophradates shows the portrait of the satrap, and uses the legend "ΟΑΤΑ" in Greek script as an abbreviation for his name in Greek (ΟΑΤΑΦΡΑΔΑΤΗΣ). File:IONIA, Achaemenid Period. Autophradates. Satrap of Sparda (Lydia and Ionia), circa 380s-350s.jpg, Coin of Autophradates. Satrap of Sparda (

and

), circa 380s-350s BCE. File:IONIA, Achaemenid Period. Autophradates. Satrap of Sparda (Lydia and Ionia), circa 380-350s.jpg, Coinage of Autophradates.

Notes

References

* Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...