Mazaeus or Mazday (

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

: 𐡌𐡆𐡃𐡉 MZDY, Greek: Μαζαῖος ''Mazaios'') (died 328 BC) was an

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

Persian noble and satrap of

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...

and later satrap of Babylon for the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

, a satrapy which he retained under

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

Life

Mazaeus was the penultimate Persian

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 ...

(governor) of

. His successor in Cilicia was

Arsames Arsames ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶 Aršāma, modern Persian:،آرسام، آرشام‎ Arshām, Greek: ) was the son of Ariaramnes and the grandfather of Darius I. He was traditionally claimed to have briefly been king of Persia during th ...

, who was ultimately expelled by

. At the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

, Mazaeus commanded the right flank with the Syrian,

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Mede ...

Sacia The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histo ...

Tapuria Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian ...

Sacesinia Sacesinians were an ancient people who fought for the Persians in Alexander the Great's war of conquest on the Achaemenid Empire. They gave horsemen to the Persians which were used together with the horsemen of Caucasian Albania. They lived in the ...

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

n, and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

n cavalry. As a reward for his recognition of Alexander as the legitimate successor of Darius, Mazaeus was rewarded by being able to retain the satrapy of Babylon, as a Hellenistic satrap. Alexander left a Macedonian,

Apollodorus of Amphipolis Apollodorus ( el, Ἀπολλόδωρος) from Amphipolis was one of the cavalry generals of Alexander the Great, who commanded the force Alexander left behind with the Babylonian governor Mazaeus. He was entrusted in 331 BCE, together with Menes ...

, as the military commander of the garrison of Babylon, and another as tax-collector. Mazaeus continued minting coins under his name, and later without his name. The daughter of the Persian king Darius III,

Stateira II Stateira ( el, Στάτειρα; died 323 BC), possibly also known as Barsine, was the daughter of Stateira and Darius III of Persia. After her father's defeat at the Battle of Issus, Stateira and her sisters became captives of Alexander ...

, was originally betrothed to him, but he died before they could be married. She was eventually married to Alexander. Waldemar Heckel suggested that the

Alexander Sarcophagus The Alexander Sarcophagus is a late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the necropolis near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with bas-relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological narratives. The wor ...

might have been dedicated to him. Mazaeus was replaced as satrap of Babylon by Stamenes.

Coinage

Mazaeus had an abundant coinage, which he minted in

Tarsos Tarsus ( Hittite: 𒋫𒅈𒊭 ; grc, Ταρσός, label=Greek ; xcl, Տարսոն, label=Armenian ; ar, طَرسُوس ) is a historic city in south-central Turkey, inland from the Mediterranean. It is part of the Adana-Mersin metropolitan ...

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast ...

and Babylon. Coinage as Satrap of Cilicia File:CILICIA, Tarsos. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361-0-334 BC.jpg, Coin of

Mazaios Mazaeus or Mazday (Aramaic: 𐡌𐡆𐡃𐡉 MZDY, Greek: Μαζαῖος ''Mazaios'') (died 328 BC) was an Achaemenid Persian noble and satrap of Cilicia and later satrap of Babylon for the Achaemenid Empire, a satrapy which he retained under Ale ...

. Satrap of Cilicia, 361/0-334 BC.

: 𐡌 "M" below throne File:PHOENICIA, Sidon. Mazday (Mazaios). Circa 353-333 BC.jpg, Mazday (Mazaios) as ruler of

. Circa 353-333 BC. File:CILICIA, Tarsos. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361-0-334 BCE.jpg, Coin of

, with

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

. Satrap of Cilicia, 361/0-334 BC.

. File:CILICIA, Myriandros. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361-0-334 BCE.jpg, Coin of

, with

and possibly

Artaxerxes IV Arses ( peo, *R̥šā; grc-gre, Ἀρσής), also known by his regnal name Artaxerxes IV (; peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was the twelfth Achaemenid King of Kings from 338 to 336 BC. Arses ascende ...

s. Coinage as Satrap of Babylon File:PERSIA, Alexandrine Empire. Mazaios. Satrap of Babylon, circa 331-328 BC.jpg, Coinage of Mazaios as Hellenistic Satrap of Babylon, circa 331-328 BC. File:Daric of Mazaeus, satrap of Babylon.jpg, Late coinage of Mazaeus as satrap of Babylon.

References

{{Hellenistic satraps Year of birth missing 328 BC deaths Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Iranian people Achaemenid satraps of Cilicia Darius III