Mazaeus or Mazday (

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

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

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

Persian noble, satrap (a type of governor) of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

and later satrap of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

for the Achaemenid Empire. He retained the satrapy after Babylon was under the rule 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 ...

Life

Mazaeus was the penultimate Persian

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 ...

(governor) of

. His successor in Cilicia was Arsames, who was ultimately expelled by

. At the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela ( ; ), also called the Battle of Arbela (), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Ancient Macedonian army, Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Army, Persian Army under Darius III, ...

, Mazaeus commanded the right flank with the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n, Sacian, Tapurian,

Hyrcania Hyrcania (; ''Hyrkanía'', 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 Sea ...

n, Sacesinian,

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 ...

n, and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

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, 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, 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 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,

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

and

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

: 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 Mazaios, with Artaxerxes III as

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

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

. File:CILICIA, Myriandros. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361-0-334 BCE.jpg, Coin of Mazaios, with Artaxerxes III and possibly Artaxerxes IV as

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

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