Xerxes II (; ; ; died 424 BC) was a Persian king who was very briefly a ruler of the

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

, as the son and successor of

Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I (, ; ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I. In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( ''Makrókheir''; ), allegedly because his ri ...

. After a reign of forty-five days—where he only had control over the Persian heartlands—he was assassinated in 424 BC by his half-brother Sogdianus, who in turn was murdered by

Darius II Darius II ( ; ), also known by his given name Ochus ( ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC. Following the death of Artaxerxes I, in 424 BC or 423 BC, there was a struggle for power between his sons. The vic ...

six months later. He is an obscure historical figure known primarily from the writings of

Ctesias Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Acha ...

. He was the only legitimate son of

and Damaspia, and is known to have served as

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Reign

The last inscription mentioning Artaxerxes I being alive can be dated to 424 BC. He succeeded to the throne but two of his illegitimate brothers claimed the throne for themselves. The first was Sogdianus, Artaxerxes I's son by his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Alogyne 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 ...

. The second was Darius II, Artaxerxes I's son by his concubine Cosmartidene of Babylon, who was married to their common half-sister

Parysatis Parysatis (; , ; 5th-century BC) was a Persian queen, consort of Darius II and had a large influence during the reign of Artaxerxes II. Biography Parysatis was the daughter of King of Kings Artaxerxes I of Persia and Andria of Babylon. She wa ...

, daughter of Artaxerxes I and his concubine Andia of Babylon.S. Zawadzki, "The Circumstances of Darius II's Accession", ''Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux'', 34 (1995-1996), pp. 45-49 Xerxes II was only recognized as king in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and Sogdianus in

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

. Ochus' first inscription as

can be dated to January 10, 423 BC. He was already

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 ...

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 ...

and was soon recognized by

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 ...

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Xerxes II only ruled forty-five days. He was murdered while drunk by Sogdianus, with help from Pharnacyas and Menostanes, who had great influence over him according to

. Sogdianus gained the support of his regions, but was killed a few months later. Darius II became the sole ruler of the Persian Empire and reigned until 404 BC.

References

External links

A more detailed profile of Xerxes II
{{authority control 5th-century BC Kings of the Achaemenid Empire 5th-century BC pharaohs Kings of the Achaemenid Empire Pharaohs of the Achaemenid dynasty of Egypt Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt 424 BC deaths 5th-century BC murdered monarchs Murdered Persian monarchs Year of birth unknown