Artaxerxès III

Artaxerxès Ochos is king of Perse of the dynasty of the Achéménides and king of Egypt of the second Persian domination (), died in -338.

It is the fourth wire of Artaxerxès {{II}} Mnémon and arrives at the capacity in -358, with died of his father, after the dramatic death of his older brothers.

Reign

One of its first actions is besides to make kill all his/her surviving brothers in order to make sure totality of the capacity. This energetic and pitiless sovereign will restore temporarily the power of the empire achéménide passably reduced under the long reign of his father.

Initially, of -358 with -350 approximately, it subdues the rebellion of the various satraps of Asia Mineure who had cut quasi-independent principalities starting from -365. Thus in -354 its troops beat the two Greek mercenaries Mentor and Memnon of Rhodos and drive out the satrap Artabaze in Macedonia.

It fails first once against the Egypt and the Pharaon Nectanébo {{II}} in -351. This failure involves a revolt of Cyprus, the Phénicie but which fails because of treason of the king of Sidon. In -343 it launches a new offensive against Nectanébo with the assistance of Mentor of Rhodos (which now combat for the Persian sovereign since -346). Nectanébo, in spite of the assistance of Greek mercenaries, is beaten and must take refuge in High-Egypt or it resists still two years.

Attentive and anxious adversary of progress of the Macedonia, it helps Périnthe and Byzance besieged by Philippe {{II}} of Macedonia and made alliance with Athens. But in -338, it is assassinated by its minister, the Egyptian Eunuque Bagoas, which temporarily replaces it by Arsès then by Darius {{III}}, which plunges the empire in an serious attack which destroys the positive aspects of the reign of Artaxerxès.

Its death

One day of extreme heat, Bagoas proposes a fruit section to him and, to reassure it, cuts itself a section and eats it. Entrusting, Artaxerxès accepts in its turn and dies poisoned. Only one face of the knife was coated with poison…

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