Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker

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In the turbulent year of 465 BCE, the Achaemenid royal dynasty was facing an unexpected threat. One of the key players, a certain Artapanus, tried to wrest power from the hands of Xerxes and his sons. A person of obscure background yet of powerful position, he was successful in eliminating the king...

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Autor principal: Pruša, Libor
Formato: Artículo publishedVersion Artículo revisado por pares
Lenguaje:Inglés
Español
Publicado: Instituto de Historia Antigua Oriental, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, UBA 2025
Materias:
Artapanus, Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes, Artaxerxes
Artapano
Imperio aqueménida
Jerjes
Artajerjes
Acceso en línea:https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/rihao/article/view/17177
https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=rihao&d=17177_oai
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Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires
id I28-R145-17177_oai
record_format dspace
spelling I28-R145-17177_oai2026-02-10 Pruša, Libor Pruša, Libor 2025-12-30 In the turbulent year of 465 BCE, the Achaemenid royal dynasty was facing an unexpected threat. One of the key players, a certain Artapanus, tried to wrest power from the hands of Xerxes and his sons. A person of obscure background yet of powerful position, he was successful in eliminating the king as well as the king’s eldest son. Afterwards, he managed to install Artaxerxes on the throne shortly before attempting to do away with him too. That is why Artapanus shall be considered the kingkiller and the kingmaker. However, as his plan backfired, he was executed by the king. Although several Greek accounts make it clear that Artapanus was responsible for all the bloodshed, a closer examination will raise the question of who this kingkiller and kingmaker in fact was. In this article, I will focus on the accounts of Artapanus and his involvement in the affairs of 465 BCE, when the rule over the Achaemenid Empire was transferred from Xerxes to Artaxerxes I. I will try to establish who could the main culprit be, as Artapanus may have been only a scapegoat. La dinastía real aqueménida se enfrentaba a una amenaza inesperada en el turbulento año 465 a.C. Uno de los personajes clave, un tal Artapano, intentó arrebatar el poder de las manos de Jerjes y sus hijos. De origen desconocido, pero con una posición poderosa, logró eliminar al rey y a su hijo mayor. Posteriormente, logró colocar a Artajerjes en el trono poco antes de intentar acabar también con él. Por esta razón, Artapano debe considerarse asesino de reyes y hacedor de reyes. Sin embargo, como su plan fracasó, fue ejecutado por el rey. Aunque varios relatos griegos dejan claro que Artapano fue el responsable de todo el derramamiento de sangre, un examen más detallado plantea la pregunta de quién era en realidad este asesino y hacedor de reyes. En el presente artículo, me centraré en los relatos sobre Artapano y su participación en los acontecimientos del año 465 a.C., cuando el poder en el Imperio aqueménida pasó de Jerjes a Artajerjes I. Intentaré determinar quién pudo ser el principal culpable, ya que Artapano pudo haber sido un simple chivo expiatorio. application/pdf text/html https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/rihao/article/view/17177 10.34096/rihao.n26.17177 eng spa Instituto de Historia Antigua Oriental, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, UBA https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/rihao/article/view/17177/15668 https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/rihao/article/view/17177/15772 Derechos de autor 2025 Libor Pruša https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 Revista del Instituto de Historia Antigua Oriental; Núm. 26 (2025) 2683-9660 0325-1209 Artapanus, Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes, Artaxerxes Artapano Imperio aqueménida Jerjes Artajerjes Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker Artapano: el asesino de reyes y el hacedor de reyes info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículo revisado por pares https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=rihao&d=17177_oai
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-145
collection Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
language Inglés
Español
orig_language_str_mv eng
spa
topic Artapanus, Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes, Artaxerxes
Artapano
Imperio aqueménida
Jerjes
Artajerjes
spellingShingle Artapanus, Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes, Artaxerxes
Artapano
Imperio aqueménida
Jerjes
Artajerjes
Pruša, Libor
Pruša, Libor
Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
topic_facet Artapanus, Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes, Artaxerxes
Artapano
Imperio aqueménida
Jerjes
Artajerjes
description In the turbulent year of 465 BCE, the Achaemenid royal dynasty was facing an unexpected threat. One of the key players, a certain Artapanus, tried to wrest power from the hands of Xerxes and his sons. A person of obscure background yet of powerful position, he was successful in eliminating the king as well as the king’s eldest son. Afterwards, he managed to install Artaxerxes on the throne shortly before attempting to do away with him too. That is why Artapanus shall be considered the kingkiller and the kingmaker. However, as his plan backfired, he was executed by the king. Although several Greek accounts make it clear that Artapanus was responsible for all the bloodshed, a closer examination will raise the question of who this kingkiller and kingmaker in fact was. In this article, I will focus on the accounts of Artapanus and his involvement in the affairs of 465 BCE, when the rule over the Achaemenid Empire was transferred from Xerxes to Artaxerxes I. I will try to establish who could the main culprit be, as Artapanus may have been only a scapegoat.
format Artículo
publishedVersion
Artículo revisado por pares
author Pruša, Libor
Pruša, Libor
author_facet Pruša, Libor
Pruša, Libor
author_sort Pruša, Libor
title Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
title_short Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
title_full Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
title_fullStr Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
title_full_unstemmed Artapanus: The Kingkiller and the Kingmaker
title_sort artapanus: the kingkiller and the kingmaker
publisher Instituto de Historia Antigua Oriental, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, UBA
publishDate 2025
url https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/rihao/article/view/17177
https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=rihao&d=17177_oai
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AT prusalibor artapanusthekingkillerandthekingmaker
AT prusalibor artapanoelasesinodereyesyelhacedordereyes
AT prusalibor artapanoelasesinodereyesyelhacedordereyes
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