Kings Of Persia

Persian commander who died for freedom

The reason for this rather unorthodox title is the fact that the so called “last stand of the 300 Spartans” in 480BC is said to have been a battle in which tyranny and evil (East, Persia) fought against freedom and good (West, Greece ) and is sometimes said to have been the “only battle were a smaller army stood up to a larger one, until utter destruction”. However little know of the stand made by Ariobarzanes, and the heroic few who were armed with little but fought and withstood 31 days of brutal and aggressive fighting against Alexander and the Macedonians until at last they were ultimately destroyed in 330BC. This article studies the regrettably ignored valiant stand by Persian commander Ariobarzanes who died from the ideal of freedom.

Biography of Ariobarzanes

Little is known about Ariobarzanes (Old Persian Ariyabrdna) life or his exact birth date; however historical evidence tells us that he was born into a wealthy, noble Persian family and he is probably descended from the earlier satraps of Cyrus the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I. It is interesting to note the fact that high King Darius III had appointed him satrap (or viceroy) of Persis. It seems that in the past, this position had not existed. This possibly means that Ariobarzanes was either a close friend or relative of Darius III Codomannus. It may also means that Darius, who had come to power in a period of great confusion and civil strife, needed a reliable man at home while he was away, fighting against the Macedonians and Alexander at Issus and Gaugamela. With such a high office of being in charge of Persis and thus, Persepolis the capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, were a vast sum of gold was kept.

My guess is that Ariobarzanes was in his late thirties when he was slain although there is little verification to back this up. Despite there being little on is precise birth date of Ariobarzanes, it is speculated that he was born around 368 BC and died in 330BC (aged 38). If this is true then he was born during the reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon (405-358 BC), a time of upheaval and rebellion throughout the Achaemenid Empire. Throughout most of his youth he would have (like all Persian boys) gone through rigorous training and so he would have had to be able to withstand hardship, and learn to live on very little.

According to a small number of sources he was related to a satrap of Hellespont of the same name, but this is unlikely due to the fact that there is no classical reference to any relation between the two Ariobarzanes and it may just be coincidence.

ApprehendingGrace.com » A God Who Changes the Hearts of Kings

As I read through the book of Ezra last week, the thing that made the greatest impression on me was God’s ability and willingness to change the hearts of powerful people to accomplish His purposes. I’m thankful that we serve a God who is active in the lives of men and women and changes the hearts of those in authority to accomplish His will here on earth. It doesn’t even matter whether those in authority recognize or serve Him! It’s easy to doubt that such a thing will happen when those in authority over us seem to be brick walls in our path. When our parents or boss or clients or even spouse have a history of treating us one way, it’s hard to imagine that anything will change.

That’s the situation the Israelites found themselves in after being taken into captivity in Babylon. Yet God moved on the hearts of three different rulers to release the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city and their temple. First, the Babylonians (Israel’s conquerors) were conquered by King Cyrus of Persia. You can imagine that the Israelites could hardly imagine, barely believe it possible, that a man who had just conquered their conquerors would set them free to return to their homeland. But that’s exactly what happened. It’s described in Ezra 1:

Here is this pagan king acknowledging that God has appointed him to build a temple Him! There are a number of theories about why Cyrus would believe such a thing and release the Israelites, but they are just theories. Perhaps he wanted to ingratiate himself to his new subjects. Maybe the prophecies of Jeremiah were shown to him and he understood himself to be God’s instrument. Maybe he had a reverence for the God of the heaven.

No one knows the mind of the king except the one true King who clearly influenced it. Matthew Henry points out in his commentary that releasing the Israelites to return to Jerusalem went against all common wisdom: It would have been in the interest of Cyrus’ government to continue to have the Jews as slaves; it would certainly not have been in the interest of his country to allow the Jews to establish their own homeland and government again; and in allowing the Israelites to build a temple for worship, King Cyrus was going against the religion of his own country.

But God moved on his heart and he released the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and establish themselves in the city, rebuilding the city walls and the temple. Rebuilding is a long process, however, and after a few years Israel’s enemies tried to hinder the rebuilding. They tried to intimidate the Israelites and wrote letters to the current king, King Darius, warning him of the dangers of allowing the Israelites to regain their autonomy. So God moved on the heart of King Darius.

History of the early kings of Persia, from Kaiomars, the first of the Peshdadian dynasty, to the conquest of Iran by Alexander the Great

At Susa, the ancient capital of the kings of Persia, Narrative of travel through western Persia and excavations made at the site of the lost City of the lilies, 1884-1886

The Rauzat-us-safa Or Garden of Purity: v. 1-2. The histories of prophets, kings, and khalifs

Holman Illustrated Study Bible-HCSB

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