Pharnaces (son of Arsames)

Pharnaces Ι (Greek: Φαρνάκης; Elamite: Parnaka; c. 565–497 BCE) was a son of Arsames. He was a younger brother of Hystaspes, and therefore an uncle of Achaemenid Emperor Darius I, son of Hystaspes. He was the founder of the Pharnacid dynasty that ruled over Hellespontine Phrygia.^[2][3]

Likely image of Pharnaces as Mayor of the Palace, appearing in front of Darius and performing Proskynesis, in the Central relief of the Apadana, Persepolis.^[1]

Mayor of the Palace

Pharnaces was son of Arsames, and brother of Hystaspes.

According to the fortification tablets found at Persepolis, Pharnaces was the chief economic official to Darius I between 506 and 497 BCE.^[2][4] He was a Mayor of the Palace, his statutory attribute being a short stick, probably made of a precious metal. He likely appears on some of the reliefs in Persepolis.^[3]

Hellespontine Phrygia

Pharnaces became involved at some point with Hellespontine Phrygia in Asia Minor (modern northwest Turkey), since Aristotle of Stagira mentions that Pharnaces introduced mules in the region.^[5][6]

Pharnaces had a son named Artabazus, who was appointed as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia by Xerxes I circa 477 BCE. Artabazus and his heirs, known as the "Pharnacid dynasty" after Pharnaces, would rule the region into the 4th century BCE and until its take-over by Alexander the Great.^[2][7][4]

References

1. Persepolis, Apadana, North Stairs, Central Relief - Livius.
2. Briant, Pierre (2002). From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns. p. 339. ISBN 9781575061207.
3. Pharnaces (1) - Livius.
4. Stronk, Jan (2016). Semiramis' Legacy: The History of Persia According to Diodorus of Sicily. Edinburgh University Press. p. 206. ISBN 9781474414272.
5. Delphi Complete Works of Aristotle (Illustrated). Delphi Classics. 2013. p. 1408. ISBN 9781909496286.
6. Kitto, John (1852). The Popular Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature: Condensed from the Larger Work. Gould and Lincoln. p. 108.
7. "The dynasty seems to have been founded by Pharnaces, the son of Arsames, Darius' uncle" in Achaemenid History. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. 1988. p. 178. ISBN 9789062584031.