Arsames (satrap of Egypt)

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For other people named Arsames, see Arsames (disambiguation).
Arsames
Satrap of Egypt
Lower half of one of the Elephantine papyri, containing a plea for the reconstruction of the Jewish temple at Elephantine, and dated to "..the Year 17 of King Darius (II), under Arsames..." (407 BCE).[1]
PredecessorAchaemenes
Successorpossibly none (end of the satrapy of Egypt)
Dynasty27th Dynasty
PharaohArtaxerxes I to Darius II

Arsames (also called Sarsamas and Arxanes, from

Achaemenid satrap of ancient Egypt during the 5th century BC, at the time of the 27th Dynasty of Egypt
.

Name

"Arsames" is the

Aramaic as ʾršm.[4] The feminine form of the name, *Aršāmā (Greek Arsamē), is attested in the daughter of Darius the Great (522–486 BC).[4]

Career

According to

Athenian reinforcements sent in the Nile Delta.[7][8]

After the revolt, Arsames undertook a conciliatory policy towards the native Egyptians in order to avoid igniting new revolts; likely for this reason, he allowed Inaros' son Thannyras to maintain his lordship on part of the Delta, as Herodotus reports .[7][8]

While his aforementioned early career is reported only by Greek sources, Arsames' later life is known from several letters written in

Elephantine papyri, and which are datable from 428 BC onwards. It is known that in 423 BC he supported Darius II in his successful coup d'état, and later he was called back to Susa in Persia between 410 and 407/6 as reported by other documents, among these some exchange letters with his estate manager Nakhtihor[2][9] and with a man named Artavant who probably acted as satrap of Egypt ad interim.[10]

Cylinder seal depicting a Persian king thrusting his lance at an Egyptian pharaoh, while holding four other Egyptian captives on a rope.[11][12][13]

In 410 BCE a revolt erupted at Elephantine, where an established Jewish community lived along with the native Egyptians, and where the two communities had their local temple, that of

Yahu and Khnum respectively. Jews were well tolerated by Arsames and by the Persian occupants in general; however, it seems that the Jewish practice of sacrificing goats to their god was perceived as an insult by the clergy of the neighbouring temple of the Egyptian ram-headed deity Khnum.[14] Taking advantage of one of Arsames' absences, the clergy of Khnum corrupted a local military commander, Vidaranag, and unimpededly instigated and succeeded into the destruction of the temple of Yahu. Upon his return, Arsames punished the perpetrators, but he felt himself compelled to avoid any controversy by prohibiting the ritual slaughter of goats.[15][14] However, the multiple pleas by the Elephantine Jews for the reconstruction of their temple seem to have remained unheard for some years by the notables in Judah and Jerusalem to whom they had written.[15][16]

Arsames is no longer mentioned after 406 BC, and it is likely that he died shortly before the

Amyrtaios in 404 BC.[2]

Seal of Arsama

Arsama is also known from an engraved cylinder seal, in which he is seen killing Saka enemies, with a depiction of the crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt, worn by falcons.[17][18]

Notes

  1. ^ Also spelled Ṛšāma-.[3]
  2. ^ The compound words are spelled šršan- and ama- respectively if the spelling Ṛšāma- is used.[3]

References

  1. ^ Sachau, Eduard (1907). "Drei aramäische Papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine". Abhandlungen der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften aus dem Jahre 1907. 1907. Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1901-07.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-521-22804-2
    .
  3. ^ a b Schmitt, Rüdiger (2005). "PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN iii. ACHAEMENID PERIOD". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-71009-105-5
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0520379206
    .
  6. ^ Photius' Excerpt of Ctesias' Persica, see 38
  7. ^ a b Ray, op. cit., p. 276
  8. ^
    ISBN 9780631174721
    .
  9. ^ Curtis, John (November 2003). "The Achaemenid Period in Northern Iraq" (PDF). L'Archéologie de l'Empire Achéménide. Paris: 3.
  10. ^ ARŠĀMA – Encyclopedia Iranica
  11. ISBN 9781139789387
    .
  12. ISBN 9789004039025
    .
  13. ISBN 9781575061207
    .
  14. ^ a b Rice, Michael (1999). Who's Who in Ancient Egypt. Routledge. pp. 42–43.
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-500267-6
    .
  16. ISBN 9781136016943
    .
  17. ^ Newell, Edward Theodore; Osten, Hans Henning von der (1934). Ancient oriental seals in the collection of Mr. Edward T. Newell. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. p. Plate XXXI, seal Nb 453.
  18. ISBN 9781575061207
    .

Further reading

External links
Preceded by Satrap of Egypt
c.454 – c.406 BC 		Succeeded by
possibly none (end of the satrapy)
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