26 Facts About Pharnabazus II

Pharnabazus II was a Persian soldier and statesman, and Satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.

Pharnabazus II was the son of Pharnaces II of Phrygia and grandson of Pharnabazus I, and great-grandson of Artabazus I Pharnabazus II and his male ancestors, forming the Pharnacid dynasty, had governed the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia from its headquarters at Dascylium since 478 BC.

Pharnabazus II married Apama, daughter of Artaxerxes II of Persia, and their son Artabazus became a satrap of Phrygia.

Pharnabazus II was first recorded as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia in 413 BC, when he received orders from Darius II of Persia to send in the outstanding tribute of the Greek cities on the Ionian coast, tribute he had a hard time to obtain due to Athenian interference.

The conduct of the war was much hindered by the rivalry between the two satraps, of whom Pharnabazus II was by far the more energetic and upright.

Pharnabazus II initially fought with the Spartans against the Athenians during the Peloponnesian war, even, in one instance, coming to the rescue of the retreating Spartan forces, and riding his horse into the sea to fend off the Athenians while encouraging his regiment.

Pharnabazus II was involved in helping the Bithynians against the plundering raids of the Greek Ten Thousand who were returning from their failed campaign in the centre of the Achaemenid Empire.

Pharnabazus II was trying to stop them from entering Hellespontine Phrygia.

Pharnabazus II's cavalry is said to have killed about 500 Greek mercenaries on that occasion, and mounted several raids on the Greek mercenaries.

Pharnabazus II then arranged with the Spartan admiral Anaxibius for the rest of the Greek mercenaries to be shipped out of the Asian continent to Byzantium.

Pharnabazus II had several military encounters against the invading Spartans on this occasion.

Pharnabazus II finally met in person with Agesilaos, and Agesilaos agreed to remove himself from Hellespontine Phrygia proper and retreated to the plain of Thebe in the Troad.

Pharnabazus II sent Timocrates of Rhodes as an envoy to Greece, and tens of thousands of Darics, the main currency in Achaemenid coinage, were used to bribe the Greek states to start a war against Sparta.

Pharnabazus II followed up his victory at Cnidus by capturing several Spartan-allied cities in Ionia, instigating pro-Athenian and pro-Democracy movements.

Abydus and Sestus were the only cities to refuse to expel the Lacedaemonians despite threats from Pharnabazus II to make war on them.

Pharnabazus II attempted to force these into submission by ravaging the surrounding territory, but this proved fruitless, leading him to leave Conon in charge of winning over the cities in the Hellespont.

Pharnabazus II, leaving part of his fleet in Cythera, then went to Corinth, where he gave Sparta's rivals funds to further threaten the Lacedaemonians.

Pharnabazus II funded the rebuilding of a Corinthian fleet to resist the Spartans.

Pharnabazus II dispatched Conon with substantial funds and a large part of the fleet to Attica, where he joined in the rebuilding of the long walls from Athens to Piraeus, a project that had been initiated by Thrasybulus in 394 BC.

Pharnabazus II was recalled to the Achaemenid Empire in 393 BC, and replaced by satrap Tiribazus.

In 377 BC, Pharnabazus II was then reassigned by Artaxerxes II to help command a military expedition into rebellious Egypt, having proven his ability against the Spartans.

At this point, the mutual distrust that had arisen between Iphicrates and Pharnabazus II prevented the enemy from reaching Memphis.

Pharnabazus II was replaced by Datames to lead a second expedition to Egypt, but he failed and then started the "Satraps' Revolt" against the Great King.

Pharnabazus II was one of the best known Satraps among the Greeks, and had many exchanges with them.

Pharnabazus II is one of the main characters in the Hellenica of Xenophon, appears in his Anabasis, and is very present in the History of the Peloponnesian War of Thucydides.

The family of Pharnabazus II was closely related to the Greek world.