BAGŌAS, the Greek name of two eunuchs from the Achaemenid period. 1. The chief eunuch and general under Artaxerxes III….

AZDĀKARA (from Old Persian azdā- “announcement” and kara- “maker”), officials of the Achaemenid chancery, the heralds, who made known, for…

ASSYRIA i. The Kingdom of Assyria and its relations with Iran. ii. Achaemenid Aθurā. iii. Parthian Assur.  

ARUKKU (Assyrian A-ru-uk-ku), a son of Cyrus I, king of Parsumaš and grandfather of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II). After…

ARTOXARES, a Paphlagonian eunuch at the court of Artaxerxes I and satrap of Armenia. He helped Darius II to ascend…

ASSYRIA i. The Kingdom of Assyria and its Relations with Iran Sources. Assyrian sources of the second millennium B.C. contain…

ASSYRIA ii. Achaemenid Aθurā Old Persian Aθurā “Assyria” goes back to Akkadian Aššur, the name of the city of Aššur…

ARABIA i. The Achaemenid province Arabāya In the Bīsotūn (1.15) and several other Old Persian inscriptions (see Kent, Old Persian, pp. 169-70) that…

ABROCOMAS, Persian satrap of Syria and commander under Artaxerxes II. In 401 B.C. he prepared an army to reconquer Egypt,…

ABROCOMES, a son of Darius I by Phrataguna, daughter of his brother Artanes. He perished at the battle of Thermopylae…

ABIRĀDŪŠ, a village in Elam. According to the inscriptions DSf and DSz of Darius I, the stone pillars used on…

ABDADĀNA, region in western Media, mentioned in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions and annals (for references see S. Parpola, Neo-Assyrian Toponyms, Neukirchen-Vluyn,…

KASHTARITI (kaš-ta-ri-ti, the Old Iranian Khshathrita), a city lord of Karkashshi which was located in the Central Zagros mountains. He…

MEDIA, ancient population region and kingdom in northwestern Iran. The name is attested as Gk. Mēdía, OPers. Māda (Kent, Old…

BABYLONIAN CHRONICLES, as sources for Iranian history. In a number of cases Babylonian chronicles provide valuable information about the political…