Darius II (474–403 BCE)
Born 474 BCE, died 403 BCE.
Darius II (Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš; Ancient Greek: Δαρεῖος Dareios), also known by his given name Ochus (Greek: Ὦχος Ochos), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC. Following the death of Artaxerxes I, in 424 BC or 423 BC, there was a struggle for power between his sons. The victor, Ochus, adopted the name Darius (Greek sources often call him Darius Nothos, "Bastard"), in reference to his unattested lineage. His reign was marked by a series of revolts by various satraps and involvement in the Greek Peloponnesian War. It seems that Darius II was quite dependent on his wife Parysatis. In excerpts from Ctesias, some harem intrigues are recorded, in which he played a disreputable part. The Elephantine papyri mention Darius II as a contemporary of the high priest Johanan of Ezra 6:10. Darius II is potentially mentioned in the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra–Nehemiah of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament). There is some debate on whether these books refer to Darius the Great though.
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