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Artaxerxes II: Survivor of Cyrus's Rebellion

The Longest Achaemenid Reign — Forty-Six Turbulent Years Holding Persia Together (r. 404–358 BCE)

You have a world history exam in three days, a chapter on the Persian Empire that reads like a foreign-language dictionary, and zero time to wade through a 600-page academic text. That is exactly what TLDR: Artaxerxes II was written for.

Artaxerxes II ruled the Achaemenid Persian Empire for forty-six years — longer than any other king in the dynasty — yet most students can barely place him between Xerxes and Alexander the Great. This short guide changes that. In plain, direct prose, it walks you through the civil war that nearly ended his reign before it started, including the Battle of Cunaxa and the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries immortalized by Xenophon. It explains how Persia bankrolled the Corinthian War to exhaust Sparta, then dictated the King's Peace — a diplomatic masterstroke that reset Greek politics without a single Persian soldier crossing into Europe. It covers the failed reconquest of Egypt, the Satraps' Revolt that shook the empire's western provinces, and the vicious succession struggle inside the royal family that closed out his reign.

This guide is built for high school and early-college students studying ancient Persia, the late Classical Greek world, or AP World History. Each section leads with the single most important idea, names and corrects the misconceptions students most often carry in from popular culture, and keeps equations of power — alliances, revolts, peace terms — concrete and traceable.

If the Achaemenid Empire study material has been a blur of unfamiliar names, this primer gives you the map you need. Grab it and get oriented today.

What you'll learn
  • Understand the world of the late Achaemenid Persian Empire and what shaped Artaxerxes II.
  • Trace the major events of his reign, from the revolt of Cyrus the Younger to the Satraps' Revolt.
  • Weigh how historians assess his legacy as both a long-lived stabilizer and a king of imperial decline.
What's inside
  1. 1. The Persian World and the Young Prince Arsaces
    Sets up the late Achaemenid Empire, the royal family of Darius II and Parysatis, and the early life of the future Artaxerxes II.
  2. 2. Accession and the Revolt of Cyrus the Younger
    Covers Artaxerxes' accession in 404 BCE, his brother Cyrus's rebellion, the Battle of Cunaxa, and the famous march of the Ten Thousand.
  3. 3. Wars with Sparta and the King's Peace
    Examines Persia's intervention in Greek affairs, the Corinthian War, and the diplomatic triumph of the King's Peace in 387/386 BCE.
  4. 4. Egypt, the Cadusians, and the Satraps' Revolt
    Covers the failed reconquest of Egypt, the Cadusian campaign, and the great Satraps' Revolt that shook the empire's western provinces.
  5. 5. Court, Succession, and the End of a Long Reign
    Looks at Artaxerxes' family, the religious reforms attributed to him, the bloody succession struggle, and his death in 358 BCE.
  6. 6. Legacy and the Historians' Verdict
    Assesses how Artaxerxes II is judged today, weighing imperial decline against his remarkable longevity and diplomatic skill.
Published by Solid State Press
Artaxerxes II: Survivor of Cyrus's Rebellion cover
TLDR STUDY GUIDES

Artaxerxes II: Survivor of Cyrus's Rebellion

The Longest Achaemenid Reign — Forty-Six Turbulent Years Holding Persia Together (r. 404–358 BCE)
Solid State Press

Artaxerxes II: Survivor of Cyrus's Rebellion

The Longest Achaemenid Reign — Forty-Six Turbulent Years Holding Persia Together (r. 404–358 BCE)

Copyright © 2026 Solid State Press.

Published by Solid State Press.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission, except for brief quotations in critical reviews and educational use.

Part of the TLDR Study Guides series.

Contents

  1. 1 The Persian World and the Young Prince Arsaces
  2. 2 Accession and the Revolt of Cyrus the Younger
  3. 3 Wars with Sparta and the King's Peace
  4. 4 Egypt, the Cadusians, and the Satraps' Revolt
  5. 5 Court, Succession, and the End of a Long Reign
  6. 6 Legacy and the Historians' Verdict
Chapter 1

The Persian World and the Young Prince Arsaces

By the time Arsaces was born, probably sometime in the 440s BCE, his family already controlled the largest empire the world had ever seen.

The Achaemenid Empire — named for Achaemenes, the legendary ancestor of the dynasty — stretched from the Aegean coast of modern Turkey in the west to the Indus River valley in the east, and from the steppes of Central Asia in the north to the deserts of Egypt and Arabia in the south. At its height it enclosed somewhere between 40 and 50 million people, an enormous fraction of the human population at the time. Holding it together was a permanent administrative challenge, and the solution the Persians had developed was the satrapy system: the empire was divided into provinces called satrapies, each governed by a satrap (essentially a regional viceroy) who collected taxes, maintained order, and commanded local forces on behalf of the king. Satraps were powerful figures — think of them as governors with near-royal authority — and they reported directly to the crown. The system worked well when the king was strong, and wobbled badly when he was not.

The imperial capitals gave the empire its physical identity. Persepolis, carved into a rock terrace in the Fars region of modern Iran, was the ceremonial heart — the place where delegations from every corner of the empire brought tribute in elaborate New Year processions, their images still visible in stone relief today. Susa, further west in the lowlands of Khuzestan, was the administrative capital, well-positioned along the royal road network that let messages and armies move quickly across vast distances. The king moved between these palaces seasonally, and the sheer spectacle of the court — thousands of attendants, stored tribute from dozens of peoples, a royal table that reportedly fed thousands daily — was itself a political tool, projecting the idea of Persian power as something limitless and permanent.

Arsaces' father was Darius II, who came to the throne in 423 BCE after a vicious succession struggle that killed several of his half-brothers. Darius was the illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I, and his accession was never entirely secure. He spent much of his reign managing revolts and navigating the intrigues that were simply part of life in the Achaemenid court. His defining advantage was his queen.

About This Book

If you are studying ancient Persia for a history class, prepping for an AP World History or IB exam, or working through a Western Civilization survey course, this book is built for you. It also works for curious readers who want a fast, reliable Artaxerxes II Persian king history guide without digging through academic monographs.

This Achaemenid Empire study guide for students covers the full forty-six-year reign: the Cyrus the Younger rebellion and its dramatic end at the Battle of Cunaxa, with the Ten Thousand Greeks explained in plain terms; the wars with Sparta and the King's Peace that reshaped ancient Greece and Persia; and the later crises — the loss of Egypt, the satraps' revolt, and a poisonous succession struggle. About fifteen focused pages, no padding.

Read straight through for the narrative, then use the review questions at the end to test what you retained. This ancient Persia history primer is designed to be read in one sitting.

Keep reading

You've read the first half of Chapter 1. The complete book covers 6 chapters in roughly fifteen pages — readable in one sitting.

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