Ariaramnes

Ariaramnes (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹𐎠𐎼𐎶𐎴[1] Ariyāramna,[2] "He who brings peace to the Aryans (i.e. Iranians)"[3]) was a great uncle of Cyrus the Great and the great-grandfather of Darius I, and perhaps the king of Parsa, the ancient core kingdom of Persia.

Ariaramnes was most likely the brother of Cyrus I of Anshan and son of Teispes, but this is not certain. In any case, he was a member of the Achaemenid House. As supported by the relief at Bisitun he was the first king of a separate Achaemenid branch that ran parallel to the reigns of Cyrus I and his son Cambyses I.

Hamadan Tablet

Some time in the first half of the 20th Century two gold tablets relating to Ariaramnes were found in Hamadan, modern Ecbatana. These gold tablets allegedly documented the reigns of Ariaramnes and his son Arsames and were written in Old Persian in the first person. This is the only evidence we have from the time documenting his reign and thus this branch of the Achaemenid royal family.

Another attestation of his reign is the later Behistun Inscription, where his great grandson Darius I states that eight Achaemenid kings preceded him - and then, he must be counting Ariaramnes as a king.

His English name is derived - via Latin - from the Greek Ἀριαράμνης. In Modern Persian, his name is spelled اریارمنه.[4]

References

  1. Akbarzadeh (2006), page 56
  2. Kent (1384 AP), page 393
  3. See Shahbazi (1987). Shahbazi believes this interpretation is problematic.
  4. Kent (1384 AP), page 391

Bibliography

External links

Ariaramnes
Achaemenid dynasty
Born: ?? Died: ??
Preceded by
Teispes
King of Persia Succeeded by
Arsames