Belesys II was the ruler ofAchaemenid Syria as thesatrap ofEber-Nari from 358–338 BCE.[1]
Belesys was involved in suppressing the rebellion ofSidon in 351 BCE. After the defeat ofArtaxerxes III in his Egyptian campaign, Phoenicia declared independence from Persian rule. Artaxerxes initiated a counter-offensive againstSidon by commanding the satrap of Syria Belesys andMazaeus, thesatrap of Cilicia, to invade the city and to keep thePhoenicians in check.[2] Both satraps suffered crushing defeats at the hands ofTennes, the Sidonese king, who was aided by 40,000 Greek mercenaries sent to him byNectanebo II and commanded byMentor of Rhodes. As a result, the Persian forces were driven out ofPhoenicia.[3]
An earlierBelesys I is also known, whose palace was destroyed byCyrus the Younger in 401 BCE, and had first been a Governor of Babylon and then a satrap of Syria.[4]
References
edit- ^*Dandamaev, M (1994): "Eber-Nari[usurped]", inE. Yarshater (ed.)Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 7.
- ^Heckel, Waldemar (2008).Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire. John Wiley & Sons. p. 172.ISBN 9781405154697.
- ^"Artaxerxes III Ochus ( 358 BC to 338 BC )". RetrievedMarch 2, 2008.
- ^Heckel, Waldemar; Tritle, Lawrence A. (2011).Alexander the Great: A New History. John Wiley & Sons. p. 161.ISBN 9781444360158.
Further reading
edit- King, R. R. (2021).The House of the Satrap and the Making of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 522–330 BCE.The University of Chicago (Thesis).