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Ariobarzanes (Ancient Greek:
????ßa??????; Old Persian: *Ariya-b?dana-, meaning "exalting the
Aryans"), also spelled as Ario Barzan or Aryo Barzan (Persian: ?????????;
died 330 BC)[1] and commonly known as Ariobarzanes the Brave,[citation needed]
was an Achaemenid prince, satrap and a Persian military commander who led a
last stand of the Persian army at the Battle of the Persian Gate against
Macedonian King Alexander the Great in the winter of 330 BC.
Life:
Though the exact birth-date of Ariobarzanes is unknown, it is speculated that
he was born around 368 BC. His sister was the ancient Persian noblewoman and
warrior Youtab. Ariobarzanes was made satrap of Persis (the southern province
of Fars in present-day Iran) in 335 BC by Darius III Codomannus. Historians are
surprised that Darius III appointed a satrap for Persepolis and Persis;
apparently that office did not previously exist. Ariobarzanes commanded part of
the Persian Army fighting against the Macedonians at the Battle of Gaugamela in
331 BC.
Death:
Following the Persian defeat at Gaugamela, Darius III realized he could not
defend his capital Persepolis and travelled east to rebuild his armies, leaving
Ariobarzanes in command. Meanwhile, Alexander the Great split his army and led
his 14,000-strong force towards the Persian capital via the Persian Gates.
There Ariobarzanes successfully ambushed Alexander the Great's army, inflicting
heavy casualties. The Persian success at the Battle of the Persian Gate was
short lived though; after being held off for 30 days, Alexander the Great
outflanked and destroyed the defenders. Some sources indicate that the Persians
were betrayed by a captured tribal chief who showed the Macedonians an
alternate path that allowed them to outflank Ariobarzanes in a reversal of
Thermopylae. Ariobarzanes himself was killed either during the battle or during
the retreat to Persepolis. Afterwards, Alexander continued towards Persepolis,
seizing the city and its treasury, and eventually looting the city months after
its fall. Alexander the Great replaced him with Phrasaortes as Hellenistic
satrap of Persis.
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