Ariaeus

Ariaeus (fl. 401-394 BC) was a Persian general who fought alongside Cyrus the Younger at the Battle of Cunaxa and later was involved in the assassination of Tissaphernes.

Life

Ariaeus appears in historic records in 401 BC, in Xenophon's description of the events leading up to the Battle of Cunaxa. Xenophon noted that he was a friend of Cyrus and was said to be fond of young boys, which was why he was an intimate of the young Thessalian general Menon.

At the Battle of Cunaxa he was Cyrus' second in command and commanded the left. According to Ctesias, he was alongside Cyrus, when Cyrus succeeded in wounding Artaxerxes, but this is unlikely. This would put him on the right alongside Cyrus, and Xenophon and Diodorus both agree he was on the left, which would have been some distance away.

As soon as Ariaeus discovered that Cyrus was slain in battle, he retreated with the surviving Persian troops. After the battle he offered to wait and return with the surviving Greek soldiers. Clearchus, speaking on behalf of the Greek soldiers, who considered themselves the victors in the battle, sent him a message to offer him the throne of Persia, but he declined. The Greeks then met up with Ariaeus and his Persian troops and they both agreed not to betray each other, and Ariaeus promised to lead them safely out of Persia.