Arsames (also called Sarsamas and Arxanes, from Old Persian Aršāma) was an Achaemenid satrap of ancient Egypt during the 5th century BC, at the time of the 27th Dynasty of Egypt.
Etymology of Arsames
“Arsames” is the Hellenized form of the Old Persian name Aršāma[a] (“having a hero’s strength”), which was a common name within the Persian Achaemenid family as well as amongst the Persian elite of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). The name is a compound composed of aršan (“male, hero”) and ama (“strength”). The name is attested in Aramaic as ʾršm. The feminine form of the word, *Aršāmā (Greek Arsamē), is certified in the daughter of Darius the Great (522–486 BC).
Career
According to Ctesias, Sarsamas was appointed satrap by general Megabyzus. Previously, an ancient Egyptian prince called Inaros openly revolted against Artaxerxes I and the Achaemenid rule and had slain in battle the satrap, Achaemenes. In 454 BC, shortly after his appointment, Arsames helped suppress the revolt by defeating Athenian reinforcements sent in the Nile Delta.
After the revolt, Arsames undertook a conciliatory policy toward the native Egyptians to avoid igniting new revolts. Likely for this reason, he allowed Inaros’ son Thannyras to maintain his lordship on the part of the Delta, as Herodotus reports.
While his aforementioned early career is reported only by Greek sources, Arsames’ later life is known from several letters written in Aramaic, mainly compiled by the Jewish priesthood of Elephantine and belonging to the Elephantine papyri, and which are datable from 428 BC onwards. It is known that in 423 BC, he supported Darius II in his successful coup d’état. Later, he was called back to Susa in Persia between 410 and 407/6, as reported by other documents. Among these, some exchange letters with his estate manager Nakhtihor and a man named Artavant, who probably acted as satrap of Egypt ad interim.
In 410 BCE, a revolt erupted at Elephantine, where an established Jewish community lived along with the native Egyptians and where the two communities had their local temple, that of Yahu and Khnum, respectively. Jews were well tolerated by Arsames and by the Persian occupants in general; however, it seems that the Jewish practice of sacrificing goats to their god was perceived as an insult by the clergy of the neighbouring temple of the Egyptian ram-headed deity Khnum. Taking advantage of one of Arsames’ absences, the clergy of Khnum corrupted a local military commander, Vidaranag, and unimpededly instigated and succeeded in destroying the temple of Yahu. Arsames punished the perpetrators upon his return, but he felt compelled to avoid controversy by prohibiting the ritual slaughter of goats. However, the multiple pleas of the Jews to reconstruct their temple seems to have remained unheard for some time.
Arsames is no longer mentioned after 406 BC, and he likely died shortly before the Egyptian reconquest of Egypt achieved by the native pharaoh Amyrtaios in 404 BC.
Seal of Arsama
Arsama is also known for an engraved cylinder seal, where he is seen killing Saka enemies, depicting the crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt worn by falcons.