Artabanus of Persia (or Artabanus the Hyrcanian; Ancient Greek: Ἀρτάβανος) was a Persian political figure during the Achaemenid dynasty who was reportedly Regent of Persia for a few months (465 BC – 464 BC).
Artabanus probably originated from the province of Hyrcania and reportedly served as the chief official of Xerxes I. He is considered to have served either as his vizier or as his head bodyguard.
This Artabanus is not to be confused with Xerxes’ uncle of the same name: Artabanus, son of Hystaspes (and thus the brother of Xerxes’ father Darius I).
Reign of Artabanus
According to Aristotle, Artabanus was responsible for the death of Crown Prince Darius. He then became afraid that Xerxes would seek revenge and proceeded to assassinate the King. On the other hand, Junianus Justinus reported that Artabanus had personal ambitions for the throne. He first secretly murdered Xerxes and then accused Darius of parricide, resulting in his execution. The order of events remains uncertain, but the deaths of Xerxes and Darius did leave the throne vacant.
Artabanus’ course of action is also uncertain. Some accounts have him usurping the throne for himself. Others consider him to have named young Artaxerxes I King and acted as Regent and power behind the throne. This state of affairs would not last more than a few months. Artaxerxes reportedly slew him with his sword, either in battle or by surprise. Artabanus is occasionally listed among the Kings of the Achaemenid dynasty though he was not related to them.
In popular culture
A character based on the historical Artabanus appears in the Assassin’s Creed series numerous times under the alias “Darius”. His first appearance is marked in Assassin’s Creed II as the first person to wield the game franchise’s signature weapon of the Assassins, the Hidden Blade. Darius is correctly introduced in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s DLC expansion, Legacy of the First Blade. Unlike other significant characters in the series who use the Hidden Blade, he is not an Assassin proper but rather a freedom fighter whose ideals and organization would give rise to those of the Hidden Ones and the Assassin Brotherhood. In Legacy of the First Blade, Darius is initially presented as an antagonist with indeterminate motivations and later as an ally who fights alongside the player character. He reveals that the Order of the Ancients, antecedent to the Templars, supported the reigns and conquests of the Achaemenid kings Darius I and his son Xerxes I. He assassinated King Xerxes like his historical counterpart and namesake, using a newly created weapon, considered the first known usage of the Hidden Blade in series lore. By the Renaissance, Darius’ remains were transferred to the Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, where his body lay with an Assassin Seal needed to access the armour of Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad hidden inside the sanctuary in Monteriggioni. In 1478, his tomb was explored, and the sarcophagus was opened by Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who took the Seal and later obtained the armour of Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad. Canadian actor Michael Benyaer voices him.
