Darius II.

Darius II. (Ochus, called by the Greeks Nothos, 'bastard'), illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I., in 424 B.C. snatched the crown from Sogdianus, his also illegitimate brother, who had put to death the rightful king, Xerxes II. He was entirely under the influence of the eunuchs and women of his harem, especially his cruel and depraved aunt and spouse Parysatis; and his reign was a long series of miseries and crimes. The numerous revolts were cruelly put down, except that of Amyrtæus, satrap of Egypt, who was independent from 414 to his death in 408. After the failure of the Sicilian expedition of the Athenians in 415, Darius seized the opportunity to break the humiliating treaty of 449. Through Tissaphernes, satrap of Asia Minor, and his successor Cyrus, younger son of Darius and Parysatis, he gave so much support to the Spartans against the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war as turned the scale to the side of the former. He died at Babylon in 405, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Artaxerxes II.