Artaxerxes I
Artaxerxes I was a son of Xerxes. Exact regnal-year boundaries can vary by dating system; the numeral distinguishes him from other rulers of the same name.
Reign: 465/464–424/423 BCE
These cultural and symbolic images do not depict Dorehami members or events.
Image and licence
File:Persepolis stairs of the Apadana relief.jpg — Phillip Maiwald (Nikopol) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / crop
File:Persepolis stairs of the Apadana relief02.JPG — Taranis-iuppiter — CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / crop
Object images show the period’s heritage and are not necessarily authenticated portraits of this person.
Context and a reading path
Study Artaxerxes I through both a change of ruler and continuity in administration. Political history is more than an accession. Questions about provinces, communication and court life can produce a fuller picture.
How to read the evidence
Always identify which Artaxerxes is meant and the time period. A story about the second or third must not be transferred to the first. Small differences in reign dates need explanation through the source’s calendar and chronology.
A question to discuss
How can we check that an object or story concerns the correct Artaxerxes?
The answer need not be settled beforehand. First note what the source actually tells us, then separate questions from guesses. Children can draw an object or building from the period; an imagined picture should not be presented as historical evidence.
Sources and further reading
Content reviewed: 19 October 2026
Back to the Achaemenids
Cyrus II: Cyrus the Great
About 559–530 BCE
Cambyses II
530–522 BCE
Bardiya and the Gaumata question
522 BCE
Darius I: Darius the Great
522–486 BCE
Xerxes I
486–465 BCE
Xerxes II
424/423 BCE
Sogdianus
424/423 BCE
Darius II
about 423–404 BCE
Artaxerxes II
about 404–359/358 BCE
Artaxerxes III
359/358–338/337 BCE
Arses: Artaxerxes IV
338–336 BCE
Darius III
336–330 BCE
Bessus: a claimant after Darius III
330–329 BCE