Sogdianus
Sogdianus was a figure in the succession crisis before Darius II.
Reign: 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
Sogdianus belongs within the succession problem after Artaxerxes I. Limited evidence should not be expanded into an invented independent era. The duration and recognition of his authority need the crisis’s sources and chronology.
How to read the evidence
Distinguish being mentioned in a narrative, being recognized in a document and exercising control over an area. These questions may have different answers. An ordered list of names does not replace explaining conflicting evidence.
A question to discuss
Is claiming kingship always the same as being recognized across the whole realm?
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
Artaxerxes I
465/464–424/423 BCE
Xerxes II
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