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Artaxerxes IV Arses, King of Persia between 338 BC and 336 BC. He was the youngest son of King Artaxerxes III and was not expected to succeed to the throne of Persia. His unexpected rise to the throne came in 338
BC as a result of the murder of his father and most of his family by Bagoas, the
powerful Vizier of Persia who had recently fallen in Artaxerxes' disfavor. Bagoas sought to remain in office by replacing
Artaxerxes with his son Arses, who he thought easier to control. Arses remained little more than a puppet-king during the two
years of his reign while Bagoas acted as the power behind the throne. Eventually, disgruntled by this state of affairs and
possibly influenced by the nobles of the Royal Court, who generally held Bagoas in contempt, Arses started planning Bagoas'
murder. The Vizier again acted first in order to protect himself and managed to poison Arses. Bagoas then raised a cousin of
Arses to the throne as King Darius III of Persia. A major
concern for Persia during this King's short reign were hostilities on the western borders with Macedonia under Kings Philip II of Macedon
and Alexander the Great. This would lead to war between the
two states during the reign of Arses' successor. He is known as Arses in Greek sources and that seems to be his real name but
texts in cuneiform writing report that he had taken the
royal name of Artaxerxes IV, following his father and grandfather.
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