Artaxerxes II
405/4 - 358 BCE
Aršak | Artaxšaçāʰ | اردشیر دوم | 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 | 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎣
An Achaemenid King of Kings, portrayed the coins of Artaxerxes II that could possibly be a likeness of him at an old age. He might have been one of the oldest Kings of Iranian history. Some sources report that he might have been in his mid-nineties when he died. Download
Likely guess on how Achaemenid King of Kings Artaxerxes could have looked like with typical Mural Crown, curly (or curled) hair and long beard. Download
Ver.1.0 - Last updated: Dec 12th 2021, by Mo. Rasoulipour
Biography
Name
“The Old Persian form Artaxšaçā (really Ṛtaxšaca, for the forms with -ā/-ām in the nom./acc. sing. are influenced by Xerxes’ name, Xšayārša) means “whose reign is through truth.”
- Via Encyclopedia Iranica
References
Left, coin representing an Achaemenid King from CNG coins. Minted either under Artaxerxes II, or his son, Artaxerxes III. There is a debate whether the likenesses struck on Achaemenid King of Kings’ coins struck at this period of Persian history actually represent the King at the time or a Previous King. Some suggest it might be Darius I’s likeness and some say it could even be of a Persian Mythical Hero. Wilhelm Müseler, believes that the portrait depicted on the coins at this period, represents the kings themselves. (Numismatic Art of Persia. The Sunrise Collection, Part I: Ancient - Page 43). If that is the case and this coin is struck during the rule of Artaxerxes II, then this could be one of the best representations of him available to us today.
Right, Relief of Artaxerxes II at his tomb in Persepolis, Iran. Although details of clothes and crown are more visible here, due to symbolic style of art at this period, the image of the face may not be as reliable as even the coins. The reasons for this
Colors and patterns used for for this recreation are referenced to the Iranica Online article on Achaemenid clothing ii that describes the official clothing customs and the symbolic value of the colors at the time. Although this is a color study on Xerxes I and not Artaxerxes II, this might be the closest guess we have pointing toward the colors and the patterns on his official robe. The patterns display circular symbol placed neatly in a square grid, with edges of the clothing lined with margins of lions lined up facing one direction. (Alexander Nagel, Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, Color and Guilding in Achaemenid Architecture and Sculpture, Page 603)
There seems to reports from Greek writers pointing to Purple robes for Achaemenids and Medes (See Iranica Online article on Achaemenid clothing ii). The dominant narrative of purple robes seems to be at odds with the color findings in Persepolis, though there is a chance that there was a common color that they both point to being deep red or crimson.
Likely Accuracy of this Creative Construction
Wild Guess:
Beside the uncertainty about image on the coins at this period being a likeness of King himself, it is easy to observe that the faces on the coins do not change considerably from one generation to the next as much as they change from one batch to another. Therefore it is hard to draw any meaningful conclusion about Artaxerxes II’s face from coins.
See the latest work in progress:
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