Bessus

Bessus

Bessus or Bessos (Old Persian: *Bayaçā; Ancient Greek: Βήσσος), also known by his throne name Artaxerxes V (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçāʰ; Ancient Greek: Ἀρταξέρξης; died summer 329 BC), was a Persian satrap of the eastern Achaemenid satrapy of Bactria, as well as the self-proclaimed King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 330 to 329 BC. A member of the ruling Achaemenid dynasty, Bessus came to power shortly after killing the legitimate Achaemenid ruler Darius III (r. 336–330 BC), and subsequently attempted to hold the eastern part of the empire against the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC). His realm quickly started to fall apart, including Bactria, which was the main center. Fleeing to Sogdia, he was arrested by his own men, who handed him over to Alexander, who had him executed at Ecbatana. Bessus appears in the 11th-century Persian epic Shahnameh under the name of Janusipar/Janushyar. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 43 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 42 in 2024). Bessus is the 1,555th most popular politician (down from 1,200th in 2024). (down from 93rd in 2019)

Bessus is most famous for murdering Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid Empire.