ARIABIGNES, an Achaemenid prince. His name derives from Old Ir. arya- + bigna, probably signifying “Gift of the Aryans [ = Iranians]” (W. Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberliererungen, Wiesbaden, 1975, p. 39). He was a son of Darius the Great from a daughter of Gaubrava/Gobryas, one of the seven Persians who overthrew the Pseudo-Smerdis (Herodotus 7.97). He had been born prior to Darius’ accession (ibid., 7.2.97), and as one of the four admirals of Xerxes’ fleet, he led the Ionian and Carian naval units in 480 B.C., and was killed, along with many noble Medes and Persians, at Salamis (ibid., 8.89, cf. A. Sh. Shahbazi, The Irano-Lycian Monuments, Tehran, 1975, pp. 84f.). Plutarch (Themistocles 14; Moralia 488; both from Epharus) wrongly calls him Ariamnes (Ariamenes) and describes his bravery and heroic death at the battle of Salamis (J. Marquart, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran I, Göttingen, 1896, pp. 15ff.).
(A. Sh. Shahbazi)
Originally Published: December 15, 1986
Last Updated: August 12, 2011
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Vol. II, Fasc. 4, p. 405
