Reign 5th century BC Successor Orontes I Great grandchildren Mithrenes House Orontid Dynasty Grandchildren Orontes II Name Artasyrus Artasyrus | Role Orontes I's father Children Orontes I Issue Orontes I Predecessor Hidarnes III | |
Artasyrus or Ardashir was recorded as being the Satrap of Armenia during the reign of king Artaxerxes II. Referred to as the "King's Eye", Artasyrus was of Bactrian origin. His more "well known" son, Orontes, who was therefore sometimes referred to as "Orontes the Bactrian", served as the Satrap of Sophene and Matiene (Mitanni) during the reign of Artaxerxes II. There appears to be confusion in the historical records as to whether Artasyrus and Artaxerxes II were the same person. The daughter of Artaxerxes II, Rhodogune, was the wife of the satrap Orontes I. It is to be noted that there are few English language sources to fully explain who he was, when he was born or died.
According to H. Khachatrian, one of the rare memories about Ardashir was that before his death he gathered his sons and told them that the duty of every king of the Orontid Dynasty is to build of at least one water channel, which would last for centuries, but he had not manage to build one, so he left all his fortune to his sons for them to build them for him.