by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh
ATROPATES (Old Persian: Ātrpātah and Pahlavi: Ātūrpāt; Ancient Greek: Ἀτροπάτης Atropátēs; (370 BC – 321 BC) was a Medes (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎠𐎭, Māda) and nobleman (possibly had very distant relation to the Achaemenid House) and satrap of Media (Greek: Μεγάλη) and general who served Darius III and Alexander of Macedon. He was a founder of the independent kingdom Media - Atropatene (Lesser Media) and the dynasty that was named after him. Atropates’ descendants ruled the kingdom until the 2nd century CE. The kingdom was established in c. 323 BC and was the only Iranian region to remain under Zoroastrian authority from the Achaemenids to the Muslim Arabs' conquest.
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Sculpture of Atropates (Ātūrpāt), King of Media – Atropatene,
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Military
History Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan |
General Atropates attracts the attention of historians because a couple of hypotheses exist regarding the origins of the name Azerbaijan. According to the classic tradition, the name comes from the time of Alexander of Macedon’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.
In particular, it presumably originates from General Atropates - a commander of the Achaemenid King Darius III’s army’s right wing in the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. Atropates, as satrap (Median/Old Persian: xšaçapāvān, Parthian/Arsacid Pahlavi: šahrab) of Media, commanded Median, Arranian (Latin: Albanian), Sacasenian, and Arminian (Achaemenid's province of Armina, Greek: Arminyaya/ Armenia) troops.
Intriguingly, during the battle of Gaugamela,
Atropates’ units pushed Alexander of Macedon’s army to stop the advance and
implemented defensive measures. Only Alexander’s personal intervention with
fresh troops allowed the Macedonians to stop their retreat and concentrate on a
victorious advance in the center, facing troops under the direct command of
Darius III.
Indeed, it was a unique moment in the battle. The
Macedonian left wing had begun to retreat and, if King Darius III realized and
utilized it, the battle’s outcome would have been completely different.
However, as is well known, Darius III’s poor commanding and leadership skills
resulted in the catastrophic defeat of the Achaemenids Army. When Darius lost
the battle he ran to the Median capital of Ecbatana where Atropates helped him to
get a new army.
One month after Darius III’s death in June 330 BC,
Atropates surrendered to Alexander. Later, in a personal meeting, Alexander
mentioned Atropates’ military skills and esteemed him so highly that his
daughter was married to Perdiccas - a close ally to Alexander and commander of
the Macedonian cavalry. The marriage occurred at the famous mass wedding in
Susa in February 324 BC. Atropates traveled to Susa with Alexander and offered 100
Amazons, as Greeks called beautiful female archers from Media and Arrān (Latin:
Albania), for the Macedonian military elite.
In 324 B.C. Atropates pacified unrest against the Greeks, and Alexander decided to keep him as a King of the land, which later became the independent (or semi-independent, vassal of Arsacid Parthia) kingdom of Atropatena (Parthian/Arsacid Pahlavi: Āturpātakān, Pahlavi: Ādurbādagān) with its capital at Ganzak/Gazaca (Greek: Γάζακα). Atropates had a last interview with Alexander in Media in 324-323. After Alexander's death, Atropates, thanks to his diplomatic and political skills, became one of only two non-Macedonians (along with Alexander's Bactrian father-in-law Oxyartes), who were listed as holding a satrapy after the division of the empire between Alexander's generals.
It should be highlighted that Atropates was a strong
follower of Zarathustra (Zoroaster). The name Ātūrpāt originates from Avesta's
word “Âtare-pâta”, ("keeper of
the fire") was one of the sons of Zarathustra. The transcription of
name Ātūrpāt from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) could be “protected by fire”.
Atropates enjoyed full support from Zoroastrian priests or Magi/Magus (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎦𐏁 maguš; Pahlavi: maguš; Ancient Greek μάγος magos) to minimize Greeks’ impact on Zoroastrianism in Media-Atropatena. Indeed, the Achaemenids favored Goddess Anāhītā fire temple had been sacked and desecrated by Alexander the Great, who had burnt there the 12,000 ox-hides on which the original Avesta was written in golden lettering and which had been placed in the Fortress of Archives in the city of Istakhr in Pārs. However, Atropates was able to secure the fire temple of Ādur Gušnasp in Šiz (now Azar Gushnasp in Takht-e Soleyman, Iranian Azerbaijan), where the other copy of the Holy Avesta was preserved and copied on calf skins.
Later, under the order of Sasanian King Shāpūr I (r. 240-272), the
fire of Ādur Gušnasp (the last survived Great Fire of State) was classified as
the empire’s most sacred victorious (Pahlavi: pērōzgar) warriors’ (Pahlavi: artēštār)
class fire of the highest grade, holding the rank of “cathedral”.
The fire of Ādur Gušnasp, as Ataš Bahrām (Parthian: Ātaš-i Wahrām or Pahlavi: Ādur Bahrām - “fires of Victory,” the
Zoroastrian name of the God of War and Victory), was most sacred or “cathedral”
fire of the highest grade in Zoroastrianism, established in the late Achaemenid
or Parthian era in Ādurbādagān in Media. Each new king, as Sasanian King Shāpūr
I proclaimed, was obligated to make a pilgrimage after coronation to Ādur
Gušnasp, providing royal gifts and celebrating Nowruz (Pahlavi: No Ruz).
Next, following the administrative and military reforms of the Sasanian kings Kawād I (r. 473-531) and his oldest son Xusrō I Anōšīrvān (r. 531- 579), the name Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan] was extended toward Caucasia, covering Arrān (Caucasian Albania) and Armin (Arminyaya or Armenia). Particularly, King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān established the kust-ī Ādurbādagān (region of Ādurbādagān) military command holding Ādurbādagān’s general (Pahlavi: spāhbed), who was at the time the famous Iranian hero - Prince and General Rostam Farrokhzād of Ādurbādagān.
Finally, as someone assumes, General Atropates
(Āturpāt) occupies a significant place in the history of Azerbaijan. His name, possibly, is the key to
understand the origin of the name Azerbaijan - a land of fire (Azerbaijani: odlar yurdu). Eventually, Pahlavi name
Ādurbādagān evolved into the Turkified form of Azarbaijan/Azerbaijan. This is
where the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Iranian province of Azerbaijan get
their name.
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