by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh
January 09, 2026
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Khalifa-zadeh M., "Atropates - Achaemenid King Darius III’s Mysterious General in the Battle of Gaugamela", Intersections, Canadian Historical Association, Ottawa, 2025, Vol 8, Issue 3, pp 20-22.
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| https://cha-shc.ca/publications/intersections/ |
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ATROPATES (Old Persian: Ātrpātah and Pahlavi: Ātūrpāt; Ancient Greek: Ἀτροπάτης Atropátēs; (370BC – 321 BC) was a Medes (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎠𐎭, Māda) and nobleman (possibly had very distant relation to the Achaemenid House) and satrap of Media (Ancient Greek: Μεγάλη) and general who served Darius III (Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁, Dārayavaʰuš; Greek: Δαρεῖος Dareios, 380-330 BC) and Alexander of Macedon. He was a founder of the independent kingdom Media - Atropatene (Ancient Greek: Ἀτροπατηνή or 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. [1], [2].
The early life of Atropates is unknown, but his
parents were certainly Zoroastrians. There is some evidence that he was a nobleman
of the Medes[3]
(Old Persian: 𐎶𐎠𐎭,
Māda) and possibly had a very distant relation to the Achaemenid House.[4] It is known that Cyrus the
Great (590 - 529 BC), who united the Iranian people of Medes and Persians and
established a new Empire under his Achaemenid dynasty, was half Mede. His
mother Princess Mandane of Medes (Old Persian: Mandánē, Greek: Μανδάνη) was a
daughter of the last powerful Median King Astyages (Akkadian: Ištumegu, Greek: Astuágēs,
(585 - 550 BC).[5]
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Fig 1. Sculpture/reconstruction of Atropates (Pahlavi: Ātūrpāt), King of Media – Atropatena, National Military Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan |
General
Atropates attracts the historians’ attention 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.
Particularly,
it presumably originates from general Atropates, who was a commander of troops stationed
in the 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, Arrānian (Latin: Albanian), Sacasenian, Cadusian, and
Arminian (inhabitants of Achaemenid's province of Armina, Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴, Elamite: Harminuya, Ancient Greek:
Arminyaya/ Armenia) troops. Ilya Dyakonov indicated that Arrānians (Albanians)
and Cadusians participated in the battle as the allies of Atropates, not of the
Persians and, thus, he believed that Atropates' political influence lasted far
to the north of Aras/ Araxes River.[6]
On
the eve of the Gaugamela battle, Atropates commanded the mounted reconnaissance
squad that Darius III sent to reconnoiter the field.
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.[7]
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 Achaemenid Army.
When
Darius III lost the battle, he fled to the Median capital of Ekbātān - Achaemenids'
summer capital (present-day Hamadan, Iran). Atropates, as satrap of Media, met
Darius III with a great respect and helped him to get a new army.[8]
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.[9], [10]
It
is notable that Atropates traveled to Susa together with Alexander and offered
100 Amazons (Fig
2), as Greeks called
beautiful female archers from Media and Arrān[11] (Latin: Albania, present-day Azerbaijan), for
the Macedonian and Greek military elite.[12] As Strabo mentioned, referring to Theophanes of Mitylene, who
participated in Pompey’s campaign in Caucasus in 65 BC, Amazons lived in the
Caucasian mountains above Albania: “In the mountains above Albania the Amazons
are said to live" (Greek: ἐν δὲ τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἀλβανίας ὄρεσι καὶ τὰς
Ἀμαζόνας οἰκεῖν φασι)”.[13]
Fig 2. Greek fighting an Amazon. Detail from painted sarcophagus found in Italy, 350-325B.C.E., available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Produzione_greca_o_magnogreca,_sarcofago_delle_amazzoni,_350-325_a.C._ca,_da_tarquinia_05.JPG
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, who came to inspect
the breeding of the ancient world-famous Nisaean horses for the Macedonian army
(Alexander's Bucephalus was a Nisaean horse).[14]
Alexander
acknowledged the geostrategic location of Medes' Ecbatana for its
approximately equal distance from Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. In Ecbatana,
Alexander left a huge treasure of 180,000 talents as a special reserve
garrisoned by a force of 6000 Macedonians. By establishing the military base
for Alexander's main army, Ecbatana became the most important military center
of his empire. Ecbatana was the place where Bessus (Bactria's Viceroy and
slaughterer of Darius III) was executed and his body was publicly exposed to
the Macedonian soldiers.[15]
After
Alexander's death in June 323 BC, Atropates did not participate in Alexander's
satraps and generals meeting in Babylon. However, thanks to his diplomatic and
political skills, he became one of only two non-Macedonians (along with
Alexander's Bactrian father-in-law Oxyartes), who were listed as holding a
satrapy of Media – Atropatene (Lesser Media) after the division of the empire
between Alexander's successors.[16]
Atropates
was a strong follower of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) and his name was neither
Median nor Persian but Zoroastrian. The name Ātūrpāt originates from Avesta's
word “Âtare-pâta”, (keeper of
the fire), who was one of the sons of Zarathustra.[17] The transcription of the name
Ātūrpāt from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) could be “protected by fire”.[18]
 |
Fig 3. King Atropates ((Ātūrpāt) meets Alexander of Macedon, painting 1956, National Museum of History, Baku, Azerbaijan |
It
is known that Atropates enjoyed support from Zoroastrian priests or Magi/Maguses
(Old Persian: 𐎶𐎦𐏁 magoš; Pahlavi: maguš; Ancient
Greek μάγος magos) to
minimize the Greeks’ impact on Zoroastrianism in Media - Atropatena.[19]
Indeed,
the Achaemenids' favored Goddess Anāhītā[20] fire temple had been
sacked and desecrated by Alexander of Macedon, 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.[21]
However,
Atropates was able to secure the fire temple of Ādur Gušnasp[22] 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.[23], [24]
Later,
under the order of Sasanian King Shāpūr I (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 the 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).[25]
Finally,
as one may assume, General Atropates (Āturpāt) occupies a significant place in
the history of Azerbaijan and Iran. His name, possibly, is the key to
understand the origin of the name Azerbaijan - a land of fire
(Azerbaijani: odlar yurdu).
Eventually, the 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.
· Khalifa-zadeh Mahir, research Professor, PhD, regular contributor to international outlets on history and global politics, member of the Canadian Historical Association and Canadian Political Science Association
Reference
[1] Chaumont M.L., (2011). "ATROPATES", Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 1, pp. 17-18, available at: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/atropates-aturpat-lit
[2] Diakonov I. Istoriya Midii ot drevneĭshikh vremen do kontsa 4 v. do n.e. (History of Media from ancient time till the end of 4th century), Moscow & Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR, 1956, 453.
[3] Diakonov I. 1956, 453.
[4] Iran's Neighbor to the North West, ATROPATENE (Earlier Media Atropatene), available at https://www.the-persians.co.uk/atropatene.htm
[5]
Schmitt R., (2000), “MANDANE”, Encyclopedia Iranica, available at https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mandane
[6] Diakonov I. 1956, 453.
[7] Shifman I., “Aleksand Makedonskui” (Alexander of Macedon), Izdatelstvo Nauka, Moskva, 1988, 205.
[8] “ATROPATES”, (2018), Livius.org, Articles on ancient history, available at https://www.livius.org/articles/person/atropates/
[9] Dyakonov I., “Ocherk istorii drevnego Irana”, (History of Ancient Iran), in Russian, Izdatelstvo Vostochnoi Literaturi, Moskva, 1961, 444.
[10]
Schippmann K., (2014). “AZERBAIJAN iii. Pre-Islamic History”, Encyclopedia
Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 221-224, available at https://iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-iii
[11] Bosworth C.E., (2012). "ARRĀN", Encyclopedia Iranica, II/5, pp. 520-522, available online at: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arran-a-region
[12] Mayor A., (2017). "AMAZONS IN THE IRANIAN WORLD". Encyclopedia Iranica; available at https://iranicaonline.org/articles/amazons-ii
[13] Giusto T., “Strabo and the Caucasian Albanians: some Preliminary Remarks”, Constructions identitaires en Asie Mineure (VIIIe siècle avant J.-C.–IIIe siècle après J.-C.), Année 2021, 199-211, available at: https://www.persee.fr/doc/ista_0000-0000_2021_act_1522_1_3893
[14] Sykes P.M. "A History of Persia", Vol 1, Taylor and Francis, Revised ed., 2011, 644.
[15] Sykes P.M. 2011.
[16] Hyland J., (2013). Alexander’s Satraps of Media, Journal of Ancient History, Vol. 1, Issue 2, https://doi.org/10.1515/jah-2013-0008
[17] “ATROPATES”, Livius.org
[18] Chaumont M.L., (2011). Encyclopedia Iranica
[19] Dandamayev M., (2012). “MAGI”, Encyclopedia Iranica, available at: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/magi
[20] Soudar A., “The Formation of Achaemenid Imperial Ideology and Its Impact on the Avesta”, The World of Ancient Persia, Ed by John Curtis and St John Simpson, Proceedings of a conference at the British Museum 29th September–1st October 2005, 111-138.
[21] Kotwal F, and Kreyenbroek P. (2011). “ALEXANDER THE GREAT ii. In Zoroastrian Tradition”, Encyclopedia Iranica, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii
[22] Yamamoto Y., (1979). "The Zoroastrian Temple Cult of Fire in Archaeology and Literature (I)". Orient 15, 19-53.
[23] Gamsakhurdia K. (2020). Fire Priests and Magi in Iberia. Tbilisi State University. SPEKALI, Vol. 4. https://www.spekali.tsu.ge/index.php/en/article/viewArticle/14/230
[24] Ghodrat-Dizaji M., (2007). Administrative Geography of The Early Sasanian Period: Case of Ādurbādagān, Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies. Vol.45, pp. 87-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2007.11864720
[25] Khalifa-zadeh M., (2024). Sasanian Imperial Strategy and King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s Reform: The Case of Ādurbādagān and Arrān (Caucasian Albania), International Journal of History, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 111- 121. https://doi.org/10.22271/27069109.2024.v6.i1b.271
Figures
Fig 1. Sculpture/reconstruction of Atropates (Ātūrpāt), King of Media – Atropatena, National Military Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan, available at https://www.worldhistory.org/image/19311/sculpture-of-atropates/
Fig 2. Greek fighting an Amazon. Detail from painted sarcophagus found in Italy, 350-325B.C.E., available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Produzione_greca_o_magnogreca,_sarcofago_delle_amazzoni,_350-325_a.C._ca,_da_tarquinia_05.JPG
Fig 3.
King Atropates (Ātūrpāt) meets Alexander of Macedon, painting, National Museum
of History, Baku, Azerbaijan, available at https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17373/king-atropates-meets-alexander/
.jpg)
