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20th August, 2024
ATURPAT (ATROPATES) - DARIUS III’S GENERAL
AND KING OF MEDIA – ATROPATENE
by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh*
Online version is available at:
https://www.azglobalcontext.org/2024/08/sculpture-of-atropates-aturpat-darius.html
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 (Ancient Greek:
Μεγάλη) and general who served Darius III 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.
Sculpture of Atropates (Ātūrpāt), King of Media – Atropatena
National Military Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
1
Azerbaijan: History and Contemporary Politics
Azerbaijan in Global Context - Media and Analysis Center, Toronto, Canada www.azglobalcontext.org
2
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 (Ancient Greek:
Γαυγάμηλα, also known as the battle of Arbella) in 331 BC. Atropates, as satrap (Median/Old
Persian: xšaçapāvān, Parthian/Arsacid Pahlavi: šahrab) of Media, commanded Median,
Arranian (Latin: Albanian), Sacasenian, Cadusian and Arminian (Achaemenid's province of
Armina, Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴, Elamite: Harminuya, Ancient Greek: Arminyaya/ Armenia)
troops.
Ilya Dyakonov indicated that Arranians (Albanians) and Cadussians 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 from the Aras River.
On the eve of 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.
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 tried to help 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, present-day Azerbaijan), 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 (Ancient 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).
Alexander acknowledged the geostrategic location of the 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.
3
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.
Atropates (Ātūrpāt) meets Alexander of Macedon, painting,National
Museum of History, Baku, Azerbaijan
After Alexander's death in June 323 BC, Atropates, unfortunately, 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 after the division of
the empire between Alexander's generals.
It should be highlighted that 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") 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”.
4
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.
• Khalifa-zadeh Mahir, Research Professor, PhD, Founder and Director of the Toronto-based
"Azerbaijan in Global Context" Media and Analysis Center (www.azglobalcontext.org ), Toronto, Canada
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