The biography of Ariobarzen, the last brave Achaemenid general

Ario Barzan

A summary of Ario Berzen's biography:

Full name: Ario Barzan

Date of birth: 368 BC

Place of birth: Iran

Rank: Satrap Parse

Loyalty: Achaemenid Empire

Died: probably in 330 BC near Parse

Ario Barzan's biography

Ariobarzen's biography:

Aryu Barzan is one of the great generals of Iranian history and the name of one of the Achaemenid princes who was an Iranian general. He resisted the army of Alexander the Great and together with his soldiers defended the soil of Iran until the last moments of their lives. In current Persian, the name Ariobarzen is both spoken and written as Ariabarzin, which means glorious.

Unfortunately, we have to point out that Iranian generals are not noticed by the people, so that if you ask the name of one of the most famous ones, nothing but a familiar name will appear.

Battle of Ariobarzen in Pars Band:

The location of the battle between Aryu Barzan and Iskandar has been guessed in several different places, but according to what it seems, the battleground was in the province of Kohkiloye and Boyar Ahmad in an area called Teng Takab. In any way, the unfamiliarity of Alexander reached the Persian regions, but a shepherd, whose name historians call Li Ban, showed the Macedonians the way to pass through the mountains, and Alexander could reach Aryu Barzan and his companions through this way. According to what has been said, after the end of the war, Alexander killed the prisoner of betrayal.

Ario Barzan with 40 horsemen and 5000 footmen without any fear reached the Macedonian army and killed many Greeks and suffered many casualties, although they finally managed to survive the siege of the Macedonian army.

When Ario Berzen came out of the siege, he asked to go to the capital and take it under his control before the arrival of the Macedonian army, but Alexander the Macedonian, who had entered Pars through the Jalga road, prevented him from doing so. At this time they were in dire danger but did not consent to surrender. It has been said that Ario Barzan's stand against the enemies is one of the few stands against the army of Alexander the Great of Iran.

Alexander's historian Callisthenes writes notes on August 12, 330 BC, in which he describes; When the forces of Alexander the Great were advancing towards Persepolis, the capital of Iran at that time, they stopped in a mountainous and difficult area called Darband Pars. In this area, there was a conflict between Iskandar and Ario Barzan.

According to what Iskandar states, after they entered the land of Izhaj; For three days and nights, they could not see the sun, and they attributed the reason to the abundance of trees and the increase of rain. Iskandar faces an Iranian army regiment which included 5000 soldiers under the command of Ariobarzen.

For several days, this army prevented the advance of Alexander's army of 10,000 men to Iran, this army had previously managed to capture the regions of Egypt, Babylon and Susa. He also defeated Darius in three wars and fled. Finally, this regiment was defeated by encircling the mountains and attacking its people from higher altitudes, and its commander, Ariobarzen, was also killed.

About Ariyo Barzan, a famous Iranian general

Comparison with Gogmel Battle:

calisthenics; Historian Iskandar writes about the comparison between the battle of Darband and Gugmel: “If such a resistance had taken place against us in the battle of Gugmel (in present Kurdistan, Iraq), our defeat would have been certain. In Gugmel, with the unexpected departure of Darius III from the scene, the units of the Iranian army, who were defeating us, retreated after him and we won. Darius III had fled to the northeast of Iran, and Ario Barzan continued to stand in the highlands of southern Iran on the way to Persepolis.

Ariobarzen's brave defense:

After Babylon and Susa were conquered by Alexander, he collected information about the roads, sources and waters of Parsis, after that he sent his chosen army of 17 thousand people to Persepolis, which was the national and dynastic center of the empire.

Erio Berzen is known as a brave man who stood up to the death against Alexander. The commander of the Iranian army who fought until the last drop of his blood against the army of Alexander the Great and refused to surrender or run away from his enemy.

He occupied Iskandar's path with his army and did not allow this enemy to advance even one inch.

The only reason for this general's defeat was the betrayal of a shepherd named Li Bani, who showed Alexander and his troops the way to the mountains.

According to Arian; Ario Barzan, as a brave and selfless Iranian general, built a wall that prevented Alexander from entering Persia. He and his sister Yutab had built a barrier to confront Alexander's troops, which no one was able to cross and no one made an effort in this regard.

In the book of Attila, Louise Dole has mentioned the wars of Arius Barzan and says that after Alexander's successive wars, he liked Arius Barzan's bravery and told him to surrender so that he could leave the field safely, but Arius Barzan In response to Iskandar, he says: “The Emperor of Iran sent me here to defend this place, and I will defend this place as long as I live.”

Ariobarzen, the last Achaemenid general

In response to Ario Barzan, Iskandar says: “Your king has fled.” Surrender and I will make you the ruler of Iran in recognition of your bravery.”

At the same time, Aryu Barzan also answered: “So now that the king is gone, I will stay in this place and fight until I die.”

When Alexander saw the perseverance of Ariobarzen, he ordered to shoot him with spears and arrows from a distance. And the enemies repeated this work so much that not a single healthy spot was left in the body of this general. After his death, he was buried in the same place.

This book narrates the events in the form of a story and states: “The manner of death of Ariobarzen was similar to that of Leonidas, the Greek hero of the war with Xerxes.” In another part of the book, it is also stated that Alexander ordered his soldiers to build a grave for this Iranian general and It should be written in memory of Leonidas.

In a part of his book, Abd al-Rafi Hachikat points out the similarities and differences between the Greek hero Leonidas of Sparta and Areobarzen and believes: “The Battle of Pars Darband is very similar to the Battle of Thermopylae and the manner of their death is also expressed in the same way, but the main difference between the two is The character is that in Greece, the names of the brave were recorded and remained in history, and inscriptions were written on their graves and their names were honored, but this was not the case in Iran. At the end of this chapter of his book, he writes about Ariobrazon: “For Ariobrazon, the defender of Delaware in the Pars Band, and Behtis Kotwal of Gaza, there were two generals who completely served their duty and sacrificed their lives for the sake of their beloved country, and in fact, their names should be He recorded and recorded in the ranks of martyrs of the country and sanctified their memory forever.

The life story of Ario Barzan

compilation: Cover biographical section