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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §12.71.1-12.71.2

Persian Succession and Antiochus' History of Sicily

Passage 165 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The succession of Persian kings in Asia (Xerxes II, Sogdianus, and Darius II) and the scope of Antiochus of Syracuse's History of Sicily.

§12.71.1κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἀσίαν Ξέρξης ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐτελεύτησεν ἄρξας ἐνιαυτόν, ὡς δʼ ἔνιοι γράφουσι, μῆνας δύο· τὴν δὲ βασιλείαν διαδεξάμενος ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σογδιανὸς ἦρξε μῆνας ἑπτά.
Meanwhile in Asia, King Xerxes died after ruling for a year, or, as some write, for two months; and his brother Sogdianus, having succeeded to the kingdom, ruled for seven months.
τοῦτον δʼ ἀνελὼν Δαρεῖος ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη δεκαεννέα.
But Darius, having slain him, reigned for nineteen years.
§12.71.2τῶν δὲ συγγραφέων Ἀντίοχος ὁ Συρακόσιος τὴν τῶν Σικελικῶν ἱστορίαν εἰς τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν κατέστρεψεν, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ Κωκάλου τοῦ Σικανῶν βασιλέως, ἐν βίβλοις ἐννέα.
Of the historians, Antiochus of Syracuse concluded his History of Sicily with this year, having begun from Cocalus, the king of the Sicani, in nine books.

Notes

  1. §12.71.1ἄρξας ἐνιαυτόν, ὡς δʼ ἔνιοι γράφουσι, μῆνας δύο — The parenthetical clause with the conjunction ὡς presents an alternative account of the duration of Xerxes' reign. Both accusatives, ἐνιαυτόν (for a year) and μῆνας δύο (for two months), express duration of time and are governed by the participle ἄρξας.
  2. §12.71.2τῶν δὲ συγγραφέων — Partitive genitive modifying the subject Ἀντίοχος, meaning 'of the historians, (Antiochus...).'
  3. §12.71.2ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ Κωκάλου — The aorist active participle ἀρξάμενος agrees in gender, number, and case with the subject Ἀντίοχος, functioning adverbially to indicate the starting point of his historical narrative ('having begun from...').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §12.71.1-12.71.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:12.71.1-12.71.2

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