Artasyrus

Artasyrus (also spelled Artasouras; Old Iranian: Arta-sūra) was a Bactrian nobleman in the Achaemenid Empire, who was the father of Orontes I (died 344 BC), the satrap of the Armenia and ancestor of the Orontid dynasty.^[1] The career of Artasyrus is obscure.^[2] According to the Greek historian Plutarch, he held the high-ranking office of the "King's Eye".^[3] He has been suggested be the same person as the namesake Iranian noble who participated in the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC.^[3] He and Orontes I are the only Bactrians who are known to have occupied high offices under the Achaemenid Empire.^[3] Bactrians that settled in other parts of the empire either did so by their own will or as garrison-colonists.^[4]