Menostanes was a Persian prince, son of Artarius the satrap

Satrap

Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....

 of Babylonia

Babylonia

Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

 and thus nephew of king Artaxerxes I.

Around 445 BC

445 BC

Year 445 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augurinus and Philo...

 he commanded the Persian army against the rebel satrap Megabyzus

Megabyzus

Megabyzus was a Persian general, son of Zopyrus, satrap of Babylon. His father was killed when the satrapy rebelled in 482 BC, and Megabyzus led the forces that recaptured the city, after which the statue of the god Marduk was destroyed to prevent future revolts. Megabyzus subsequently took part...

, being defeated as was the previous commander, Usiris. The peace was signed c. 444 BC

444 BC

Year 444 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Atratinus, Siculus and Luscus and the Year of the Consulship of Mugillanus and Atratinus...

 after negotiations in which his father Artarius took part.

Artaxerxes I died in 423 BC

423 BC

Year 423 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atratinus and Ambustus...

 and was succeeded by his son Xerxes II, who 55 days after was murdered by his half-brother Sogdianus, Menostanes and the eunuch Pharnacias. Sogdianus became king and named Menostanes prime minister and chief of the army. However, Sogdianus was later defeated and put to dead by Ochus, another brother, who took the throne and changed his name to Darius II

Darius II of Persia

Darius II , was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 405 BC.Artaxerxes I, who died on December 25, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II. After a month and a half Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus or Sogdianus...

. Pharnacias was executed and Menostanes committed suicide.

Apart from Ctesias

Ctesias

Ctesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who lived in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....

 there are no Classical

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

 sources on Menostanes, but he appears to be mentioned in some cuneiform

Cuneiform

Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...

 tablets of the Murashu family from the Babylonian city of Nippur

Nippur

Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...

, where is called Manuštånu. As can be seen from the Murashu Archive, Menostanes owned large estate

Estate (house)

An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...

s near Nippur. Strikingly, in 423 BC

423 BC

Year 423 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atratinus and Ambustus...

 his domains passed to certain Artahšar, who was identified with Artoxares

Artoxares

Artoxares was a Paphlagonian eunuch, who played a central role during the reigns of Artaxerxes I and Darius II of Persia....

, a follower of Darius II.

Classical references

• Ctesias
  Ctesias
  Ctesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who lived in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....
  
  , 41, 48, 49, 51 http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/ctesias/photius_persica2.html