Parysatis (; , ; 5th-century BC) was a powerful Persian queen, consort of Darius II and had a large influence during the reign of Artaxerxes II. Biography Parysatis was the daughter of Emperor Artaxerxes I of Persia and Andia of Babylon. She was the half-sister of Xerxes II, Sogdianus, and Darius II. She married her half-brother Darius II and had 13 sons, of which four survived to adulthood: Artaxerxes II, Cyrus the Younger, Ostanes, and Oxathres. and one daughter - Amestris. Influence at the Persian Court Parysatis was very powerful and had a network of spies and informants. Ctesias, who was her physician, mentions in his books how she would identify and order the execution of various people who were a threat to the throne. Parysatis was very savvy and succeeded in assisting Darius II's ascent to the throne, even though he was a bastard and not a legitimate child. Ctesias records that he was very dependent on her counsel. In addition, she is mentioned to have held a lot of land and villages in Syria, Media and Babylon. There also remains a record of the taxes paid directly to her and to Ea-bullissu, the servant who was in charge of managing her holdings and tax collections. Supporting Cyrus the Younger Her favorite son was Cyrus, and it was on account of her influence that he was given supreme command in western Anatolia as a teenager in around 407 BC. When her husband died, she supported Cyrus. When Cyrus was defeated in the Battle of Cunaxa, she blamed the satrap Tissaphernes for his death, and thus had him assassinated not long after. According to the chapter on Artaxerxes II in Plutarch's Life, a young Persian soldier named Mithridates unknowingly struck Cyrus the Younger during the Battle of Cunaxa, making him fall from his horse, dazed. Some eunuchs found Cyrus and tried to bring him to safety, but a Caunian among the king's camp followers struck a vein behind his knee with a dart, making him fall and strike his head on a stone, whereupon he died. Unwisely, Mithridates boasted of killing Cyrus in the court, and Parysatis had him executed by scaphism. She likewise got vengeance on Masabates, the king's eunuch, who had cut off Cyrus' hand and head, by winning him from her son Artaxerxes in a game of dice and having him flayed alive. Rivalry with Stateira Stateira