After failing to conquer Greece militarily, Persia funded rival Greek city-states against each other, keeping them locked in destructive civil wars for decades.

259:23Artaxerxes ruled for forty-one years, longer  than either of the more famous kings Darius or Xerxes, and his rule was arguably  more successful. His shrewd foreign policy coupled with domestic stability, and the empire  flourished. But after his death in 424 BC, the trouble began. His son, Xerxes II, would  rule for only forty-five days before two of his brothers plotted to depose him. One of these  brothers, named Sogdianus, took the throne, but

260:04ruled for only six months before himself being  deposed. The empire returned to some degree of stability during the twenty-year reign of King  Darius II, but when he died in 404 BC, it would once more return to a bloody and destructive  state of civil war. This conflict came about due to a rivalry between two of Darius' sons; his  eldest son, Arses, and the youngest son, Cyrus. While Arses had always been favored by his father  the king as a thoughtful and pragmatic young man,

260:49Cyrus was the most beloved of their mother,  as the Greek writer Xenophon records. Darius had two sons. The elder was  named Arses and the younger Cyrus. Now, as Darius lay sick and felt that the end of  life drew near, he wished both his sons to be with him. But Cyrus' mother had more love  for Cyrus than for Arses upon his throne. When Darius died, his chosen heir,  Arses, became king and took on the