Quick questions on The later Achaemenids and the decline thesis: HSC Ancient History

Artaxerxes III Ochus (reigned 358-338 BC) is the standing refutation of a simple decline narrative. He secured the throne by ruthlessly eliminating rival royal kin, then set about restoring central authority: he broke the independent power of western satraps and crushed a dangerous revolt of the Phoenician city of Sidon (c. 345 BC). His signal achievement was the reconquest of Egypt (c.

The period is traditionally framed as decline, and there is real evidence for strain: violent successions, Cyrus the Younger's revolt, the six-decade loss of Egypt, the satraps' revolts. But three points cut hard against a story of terminal decay. First, the empire's reach was undiminished: for a century it dictated Greek politics by gold and diplomacy, and the King's Peace of 387/386 BC restored Persian control of Ionia. Second, its problems were reversible: Egypt was reconquered, the revolts were suppressed, and the empire stood reunited under Artaxerxes III.