# Artabazos — Histories character guide

> Artabazos in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0009-book-viii-urania

## Snapshot

A Persian general whose cautious counsel is overruled, he must later lead the rear guard home through a hostile land while his king flees by sea.

## Who they are

Artabazos belongs to the Persian high command during Xerxes' invasion of Greece, a commander whose judgment repeatedly collides with the bolder voices around him. Where Mardonios pushes for another pitched battle, Artabazos argues for withdrawal, and his warnings go unheeded. After the disaster on the plain, he is left to march the surviving troops back across Thrace and Asia, a long retreat that tests whether his caution was wisdom or cowardice. His presence gives the narrative a Persian perspective on the war's turning point.

## In the story

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in a note about pursuit into Thessaly.

## Links

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