 He may have been the "Artasyrus" mentioned by Herodotus as being a satrap of the royal satrapy of Bactria.In Greek sources he is also surnamed "long-handed" ( "Makrókheir"; ), allegedly because his right hand was longer than his left.Artaxerxes was probably born in the reign of his grandfather Darius I, to the emperor's son and heir, Xerxes I.