Artabanos II.

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Coin minted in Seleucia on the Trigris

Artabanos II. (In older research often also Artabanos III. ) Was a Parthian king who ruled from 10 to 38 AD.

government

According to Tacitus , Artabanos II is said to have grown up with the Dahern , while Josephus claims Atropatene . His family circumstances are unknown. There are no indications that he was related to his direct predecessors, but he apparently came from a branch of the royal family. His predecessor Vonones I had made himself unpopular with the Parthian nobles because of his "Roman" way of life and because he was supported by Rome, and the Parthians then chose Artabanos II as ruler. He went against Vonones, but was defeated and fled into the mountains, but returned with a stronger army and was finally able to dethrone King Vonones in 12 AD. Vonones I fled to Armenia, where he apparently briefly held the throne, but was no longer supported by the Romans, who shied away from the conflict with the Parthians. Vonones I went to Syria, where he was granted refuge, but was transferred to Cilicia at the request of Artabanos II, where he was murdered in AD 19. These are the events as presented by the ancient authors. However, recent research suggests that ancient historiography mixed up events with those around AD 35.

Coin minted in Seleucia on the Trigris; it is dated to the year 27 AD

During his relatively long reign he managed to re-establish the Parthian Empire, which had previously been shaken by various turmoil. Various provinces that were previously almost autonomous, such as the Atropatene, Medien, Charakene , Persis and the Elymais , were given to sons of the ruler. There is literary evidence of this for Armenia , where Orodes, a son of the king, was installed but could not hold out. Apparently it remained common for almost 200 years to appoint relatives of the great king as sub-kings. In the east of the empire, however, provinces seem to have been lost with the emergence of the Indo-Parthian kingdom . Roman writers suggest numerous and successful wars in the East, but little is known about them.

In 35, however, a son of Phraates IV , who had previously lived in Rome , declared himself pretender to the throne. The background was conflicts with the Romans who wanted to destabilize the Arsacid Empire. He was to be enthroned as King of Parthia, but died on the way to the Parthian Empire in Syria . Emperor Tiberius then sent with Tiridates III. another arsakid candidate. After all, this was so successful that Artabanos II had to flee first. Tiridates III. was welcomed by the Greek cities in Parthia and crowned king in Seleucia on the Tigris , but he could not stay on the throne for long. Artabanos II ultimately drove him out and then had to besiege the old royal seat of Seleukia, which had meanwhile declared itself independent. The city retained its freedom, but lost many privileges. Artabanos II died in AD 38

Copy on marble of a letter from Artabanos II from Susa

A copy of a letter comes from Artabanos II, which was found on a stone tablet in Susa and was addressed to the local city administration (to the archons Antiochus and Phraates). Thereupon a controversial choice of the city administration is confirmed by the ruler.

Ancient sources

  • Tacitus: Annals , II, 3, 58, IV, 31
  • Josephus, Jewish Antiquities , Jan.

literature

Web links

Commons : Artabanos II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Artabanos II . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
  2. ^ Tacitus, Annalen , 2, 3
  3. ^ Josephus, Jewish Antiquities , 18:48
  4. ↑ a b Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities , 18, 2, 4
  5. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 2, 58
  6. ↑ So above all in: Ulrich Kahrstedt: Artabanos III and his heirs. This view is in turn doubted by parts of the more recent research, see e.g. B .: Monika Schuol: The characters. A Mesopotamian kingdom in the Hellenistic-Parthian period. Steiner, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-515-07709-X , p. 321.
  7. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen , 6, 31
predecessor Office successor
Vonones I. King of the Parthian Empire
10–38 		Vardanes and Gotarzes II.
personal data
SURNAME Artabanos II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION parthian king
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 38