Artavasdes II (Atropatene)

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Artavasdes II (* around or shortly before 59 BC; † shortly before 20 BC) was the son and successor of King Ariobarzanes I of Media Atropatene .

Life

During the Parthian campaign of Marcus Antonius 36 BC Artavasdes was allied with the Parthian king Phraates IV . Antony first advanced from Zeugma northwards via Armenia into the empire of Artavasdes because he did not want to attack the Parthian empire by the shortest route from the west, but surprisingly from the north. This strategy was supposedly given to Antony by Artavasdes II of Armenia , who was an enemy of the Mede king of the same name. The triumvir marched with his troops in forced marches before the well-fortified atropathic capital Phraaspa , where Artavasdes had brought his family to safety. The Mede King himself had gone to the army of Phraates. Antony could not take Phraaspa and besieged the city. Meanwhile Artavasdes and the Parthian general Monaeses destroyed the two legions of a general of Antony, Oppius Statianus , who had slowly pulled behind Antony's army with the siege engines. Without these machines, however, the storming of Phraaspa was almost hopeless, so that Antonius had to withdraw and did not even get to the Parthian Empire.

Artavasdes had asserted himself against the Romans, but his empire had been devastated and his stronger ally, Phraates IV, treated him condescendingly and kept most of the booty to himself. Therefore, the Mede King offered in 35 BC Through the mediation of the Pontic king Polemon I, Antony signed an alliance against the Parthians, which he gladly accepted. To deepen the friendship of the triumvirate whose son was named after the Armenian campaign (34 v. Chr.) Of Cleopatra VII. , Alexander Helios , with Artavasdes' daughter Iotape engaged, although both were still toddlers. On the Araxes River , Antonius met in 33 BC. Together with his coalition partner. According to the agreement, Antony should support Artavasdes against the Parthians and, conversely, the Medean king should support the Roman against Octavian . Both also exchanged units with each other. The empire of Artavasdes was expanded to include parts of Armenia, while the Roman general received a standard that the Medes had stolen from Oppius Statianus during the Parthian War and was also able to take Iotape with him. At first Artavasdes was able to assert himself with the Roman auxiliaries of Antony against an attack by the Parthians and their aspirant to the Armenian throne, Artaxes. But when Antonius ordered his soldiers back before the battle of Actium , but did not send the Median auxiliaries home, the Parthians defeated and seized Artavasdes (30 BC) and at the same time became masters of the Media and Armenia.

Artavasdes managed to escape from his captivity to Augustus, who received him kindly, returned his daughter Iotape and made him client king of Lesser Armenia. He died shortly before 20 BC. At the age of 39 apparently in Rome .

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Cassius Dio 49, 25, 1.
  2. ↑ Plutarch , Antonius 38-40; Cassius Dio 49, 25f .; Strabo 11, 523.
  3. ↑ Plutarch, Antonius 52, 1-3; Cassius Dio 49, 33, 1f.
  4. ↑ Cassius Dio 49:40, 2; Plutarch, Antonius 53, 12.
  5. ↑ Cassius Dio 49, 44, 1-4.
  6. ↑ Monumentum Ancyranum 6, 1.
  7. ^ Cassius Dio 51, 16, 2.
  8. ↑ This is what Theodor Mommsen concludes from Cassius Dio (54, 9, 2).
  9. ↑ See his epitaph CIL 6, 1798, found in Rome .
personal data
SURNAME Artavasdes II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Media Atropatene
DATE OF BIRTH around 59 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH before 20 BC Chr.