Artabanus II of Parthia

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; Template:Langx Ardawān), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III,Template:Sfn was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He was the nephew and successor of Vonones I (Template:Reign). His father has been variously identified as a Dahae or Atropatid prince, whilst his mother was a daughter of the Parthian King of Kings Phraates IV (Template:Reign).

Before his ascension to the Parthian crown, Artabanus had ruled as king of Media Atropatene, which later served as his base of attacks against the Roman-supported Parthian king Vonones I. Artabanus eventually defeated Vonones I, who fled to Armenia and became its king. Artabanus' efforts to replace Vonones I with his son were blocked by the Romans, who eventually reached an agreement with the Parthians to appoint Artaxias III the new king of Armenia and renounce their support of Vonones I.

Name

is the Latin form of the Greek Artábanos (), itself from the Old Persian *Arta-bānu ("the glory of Arta.").Template:Sfn The Parthian and Middle Persian variant was Ardawān ().Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Background

Artabanus was not from the ruling branch of the Arsacid royal family. Tacitus in his Annals records that supporters of the rival ruler Tiridates III (Template:Reign) viewed Artabanus as an "Arsacid on his mother's side, but in all else a degenerate". However, historian Marek Olbrycht notes that Tacitus, as well as Josephus and Cassius Dio, refer to Artabanus and his sons as Arsacids. Olbrycht concludes, therefore, that Artabanus was a male-line Arsacid, likely descended from Mithridates II of Parthia (Template:Reign), through a branch of the family living among the Dahae people (with whom Artabanus had been reared). Olbrycht suggests that Artabanus' mother was a daughter of the Parthian King of Kings Phraates IV (Template:Reign).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:NoteTag As a result of this connection, the family of Tiridates III, the male-line grandson of Phraates IV, would have acknowledged Artabanus' maternal Arsacid ancestry, though not his paternal, having viewed all other branches of the family as illegitimate.Template:Sfn

However, historians Josef Markwart and Martin Schottky assign to Artabanus a descent from the Atropatid dynasty,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn the erstwhile rulers of Media-Atropatene. This was a region controlled afterwards by Artabanus, prior to his ascension to the Parthian throne. Historian Richard D. Sullivan notes that Strabo, writing during this latter period, recorded that the line of succession from the dynasty's founder Atropates "is preserved until now", possibly implying that Artabanus' occupation of Media-Atropatene was considered a continuation of Atropatid rule. Strabo also mentioned that intermarriage had occurred between the Arsacids and the Atropatids. Sullivan suggests, therefore, that Artabanus was the result of the union between an Atropatid prince and an Arsacid princess in Template:Circa, therefore accounting for Tacitus' statement of his ancestry. Sullivan further states that this would explain the acceptability of Artabanus' (and later his brother Vonones II's) rule over both Parthia and Media-Atropatene.Template:Sfn Schottky identifies this royal couple as having been a son of Darius I of Media Atropatene (Template:Reign) (whom Schottky deduces to have also been named Darius) and a daughter of Phraates IV.Template:SfnTemplate:NoteTag Alternatively, historian Christian Settipani proposes that the Atropatid prince was a son of Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene (Template:Reign).Template:Sfn

Early life and kingship of Media Atropatene

Born between 30–25 BC, Artabanus was raised amongst the Dahae in Central Asia.Template:Sfn When he reached adulthood, he became the ruler of Media Atropatene, which occurred sometime during the late reign of Phraates IV or during the reign of the latter's son and successor Phraates V (Template:Reign).Template:Sfn The factor behind Artabanus' rise to kingship of Media Atropatene is unclear.Template:Sfn The kingdom served as Artabanus' headquarters of his attacks against the Parthian king Vonones I (Template:Reign AD), with whom he fought against over the crown.Template:Sfn Vonones I, who had originally resided in Rome, had been placed on the Parthian throne by a faction led by the Karin and Suren clans.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His rule was supported by the Romans.Template:Sfn However, the Parthian nobility was quickly alienated by Vonones I, who had become Romanized during his stay in Rome.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This increased Artabanus' odds—after years of fighting—to finally defeat Vonones I, who fled to Armenia and became its king.Template:Sfn

Reign

Artabanus, now the monarch of the Parthian Empire, attempted to depose Vonones I from the Armenian throne and appoint his own son instead.Template:Sfn This attempt was instantly opposed by the Romans, who regarded this as posing a danger to their interests.Template:Sfn As a result, the Roman emperor Tiberius (Template:Reign AD) sent his stepson Germanicus to prevent this from happening.Template:Sfn However, the Roman general met no resistance from the Parthians. Instead, Germanicus reached an agreement with Artabanus to appoint Artaxias III the new king of Armenia and renounce their support of Vonones I.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Romans thus acknowledged Artabanus as the legitimate Parthian ruler.Template:Sfn In order to ratify the friendly relationship between the two empires, Artabanus and Germanicus met on an island in the Euphrates in 18 AD.Template:Sfn

File:ArtabanIIIGreekLetter.JPG

Letter in Greek of the Parthian king Artabanus II to the inhabitants of Susa in the 1st century CE, requesting the appointment of Hecataeus as treasurer. Louvre Museum.

The Romans moved Vonones I to Cilicia, where he was killed the following year after attempting to flee.Template:Sfn His death and the now unchallenged dominance of Artabanus split the Parthian nobility, since not all of them supported a new branch of the Arsacid family taking over the empire.Template:Sfn In 19/20 AD, the Parthian satrap of Sakastan, Drangiana and Arachosia, named Gondophares, declared independence from Artabanus and founded the Indo-Parthian Kingdom.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He assumed the titles of "Great King of Kings" and "Autokrator", demonstrating his new-found independence.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, Artabanus and Gondophares most likely reached an agreement that the Indo-Parthians would not intervene in the affairs of the Arsacids.Template:Sfn

Artabanus spent the following years increasing his authority.Template:Sfn To the north-east, he was victorious in his efforts to have a new dynasty established in Khwarazm, thus starting a new era in the history of the country.Template:Sfn Artabanus most likely operated in western Bactria as well, which had been part of the Parthian domains for centuries.Template:Sfn

In 35 AD, Artabanus tried again to conquer Armenia and to establish his son Arsaces I as Armenia's king. A war with Rome seemed inevitable. The faction among the Parthian magnates which was hostile to Artabanus II applied to Tiberius for a king who was a descendant of Phraates IV. Tiberius sent Phraates IV's grandson, Tiridates III, and ordered Lucius Vitellius the Elder (the father of the Roman emperor Vitellius) to restore Roman authority in the East. By very dexterous military and diplomatic operations Vitellius succeeded completely. Artabanus II was deserted by his followers and fled to the East.

Tiridates III, who was proclaimed King, could not keep control of the Parthian throne, because he appeared to his subjects to be a vassal of the Romans. In the meantime, Artabanus II returned from Hyrcania with a strong army of Scythian (Dahae) auxiliaries and was again acknowledged by the Parthians. Tiridates III left Seleucia and fled to Syria. Artabanus II wasn't strong enough for a war with Rome. He therefore concluded a treaty with Vitellius in 37 AD, in which he gave up all further pretensions towards Armenia. A short time afterwards Artabanus II was deposed again, and Cinnamus was proclaimed king. Artabanus II took refuge with his vassal, the King Izates bar Monobaz. Izates, by negotiations and the promise of a complete pardon, persuaded the Parthians to restore Artabanus II once more to the throne. Shortly afterwards Artabanus II died and was succeeded by his son, Vardanes I, whose reign was still more turbulent than that of his father.

Artabanus II had four sons: Arsaces I, Orodes, Artabanus, Vardanes I and an adopted son named Gotarzes II.

Mandaeans

Mandaeans credit a king named Artabanus (Mandaic: Ardban), most likely to be Artabanus II, with helping them escape persecution in Jerusalem and settling in Media during his reign. He is mentioned in the Haran Gawaita, a Mandaean text.

Sources

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• (2 volumes)
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• Template:Cambridge History of Iran.
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Further reading

Template:S-endTemplate:Parthian kingsTemplate:Authority control