Phraates II

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Phraates II (also spelled Frahad II; Template:Langx Frahāt) was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I (Template:Reign).

Because he was still very young when he came to the throne, his mother Rinnu initially ruled on his behalf. His short reign was mainly marked by his war with the Seleucid Empire, which under king Antiochus VII Sidetes (Template:Reign) attempted to regain the lands lost to Phraates' father. Initially unsuccessful in the conflict, Phraates II managed to gain the upper hand and defeated Antiochus VII's forces, with the Seleucid ruler himself dying in battle or committing suicide. Phraates II afterwards rushed to the east to repel an invasion by nomadic tribes—the Saka and Yuezhi, where he met his end. He was succeeded by his uncle Artabanus I.

Name

Phraátēs () is the Greek form of the Parthian Frahāt (𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕), itself from the Old Iranian *Frahāta- ("gained, earned").Template:Sfn The Modern Persian version is Farhād ().Template:Sfn

Background

Phraates II was born in Template:Circa; he was the son of Mithridates I, the fifth Parthian king, and a noblewoman named Rinnu, who was the daughter of a Median magnate.Template:Sfn

Early reign and policy

Phraates succeeded his father in 132 BC; due to still being a minor, his mother ruled with him for a few months.Template:Sfn Around this period, Phraates gave Darayan I kingship over the southern Iranian region of Persis.Template:Sfn He also defeated and captured the ruler of Elymais Tigraios and appointed Kamnaskires the Younger to the throne of Elymais as a Parthian vassal.Template:Sfn Continuing his father's plan, Phraates II had intentions to conquer Syria, and planned to use his captive—the former Seleucid king Demetrius II Nicator—as an instrument against his brother—the new Seleucid king Antiochus VII Sidetes (Template:Reign).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to the 2nd-century Roman historian Justin, Demetrius attempted to escape captivity twice, both times during the reign of Phraates. The first attempt occurred after Mithridates I's death, with the second attempt happening a few years after:

War with Antiochus VII

File:Parthian Babylonia and its surroundings.svg

Map of Babylonia and its surroundings in the 2nd-century BC

File:Coin of Antiochus VII Euergetes.jpg

Coin of Antiochus VII Sidetes, king (basileus) of the Seleucid Empire

Antiochus, well-aware of Phraates II's plan to use his brother against him, invaded the Parthian realm in 130 BC to thwart it.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was reportedly well received by many magnates, who joined him. After three battles he reclaimed Babylonia.Template:Sfn At the same time, the eastern Parthian frontier was invaded by nomads.Template:Sfn Antiochus' forces wintered in Parthian territory; before spring, he entered into negotiations with Phraates II.Template:Sfn Self-confident after his victories, Antiochus demanded not only the release of Demetrius, but also the return of the all lost lands and renewal of tribute fees. Phraates II, offended by the reply, broke off the negotiations and prepared for battle.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Whilst wintering, Antiochus VII quartered himself and his army in Ecbatana, where he completely alienated the local people by forcing them to pay for the upkeep of his soldiers and because, it seems, the soldiers assaulted the locals. Thus, when Phraates II attacked the Seleucid army in its winter quarters during the spring of 129 BC, the local population supported him. Antiochus was defeated and died, either in battle or by committing suicide, ending Seleucid rule east of the Euphrates.Template:Sfn Phraates, relishing over the death of Antiochus, is reported to have said the following before the latter's corpse: "Your boldness and drunkenness, Antiochus, caused your fall; for you expected to drink up the kingdom of Arsaces in huge cups."Template:Sfn

Phraates II succeeded in capturing Seleucus and Laodice, two of Antiochus' children who had accompanied their father on campaign. Phraates II later married Laodice and showed Seleucus (not to be confused with his cousin Seleucus V) great favour. He allowed Antiochus a royal funeral and later returned the body to Syria in a silver coffin along with Seleucus. Phraates II also released Demetrius, who had been held by the Parthians as a hostage for several years, to become king of the Seleucid realm for a second time.

Syria, which was now all that was left of the Seleucid empire, lacked military power and Phraates II apparently planned to invade it. However, on the eastern front, various nomadic tribes already infiltrating and usurping the Saka and Tokhari destroyed the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, penetrated to the borders of the realm in 129 BC, and threatened the Parthian realm.Template:Sfn The king had to rush to the eastern front, installing Himeros as governor of Babylon, who quickly became a tyrant. Phraates II marched east, his army including a large force of captured Seleucid soldiers from the army of the late Antiochus. These soldiers ultimately refused to fight for the Parthian king, and he was defeated and killed in battle.Template:Sfn

Coinage and Imperial ideology

File:Coin of Phraates II, Seleucia mint.jpg

Coin of Phraates II

Phraates refrained from using the title of "King of Kings" in his coinage, and instead used the title of "great king".Template:Sfn Like the rest of the Parthian kings, he used the title of Arsaces on his coinage, which was the name of the first Parthian ruler Arsaces I (Template:Reign) and had become a royal honorific among the Parthian monarchs out of admiration for his achievements.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Furthermore, he also used the title of Philhellene ("friend of the Greeks"),Template:Sfn which had been introduced during the reign of his father Mithridates I (Template:Reign) as a political act in order to establish friendly relations with their Greek subjects.Template:Sfn An unusual title attested during the reign of Phraates was the title of "King of the Lands" (attested in Babylonian cuneiform tablets as šar mātāti), which was rarely used by the Seleucid monarchs.Template:Sfn Like his father, Phraates is depicted on coins wearing a Hellenistic diadem, whilst his beard represents the traditional Iranian/Near Eastern custom.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

Ancient works

• Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus.

Modern works

• Template:Cambridge History of Iran
• Template:Cambridge History of Iran
• Template:Cambridge History of Iran

Further reading

• Overtoom, N. L. (2021). The Parthians’ Failed Vassalage of Syria: The Shortsighted Western Policy of Phraates II and the Second Reign of Demetrius II (129–125 BCE), Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 60(1-2), 1-14. Retrieved Mar 16, 2022, from https://akjournals.com/view/journals/068/60/1-2/article-p1.xml

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