Coin of Artabanus II from the mint at Ecbatana. The reverse shows a throned archer with a bow. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑϹΙΛΕΩϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΩΝ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ ΑΡϹΑΚΟΥ ΔΙΚΑΙΟϹ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥϹ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟϹ (king of kings Arsaces, bringer of plenty, the just, friend of the Greeks).

Artabanus II of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from about AD 10 to 38. He was the son of a princess of the Arsacid Dynasty who lived in the East among the Dahan nomads. He was raised to the throne by those Parthian grandees who would not acknowledge Vonones I, whom the Roman Emperor Augustus had sent from Rome (where he lived as hostage) as successor of his father Phraates IV. Ecbatana (Hañgmatana in Old Persian, Agbatana in Aeschylus, written Agamtanu by Nabonidos, and Agamatanu at Behistun) was the capital of Astyages (Istuvegü), which was taken by Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of Nabonidos (549 BC). ... The Arsacid Dynasty ruled Persia. ... Parthia empire at its greatest extent The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Persian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BC, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BC and 224 AD. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the East and it limited... For other uses, see number 10. ... For alternate uses, see Number 38. ... The Arsacid Dynasty ruled Persia. ... Coin of Vonones I from the mint at Ecbatana. ... Roman Emperor is the title historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Bust of Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS)¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Gaius Octavius or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was the first Roman Emperor and is traditionally considered the greatest. ... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... Coin of Phraates IV from the mint at Seleucia. ...

The war between the two pretenders was long and doubtful; on a coin Vonones mentions a victory over Artabanus. At last Artabanus defeated his rival completely and occupied the Parthian capital Ctesiphon. Vonones fled to Armenia, where he was acknowledged as king, under the protection of the Romans. But when Artabanus invaded Armenia, Vonones fled to Syria, and the emperor Tiberius thought it prudent to support him no longer. Tiberius' nephew and heir Germanicus, whom he sent to the East, concluded a treaty with Artabanus, in which he was recognized as king and friend of the Romans. Armenia was given in AD 18 to Zeno, the son of the king of Pontus. Taq-i-Kasra, Ctesiphon, today. ... The Emperor Tiberius enamelled terracotta bust at the Victoria and Albert Museum. ... Bust of Germanicus in the Louvre Germanicus Julius Caesar Claudianus, possibly Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus before adoption (15 BC–AD 19) was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. ... For other uses, see number 18. ... For Pontus the Greek god, see Pontus (mythology) Pontus was a name applied in ancient times to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the Main), by the Greeks. ...

Artabanus, like all Parthian princes, was much troubled by the opposition of the grandees. He is said to have been very cruel in consequence of his education among the Dahan barbarians. To strengthen his power he killed all the Arsacid princes whom he could reach. Rebellions of the subject nations may have occurred also. We learn that he intervened in the Greek city Seleucia in favour of the oligarchs, and that two Jewish brigands maintained themselves for years in Neerda in the swamps of Babylonia, and were acknowledged as dynasts by Artabanus. The name Seleucia may denote any one of several cities in the Seleucid Empire. ... Oligarch may refer to one of the folowing. ... Babylonia was an ancient state in Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ...

In 35 he tried anew to conquer Armenia, and to establish his son Arsaces as king there. A war with Rome seemed inevitable. But that party among the Parthian magnates which was hostile to Artabanus applied to Tiberius for a king of the race of Phraates. Tiberius sent Phraates's grandson, Tiridates III, and ordered Lucius Vitellius (the father of the emperor Vitellius) to restore the Roman authority in the East. By very dexterous military and diplomatic operations Vitellius succeeded completely. Artabanus was deserted by his followers and fled to the East. Tiridates, who was proclaimed king, could no longer maintain himself, because he appeared to be a vassal of the Romans; Artabanus returned from Hyrcania with a strong army of Scythian (Dahan) auxiliaries, and was again acknowledged by the Parthians. Tiridates left Seleucia and fled to Syria. But Artabanus was not strong enough for a war with Rome; he therefore concluded a treaty with Vitellius in 37, in which he gave up all further pretensions. A short time after-wards Artabanus was deposed again, and a certain Cinnamus was proclaimed king. Artabanus took refuge with his vassal, the king Izates of Adiabene; and Izates by negotiations and the promise of a complete pardon induced the Parthians to restore Artabanus once more to the throne. Shortly afterwards Artabanus died, and was succeeded by his son, Vardanes, whose reign was still more turbulent than that of his father. For alternate uses, see Number 35. ... Tiridates III of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire briefly in 35–36. ... Lucius Vitellius was the name of two politicians of the early Roman Empire, father and son. ... Aulus Vitellius Germanicus (September 24 AD 15–December 22, 69) was Roman Emperor from April 17 69 to December 22 of the same year, one of the emperors in the Year of the four emperors. He was the son of Lucius Vitellius, who had been consul and governor of Syria... Gorgan (گرگان); Hyrcania ; Hyrcana (Old Persian Varkâna, land of wolves; modern Persian Gorgan): part of the ancient Persian empire, on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (present day Golestan, Mazandaran, Gilan and parts of Turkmenistan). ... Scythia was an area in Eurasia inhabited in ancient times by an Indo-Aryans known as the Scythians. ... The name Seleucia may denote any one of several cities in the Seleucid Empire. ... For alternate uses, see Number 37. ... Vardanes I of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from about 40–47. ...

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

• Tacitus, Annals, ii–vi (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Ann.+2.1).
• Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18–20.