Arsaces II of Parthia

Arsaces II 𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊
Coin of Arsaces II.
King of the Arsacid dynasty
Reign	217 – 191 BC
Predecessor	Arsaces I
Successor	Priapatius
Died	191 BC
Father	Arsaces I
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Arsaces II (/ˈɑːrsəsiːz/; from Greek: Ἀρσάκης; in Parthian: 𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊 Aršak, Persian: اشک Ašk), was the Arsacid king of Parthia from 217 BC to 191 BC.

Name

Arsacēs is the Latin form of the Greek Arsákēs (Ἀρσάκης), itself from Parthian Aršak (𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊). The Old Persian equivalent is Aršaka- (𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎣).

Biography

Arsaces II succeeded his father Arsaces I in 217 BC. In 209 BC, the energetic Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great recaptured Parthia, which had been previously seized from the Seleucids by Arsaces I and the Parni around 247 BC. Arsaces II sued for peace following his defeat in the Battle of Mount Labus. Prior to this, Antiochus had already occupied the Parthian capital at Hecatompylos, pushing forward to Tagae near Damghan. Following the defeat of Arsaces II at Mount Labus, Antiochus turned westwards into Hyrcania where he occupied Tambrax. The heavily barricaded city of Syrinx was then taken by siege.

In the terms of the peace, Arsaces accepted feudatory status and from then onwards ruled Parthia and Hyrcani as a vassal state of the Seleucids. Antiochus in turn withdrew his troops westwards, where he would subsequently be embroiled in wars with Rome and so would leave the fledgling Parthian kingdom to its own devices. Arsaces II was succeeded by his relative Priapatius in 191 BC.

Sources

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• Schippmann, K. (1986). "Arsacids ii. The Arsacid dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 5. Cyril Toumanoff. pp. 525–536.
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• Bivar, A.D.H. (1983). "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3(1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 21–99. ISBN 0-521-20092-X.
• Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah, eds. (2007), The Age of the Parthians, Ideas of Iran, vol. 2, London: I. B. Tauris
• Dąbrowa, Edward (2012). "The Arsacid Empire". In Daryaee, Touraj (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–432. ISBN 978-0-19-987575-7. Archived from the original on 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-01-13.