Gotarzes II ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōtarz'') was king of the
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...
from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of
Artabanus II
Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...
. When his father died in 40, his brother
Vardanes I
Vardanes I was a king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 46 AD. He was the heir apparent of his father Artabanus II (), but had to continually fight against his brother Gotarzes II, a rival claimant to the throne. Vardanes' short reign ended when ...
was to succeed to the throne. However, the throne was seized by Gotarzes II. Gotarzes II eventually was able to gain control of most of Parthia forcing Vardanes to flee to Bactria. With the death of Vardanes in c. 46, Gotarzes II ruled the Parthian Empire until his death. Gotarzes II was succeeded by his uncle
Vonones II
Vonones II was a Parthian prince who ruled as king of Media Atropatene and briefly as king of the Parthian Empire.
Vonones was not from the ruling branch of the Arsacid royal family. His father was a Dahae prince, who was most likely descended ...
.
Origins
Little is known of the early life of Gotarzes II prior to his becoming King of Parthia. Although Gotarzes II was a son of Artabanus II, it is unknown whether he was a biological or adoptive son. Josephus calls Gotarzes II the brother of
Vologases I
Vologases I ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II (r. 51). He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies.
Name
V ...
. Tacitus, on the other hand, does not explicitly describe Gotarzes II as a son of Artabanus II. However, he refers to him as a Parthian usurper who was responsible for the murder of his brother, Artabanus, and his family.
The Roman sources are obscure on his background; however, other surviving evidence reveals a lot more about the origins of Gotarzes II. An inscription on a
rock relief
A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...
that was discovered by Rawlinson at
Sarpul-I-Zohab on a main road in
Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan ( ku, ڕۆژھەڵاتی کوردستان, translit=Rojhilatê Kurdistanê) is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it ...
introduces him as ''Gotarzes, son of Gev''.
[Verstandig, ''History of the Parthian Empire (-250 – 227)'', p.p.251-252] From this inscription, it has been surmised that Gotarzes II was the son of a
Hyrcania
Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...
n nobleman called Gev who served as satrap in that region. Later, he was adopted by Artabanus II during his exile in recognition of a debt that his father owed Artabanus.
[Verstandig, ''History of the Parthian Empire (-250 – 227)'', p.p.251-252] When Gotarzes II later took the throne, he referred to himself as a son of Artabanus II, as evidenced by a surviving coin bearing the legend: ''Arsaces, king of kings, called Gotarzes, son of Artabanos''.
Kingship
![Behistun, Parthian relief of Gotarzes II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Behistun%2C_Parthian_relief_of_Gotarzes_II.jpg)
In , the reigning
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
king
Artabanus II
Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...
() died, entrusting his realm to his son
Vardanes I
Vardanes I was a king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 46 AD. He was the heir apparent of his father Artabanus II (), but had to continually fight against his brother Gotarzes II, a rival claimant to the throne. Vardanes' short reign ended when ...
. However, the throne was seized by Gotarzes II, an adopted son of Artabanus II. Gotarzes had another of his brothers, Artabanus, along with his wife and child, executed shortly after. An uproar against this execution shortly followed, with an appeal being sent to Vardanes, who took Gotarzes by surprise and defeated him, after travelling 375 miles in two days.
[Tacitus]
11.8
Vardanes was applauded by the governors of the neighbouring Parthian provinces, and quickly gained control over most of the Parthian realm.
The
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
n city of
Seleucia
Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq.
Name
Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...
, which had been in rebellion since 35, did not acknowledge Vardanes, who soon besieged the city. However, the long siege of Seleucia resulted in Gotarzes gaining the upper hand in the conflict, allowing him to raise a new force and drive off Vardanes, who fled to
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.
At the same time,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
suffered turmoil, when its
Arsacid
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...
king
Orodes, the brother of Vardanes, was deposed by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
emperor
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
(), who appointed the
Pharnavazid prince
Mithridates in his stead. Simultaneously, just before Vardanes and Gotarzes clashed in battle, they reached an accord after Gotarzes informed Vardanes of an conspiracy being planned against them by a prominent group. The accord was that Vardanes was to keep his crown, while Gotarzes withdrew to
Hyrcania
Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...
.
Encouraged by his other recent triumphs, Vardanes prepared to invade and reconquer Armenia, but ultimately abandoned his plans, due to threats of war from the Roman governor of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Gaius Vibius Marsus
Gaius Vibius Marsus, whom Tacitus calls "''vetustis honoribus studiisque illustris''", was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was consul in 17 AD.
Biography
Marsus was Suffect consul for the second half of the year 17 with Lucius ...
, along with renewed conflict with Gotarzes, who terminated their accord. Vardanes defeated Gotarzes on the Erindes, a river situated on the
Media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
-Hyrcania border. He then proceeded to conquer the remaining Parthian provinces, reaching as far as
Aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
. In he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles who feared that their status might become endangered.
Soon afterwards Gotarzes II died (according to
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, of an illness, although
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
stated that he was murdered). His last coin is dated from June 51. Gotarzes II was succeeded briefly by his uncle
Vonones II
Vonones II was a Parthian prince who ruled as king of Media Atropatene and briefly as king of the Parthian Empire.
Vonones was not from the ruling branch of the Arsacid royal family. His father was a Dahae prince, who was most likely descended ...
and then by the latter's son,
Vologases I
Vologases I ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II (r. 51). He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies.
Name
V ...
.
In fiction
Gotarzes II is unfavourably portrayed in Robert Graves' novel ''
Claudius the God
''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Rom ...
''. Gotarzes is presented as a cruel tyrant. The gravest of insults lobbed by Claudius against Gortazes is that he was idolized by
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
, and was a close advisor of the mad Roman Emperor.
References
Bibliography
Ancient works
*
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, ''
Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
''
*
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, ''
Annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
''
Modern works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotarzes 02
1st-century Parthian monarchs
51 deaths
Year of birth unknown
1st-century Iranian people
1st-century Babylonian kings