Meredates ( xpr, 𐭌𐭕𐭓𐭃𐭕 ''Mihrdāt'') was a

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 ...

prince who ruled the state of

Characene Characene (Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou (Χ� ...

, a vassal of the Parthian Empire and important trading port, which he ruled from to 150/151.

Biography

Meredates was a son of the

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

Pacorus II Pacorus II (also spelled Pakoros II; ) was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 78 to 110. He was the son and successor of Vologases I (). During the latter part of his father's reign, Pacorus ruled the Parthian Empire along with him. A ...

(). The Kingdom of Characene had since 141 BC been ruled by

Hyspaosines Hyspaosines (also spelled Aspasine) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian prince, and the founder of Characene, a kingdom situated in southern Mesopotamia. He was originally a Seleucid Empire, Seleucid satrap installed by king Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( ...

and his descendants as Parthian vassals; the last king of the line, Attambelos VII without much trouble submitted to 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 Trajan in 116 AD. However, with Trajans failure and death the following year, Attambelos VII political authority collapsed. The Parthians most likely put an end to Hyspaosinid rule in the region and appointed one of their own on the throne. Based on the Characenian coins, Meredates became king of the region in , during the reign of his brother Vologases III (). During his rule, Meredates became a powerful client-king, due to his commercial leadership and a lucrative alliance with the Palmyrene merchants. In 147, a Parthian prince named

Vologases IV Vologases IV ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191. He was the son of Mithridates V (). Vologases spent the early years of his reign re-asserting Parthian control over the Kingdom of Char ...

staged a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' and succeeded Vologases III in 147, marking the establishment of a new branch of the Arsacid dynasty on the Parthian throne. Meredates, member of the overthrown Arsacid branch, and in possession of vast amount of resources, posed a great danger to Vologases IV; in 150/51AD, Vologases IV invaded Characene and defeated Meredates, and appointed Orabazes II, most likely a relative of his, as the new king of the region. Vologases IV's forces seized a statue of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

, the patron god of the Characenian royalty. The statue was taken to the temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

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 ...

, where it was displayed as a demonstration of Vologases IV's victory. A bilingual inscription (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

) was carved on the statue, which recounts Vologases IV's conquest of Characene:

References

Sources

* * * * * {{s-end Kings of Characene 2nd-century monarchs in the Middle East 2nd-century Iranian people Zoroastrian rulers Vassal rulers of the Parthian Empire Arsacid dynasty of Characene de:Meredates