Pharasmanes II the Valiant or the Brave ( ka, ფარსმან II ქველი) was a king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role ...

) from the

Pharnavazid dynasty The Pharnavazid ( ka, ფარნავაზიანი, tr) is the name of the first dynasty of Georgian kings of Kartli (Iberia) preserved by ''The Georgian Chronicles''. Their rule lasted, with intermissions, from the 3rd century BC to the ...

, contemporary of the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

(r. 117–138). Professor

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

suggests AD 116–132 as the years of Pharasmanes’ reign. He features in several Classical accounts.

Life

The medieval Georgian annals report Pharasmanes' joint rule with Pharasmanes Avaz, diarchs (one source has the extra pair: Rok and Mihrdat), but several modern scholars consider the Iberian diarchy unlikely as it is not corroborated by the contemporary evidence. Pharasmanes is reported to have been the son of his predecessor, King Amazasp I. He is said to have married Ghadana, daughter of King

Vologases III of Parthia Vologases III ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of Pacorus II (). Vologases III's reign was marked by civil strife and warfare. At his ascension, he had to deal wi ...

who ruled in

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 ...

. According to the medieval ''Life of Kings'', the traditional friendship of the two dyarchs soured at the instigation of the

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

wife of Mihrdat. Toumanoff regards this information a back-projection of the historically recorded enmity of

Pharasmanes I of Iberia Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი) (died 58) was a king of Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus’ account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire under Tiberius, Cali ...

and his brother

Mithridates of Armenia Mithridates of Armenia ( ka, მითრიდატე; hy, Միհրդատ Իբերացի, fl. 1st century) was a Pharnavazid prince of the Kingdom of Iberia who served as a King of Armenia under the protection of the Roman Empire. Mithridat ...

.Toumanoff, Cyril. Chronology of the Early Kings of Iberia. ''Traditio'' 25 (1969), p. 17. The chronicle then continues a story of an Armenian-

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 ...

alliance and their invasion of the

-backed Iberia in which Pharasmanes finds his death. Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', pp. 289-290. Peeters Publishers, .

Reign

The ''

Georgian royal annals ''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Kar ...

'' describe Pharasmanes in the following way: The contemporary Classical authors, with more solid historical background, focus on Pharasmanes’ uneasy relations with Rome. He refused in 129 to come and pay homage to the emperor

. According to the Aelius Spartianus, one of the authors of

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

: Pharasmanes then went touring the East, and prompted the

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...

to attack the neighboring Roman provinces by giving them a passage through his realm, even though the emperor had sent him greater gifts including a

war elephant A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant ...

, than to any other king of the East. In his pique, Hadrian dressed some 300 criminals in the gold-embroidered cloaks which were part of the return gift of Pharasmanes, and sent them into the arena. According to Spartianus: King Pharasmanes on Fasti Ostienses

Eventually, the ancient sources report a highly honored visit paid by Pharasmanes to Hadrian's successor

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...

. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, he came to Rome as guest of

, together with his wife, son, and noble retinue where he was especially honored, being allowed to sacrifice in the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

and to have his equestrian statue in the temple of Bellona, and also the emperor increased the territory of his kingdom. This Pharasmanes, however, might have been Pharasmanes III, Pharasmanes II's possible grandson. This visit was recorded on a fragment of the

Fasti Ostienses The ''Fasti Ostienses'' are a calendar of Roman magistrates and significant events from 49 BC to AD 175, found at Ostia, the principal seaport of Rome. Together with similar inscriptions, such as the ''Fasti Capitolini'' and ''Fasti Triumphal ...

.Vidman, Ladislav (1982) ''Fasti Ostienses: edendos, illustrandos, restituendos, curavit Ladislavs Vidman''. p.124 According to the ''

'' King Pharasmanes was poisoned by the

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

sent by the

Parthians 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharasmanes 02 Of Iberia Pharnavazid kings of Iberia 2nd-century monarchs in Asia Deaths by poisoning Assassinated royalty Assassinated heads of state Deaths from food poisoning