Arsacids (Parthians)
Arsaces II
ارشک دوم
- Reign
- c. 217–191 BCE
- Dynasty
- Arsacids (Parthians)
- Persian page
- فارسی
Featured dossier
Arsaces II: defeat by Antiochus III, and the treaty that saved Parthia
Son and successor of Arsaces I. Around 209 BCE the Seleucid Antiochus III came east with a large army, took Hecatompylus, beat the Parthians on Mount Labus and besieged Syrinx in Hyrcania. Arsaces did not give in but made a treaty that accepted nominal Seleucid overlordship and in practice kept his kingdom. Most of what we know comes from Polybius and Justin.
- years of reign (traditional)
- 26
- Antiochus’ infantry, per Justin
- 100,000
Map: the campaign of Antiochus III
Administration & economyc. 217 BCE1 of 5
Arsaces’ son on the throne
Arsaces I’s son, also called Arsaces, succeeded (Justin 41.5.7). No other personal name survives for him.
Certainty: Probable
Sources: Justin, tr. J. S. Watson, 1853 · K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1986, updated 2016
BattleCampaignBuildingAdministration & economyReligionArrow keys, Home/End and Space work.
Three separate layers
Each section has three layers: “Historical evidence” is only what the sources say; “Philosophical interpretation” is our reading by the standard of property and liberty; “Modern cultural meaning”. Quotations come only from published translations, with references.
Historical evidencePhilosophical interpretationModern cultural meaning
Dossier · 1
Defeat without surrender
Polybius, writing close to the events, traces Antiochus’ march from Hecatompylus to Mount Labus and Syrinx step by step. Antiochus then went on to fight Bactria and returned west victorious but without annexing either.
His son and successor on the throne, whose name was also Arsaces, fought with the greatest bravery against Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, who was at the head of a hundred thousand foot and twenty thousand horse, and was at last taken into alliance with him.
A kingdom that loses ground in war but keeps its organisation rises again; Parthia did.
A treaty, even an unequal one, is cheaper than endless war; what survived was the ability of Parthia’s people to go on living and working on their own land.
Sources: Polybius, tr. W. R. Paton · Justin, tr. J. S. Watson · K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica
Synthesis
Arsaces II is a king who was defeated and survived. The treaty with Antiochus III saved Parthia from destruction, and the Seleucids, soon drawn into war with Rome (192–188), could no longer attend to the east.
Bibliography
- Justin, tr. J. S. Watson, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, books 38–42 (books 40–44 online) (1853). https://www.attalus.org/translate/justin7.htmlA Roman digest of the lost history of Pompeius Trogus (1st century BCE); the most continuous account of the early Parthians, but Roman in outlook and full of “Scythian” clichés.
- Polybius, tr. W. R. Paton, Histories 10.27–31 (Antiochus III in the east) (1923).
- K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Arsacids ii. The Arsacid dynasty (1986, updated 2016). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arsacids-ii/
- I. M. Diakonoff, V. A. Livshits, Parthian Economic Documents from Nisa (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum II/II) (1976–2001). Thousands of administrative ostraca from the wine stores of Nisa; the only native Parthian documents of the period.
- A. D. H. Bivar, The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids, Cambridge History of Iran 3/1, pp. 21–99 (1983).
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; licence and author were checked on each file page.
Arsaces I, his fatherPhriapatius, his successorThe Arsacid dynasty