Arsacids (Parthians)
Gotarzes I
گودرز یکم
Epithets and titles
- Satrap of satrapsofficial titlethe damaged Bisotun relief as read by Herzfeld; whether this Gotarzes is the king is disputedSource: K. Schippmann, “Arsacids ii”, Encyclopaedia Iranica (1986)
- Reign
- c. 91–80 BCE (Assar: 91–87)
- Dynasty
- Arsacids (Parthians)
- Persian page
- فارسی
Featured dossier
Gotarzes I: “satrap of satraps” and the start of the dark age
In the last years of Mithridates II a man named Gotarzes was recognised as king in Babylonia in his own name. He may have been Mithridates’ rival, or his successor. After him Parthia spent decades in internal struggle, and Armenia took back the “seventy valleys”. This page is short because the evidence is thin; every date carries a certainty mark.
- valleys retaken by Armenia
- 70
- death of Mithridates II (BCE, Iranica)
- 88/87
Map: Babylonia, Bisotun and Armenia
Administration & economyc. 91 BCE1 of 5
A king named Gotarzes in Babylonia
Babylonian tablets from about 91 BCE name a king “Arsaces who is called Gotarzes”. Iranica says reports that Mithridates II had to contend with a rival called Gotarzes cannot be dismissed.
Certainty: DisputedRival or successor? Assar dates his reign 91–87; the traditional dating (listed on this site) runs to 80 BCE.
Sources: A. J. Sachs, H. Hunger, 1996 · K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1986, updated 2016 · G. F. Assar, 2006
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
Why this age is “dark”
Iranica says that “a series of monarchs ruled in the Parthian empire, such as Gotarzes, Orodes I, Sinatruces, and Phraates III, of whom little more than names is known.” Justin, our continuous source for early Parthia, is almost silent here. What we have is a few Babylonian tablets, scattered Greek and Roman notices, and coins that all bear the name “Arsaces”.
Iranica traces the disorder to the great noble families, who from Mithridates II’s time on were “in a position to oppose the monarch frequently”. The king was no longer the only holder of power.
When power is shared among several families, the centre is weaker but despotism is also more limited. The question is whether that balance becomes law, or only succession wars.
Sources: K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica · Justin, tr. J. S. Watson · D. Sellwood
Synthesis
Gotarzes I is the gateway to the darkest stretch of Parthian history. We are sure he was king in Babylonia in his own name; his relationship to Mithridates II, his end and even the numbering of the kings after him are disputed.
Bibliography
- A. J. Sachs, H. Hunger, Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, vol. III (164–61 BC) (1996). Contemporary notebooks of Babylonian astronomers that also logged political events; the firmest calendar for the period.
- K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Arsacids ii. The Arsacid dynasty (1986, updated 2016). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arsacids-ii/
- G. F. Assar, A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 165–91 BC, Electrum 11, pp. 87–158 (2006). A new dating from coins and Babylonian tablets; e.g. it puts Mithridates I at 165–132 BCE.
- Flavius Josephus, tr. W. Whiston, Antiquities of the Jews 13.14.3 (13.384–386); 18.2.4 (18.39–52) (1737). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2848
- M. R. Shayegan, Arsacids and Sasanians: Political Ideology in Post-Hellenistic and Late Antique Persia (2011).
- Strabo, tr. H. C. Hamilton & W. Falconer, Geography, book 11 (9.2–3, 14.15) (1854–1857). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44885
- D. Sellwood, An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, 2nd ed. (1980). The standard numbering of Parthian coins (“S”); some of its attributions have since been revised.
- 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.
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