Phraates III (also spelled Frahad III; Parthian: ššššFrahÄt), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 69BC to 57BC. He was the son and successor of Sinatruces (r.ā75ā69BC).
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At PhraatesIII's accession, his empire could no longer be considered the supreme power in the Near East, because of the ascendancy of Armenia under Tigranes the Great (r.ā95ā55BC) and Pontus under his ally Mithridates VI Eupator (r.ā120ā63BC). PhraatesIII's reign was thus marked by his efforts to restore his empire to its former position. To the west of his empire, war had engulfed the area. Tigranes and MithridatesVI urged him to join their war against the Roman Republic, while the Romans tried in turn to convince PhraatesIII to join them. PhraatesIII seemingly made promises to both parties but remained passive. He awaited the outcome of the war to take advantage of it at the right moment for the Parthians.
In 65BC, PhraatesIII and his new son-in-law Tigranes the Younger (who was Tigranes the Elder's son) led an expedition into Armenia. Initially successful, their efforts were halted by a long siege at Artaxata. This led PhraatesIII to put Tigranes the Younger in charge of the Armenian expedition, reinforcing him with some Parthian soldiers. Tigranes the Younger, however, was ultimately defeated by his father, leading him to desert Phraates III and join the Roman commander Pompey instead. Tigranes the Elder soon submitted to the Romans who kept him as king. They appointed Tigranes the Younger the ruler of Sophene. However, he quickly fell out with Pompey and was sent as a prisoner to Rome. This was contested by PhraatesIII but to no avail.
Around the same timeāin late 65BCāPhraatesIII reconquered Adiabene, Gordyene and northern Mesopotamia from Tigranes. However, a Roman attack under the generals Aulus Gabinius and Lucius Afranius as far as the Tigris resulted in PhraatesIII losing Gordyene, which was restored to Tigranes by the Romans. At the start of 64BC, while Pompey was focusing on his expedition against MithridatesVI, PhraatesIII invaded Armenia, and ultimately reached an accord with Pompey and Tigranes; Mesopotamia and Adiabene were confirmed as Parthian territory, while Gordyene was confirmed as Armenian. Furthermore, a peace treaty was concluded between PhraatesIII and Tigranes.
In c.ā57 BC PhraatesIII was murdered by his two sons, Orodes II and Mithridates IV, with the latter ascending the throne. A civil war between the two brothers soon erupted and OrodesII emerged victorious.
Name
PhraĆ”tÄs (Ī¦ĻĪ±Ī¬ĻĪ·Ļ) is the Greek form of the ParthianFrahÄt (šššš), itself from the Old Iranian*FrahÄta- ("gained, earned").[1] The Modern Persian version is FarhÄd (ŁŲ±ŁŲ§ŲÆ).[2]
Background
PhraatesIII was a son of Sinatruces (r.ā75ā69BC),[3] who was presumably a son of the Parthian ruler Mithridates I (r.ā171ā132BC).[4] The name of the Arsacid branch established by Sinatruces on the Parthian throne has been coined by the modern historian Marek Jan Olbrycht as the "Sinatrucids", which ruled the Parthian Empire from 78/77BC to 12AD.[5] After the death of Mithridates II (r.ā124ā91BC) the Parthian Empire fell into a state of turmoil and decline; the authority of the crown had declined, while the empire lost lands to its neighbours.[6] The Artaxiad king of Armenia, Tigranes the Great (r.ā95ā55BC), took advantage of the Parthians' weakness and retook the "seventy valleys" he had previously ceded to MithridatesII. He also went on to conquer the Parthian colonies of Media Atropatene, Gordyene, Adiabene, Osroene, and northern Mesopotamia.[7] Tigranes had also fought campaigns in other kingdoms, adding Syria, Cilicia and Coele-Syria to his vast kingdom.[8]
Reign
When PhraatesIII came to the throne in 69BC, he inherited an empire that could no longer be considered the supreme power in the Near East, because of the ascendancy of Armenia under Tigranes and Pontus under the latter's ally Mithridates VI Eupator (r.ā120ā63BC).[8] However, this began to change; in the same year, the Roman commander Lucullus pushed Tigranes out of Syria and Cilicia, forcing him to retreat to Armenia, where MithridatesVI took refuge with him.[9] Lucullus then marched towards Armenia, where he was likewise successful, forcing Tigranes and MithridatesVI to withdraw to the northern part of the country. From there they implored PhraatesIII to aid them in exchange for the lost Parthian lands of Gordyene, Adiabene, and northern Mesopotamia.[10]
This was not the first time the two allies had attempted to persuade the Parthians into an alliance against the Romans. A few years earlier (72BC), MithridatesVI had asked PhraatesIII's father Sinatruces to join him; he declined, preferring to remain neutral.[11] At the same time, PhraatesIII was in correspondence with Lucullus, who proposed an alliance between the two powers, seemingly with the guarantee that he would acknowledge Parthian demands against Tigranes.[12] Although Lucullus had been successful in his war against the two monarchs initially, their forces remained a threat to the Romans and still possessed the strength to repel him.[13] PhraatesIII seemingly made promises to both parties but remained passive to await the outcome of the war. He could then take advantage of it at the right moment for the Parthians.[14]
In 66BC, PhraatesIII entered into negotiations with Lucullus' successor Pompey, who possibly offered Roman acknowledgement of Parthian authority over Mesopotamia, Adiabene, and Gordyene in exchange for military aid.[13] Around the same time, Tigranes' namesake son and heir, Tigranes the Younger, fell out with his father and fled to the court of PhraatesIII. He agreed to help PhraatesIII take the Armenian throne in return for marrying his daughter.[15] This marriage, which took place in 66/65BC, gave PhraatesIII the opportunity to involve himself in the affairs of Armenia, including preventing Pompey from putting Parthian interests in jeopardy.[16] PhraatesIII, together with Tigranes the Younger, led an expedition into Armenia. Initially successful, their efforts were halted by a long siege at Artaxata, which led PhraatesIII to put Tigranes the Younger in charge of the Armenian expedition, reinforcing him with some Parthian soldiers.[17] Ultimately, Tigranes the Younger was defeated by his father, however, leading him to desert Phraates III and join Pompey instead.[18] Tigranes the Elder soon surrendered to Pompey, who chose to allow him to retain his crown.[19] Instead, Tigranes the Younger was made the ruler of Sophene with the assurance that he would ascend to the Armenian throne after his father's death.[20]
However, after a brief reign, Tigranes the Younger was imprisoned and deported to Rome. The reason behind this is disputed. According to Rahim M. Shayegan, it was because he remained an ally of PhraatesIII, with whom he still conspired with to overthrow Tigranes the Elder, whilst MichaÅ Marciak states it was due to his dispute with Pompey over Sophene's treasury.[21] In the spring of 65BC, PhraatesIII protested the arrest of his son-in-law but to no avail.[22] Around the same timeāin late 65BCāPhraates IIIreconquered Adiabene, Gordyene and northern Mesopotamia.[23] However, a Roman attack under the generals Aulus Gabinius and Lucius Afranius as far as the Tigris resulted in PhraatesIII losing Gordyene, which was restored to Tigranes by the Romans.[24]
PhraatesIII protested against the Romans for the second timeāagain to no avail. After the Roman forces pulled out of Mesopotamia in the winter of 65/4BC, and Pompey resumed his war against MithridatesVI, PhraatesIII took advantage of the situation and invaded Armenia at the start of 64BC.[25] PhraatesIII ultimately reached an accord with Pompey and Tigranes; Mesopotamia and Adiabene were confirmed as Parthian territory, while Gordyene was confirmed as Armenian.[26] Furthermore, a peace treaty was established between PhraatesIII and Tigranes.[27]
Coinage and Imperial ideology
PhraatesIII was the penultimate Parthian king to use the legend of "King, God" in his coinage (the first Parthian to use it being MithridatesI), an uncommon title amongst the Parthian monarchs. The last Parthian ruler to use the title was MithridatesIV.[28] Other titles used by PhraatesIII were Epiphanes, Theopator and Eupator. According to the modern historian Edward DÄ browa, these titles were seemingly used by the Parthians as a method to back their claims to the throne, "through their close relation to the divine ancestor, or by their own divine status."[29] PhraatesIII also used the titles of King of Kings and Great King.[30][lower-alpha 1] Like the rest of the Parthian kings, he used the title of Arsacesāthe name of the first Parthian ruler Arsaces I (r.ā247ā217 BC)āon his coinage. This had become a royal honorific among the Parthian monarchs out of their admiration for his achievements.[32]
On the obverse of his coins, PhraatesIII used two types of headgear; a tiara decorated with a line of stags,[33][lower-alpha 2] and a unique diadem inspired by the Hellenistic diadem.[35] After his death, the tiara does not appear on Parthian coinage for some time.[36] The coinage of PhraatesIII influenced the Parthian vassal kingdom of Persis; its king, Pakor I, adopted the same hairstyle used on the obverse of PhraatesIII's coins.[37]
On the reverse of PhraatesIII's tetradrachms, an altered version of the traditional seated archer-figure is depicted; instead of a sleeved coat, he is now wearing the same open-necked tunic worn by PhraatesIII on the obverse of his coins.[38] According to the modern historian Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, "The archer on the reverse is now clearly the same person as the king on the obverse."[39] A bird similar to the eagle of the Greek god Zeus has also been added on the hand of the seated figure.[39] In the Parthian era, Iranians used Hellenistic iconography to portray their divine figures,[40][41] thus the eagle can be associated with the AvestanVerethragna, the royal falcon.[42][43]
Death and succession
In c.ā57 BC, PhraatesIII was murdered by his two sons, Orodes II and Mithridates IV. OrodesII at first supported his elder brother MithridatesIV, but eventually decided to revolt.[44] With the support of the Suren clan, OrodesII defeated his brother and established himself as the sole ruler of the Parthian Empire in 55BC.[45]
Legacy
PhraatesIII was the first Parthian monarch who vigorously attempted to restore the Parthian realm to its former international position after the death of MithridatesII in 91BCāan attempt that would take up much of his reign.[46] He was partially successful in his efforts to regain lost land, such as northern Mesopotamia and Adiabene.[26] He was unsuccessful in his ambitions towards Armenia, which would be continued by his son OrodesII after the death of Tigranes and the succession of the latter's son Artavasdes II in 55BC.[47]
Family
Marriages
PhraatesIII's wives are all known from records on Babylonian tablets:[48]
However, the regular usage of the title of King of Kings began once again under Phraates IV (r.ā37ā2BC); the last Parthian monarch to use it regularly was Mithridates II (r.ā124ā91BC).[31]
PhraatesIII's father and predecessor, Sinatruces, also portrayed himself with the same tiara on his coinage.[34]
Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2016). "Dynastic Connections in the Arsacid Empire and the Origins of the House of SÄsÄn". In Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Pendleton, Elizabeth J.; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj (eds.). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Oxbow Books. ISBN9781785702082.