Contents

Vonones II

1st century king of Media Atropatene

Vonones II
King of Kings
Coin of Vonones II
King of Media Atropatene
Reign	11 – 51
Predecessor	Artabanus II
Successor	Pacorus
King of the Parthian Empire
Reign	51
Predecessor	Gotarzes II
Successor	Vologases I
Died	51 AD
Spouse	“Greek concubine” (paelex Graeca), mother of king Vologeses I[1]
Issue	Vologases I Pacorus Tiridates I of Armenia
Dynasty	Arsacid dynasty
Father	unnamed Dahae prince
Mother	unnamed daughter of Phraates IV
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Vonones II (died 51 AD) was a Parthian prince who ruled as king of Media Atropatene and briefly as king of the Parthian Empire.

Vonones was not from the ruling branch of the Arsacid royal family. His father was a Dahae prince, who was most likely descended from the former Arsacid monarch Mithridates II (r. 124–88 BC),^[2][3] whilst his mother was a daughter of the Arsacid King of Kings Phraates IV (r. 37–2 BC).^[3] Vonones II's brother was the Parthian King Artabanus II.^[2]

From about 11 AD until 51 AD, Vonones II ruled as king of Media Atropatene,^[4][5] a period about which little is known.

After the death of his nephew Gotarzes II, Vonones II became king of the Parthian Empire in 51 AD. However, he died a few months into his reign and was succeeded by his son, Vologases I. Tacitus wrote that Vonones II “knew neither success nor failure which have deserved to be remembered to him. It was a short and inglorious reign”.^[4]

Vonones II had 3 sons who, respectively, held the thrones of Parthia, Media Atropatene and Armenia: Pacorus,^[6] Vologases I,^[4] and Tiridates I.^[7]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, xx, 3, 4.
• Tacitus, Annals
• Meyer, Eduard (1911). "Vonones s.v. Vonones II." . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 211.
• M. Bunson, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1995
• W. Woodthorpe Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, Cambridge University Press, 2010
• Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2014). "The Genealogy of Artabanos II (AD 8/9–39/40), King of Parthia". Miscellanea Anthropologica et Sociologica. 15 (3): 92–97. doi:10.5604/20842937.1134333 (inactive 2024-05-08).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2024 (link)
• Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2016). "Dynastic Connections in the Arsacid Empire and the Origins of the House of Sāsān". In Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Pendleton, Elizabeth J.; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj (eds.). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781785702082.
• Schippmann, K. (1987). "Azerbaijan iii. Pre-Islamic History". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2. pp. 221–224.