Phraat II

Initial Reign

Phraat II took the throne around 138/137 BC. e., after the death of his father Mithridates I. ^[1] He was probably very young, and his mother, whose name was Ri [in] -nu (according to one Babylonian document), became regent. His father Mithridates I founded Parthia as a world power; the task facing Phraate II was to maintain this position and stand against the Seleucids .

According to cuneiform documents, for the next seven years, Babylonia remained in the hands of the Parthians. They also controlled Susa . Seleucid king Tsar Demetrius II Nikator was still captured by the Parthians. Fraat, like his father, kindly treated the prisoner, especially since he was married to his sister Rodogun. Perhaps the Parthian king hoped to indirectly control Syria if Demetrius, supported by Parthian weapons and money, successfully attacked the heart of the Seleucid power. But Demetrius was not so easily persuaded; moreover, with the help of a friend, he tried to escape from captivity. Due to the fact that the Parthians were fast riders and knew the area better, they managed to catch the fugitives and bring them to Fraat. He pardoned and rewarded the friend Demetrius for his loyalty to his king, but Demetrius himself severely censured him and returned him to Hyrcania to his wife. Only after he became the father of several children, his supervision was weakened. However, parental concerns could not restrain the ardor of Demetrius, and he escaped with the help of the same friend, but was caught almost at the very borders of his kingdom. He was again assigned to Fraat, who refused to meet with him, but returned it to his children and wife. In order to cheer, and at the same time, to shame Demetrius, the Parthian king presented him with a pair of golden dice, like a reproach in childish frivolity. ^[2]

During the reign of Fraat II, the cessation of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom fell and the Parthians moved their capital further west to Ecbatana . But as if paying tribute to Nisa, the burial place of his ancestors, Fraat II ordered the minting of coins mentioning this city.

The Offensive of Antiochus VII

Meanwhile, the Seleucid king Antiochus VII Witnesses , having eliminated his rival Tryphon in the struggle for the Syrian throne and defeated the Jews, prepared to capture his brother Demetrius and thus eliminate him as a potential threat to his power. In 130 BC e. he went camping with a huge army, the size of which made a strong impression on later historians. The Parthian army, whose power was also greatly exaggerated, was to receive reinforcements in the person of Saka mercenaries, who were hired by Fraat, but managed to arrive only after the end of hostilities. The units of Antiochus were perfectly equipped, they were supported by the Jewish contingent of John Hyrcanus . They were also joined by several rulers who were formerly Parthian tributaries. Antiochus won three battles. In one of them, on the river Lik ( Big Zab ), he defeated the Parthian commander Idat and built a trophy in honor of his victory. Another Parthian military leader, Eny, died at the hands of the inhabitants of Seleucia. Thanks to these successes, Antiochus claimed the title of Great. When other citizens of the Parthians saw Antiochus as the owner of Babylonia, they considered that the Parthian empire was dying, and joined the Seleucid monarch. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

The defeat of the Seleucid army

As winter approached, Antioch stationed his troops in Media, instead of returning to Syria, as Fraat had hoped. Given the large number of troops, Antiochus decided to disperse them in several cities, where they became a heavy burden for the population, only part of which was friendly to them. Since Fraat was defeated three times in battles, when the campaign resumed with the beginning of spring, he resorted to tricks. The messengers went to Antiochus to ask for peace, and the Seleucid ruler named three conditions: Demetrios should be freed, all territory outside of Parthia itself should be transferred to him, and the Parthian king was obliged to pay tribute. Fraat categorically refused. At this critical moment, he played his trump card, sending Demetrius back to Syria at the head of the Parthian detachment in the hope that the struggle for the throne would force Antiochus to return home. However, help came from the population of the territories captured by Antiochus. Driven to despair by months-long violence by rude Seleucid mercenaries and provisions for troops, these cities became pro-Parfan-minded. The Seleucid soldiers were undoubtedly weakened by prolonged inaction and, dispersed in different places, lost their numerical superiority over the Parthians. Encouraged by agents of Fraat, residents of various cities at the same time rebelled and attacked most of the troops stationed in their areas. Antiochus, who apparently spent the winter in Ekbatan , hastened to help the nearest contingent, but it turned out that Fraat had foreseen this. The generals of Antiochus insisted not to engage in battle with the superior forces of the enemy, who only had to move to the neighboring hills in order to avoid the persecution of the Seleucid cavalry. Spring was in full swing, it was quite difficult to move around. However, the arrogant Antiochus could not retreat before the enemy, whom he defeated three times, and the Parthian attack put him in a very difficult position. The Parthians easily took to flight the Seleucid troops, who were in a deplorable state, and Antiochus died, abandoned by his people. He was probably killed in battle or perhaps committed suicide. As a result of such a crushing victory of the Parthians, the young son of Antioch Seleucus and his niece, daughter Demetrius, were captured. The commander of the Syrian troops Athenaeus fled one of the first. The number of those killed was expressed in an absurdly huge figure - 300,000 people. The body of Antiochus was treated with all the honors that the monarch deserved, and Fraat sent him to Syria in a silver coffin ^[6] . The daughter of Demetrius seemed to the king of Parthia so attractive that he took her to his harem, and Seleucus was treated with respect for his royal rank. Thus, the last serious attempt of the Seleucid monarch to recover the lost eastern provinces ended in complete failure. The incapable kings and internal strife facilitated further Parthian advancement. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]}

Now that the victory was in the hands of Fraat, he regretted the liberation of Demetrius and ordered the cavalry detachment to seize him again. However, being free, Demetrius immediately went to his country, and the Parthians sent for him returned empty-handed. ^[13]

Fraath's Last Campaign

Encouraged by the victory over Antiochus, Fraat decided to invade Syria and entered Babylonia, but was forced to abandon his plan due to the Saka invasion in the east. Before leaving Mesopotamia in order to repel the aggressors, he appointed his favorite Gimer from Hyrcania there. ^[14]

The Saka mercenaries hired for the war against Antiochus were probably the vanguard of this eastern horde, which Fraat tried to calm for a while with the help of cash subsidies. If the absence of sources mentioning the presence of Fraat in Babylonia in order to personally meet the attack of Antiochus means that he acted in a different place, then we have additional evidence that the Sakas invasion began before 130 BC. e. You should not take too literally the story of the arrival of the mercenaries after the end of hostilities, because of which they were refused payment. They say that they demanded compensation either for the caused chores, or for using them against some other enemy. When they were refused, they began to plunder Parthian territories.

The army, which Fraat led east against the Saks, included Greek troops, which consisted of prisoners captured during the war with Antiochus. Parthians are said to have been very cruel to these Greeks. Perhaps Fraat was counting on the fact that, faced with an unknown enemy away from their homeland, they would fight for their lives. But during the battle that ultimately occurred between the Parthians and Saks, the Greeks saw that the enemy was defeating their enslavers, and immediately switched to his side. So the course of events was not in favor of the Parthians, and in the ensuing massacre Fraat died. This event, apparently, occurred around 128/127 BC. e.

• Phraates ii

• Dibvoiz N.K. Political history of Parthia / Per. from English, scientific ed. and bibliographic Appendix V.P. Nikonov. - SPb. : Faculty of Philology, St. Petersburg State University, 2008. - 816 p. - (Historical Library). - ISBN 978-5-8465-0638-1 . [one]
• Fraat // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.