Abgar II was the Abgarid king of

Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene (; ) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Urfa, Şanlıurfa, Turkey), ...

from 68 to 53 BC. Plutarch describes Abgar as ''a chief of the Arabs''. His name as transcribed in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

is ', which means "one who has a large and prominent navel or stomach". In 64 BC, he sided with the Romans helping

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

's legate Lucius Afranius when the latter occupied northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. However, it was alleged that in 53 BC he helped to betray Marcus Crassus by leading him out onto an open plain resulting in the

Battle of Carrhae The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven Roman legion, legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus ...

against the Parthians, which led to the destruction an entire

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

. What is certain is that he gained no benefits from the battle since, shortly afterwards, he was deposed by Orodes II in a move which strengthened

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n control over the region.

References

Sources

* * * * 1st-century BC monarchs in the Middle East 1st-century BC Arab people Place of birth unknown Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Kings of Osroene Abgarid dynasty People of the Roman–Parthian Wars {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub