Barzapharnes was a Parthian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during the latter half of the 1st century BC. In 40 BC, Barzapharnes commanded a Parthian invasion of the Levant, commanded and aided by Pacorus, who allied himself with the Roman outlaw Quintus Labienus, and seized

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Barzapharnes campaign culminated in the capture of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and the replacement of Phasael and

Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos''; died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of J ...

by the pro-parthian Hasmonean prince, Antigonus ben Aristobulus. Within a short time entire Judea had been subjugated, with a few exceptions, including the heavily fortified Tyre. The Parthian force was driven out of Judea by

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

(with Roman support) in 37 BC, while Ventidius drove the Parthians out of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and

. Pacorus was killed in battle, but Barzapharnes' fate remains unknown.

References

Generals of the Parthian Empire People of Antony's Parthian War 1st-century BC Iranian people {{Parthian-bio-stub