Darayan II (also called Darius II;

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

: 𐡃𐡀𐡓𐡉𐡅 ''d’ryw'') was

king of Persis The Kings of Persis, also known as the Darayanids, were a series of Iranian kings, who ruled the region of Persis in southwestern Iran, from the 2nd century BCE to 224 CE. They ruled as vassal kings of the Parthian Empire, until they toppled the ...

in the 1st century BC, a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

. He was succeeded by his son Ardakhshir II. In the silver

drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...

s of Darayan II, on the obverse, the king is wearing a

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

with a crescent and star symbol, earflap, and decorated with precious stones. On the reverse, the king is facing a fire altar & holding a scepter, with an inscription in Aramaic ''d’ryw mlk' brh wtprdt mlk’'' ("Darius the King, son of Wadfradad the King").

References

Sources

* . * * * * Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 1st-century BC monarchs in Asia 1st-century BC Iranian people Zoroastrian monarchs Kings of Persis {{iran-royal-stub