Priapatius (also spelled Phriapatius or Phriapites; ), was the

Arsacid 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 ...

king of

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 ...

from 191 BC to 176 BC. He was the first-cousin-once-removed and successor of

Arsaces II Arsaces II (; from ; in ''Aršak'', ''Ašk''), was the Arsacid king of Parthia from 217 BC to 191 BC. Name ' is the Latin form of the Greek ''Arsákēs'' (), itself from Parthian ''Aršak'' (). The Old Persian equivalent is ''Aršaka-'' (). ...

(). Like many Arsacid monarchs, his reign is sparsely known. His coinage indicates that he managed to rid himself of the influence of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

. He was succeeded by his son

Phraates I Phraates I () was king of the Arsacid dynasty from 170/168 BC to 165/64 BC. He subdued the Mardians, conquered their territory in the Alborz mountains, and reclaimed Hyrcania from the Seleucid Empire. He died in 165/64 BC, and was succeeded by ...

Background

According to the modern historian

Mehrdad Kia Mehrdad Kia (Persian: مهرداد کیا) is a Professor of History and Director of the Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center at the University of Montana. He focusses on the history of the Middle East and Central Asia. Kia also holds interes ...

, Priapatius was most likely the son of his predecessor,

(), who was in turn the son of

Arsaces I Arsaces I (; from ; in ) was the first king of Parthia, ruling from 247 BC to 217 BC, as well as the founder and eponym of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. The leader of the Parni, one of the three tribes of the Dahae confederacy, Arsaces founded ...

(), the founder of the dynasty. However, this is unlikely, as newly found contemporary Parthian

ostracon An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...

s call him a son of the nephew of Arsaces I. Efforts have been made by scholars to reconstruct the early genealogy of the Arsacids, which calls Priapatius the grandson of Tiridates, the brother of Arsaces. However, numismatic data and recent analysis of sources have led to the conclusion that the character of Tiridates is fictional.

Reign

Regardless of his precise ancestry, Priapatius succeeded Arsaces II in 191 BC. Like many Arsacid rulers, not much is known about Priapatius. His coinage in terms of style followed the same model as that of his predecessors. The obverse shows a beardless portrait of him wearing a soft cap (''

kyrbasia The ''kyrbasia'' (Old Persian: ''*kurpāsa'') was a type of headgear worn by the satraps of the Achaemenid Empire. It was later adopted by several post-Achaemenid dynasties, including the early Arsacids of Parthia, the early Ariarathids of Cappa ...

''), whilst the reverse shows him carrying a bow. However, changes to the titulary were made on the coinage: the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

title of (

Basileus ''Basileus'' () is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs throughout history. In the English language, English-speaking world, it is perhaps most widely understood to mean , referring to either a or an . The title ...

) was for the first time added and made regular on his coinage, and the title (Great) was also added. The adoption of these titles were most likely associated with the Arsacid reconquest of the lands lost to the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

king

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

(), who had in 210 BC made a large-scale expedition in the east, including

Hyrcania Hyrcania (; ''Hyrkanía'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian Sea ...

. There, he possibly compelled Arsaces II to abandon his right to mint coins freely. Afterwards, however, the fragility of the Seleucid Empire gave Arsaces II and later Priapatius the opportunity to resume having their coins minted freely. Like the rest of the Arsacid kings, Priapatius used the title of ''Arsaces'' on his coinage, which was the name of the first Arsacid ruler

(), which had become a royal honorific among the Arsacid monarchs out of admiration for his achievements. Priapatius was the father of three Arsacid kings,

(), who was his oldest son and successor, Mithridates I (), and Artabanus I ().

References

Sources

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Background

Reign

References

Sources

Further reading