Darius II of Media Atropatene

Darius II of Media Atropatene, also known as Darius[1] (flourished second half of 1st century BC & first half of 1st century AD) was a Prince from the Kingdom of Media Atropatene whom through marriage was a relation of the Arsacid Kings of Parthia.[2][3]

Background

Darius II was a man of Median, Armenian and Greek descent. He was the second son and among the children born to Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene and his wife, Athenais.[4][5] He was born and raised in Media Atropatene. He could be the potential namesake of Darius I, a previous ruling King of Media Atropatene and the probable uncle of Artavasdes I.[6] Darius II is also the namesake of the Persian and Pontian monarchs named Darius, as he is a direct descendant of the extended family of the Persian King Darius I.[7]

Marriage

Darius II from c. 15 BC to 10 BC[8] married an unnamed Arsacid Parthian Princess,[9][10] who was a relation to the King Vonones I of Parthia. Darius II is the third Seleucid descendant and the only known male descendant of Seleucus I Nicator to have married into the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia.

Little is known on Darius II’s marriage to the unnamed Parthian Princess. Darius II and his wife had two sons: the Parthian Kings Artabanus III and Vonones II.[11][12] Darius II and his wife, through their sons would have further descendants.

References

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.