Mithridates II was king of the Parthian Empire from 124 to 91 BC. Considered one of the greatest of his dynasty to ever rule, he was known as Mithridates the Great in antiquity.
Arsaces I 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 his dynasty in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the satrapy of Parthia from Andragoras, who had rebelled against the Seleucid Empire. He spent the rest of his reign consolidating his rule in the region, and successfully stopped the Seleucid efforts to reconquer Parthia. Due to Arsaces' achievements, he became a popular figure amongst the Arsacid monarchs, who used his name as a royal honorific. By the time of his death, Arsaces had laid the foundations of a strong state, which would eventually transform into an empire under his great-grandnephew, Mithridates I, who assumed the ancient Near Eastern royal title of King of Kings. Arsaces was succeeded by his son Arsaces II.
Mithridates I, also known as Mithridates I the Great, was king of the Parthian Empire from 165 BC to 132 BC. During his reign, Parthia was transformed from a small kingdom into a major political power in the Ancient East as a result of his conquests. He first conquered Aria, Margiana and western Bactria from the Greco-Bactrians sometime in 163–155 BC, and then waged war with the Seleucid Empire, conquering Media and Atropatene in 148/7 BC. In 141 BC, he conquered Babylonia and held an official investiture ceremony in Seleucia. The kingdoms of Elymais and Characene shortly afterwards became Parthian vassals. In c. 140 BC, while Mithridates was fighting the nomadic Saka in the east, the Seleucid king Demetrius II Nicator attempted to regain the lost territories; initially successful, he was defeated and captured in 138 BC, and shortly afterwards sent to one of Mithridates I's palaces in Hyrcania. Mithridates I then punished Elymais for aiding Demetrius, and made Persis a Parthian vassal.
Phraates II was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I.
Phraates V, also known by the diminutive version of his name, Phraataces, was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 2 BC to 4 AD. He was the younger son of Phraates IV and Musa, who ruled with him.
Artabanus I, incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus II, was king of the Parthian Empire, ruling briefly from c. 127 to 124/3 BC. His short reign ended abruptly when he died during a battle against the Yuezhi in the east. He was succeeded by his son Mithridates II.
Priapatius, was the Arsacid king of Parthia from 191 BC to 176 BC. He was the cousin and successor of Arsaces II. 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. He was succeeded by his son Phraates I.
Vologases III was king of the Parthian Empire from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of Pacorus II.
Osroes I was a Parthian contender, who ruled the western portion of the Parthian Empire from 109 to 129, with a one-year interruption. For most of his reign he contended with the rival king Vologases III who was based in the eastern provinces. In 116, Osroes I was briefly ousted from his throne at Ctesiphon during an invasion by Roman emperor Trajan, who installed Osroes' son, Parthamaspates. After Trajan's death the following year, Osroes I's rule was reinstated by the Parthian nobility. In 129, he was removed from power by Vologases III.
Elymais or Elamais was an autonomous state of the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD, frequently a vassal under Parthian control. It was located at the head of the Persian Gulf in Susiana. Most of the population probably descended from the ancient Elamites, who once had control of that area.
Characene, also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou, was an important port for trade between Mesopotamia and India, and also provided port facilities for the city of Susa further up the Karun River. The kingdom was frequently a vassal of the Parthian Empire. Characene was mainly populated by Arabs, who spoke Aramaic as their cultural language. All rulers of the principality had Iranian names. Members of the Arsacid dynasty also ruled the state.
Andragoras was an Iranian satrap of the Seleucid provinces of Parthia and Hyrcania under the Seleucid rulers Antiochus I Soter and Antiochus II Theos. He later revolted against his overlords, ruling independently from 245 BC till his death.
Kamnaskires III was the Kamnaskirid king of Elymais from 82/1 BC to 75 BC. Elymais had since 124 BC been under complete Parthian control. However, in 81/80 BC, coins of king Kamnaskires III and his wife Anzaze appears, which indicates that the kingdom had been restored. According to Babylonian sources, the incumbent Parthian monarch Orodes I launched an expedition into Elymais in 78 BC, where he defeated Kamnaskires III. Kamnaskires III was not deposed, however, and continued ruling the kingdom now as a Parthian vassal. Kamnaskires III's successor is unknown, however, it is known that Kamnaskires IV ruled Elymais from 62/1 BCE.
Hyspaosines was an Iranian prince, and the founder of Characene, a kingdom situated in southern Mesopotamia. He was originally a Seleucid satrap installed by king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but declared independence in 141 BC after the collapse and subsequent transfer of Seleucid authority in Iran and Babylonia to the Parthians. Hyspaosines briefly occupied the Parthian city of Babylon in 127 BC, where he is recorded in records as king (šarru). In 124 BC, however, he was forced to acknowledge Parthian suzerainty. He died in the same year, and was succeeded by his juvenile son Apodakos.
Sagdodonacus was an Iranian officer, who served as the governor of Characene from c. 184 BC to 164 BC under suzerainty of the Frataraka rulers of Persis. He was the father of Hyspaosines.
Orodes I of Elymais was the ruler of Elymais in the late 1st-century. Unlike the previous rulers of the kingdom, he belonged to a cadet branch of the Arsacid dynasty. His reign thus marks the start of a second line of rulers that replaced the original Kamnaskirid line. While the Kamnaskirid rulers only used Greek legends on their coins, the Arsacid rulers of Elymais used both Greek and Aramaic. Orodes I was succeeded by his son Orodes II, known as Kamnaskires-Orodes.
Kamnaskires IV was the Kamnaskirid king of Elymais from 62/1 BC to 56/5 BC.
Osroes of Elymais was the ruler of Elymais in the first quarter of the 2nd-century. He may have been the same person as the contemporary Parthian contender Osroes I.
Orodes II of Elymais, also known as Kamnaskires-Orodes, was the ruler of Elymais in the late 1st-century. He was the son and successor of Orodes I, and was himself succeeded by a certain Phraates.
