King Tigranes II the Great of Armenia (r.c.95-c.55) and his ally Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus had been humiliated by the Romans and his son and successor Artavasdes II understood to which state he would ally himself. Shortly after the beginning of his reign, he could prove his use to the new superpower, when the Roman general Crassus (one of the members of the First Triumvirate) decided to attack Parthia. Artavasdes promised auxiliaries.
Unfortunately, Crassus did not listen to Artavasdes' advice to advance through mountaineous Armenia, where he would be protected against Parthian cavalry attacks; instead, the Roman, having crossed the Euphrates, proceeded to Edessa, found himself under attack on the plain near Carrhae, and was defeated by the Parthian commander Surena in the marshes of the river Balikh (53 BCE).
At the same time, the Parthian king, Orodes II, attacked Armenia itself and forced Artavasdes to switch sides. So, he allied himself to Parthia; his sister married to Pacorus, the Parthian crown prince. This new alliance was very dangerous for the Roman Republic and the Roman governor of Cilicia, Cicero, was afraid of an invasion. It did not happen.
We hear of Artavasdes again after the Second Triumvirate had been formed. In 36 BCE, Mark Antony invaded Parthia, achieved some success, but lost many soldiers on his way back to the west. Artavasdes accepted many Roman soldiers but maintained his neutrality. Still, he was considered responsible for Antony's lack of success, and in 34 BCE, the Romans invaded Armenia. Artavasdes was taken captive, a son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Alexander Helios, was appointed as king of Armenia, and Artavasdes was executed after the battle of Actium (31 BCE).
Because Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in the same winter, Artavasdes was not succeeded by Alexander Helios but by Artaxias II. 1
--------------------------------
In c.54, Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the Roman triumvirs, who had become proconsul of Syria, had been preparing to invade the Parthian realm. Artavasdes II, who was an ally of Rome, advised Crassus to take a route through Armenia to avoid the desert and offered him reinforcements of a further 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. His reasoning was that the Parthian cavalry would be less potent in the Armenian highlands. Crassus refused the offer and decided to take the direct route through Mesopotamia.
As Crassus' army marched to Carrhae (modern Harran, southeastern Turkey), the Parthian king Orodes II (r. 57–37 BC) invaded Armenia, cutting off support from Artavasdes II. Orodes II persuaded Artavasdes II to a marriage alliance between the crown prince Pacorus I (d. 38 BC) and Artavasdes II's sister. Crassus was shortly defeated and killed by the forces led by Orodes II's general Surena. While Orodes II and Artavasdes II were observing a play of The Bacchae of Euripides (c. 480–406 BC) at the Armenian court in honor of the wedding of Pacorus and Artavasdes II's sister, the Parthian commander Silaces announced the news of the victory at Carrhae, and put the head of Crassus at Orodes II's feet. The head was given to the producer of the play, who decided to use Crassus' actual severed head in place of the stage-prop head of Pentheus. The death of Pacorus I in 38 BC and succession of Orodes II's other son Phraates IV (r. 37–2 BC) damaged the relations between Parthia and Armenia.
In 36 BC the Roman General Mark Antony started his Parthian campaign. He allied himself with several kings of the region, including Artavasdes, who again switched sides. According to Plutarch, of the allied kings Artavasedes was "the greatest of them all... who furnished six thousand horse and seven thousand foot" to Antony. Artavasdes II also persuaded Antony to attack his enemy Artavasedes of Atropatene. Nevertheless, once Antony left Armenia to invade Atropatene, Artavasdes II "despairing of the Roman cause" abandoned Antony. Although Artavasdes II gave refuge and supplied the defeated Romans, in 34 BC Antony planned a new invasion of Armenia to take revenge for the betrayal. First he sent his friend Quintus Dellius, who offered a betrothal of Antony's six-year-old son Alexander Helios to a daughter of Artavasdes II, but the Armenian king hesitated. Now the triumvir marched into Roman western Armenia. He summoned Artavasdes II to Nicopolis, allegedly to prepare a new war against Parthia. Artavasdes II didn't come, so the Roman general quickly marched to the Armenian capital Artaxata. He arrested the king, hoping with his hostage's assistance to obtain great treasures in the Armenian castles. His son Artaxias II was elected as successor. After a lost battle Artaxias II fled to the Parthian king. Finally Antony took Artavasdes II to Alexandria.
The Armenian king and his family, who were bound with golden chains, had to follow Antony in his triumphal procession. Cleopatra VII of Egypt awaited the triumvir on a golden throne, but Artavasdes II refused to render homage to the Egyptian Queen by Proskynesis.
In 31 BC, after Antony's defeat at the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra had Artavasdes decapitated. He had been an enemy of his namesake, King Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, an ally of Antony and Cleopatra. She sent his head to Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene to secure his help.
Plutarch described Artavasdes II as a well-educated man, who had a great fondness for all things Greek and was an accomplished scholar who composed Greek tragedies and histories. From a wife whose name is unknown, he was survived by two sons: Artaxias II, Tigranes III, and a daughter who possibly married King Archelaus of Cappadocia. 2
Latin: Artavasdes