- Pharasmanes II of Iberia
Pharasmanes II (P’arsman; _ka. ფარსმანი) was a king of Iberia, or
Kartli (in modern Georgia), contemporary of theRoman emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138). ProfessorCyril Toumanoff suggests A.D. 116-132 as the years of Pharasmanes’ reign. He features in several Classical accounts and can be identified with P’arsman K’ueli, "the Valiant" or "the Good", of the medieval Georgian tradition.The medieval Georgian annals report P’arsman K’ueli’s joint rule with P’arsman Avaz, diarchs (one source has the extra pair: Rok and Mihrdat), but several modern scholars consider the Iberian diarchy unlikely as it is not corroborated by the contemporary evidence. P’arsman is reported to have been the son of his predecessor, Amazasp I. He is said to have married Ghadana, daughter of the king of Armenia (who must have been Vologases I). According to the medieval "Life of Kings", the traditional friendship of the two dyarchs soured at the instigation of the Iranian wife of Mihrdat. Toumanoff regards this information a back-projection of the historically recorded enmity of
Pharasmanes I of Iberia and his brotherMithridates of Armenia .Toumanoff, Cyril. Chronology of the Early Kings of Iberia. "Traditio" 25 (1969), p. 17.] The chronicle then continues a story of a Armenian-Roman alliance and their invasion of the Iranian-backed Iberia in which P’arsman finds his death.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), "Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts", pp. 289-290. Peeters Publishers, ISBN 90-429-1318-5.]The contemporary Classical authors, with more solid historical background, focus on Pharasmanes’ uneasy relations with Rome. He refused in 129 to come and pay homage to the emperor
Hadrian then touring the East, and prompted theAlans to attack the neighboring Roman provinces by giving them a passage through his realm, even though the emperor had sent him greater gifts — including an elephant — than to any other king of the East. In his pique, Hadrian dressed some 300 criminals in the gold-embroidered cloaks which were part of the return gift of Pharasmanes, and sent them into the arena. Eventually, the ancient sources report a highly honored visit paid by Pharasmanes of Iberia to Hadrian’s successorAntoninus Pius . This Pharasmanes, however, might have been Pharasmanes III, Pharasmanes II’s possible grandson.References
succession box | before = Amazasp I| title = King of Iberia
years=117 – 138| after = Ghadam
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