Pharasmanes II the Valiant or the Brave () was a king (mepe) of Iberia (Kartli) from the Pharnavazid dynasty, and a contemporary of the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138). Professor Cyril Toumanoff suggests AD 116–132 as the period of Pharasmanes' reign. He is mentioned in several Classical accounts.
Life The medieval Georgian annals report Pharasmanes' joint rule with Pharasmanes 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. Pharasmanes is reported to have been the son of his predecessor, King Amazasp I. He is said to have married Ghadana, daughter of King Vologases I of Armenia. According to the medieval Life of Kings, the traditional friendship of the two dyarchy 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 brother Mithridates of Armenia. The chronicle then continues a story of an Armenian-Roman alliance and their invasion of the Iranian-backed Iberia in which Pharasmanes finds his death.
Reign The Georgian Royal Annals describe Pharasmanes in the following way:
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.
According to the Aelius Spartianus, one of the authors of Augustan History:
Pharasmanes then went touring the East, and prompted the Alans to attack the neighboring Roman provinces by giving them a passage through his realm, even though the emperor had sent him greater gifts including a war 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.
According to Spartianus:
Following this, attacks by the nomadic Alans became more frequent; they raided the border regions of Armenia and Atropatene and penetrated as far as Cappadocia. Pharasmanes took advantage of the situation, expanding Iberian influence toward the Black Sea coast. With his assistance, the Alans launched further incursions through Caucasian Albania and Atropatene, crossing Armenia and reaching Roman territories. Vologases I of Armenia sent envoys to Rome to complain about Pharasmanes' aggressive actions, but his complaint was unsuccessful.
Eventually, the ancient sources report a highly honored visit paid by Pharasmanes to Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius. According to Cassius Dio, he came to Rome as guest of Antoninus Pius, together with his wife, son, and noble retinue where he was especially honored, being allowed to sacrifice in the Capitol and to have his equestrian statue in the temple of Bellona, and also the emperor increased the territory of his kingdom. This Pharasmanes, however, might have been Pharasmanes III, Pharasmanes II's possible grandson. This visit was recorded on a fragment of the Fasti Ostienses.
According to the Georgian royal annals King Pharasmanes was poisoned by the chef sent by the Parthians.
Supposed letter to Hadrian
The text now known as purports to be a letter from a Pharasmanes II to Hadrian. Ann Knock argues that, given Hadrian's interest in the marvellous, "a letter from Pharasmanes to Hadrian dealing with the monstrous and the marvellous is ... not at variance with such historical knowledge as we have of the personages named." In arguing for authenticity, some authors have pointed to Hadrian's known interest in the bizarre. Nevertheless, the letter is almost certainly not authentic, but was probably written in Greek sometime between the 2nd and 5th centuries. Álvaro Ibáñez Chacón argues that it was inspired by the description of Hadrian and Pharasmanes in the Historia Augusta and by the Historias own tendency to literary invention.
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