Arshak II

Arshak II (from Old Armenian ; flourished 4th century, died 369 or 370), also written as Arsaces II, was an Arsacid prince who was King of Armenia from 350 (338/339 according to some scholars) until . Although Arshak's reign opened with a period of peace and stability, it was soon plagued by his conflicts with the Armenian church and nobility, as well as a series of wars between Rome and Persia, during which the Armenian king teetered between the warring sides. Arshak participated in the Roman emperor Julian's ill-fated campaign against Persia; after the consequent Perso-Roman Treaty of 363, Armenia was left to fend for itself against a renewed attack by the Persian king Shapur II. Faced with defections and rebellions among the Armenian nobility, Arshak was lured to Persia for peace negotiations with Shapur, after which he was imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion in Khuzistan and is said to have committed suicide in captivity. Arshak's reign was followed by the conquest and devastation of Armenia by the Persians, although his son and heir Pap managed to escape and later ascended to the Armenian throne with Roman assistance. Name Arshak (Old Armenian , Parthian ) was the name of the eponymous founder of the ruling dynasty of the Parthian Empire, of which the Armenian Arsacids were a branch. The name was also used as a title by all succeeding Parthian kings. The Greek form of this name is , whence Latin . These ultimately derive from a diminutive of the name Old Iranian name Aršan, meaning 'hero'. Alternatively, the name is composed of the Old Persian word 'bear' and a diminutive suffix. Early life Arshak II was the second son of Tiran (erroneously called Tigranes VIII in some sources) by an unnamed mother. His father served as the Roman client king of Arsacid Armenia from 338/339 until 350 (although some scholars place the beginning of Arshak's reign in 338/339 and Tiran's reign before that). His date of birth is unknown and little is known about his early life. Around 338, the Sassanid king Shapur II launched a war on Rome and her allies, joined by a wave of persecutions against Christians living in Persia and Mesopotamia. According to the Armenian historian Faustus of Byzantium, King Tiran, Arshak and the queen were captured by the Persians after they were betrayed by Tiran's chamberlain.