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Vardanes II
Tetradrachm of Vardanes II, Seleucia mint
King of the Parthian Empire
Reign	55 – 58
Predecessor	Vologases I
Successor	Vologases I
Died	c. 58
Dynasty	Arsacid dynasty
Father	Vologases I or Vardanes I
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Vardanes II was the son of Vologases I or Vardanes I and briefly ruler of parts of the Parthian Empire. In ancient records he only appears in Tacitus. Otherwise he is only known from coins that are dated between 55 and 58 CE. He rebelled against Vologases I at Seleucia from about 55 to 58 CE and must have occupied Ecbatana, since he issued coins from the mint there, bearing the likeness of a young beardless king wearing a diadem with five pendants. The lack of facial lesions on his coins sets him apart from other Parthian rulers, many of whom were depicted with nodules resembling trichoepithelioma. Other than that nothing more about him is known.

References

1. ^ Tacitus, Annals 13,7
2. Ellerbrock 2021, p. 57.
3. Sellwood 1983, 295
4. Hart, Gerald D. (1996). "Trichoepithelioma and the Kings of Ancient Parthia". Can. Med. Assoc. J. 94 (11): 547–549. PMC 1936547. PMID 5324106.
5.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vardanes s.v. Vardanes II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 905.

Sources

• Chaumont, M. L.; Schippmann, K. (1988). "Balāš". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 6. pp. 574–580.
• Dąbrowa, Edward (2010). "The Arsacids and their State". XI: 21–52. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Dąbrowa, Edward (2017). "Tacitus on the Parthians". Electrum. 24: 171–189. doi:10.4467/20800909EL.17.026.7508.
• Ellerbrock, Uwe (2021). The Parthians: The Forgotten Empire. Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 978-0367481902.
• Sellwood, David (1983). "Parthian Coins". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3(1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 279–298. ISBN 0-521-20092-X.

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