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Phraates II (also spelled Frahad II; Frahāt) was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I ().
Because he was still very young when he came to the throne, his mother Rinnu initially ruled on his behalf. His short reign was mainly marked by his war with the Seleucid Empire, which under king Antiochus VII Sidetes () attempted to regain the lands lost to Phraates' father. Initially unsuccessful in the conflict, Phraates II managed to gain the upper hand and defeated Antiochus VII's forces, with the Seleucid ruler himself dying in battle or committing suicide. Phraates II afterwards rushed to the east to repel an invasion by nomadic tribes—the Saka and Yuezhi, where he met his end. He was succeeded by his uncle Artabanus I.
Whilst wintering, Antiochus VII quartered himself and his army in Ecbatana, where he completely alienated the local people by forcing them to pay for the upkeep of his soldiers and because, it seems, the soldiers assaulted the locals.Justin, . Thus, when Phraates II attacked the Seleucid army in its winter quarters during the spring of 129 BC, the local population supported him. Antiochus was defeated and died, either in battle or by committing suicide, ending Seleucid rule east of the Euphrates. Phraates, relishing over the death of Antiochus, is reported to have said the following before the latter's corpse: "Your boldness and drunkenness, Antiochus, caused your fall; for you expected to drink up the kingdom of Arsaces in huge cups."
Phraates II succeeded in capturing Seleucus and Laodice, two of Antiochus' children who had accompanied their father on campaign. Phraates II later married Laodice and showed Seleucus (not to be confused with his cousin Seleucus V) great favour. (1999). 9780715629307, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.. ISBN 9780715629307 He allowed Antiochus a royal funeral and later returned the body to Syria in a silver coffin along with Seleucus.Justin, . Phraates II also released Demetrius, who had been held by the Parthians as a hostage for several years, to become king of the Seleucid realm for a second time.
Syria, which was now all that was left of the Seleucid empire, lacked military power and Phraates II apparently planned to invade it. However, on the eastern front, various nomadic tribes already infiltrating and usurping the Saka and Tocharians destroyed the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, penetrated to the borders of the realm in 129 BC, and threatened the Parthian realm. The king had to rush to the eastern front, installing Himeros as governor of Babylon, who quickly became a tyrant. Phraates II marched east, his army including a large force of captured Seleucid soldiers from the army of the late Antiochus. These soldiers ultimately refused to fight for the Parthian king, and he was defeated and killed in battle.
Furthermore, he also used the title of Philhellene ("friend of the Greeks"), which had been introduced during the reign of his father Mithridates I () as a political act in order to establish friendly relations with their Greek subjects. An unusual title attested during the reign of Phraates was the title of "King of the Lands" (attested in cuneiform tablets as šar mātāti), which was rarely used by the Seleucid monarchs. Like his father, Phraates is depicted on coins wearing a Hellenistic diadem, whilst his beard represents the traditional Iranian/Near Eastern custom.
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