Pacorus II of Parthia

Pacorus II
Coin of Pacorus II
King of Atropatene
Reign	78–105
Predecessor	Vonones II
Successor	Unknown
King of the Parthian Empire
Predecessor	Vologases II
Successor	Osroes I Vologases III
Born	Unknown
Died	105
Issue	Axidares Parthamasiris Meredates
House	Arsacid dynasty
Father	Vonones II
Mother	Greek concubine
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Pacorus II (Persian: پاکور دوم‎‎, flourished 1st century & first half of second century) was king of the Parthian Empire from 78 to 105.

Pacorus II was the son of Vonones II and a Greek concubine, thus making him of mixed Iranian and Greek ancestry. Pacorus II was born and raised during his father’s kingship of Atropatene. Pacorus II was the namesake of his relative, a previous ruling Parthian King Pacorus I.

When Pacorus II's father died in 51, his brother Vologases I succeeded his father as Parthian King. Vologases I had given Pacorus II their paternal dominion the Kingdom of Atropatene to rule as King. He ruled as King of Atropatene from 51 until 78 and little is known on his reign, except that a group of Alans in 72 invaded his kingdom and forced him to flee into the mountains. The Alans, after having gained a lot of booty by plundering Atropatene and neighboring countries such as Armenia, quickly withdrew back to their steppes in North Caucasus. Pacorus shortly returned to Atropatene.

After the death of Vologases I, Pacorus II revolted against his nephew Vologases II (ca. 78–80) who was his father’s successor. After Pacorus II defeated Vologases II, he had him deposed.

According to the Roman Historian Cassius Dio, Pacorus II sold the kingdom of Osroene to Abgar VII, and according to Ammianus Marcellinus he enlarged the Parthian capital Ctesiphon and built its walls. He also had close contact with the Dacian ruler Decebalus, and was in 86 even given a Greek slave named Callidromus as a gift by Decebalus. In 101, Pacorus II sent an embassy to the Han Dynasty of China, the latter which recorded Parthia as the Anxi kingdom.