Artashes II (also called Artaxes or Artashes, Armenian: Արտաշես Երկրորդ) (reigned 34 BC – 20 BC) was a king of Armenia, the eldest son of Artavasdes II. He ascended the throne when his father was taken prisoner and executed by Marcus Antonius, and after his own skirmish with the Romans was forced to flee to Parthia. With the support of the Parthians, however, he returned to Armenia and successfully made war on Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, an enemy of his father. He also executed all the Romans who could be found within his borders. Possibly as a consequence of this action, when Artaxias sent emissaries to Rome to try and secure the release of his relatives then in Roman captivity, Caesar Augustus refused him.
In 20 BCE, the Armenians sent messengers to Augustus to tell him that they no longer wanted Artaxias as their king, and asked that his brother Tigranes (then in Roman custody) be installed in his place. Augustus readily agreed, and sent a large army under Tiberius to depose Artaxias. Before they arrived, however, Artaxias was assassinated by some of his other relatives, and the Romans put Tigranes on the throne unopposed.
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