Drachm - Phraates II

Phraates II inherited the Parthian throne from his father Mithridates I and almost immediately faced catastrophic pressure on two fronts. The Seleucid king Antiochus VII Sidetes invaded with a massive force around 130 BC, initially pushing deep into Parthian territory — then overwintered his army across three Median cities, whose populations, exhausted by the occupation's demands, rose in revolt. Phraates crushed the scattered Seleucid forces in 129 BC, killing Antiochus in the field. The relief was short-lived: Yuezhi nomads from the east killed Phraates himself around 127 BC, ending a reign defined almost entirely by crisis management on alternating borders.