King Artavasdes II ruled Armenia from 53 to 34 BC. He succeeded his father, Tigranes the Great

Tigranes the Great

Tigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...

. Artavasdes was an ally of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, but when Orodes II

Orodes II of Parthia

Orodes II of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from 57 to 38 BC. Orodes was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his brother Mithridates...

 of Parthia

Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...

 invaded Armenia following his victory over the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...

 at the Battle of Carrhae

Battle of Carrhae

The Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...

 in 53 BC, he was forced to join the Parthians. He gave his sister in marriage to Orodes' son and heir Pacorus

Pacorus I of Parthia

Pacorus I of Parthia was the son of king Orodes II and queen Laodice of the Parthian Empire. It is possible that he was co-ruler with his father for at least part of his father's reign...

.

In 36 BC the Roman general Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

 invaded Armenia and Artavasdes again switched sides, but abandoned the Romans once they had left Armenia to conquer Media Atropatene

Atropatene

Atropatene was an ancient kingdom established and ruled under local ethnic Iranian dynasts first with "Darius" of Persia and later "Alexander" of Macedonia, starting in the 4th century BC and includes the territory of modern-day Iranian Azarbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan. Its capital was Gazaca...

.

In 34 BC Antony planned a new invasion of Armenia. First he sent his friend Quintus Dellius

Quintus Dellius

Quintus Dellius was a Roman commander and politician in the second half of the 1st century BC.He was a political opportunist and was called desultor bellorum civilium by Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus...

, who offered a betrothal of Antony's six year old son Alexander Helios

Alexander Helios

Alexander Helios was a Ptolemaic prince and was the eldest son of Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. His twin was Cleopatra Selene II. He was of Greek and Roman heritage. Cleopatra named him Alexander in honour of her Macedonian heritage, and after her...

 to a daughter of Artavasdes, but the Armenian king hesitated. Now the triumvir marched into the Roman western Armenia. He summoned Artavasdes to Nicopolis, allegedly to prepare a new war against Parthia. But the king did not come. So the Roman general quickly marched to the Armenian capital Artaxata. He arrested the king and went with him some time around because he hoped to obtain by the help of his hostage the great treasures in the Armenian castles. But now Artaxias

Artaxias II

Artaxias II was a king of Armenia, the eldest son of Artavasdes II. He ascended the throne when his father was taken prisoner and executed by Triumvir Mark Antony, and after his own skirmish with the Romans was forced to flee to Parthia...

, the eldest son of the captured king, was elected as successor. After a lost battle Artaxias fled to the Parthian king. Finally Antony took Artavasdes to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

.

The Armenian king and his family, who were bound with golden chains, had to follow Antony in his triumphal procession. Cleopatra VII of Egypt

Cleopatra VII of Egypt

Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period...

 expected the triumvir on a golden throne, but Artavasdes refused to render homage to the Egyptian queen by Proskynesis

Proskynesis

Proskynesis refers to the traditional Persian act of prostrating oneself before a person of higher social rank....

. In the past he had been an enemy of his namesake, king Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene

Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene

Artavasdes I was a king of Media Atropatene. As an enemy of Artavasdes II of Armenia and his son Artaxias II, Artavasdes I was mentioned in diplomatic affairs of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Anthony.- Biography :...

, who had become an ally of Antony. After the Battle of Actium

Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...

 (31 BC) the Armenian king was executed by beheading on the behalf of Cleopatra. She sent his head to Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene to secure his help.

According to Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

, Artavasdes was an accomplished scholar who composed Greek tragedies and histories.