Artaxias II 34, 30-20 BC (Kov 169-171)

First reign 34 BC

Artaxias (BNP [2]) assumed the throne in 34 BC after his father's capture by Mark Antony, but he soon fled to the protection of Phraates IV (38-2 BC), king of Parthia. Antony held Armenia from 34 to 31 BC in the name of Alexander Helios, his six year old son by Cleopatra of Egypt. In 30 BC Artaxias returned to Artaxata with a vengeance, slaughtering its Roman inhabitants. After a ten year reign, a group of pro-Roman Armenian nobles petitioned Rome for Artaxias's removal. Artaxias was murdered, and replaced by his brother, Tigranes III.

Artaxias's coins consist of only two issues, both very rare. The first issue (Kov-169) is a four chalkoi of the same type struck by his father around 35/4 BC. It can be distinguished from Artavasdes's coins by the name written Artaxa = Artaxias and by the different configuration of the tiara.

Second reign 30-20 BC

The coins of what may be considered Artaxias's second reign are silver drachms dated to year 14 (= 21/20 BC) as reckoned from an accession date of 34 BC. There are two reverse types: Athena standing with a palladium and Nike advancing r. The obverse in both cases is the bust of the king enclosed in a laurel wreath. Both types bear the monogram {APT} which has been read as "Artaxata" but which is almost certainly the monogram of an official instead. Artaxias also employs the epithet theios "divine," continuing the notion of divine decent begun under his father.

Kovacs, Frank L. “Armenian Coinage in the Classical Period” CNS 10, Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster, 2016, pp. 27.