GOTARZES or GOTERZES, king of Parthia (c. A.D. 42 51). In an inscription on the rock of Behistun he is called rwragne rEo7foepos, i.e., "son of Gew," and seems to be desig nated as "satrap of satrap." When the troublesome reign of Artabanus II. ended in A.D. 39 or 4o, he was succeeded by Var danes, probably his son; but against him in 41 rose Gotarzes, who also belonged to the king's family. He soon made himself detested by his cruelty—among many other murders he even slew his brother Artabanus and his whole family (Tac. Ann. xi. 8)—and Vardanes regained the throne in 42 ; Gotarzes fled to Hyrcania and gathered an army from the Dahan nomads, but the war was ended by a treaty, as both kings were afraid of the con spiracies of their nobles. When Vardanes was assassinated in 45, Gotarzes was acknowledged in the whole empire. He now takes on his coins the usual Parthian titles, "king of kings Arsaces the benefactor, the just, the illustrious (Epiphanes), the friend of the Greeks (Philhellen)," without mentioning his proper name. The hostile party brought from Rome an Arsacid prince Meher dates (i.e., Mithradates), who lived there as hostage, but he was taken prisoner by Gotarzes, who died soon afterwards.
An earlier "Arsakes with the name Gotarzes," mentioned on some astronomical tablets from Babylon (Strassmaier in Zeitschr. fur Assyriologie, vi. ; Mahler in Wiener Zeitschr. fur Kunde des Morgenlands, xv.), appears to have reigned in Babylonia c. 87 B.c.