It is only with the beginning of the reign of Orodes II in , that the line of Parthian rulers can again be reliably traced. The majority of Orodes I's coins were minted in Ecbatana and Rhagae in central Iran. He is mentioned as king of the Arsacid dynasty in a Babylonian report of the lunar eclipse of 11 April 80 BC. Babylonian chronicles also made mention of his sister-queen, Ispubarza. It is unknown if they were full siblings; marriage with half-siblings was not considered incestuous amongst the members of the Iranian Achaemenid dynasty. It is uncertain if the Parthians continued the same practice of half-sibling marriage, due to lack of convincing documentation. While Orodes I's grandfather, Mithridates II, used the title of King of Kings, it remains uncertain whether he himself used the title or not. It is however certain that he used the titles of Great King and Arsaces. Under Gotarzes I and Orodes I, Babylonian scholars notably wrote cuneiform records in the same method that had been done in era of the Achaemenid Empire. According to Shayegan, this was done to emphasize the association of the Parthians with their Achaemenid predecessors. The kingdom of Elymais in south-western Iran had since 124 BC been under complete Parthian control. However, in 81/80 BC, coins of king Kamnaskires III and his wife Anzaze appears, which indicates that the kingdom had been restored. According to Babylonian sources, Orodes I launched an expedition into Elymais in 78 BC, where he defeated Kamnaskires III. Kamnaskires III was not deposed, however, and continued ruling the kingdom, now as a Parthian vassal. An aged Parthian prince named Sinatruces, who originally resided amongst the Saka of Central Asia, enlisted their aid, and captured the Parthian throne in BC, thus succeeding Orodes I. Unlike Orodes I, Sinatruces was not a descendant of Mithridates II. Sinatruces thus ousted the line of Mithridates II with his own; the name of the Arsacid branch established by Sinatruces on the Parthian throne has been coined by the modern historian Marek Jan Olbrycht as the "Sinatrucids", which ruled the Parthian Empire till 12 AD. The Sinatrucid family was notably supported by the Suren clan of Sakastan. Notes References Sources 1st-century BC Parthian monarchs Year of birth unknown Parthian Dark Age 1st-century BC Babylonian kings