Artabanus' efforts to replace Vonones I with his son were blocked by the Romans, who eventually reached an agreement with the Parthians to appoint Artaxias III the new king of Armenia and renounce their support of Vonones I. Artabanus is the Latin form of the Greek Artábanos (Ἁρτάβανος), itself from the Old Persian *Arta-bānu ("the glory of Arta.").

Tacitus in his Annals records that supporters of the rival ruler Tiridates III (r. 36–35 AD) viewed Artabanus as an "Arsacid on his mother's side, but in all else a degenerate".

However, historian Marek Olbrycht notes that Tacitus, as well as Josephus and Cassius Dio, refer to Artabanus and his sons as Arsacids.

[5] However, historians Josef Markwart and Martin Schottky assign to Artabanus a descent from the Atropatid dynasty,[6][7] the erstwhile rulers of Media-Atropatene.

Historian Richard D. Sullivan notes that Strabo, writing during this latter period, recorded that the line of succession from the dynasty's founder Atropates "is preserved until now", possibly implying that Artabanus' occupation of Media-Atropatene was considered a continuation of Atropatid rule.

Sullivan suggests, therefore, that Artabanus was the result of the union between an Atropatid prince and an Arsacid princess in c. 31 BC, therefore accounting for Tacitus' statement of his ancestry.

[9][note 3] Alternatively, historian Christian Settipani proposes that the Atropatid prince was a son of Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene (r. 56–31 BC).

Instead, Germanicus reached an agreement with Artabanus to appoint Artaxias III the new king of Armenia and renounce their support of Vonones I.

[1] His death and the now unchallenged dominance of Artabanus split the Parthian nobility, since not all of them supported a new branch of the Arsacid family taking over the empire.

[3] In 19/20 AD, the Parthian satrap of Sakastan, Drangiana and Arachosia, named Gondophares, declared independence from Artabanus and founded the Indo-Parthian Kingdom.

The faction among the Parthian magnates which was hostile to Artabanus II applied to Tiberius for a king who was a descendant of Phraates IV.

In the meantime, Artabanus II returned from Hyrcania with a strong army of Scythian (Dahae) auxiliaries and was again acknowledged by the Parthians.