Attambelos VII

Attambelos VII was a king of Characene, a vassal state of the Parthians and important trading port.

Like most kings of Characene he is primarily known from numismatic sources,[1] in his case from few a few bronze coins dated 113/114AD.

In 114 or 115 the Emperor Trajan took the Parthian capital city of Ctesiphon and then moved with a fleet of 50 ships to the Characene state on the Persian Gulf.

[3] Despite the overwhelming victory, the Romans did not hold Mesopotamia for long, with the area being abandoned shortly after the death of Trajan.

Meredates was eventually ousted by his cousin Vologases IV, from a rival branch of the Parthian royal house, indicating a time of weakness within both the Parthian royalty and the local Characene rulers, a weakness made much worse by the opportunistic invasion by Trajan.