An inscription on a rock relief that was discovered by Rawlinson at Sarpul-I-Zohab on a main road in Iranian Kurdistan introduces him as Gotarzes, son of Gev.

[3] From this inscription, it has been surmised that Gotarzes II was the son of a Hyrcanian nobleman called Gev who served as satrap in that region.

In c. 40 AD, the reigning Parthian king Artabanus II (r. 12–40) died, entrusting his realm to his son Vardanes I.

[5][8] However, the long siege of Seleucia resulted in Gotarzes gaining the upper hand in the conflict, allowing him to raise a new force and drive off Vardanes, who fled to Bactria in Central Asia.

[5][9] At the same time, Armenia suffered turmoil, when its Arsacid king Orodes, the brother of Vardanes, was deposed by the Roman emperor Claudius (r. 41–54), who appointed the Pharnavazid prince Mithridates in his stead.

[10] Encouraged by his other recent triumphs, Vardanes prepared to invade and reconquer Armenia, but ultimately abandoned his plans, due to threats of war from the Roman governor of Syria, Gaius Vibius Marsus, along with renewed conflict with Gotarzes, who terminated their accord.

The gravest of insults lobbed by Claudius against Gortazes is that he was idolized by Caligula, and was a close advisor of the mad Roman Emperor.