Pharnabazus II (Old Iranian: Farnabāzu, Ancient Greek: Φαρνάβαζος Pharnabazos; ruled 413-374 BC)[2] was a Persian soldier and statesman, and Satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.

Thucydides described this situation, faced by both satraps Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes:[4] The king (Darius II) had lately called upon him for the tribute from his government, for which he was in arrears, being unable to raise it from the Hellenic towns by reason of the Athenians; and he therefore calculated that by weakening the Athenians he should get the tribute better paid, and should also draw the Lacedaemonians into alliance with the king.He, like Tissaphernes of Caria, entered into negotiations with Sparta and began a war with Athens.

Pharnabazus was involved in helping the Bithynians against the plundering raids of the Greek Ten Thousand who were returning from their failed campaign in the centre of the Achaemenid Empire.

The outbreak of the conflict in Greece had been encouraged by Persian payments to Sparta's Greek rivals, and had for effect to remove the Spartan threat in Asia Minor.

Pharnabazus sent Timocrates of Rhodes as an envoy to Greece, and tens of thousands of Darics, the main currency in Achaemenid coinage, were used to bribe the Greek states to start a war against Sparta.

He attempted to force these into submission by ravaging the surrounding territory, but this proved fruitless, leading him to leave Conon in charge of winning over the cities in the Hellespont.

[19] The fleet proceeded further west to take revenge on the Spartans by invading Lacedaemonian territory, where the Achaemenids laid waste to Pherae and raided along the Messenian coast.

[19] Eventually they left due to scarce resources and few harbors for the Achaemenid fleet in the area, as well as the looming possibility of Lacedaemonian relief forces being dispatched.

[19] They then raided the coast of Laconia and seized the island of Cythera, where they left a garrison and an Athenian governor to cripple Sparta's offensive military capabilities.

[19] Seizing Cythera also had the effect of cutting the strategic route between Peloponnesia and Egypt and thus avoiding Spartan-Egyptian collusion, and directly threatening Taenarum, the harbour of Sparta.

But being fearful because the country was destitute of harbours, because the Lacedaemonians might send relief forces, and because provisions were scarce in the land, he quickly turned about, and sailing away, came to anchor at Phoenicus in the island of Cythera.

(...) The Corinthians, on the other hand, manned ships with the money which Pharnabazus left, appointed Agathinus as admiral, and established their mastery of the sea in the gulf around Achaea and Lechaeum.After being convinced by Conon that allowing him to rebuild the Long Walls around Piraeus, the main port of Athens, would be a major blow to the Lacedaemonians, Pharnabazus eagerly gave Conon a fleet of 80 triremes and additional funds to accomplish this task.

[19] Pharnabazus dispatched Conon with substantial funds and a large part of the fleet to Attica, where he joined in the rebuilding of the long walls from Athens to Piraeus, a project that had been initiated by Thrasybulus in 394 BC.

Upon his arrival Conon erected a large part of the wall, giving his own crews for the work, paying the wages of carpenters and masons, and meeting whatever other expense was necessary.

There were some parts of the wall, however, which the Athenians themselves, as well as volunteers from Boeotia and from other states, aided in building.With the assistance of the rowers of the fleet, and the workers paid for by the Persian money, the construction was soon completed.

[22] Athens quickly took advantage of its possession of walls and a fleet to seize the islands of Scyros, Imbros, and Lemnos, on which it established cleruchies (citizen colonies).

In 377 BC, Pharnabazus was then reassigned by Artaxerxes II to help command a military expedition into rebellious Egypt, having proven his ability against the Spartans.

Pharnabazus and Iphicrates appeared before Pelusium, but retired without attacking it, Nectanebo I, king of Egypt, having added to its former defences by laying the neighbouring lands under water, and blocking up the navigable channels of the Nile by embankments.