[1][2] The origin of his name is disputed and it has been variously interpreted as of Iranian (Sarmatian-Alan, perhaps meaning "Power of Farn")[2] or Gothic roots.

[5] Another conjectural suggestion is that the kingdom might have briefly been divided into two, with Pharsanzes ruling the eastern side of the Bosporus and later being deposed by Rhescuporis V again.

[7] Among those who believe him to have been a usurper, views on whether Pharsanzes seized power violently or was reluctantly granted it by Rhescuporis V to avert civil war also differ.

M. M. Choref believes Pharsanzes took power with the support of the various barbarian tribes in the kingdom.

[2] Other researchers have proposed that Pharsanzes was responsible for inviting various barbarian groups into the kingdom to aid him in taking the throne;[5] circumstantial evidence may lend support to this idea, since the appearance of larger numbers of barbarians in the Bosporus coincides with his reign[1] and the number of coins of Pharsanzes at sites inhabited by Gothic tribes is much greater than at other sites.