Arsaces
- the first king of the Parthians, Just. 41, 5.—
- II Derivv.
- A Arsăcĭdae, ārum, m. (gen. plur. Arsacidūm, Luc. 10, 51), successors of Arsaces, Tac. H. 1, 40; Luc. 1, 108; 8, 217; 8, 306 al.—
- B Arsăcĭus, a, um, adj., Arsacian, poet. for Parthian, Mart. 9, 36.
(Ἀρσάκης), the name of the founder of the Parthian empire, which was also borne by all his successors, who were hence called the Arsacidae. Pott (Etymologische Forschungen, ii. p. 172) supposes that it signifies the " Shah or King of the Arii ;" but it occurs as a Persian name long before the time of the Parthian kings. Aeschylus (Aesch. Pers. 957) speaks of an Arsaces, who perished in the expedition of Xerxes against Greece; and Ctesias (Pers. cc. 49, 53, 57, ed. Lion) says, that Arsaces was the original name of Artaxerxes Mnemon.
is variously represented by the ancient writers as a Scythian, a Bactrian, or a Parthian. (Strab. xi. p.515; Arrian, apud Phot. Cod. 58, p. 17, ed. Bekker; Herodian, 6.2; Moses Chor. 1.7.) Justin (41.4) says, that he was of uncertain origin. He seems however to have been of the Scythian race, and to have come from the neighbourhood of the Ochus, as Strabo says (l.c.), that he was accompanied in his undertaking by the Parni Daae, who had migrated from the great race of the Scythian Daae, dwelling above the Palus Maeotis, and who had settled near the Ochus. But from whatever country the Parthians may have come, they are represented by almost all ancient writers as Scythians. (Curt. 6.2; Justin, 41.1; Plut. Crass. 24; Isidor. Orig. 9.2.) Arsaces, who was a man of approved valour, and was accustomed to live by robbery and plunder, invaded Parthia with his band of robbers, defeated Andragoras, the governor of the country, and obtained the royal power. This is the account given by Justin (l.c.), which is in itself natural and probable, but different from the common one which is taken from Arrian. According to Arrian (apud Phot. Cod. 58), there were two brothers, Arsaces and Tiridates, the descendants of Arsaces, the son of Phriapitus. Pherecles, the satrap of Parthia in the reign of Antiochus II., attempted to violate Tiridates, but was slain by him and his brother Arsaces, who induced the Parthians in consequence to revolt from the Syrians. The account of Arrian in Syncellus (p. 284) is again different from the preceding one preserved by Photius; but it is impossible to determine which has given us the account of Arrian most faithfully. According to Syncellus, Arrian stated that the two brothers Arsaces and Tiridates, who were descended from Artaxerxes, the king of the Persians, were satraps of Bactria at the same time as the Macedonian Agathocles governed Persia (by which he means Parthia) as Eparch. Agathocles had an unnatural passion for Tiridates, and was slain by the two brothers. Arsaces then became king, reigned two years, and was succeeded by his brother Tiridates, who reigned 37 years.
The time, at which the revolt of Arsaces took place, is also uncertain. Appian (App. Syr. 65) places it at the death of Antiochus II., and others in the reign of his successor, Seleucus Callinicus. According to the statement of Arrian quoted above, the revolt commenced in the reign of Antiochus II., which is in accordance with the date given by Eusebius, who fixes it at B. C. 250, and which is also supported by other authorities. (Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. sub anno 250.) Justin (41.4, 5), who is followed in the main by Ammianus Marcellinus (23.6), ascribes to Arsaces I. many events, which probably belong to his successor. According to his account Arsaces first conquered Hyrcania, and then prepared to make war upon the Bactrian and Syrian kings. He concluded, however, a peace with Theodotus, king of Bactria, and defeated Seleucus Callinicus, the successor of Antiochus II. in a great battle, the anniversary of which was ever after observed by the Parthians, as the commencement of their liberty. According to Posidonius (apud Athen. iv. p. 153a.), Seleucus was taken prisoner in a second expedition which he made against the Parthians, and detained in captivity by Arsaces for many years. After these events Arsaces devoted himself to the internal organization of his kingdom, built a city, called Dara, on the mountain Zapaortenon, and died in a mature old age. This account is directly opposed to the one given by Arrian, already referred to (apud Syncell.l.c.), according to which Arsaces was killed after a reign of two years and was succeeded by his brother. Arrian has evidently confounded Arsaces I. and II., when he says that the former was succeeded by his son. This statement we must refer to Arsaces II.
Tiridates, reigned, as we have already seen, 37 years, and is probably the king who defeated Seleucus.
Artabanus I., the son of the preceding, had to resist Antiochus III. (the Great), who invaded his dominions about B. C. 212. Antiochus at first met with some success, but was unable to subdue his country, and at length made peace with him, and recognized him as king. (Plb. 10.27-31; Justin, 41.5.) The reverse of the annexed coin represents a Parthian seated, and bears the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ. * The number of coins, belonging to the Arsacidae, is very large, but it is impossible to determine with certainty to which individual each belongs. A few are given as specimens, and are placed under the kings to which they are assigned in the catalogue of the British Museum.
Priapatius, son of the preceding, reigned 15 years, and left three sons, Phraates, Mithridates, and Artabanus. (Justin, 41.5, 42.2.)
Phraates I., subdued the Mardi, and, though he had many sons, left the kingdom to his brother Mithridates. (Just. 41.5.) The reverse of the annexed coin has the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ.
Eckhel, with more probability, assigns this coin to Arsaces VI., who may have taken the title of "king of kings," on account of his numerous victories.
Mithridates I., son of Arsaces IV., whom Orosius (5.4) rightly calls the sixth from Arsaces I., a man of distinguished bravery, greatly extended the Parthian empire. He conquered Eucratides, the king of Bactria, and deprived him of many of his provinces. He is said even to have penetrated into India and to have subdued all the people between the Hydaspes and the Indus. He conquered the Medes and Elymaeans, who had revolted from the Syrians, and his empire extended at least from the Hindu Caucasus to the Euphrates. Demetrius Nicator, king of Syria, marched against Mithridates; he was at first suecessful, but was afterwards taken prisoner in B. C. 138. Mithridates, however, treated him with respect, and gave him his daughter Rhodogune in marriage; but the marriage appears not to have been solemnized till the accession of his son Phraates II. Mithridates died during the captivity of Demetrius, between B. C. 138 and 130. He is described as a just and upright prince, who did not give way to pride and luxury. He introduced among his people the best laws and usages, which he found among the nations he had conquered. (Justin, 41.6; Oros. 5.4; Strab. xi. pp. 516, 517, 524, &c.: Appian, App. Syr. 67; Justin, 36.1, 38.9; J. AJ 13.9; 1 Maccab. c. ]4; Diod. Exc. p. 597, ed. Wess.) The reverse of the annexed coin has the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ.
Phraates II., the son of the preceding, was attacked by Antiochus VII. (Sidetes), who defeated Phraates in three great battles, but was at length conquered by him, and lost his life in battle, B. C. 128. [See p. 199, a.] Phraates soon met with the same fate. The Scythians, who had been invited by Antiochus to assist him against Phraates, did not arrive till after the fall of the former; but in the battle which followed, the Greeks whom Phraates had taken in the war against Antiochus. and whom he now kept in his service, deserted from him, and revenged the illtreatment they had suffered, by the death of Phraates and the destruction of his army. (Justin, 38.10, 42.1.) The reverse of the annexed coin has the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΘΕΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ ΝΙΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ.
Artabanus II., the youngest brother of Arsaces VI., and the youngest son of Arsaces IV., and consequently the uncle of the preceding, fell in battle against the Thogarii or Tochari, apparently after a short reign. (Justin, 42.2.)
Mithridates II., the son of the preceding, prosecuted many wars with success, and added many nations to the Parthian empire, whence he obtained the surname of Great. He defeated the Scythians in several battles, and also carried on war against Artavasdes, king of Armenia. It was in his reign that the Romans first had any official communication with Parthia. Mithridates sent an ambassador, Orobazus, to Sulla, who had come into Asia B. C. 92, in order to restore Ariobarzanes I. to Cappadocia, and requested alliance with the Romans, which seems to have been granted. (Justin, 42.2; Plut. Salla, 5.) Justin (42.4) has confounded this king with Mithridates III., i. e. Arsaces XIII.
Mnascires? The successor of Arsaces IX. is not known. Vaillant conjectures that it was the Mnascires mentioned by Lucian (Macrob. 16), who lived to the age of ninety-six ; but this is quite uncertain.
Sanatroces, as he is called on coins. Phlegon calls him Sinatruces; Appian, Sintricus; and Lucian, Sinatrocles. He had lived as an exile among the Scythian people called Sacauraces, and was placed by them upon the throne of Parthia, when he was already eighty years of age. He reigned seven years, and died while Lucullus was engaged in the war against Tigranes, about B. C. 70. (Lucian, Macrob. 15 ; Phlegon, apud Phot. Cod. 97, p. 84, ed. Bekker ; Appian, App. Mith. 104.)
Phraates III., surnamed Θεός (Phlegon, l.c.), the son of the preceding. Mithridates of Pontus and Tigranes applied to Phraates for assistance in their war against the Romans, although Phraates was at enmity with Tigranes, because he had deprived the Parthian empire of Nisibis and part of Mesopotamia. Among the fragments of Sallust (Hist. lib. iv.) we have a letter purporting to be written by Mithridates to Phraates on this occasion. Lucullus, as soon as he heard of this embassy, also sent one to Phraates, who dismissed both with fair promises, but according to Dio Cassius, concluded an alliance with the Romans. He did not however send any assistance to the Romans, and eventually remained neutral. (Memnon, apud Phot. Cod. 224, p. 239, ed. Bekker ; D. C. 35.1, 3, comp. 6; Appian, App. Mith. 87 ; Plut. Luc. 30.) When Pompey succeeded Lucullus in the command, B. C. 66, he renewed the alliance with Phraates, to whose court meantime the youngest son of Tigranes, also called Tigranes, had fled after the murder of his two brothers by their father. Phraates gave the young Tigranes his daughter in marriage, and was induced by his son-in-law to invade Armenia. He advanced as far as Artaxata, and then returned to Parthia, leaving his son-in-law to besiege the city. As soon as he had left Armenia, Tigranes attacked his son and defeated him in battle. The young Tigranes then fled to his grandfather Mithridates, and afterwards to Pompey, when he found the former was unable to assist him. The young Tigranes conducted Pompey against his father, who surrendered on his approach. Pompey then attempted to reconcile the father and the son, and promised the latter the sovereignty of Sophanene; but as he shortly after offended Pompey, he was thrown into chains, and reserved for his triumph. When Phraates heard of this, he sent to the Roman general to demand the young man as his son-in-law, and to propose that the Euphrates should be the boundary between the Roman and Parthian dominions. But Pompey merely replied, that Tigranes was nearer to his father than his father-in-law, and that he would determine the boundary in accordance with what was just. (D. C. 36.28, 34_36; Plut. Pomp. 33; Appian, App. Syr. 104, 105.) Matters now began to assume a threatening aspect between Phraates and Pompey, who had deeply injured the former by refusing to give him his usual title of "king of kings." But although Phraates marched into Armenia, and sent ambassadors to Pompey to bring many charges against him, and Tigranes, the Armenian king, implored Pompey's assistance, the Roman general judged it more prudent not to enter into war with the Parthians, alleging as reasons for declining to do so, that the Roman people had not assigned him this duty, and that Mithridates was still in arms. (D. C. 37.6, 7; Plut. Pomp. 38, 39.) Phraates was murdered soon afterwards by his two sons, Mithridates and Orodes. (D. C. 39.56.)
Mithridates III., the son of the preceding, succeeded his father apparently during the Armenian war. On his return from Armenia, Mithridates was expelled from the throne, on account of his cruelty, by the Parthian senate, as it is called, and was succeeded by his brother Orodes. Orodes appears to have given Media to Mithridates, but to have taken it from him again; whereupon Mithridates applied to the Roman general, Gabinius, in Syria, B. C. 55, who promised to restore him to Parthia, but soon after relinquished his design in consequence of having received a great sum from Ptolemy to place him upon the throne of Egypt. Mithridates, however, seems to have raised some troops; for he subsequently obtained possession of Babylon, where, after sustaining a long siege, he surrendered himself to his brother, and was immediately put to death by his orders. (Justin, 42.4; D. C. 39.56; Appian, Syr.51; Joseph. B.J. 1.8.7.)
Orodes I., the brother of the preceding, was the Parthian king, whose general Surenas defeated Crassus and the Romans, in B. C. 53. [Crassus.] The death of Crassus and the destruction of the Roman army spread universal alarm through the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. Orodes, becoming jealous of Surenas, put him to death, and gave the command of the army to his son Pacorus, who was then still a youth. The Parthians, after obtaining possession of all the country east of the Euphrates, entered Syria, in B. C. 51, with a small force, but were driven back by Cassius. In the following year (B. C. 50) they again crossed the Euphrates with a much larger army, which was placed nominally under the command of Pacorus, but in reality under that of Osaces, an experienced general. They advanced as far as Antioch, but unable to take this city arched against Antigoneia, near which they were defeated by Cassius. Osaces was killed in the battle, and Pacorus thereupon withdrew from Syria. (D. C. 40.28, 29; Cic. Att. 5.18, 21, ad Fam. 15.1.) Bibulus, who succeeded Cassius in the command in the same year, induced Ornodapantes, one of the Parthian satraps, to revolt from Orodes, and proclaim Pacorus king (D. C. 40.30), in consequence of which Pacorus became suspected by his father and was recalled from the army. (Justin, 42.4.) Justin (l.c.) seems to have made a mistake in stating that Pacorus was recalled before the defeat of the Parthians by Cassius. On the breaking out of the war between Caesar and Pompey, the latter applied to Orodes for assistance, which he promised on condition of the session of Syria; but as this was refused by Pompey, the Parthian king did not send him any troops, though he appears to have been in favour of his party rather than of Caesar's. (D. C. 41.55; Justin, l.c.) Caesar had intended to invade Parthia in the year in which he was assassinated, B. C. 44; and in the civil war which followed, Brutus and Cassins sent Labienus, the son of Caesar's general, T. Labienus, to Orodes to solicit his assistance. This was promised; but the battle of Philippi was fought, and Brutus and Cassius fell (B. C. 42), before Labienus could join them. The latter now remained in Parthia. Meantime Antony had obtained the East in the partition of the Roman world, and consequently the conduct of the Parthian war; but instead of making any preparations against the Parthians, he retired to Egypt with Cleopatra. Labienus advised the Parthian monarch to seize the opportunity to invade Syria, and Orodes accordingly placed a great army under the command of Labienus and Pacorus. They crossed the Euphrates in B. C. 40, overran Syria, and defeated Saxa, Antony's quaestor. Labienus penetrated into Cilicia, where he took Saxa prisoner and put him to death; and while he was engaged with a portion of the army in subduing Asia Minor, Pacorus was prosecuting conquests with the other part in Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. These successes at length roused Antony from his inactivity. He sent against the Parthians Ventidius, the ablest of his legates, who soon changed the face of affairs. He defeated Labienus at Mount Taurus in B. C. 39, and put him to death when he fell into his hands shortly after the battle. By this victory he recovered Cilicia; and by the defeat shortly afterwards of Pharnapates, one of the Parthian generals, he also regained Syria. (D. C. 48.24-41; Veil. Pat. 2.78; Liv. Epit. 127; Flor. 4.9; Plut. Ant. 100.33; Appian, App. BC 5.65.) In the following year, B. C. 38, Pacorus again invaded Syria with a still larger army, but was completely defeated in the district called Cyrrhestice. Pacorus himself fell in the battle, which was fought on the 9th of June, the very day on which Crassus had fallen, fifteen years before. (D. C. 49.19, 20; Plut. Ant. 100.34; Liv. Epit. 128; Oros. 6.18; Justin, l.c.) This defeat was a severe blow to the Parthian monarchy, and was deeply felt by the aged king, Orodes. For many days he refused to take food, and did not utter a word; and when at length he spoke, he did nothing but call upon the name of his dear son Pacorus. Weighed down by grief and age, he shortly after surrendered the crown to his son, Phraates, during his life-time. (Justin, l.c.; D. C. 49.23.) The inscription on the annexed coin is ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΡΣΑΚΟ(Υ) ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤ(ΟΥ) ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟ(Σ).
Phraates IV., who is described as the most wicked of the sons of Orodes, commenced his reign by murdering his father, his thirty brothers, and his own son, who was grown up, that there might be none of the royal family whom the Parthians could place upon the throne in his stead. In consequence of his cruelty many of the Parthian nobles tied to Antony (B. C. 37) and among the rest Monaeses, who was one of the most distinguished men in Parthia. At the instigation of Monaeses, Antony resolved to invade Parthia, and promised Monaeses the kingdom. Phraates, alarmed at this, induced Monaeses to return to him; but Antony notwithstanding persevered in his intention of invading Parthia. It was not, however, till late in the year (B. C. 36) that he commenced his march, as he was unable to tear himself away from Cleopatra. The expedition was a perfect failure; he was deceived by the Armenian king, Artavasdes, and was induced by him to invade Media, where he laid siege to Praaspi or Praata. His legate, Statianus, meantime was cut off with 10,000 Romans; and Antony, finding that he was unable to take the town, was at length obliged to raise the siege and retire from the country. In his retreat through Media and Armenia he lost a great number of men, and with great difficulty reached the Araxes with a part of his troops. (D. C. 49.23_31; Plut. Ant. cc. 37-51; Strab. xi. p.523, &c.; Liv. Epit. 130.)
The breaking out of the civil war soon afterwards between Antony and Octavianus compelled the former to give up his intention of again invading Parthia. He formed, however, an alliance with the king of Media against the Parthians, and gave to the former part of Armenia which had been recently conquered. But as soon as Antony had withdrawn his troops in order to oppose Octavianus, the Parthian king overran both Media and Armenia, and placed upon the Armenian throne Artaxias, the son of Artavasdes, whom Antony had deposed. (D. C. 49.44.) Meantime the cruelties of Phraates had produced a rebellion against him. He was driven out of the country, and Tiridates proclaimed king in his stead. Phraates, however, was soon restored by the Scythians, and Tiridates fled to Augustus, carvying with him the youngest son of Phraates. Hereupon Phraates sent an embassy to Rome to demand the restoration of his son and Tiridates. Augustus, however, refused to surrender the latter; but he sent back his son to Phraates, on condition of his surrendering the Roman standards and prisoners taken in the war with Crassus and Antony. They were not, however, given up till three years afterwards (B. C. 20), when the visit of Augustus to the east appears to have alarmed the Parthian king. Their restoration caused universal joy at Rome, and was celebrated not only by the poets, but by festivals, the erection of a triumphal arch and temple, and other monuments. Coins also were struck to commemorate the event, on one of which we find the inscription Signis Receptis. (D. C. 51.18, 53.33, 54.8 ; Justin, 42.5; Suet. Aug, 21; Hor. Ep. 1.18. 56, Carm. 4.15. 6; Ovid, Ov. Tr. 2.1. 228, Fast. 6.467, Ar. Am. 1.179, &c.; Propert. 2.10, 3.4, 3.5. 49, 4.6.79; Eckhel, vi. pp. 94-97.) Phraates also sent to Augustus as hostages his four sons, with their wives and children, who were carried to Rome. According to some accounts he delivered them up to Augustus, not through fear of the Roman power, but lest the Parthians should appoint any of them king in his stead, or according to others, through the influence of his Italian wife, Thennusa, by whom he had a fifth son, Phraataces. (Tac. Ann. 2.1; J. AJ 18.2.4; Strab. xvi. p.748.) In A. D. 2, Phraates took possession of Armenia, and expelled Artavasdes, who had been appointed king by Augustus, but was compelled soon after to give it up again. (D. C. 55.11; Vell. 2.101; Tac. Ann. 2.4.) He was shortly afterwards poisoned by his wife Thermusa, and his son Phraataces. (Joseph. l.c.) The coin given under Arsaces XIV. is assigned by most modern writers to this king.
Phraataces, reigned only a short time, as the murder of his father and the report that he committed incest with his mother made him hated by his subjects, who rose in rebellion against him and expelled him from the throne. The Parthian nobles then elected asking Orodes, who was of the family of the Arsacidae. (Joseph. l.c.)
Orodes II., also reigned only a short time, as he was killed by the Parthians on account of his cruelty. Upon his death the Par thians applied to the Romans for Vonones, one of the sons of Phraates IV., who was accordingly granted to them. (Joseph. l.c. ; Tac. Ann. 2.1_4.)
Vonones I., the son of Phraates IV., was not more liked by his subjects than his two immediate predecessors. His long residence at Rome had rendered him more a Roman than a Parthian, and his foreign habits and manners produced general dislike among his subjects. They therefore invited Artabanus, king of Media, who also belonged to the family of the Arsacidae, to take possession of the kingdom. Artabanus was at first defeated, but afterwards drove Vonones out of Parthia, who then took refuge in Armenia, of which he was chosen king. But, threatened by Artabanus, he soon fled into Syria, in which province the Roman governor, Creticus Silanus, allowed him to reside with the title of king. (A. D. 16.) Two years afterwards he was removed by Germanicus to Pompeiopolis in Cilicia, partly at the request of Artabanus, who begged that he might not be allowed to reside in Syria, and partly because Germanicus wished to put an affront upon Piso, with whom Vonones was very intimate. In the following year (A. D. 19) Vonones attempted to escape from Pompeiopolis, intending to fly into Scythia; but he was overtaken on the banks of the river Pyramus, and shortly after put to death. According to Suetonius, he was put to death by order of Tiberius on account of his great wealth. (Joseph. l.c. ; Tac. Ann. 2.1_4, 56, 58, 68; Suet. Tib. 100.49.)
Artabanus III., obtained the Parthian kingdom on the expulsion of Vonones in A. D. 16. The possession of Armenia was the great cause of contention between him and the Romans; but during the life-time of Germanicus, Artabanus did not attempt to seize the country. Germanicus, on his arrival in Armenia in A. D. 18, recognized as king Zenon, the son of Polemon, whom the Armenians wished to have as their ruler, and who reigned under the name of Artaxias III.; and about the same time, Artabanus sent an embassy to Germanicus to renew the alliance with the Romans. (Tac. Ann. 2.56, 58.)
After the death of Germanicus, Artabanus began to treat the Romans with contempt, placed Arsaces, one of his sons, over Armenia, and sent an embassy into Syria to demand the treasures which Vonones had carried with him out of Parthia. He also oppressed his subjects, till at length two of the chief men among the Parthians, Sinnaces, and the eunuch, Abdus, despatched an embassy to Tiberius in A. D. 35, to beg him to send to Parthia Phraates, one of the sons of Phraates IV. Tiberius willingly complied with the request; but Phraates upon arriving in Syria was carried off by a disease, which was brought on by his disusing the Roman mode of living, to which he had been accustomed for so many years, and adopting the Parthian habits. As soon as Tiberius heard of his death, he set up Tiridates, another of the Arsacidae, as a claimant to the Parthian throne, and induced Mithridates and his brother Pharasmanes, Iberian princes, to invade Armenia. The Iberians accordingly entered Armenia, and after bribing the servants of Arsaces, the son of Artabanus, to put him to death, they subdued the country. Orodes, another son of Artabanus, was sent against them, but was entirely defeated by Pharasmanes; and soon afterwards Artabanus was obliged to leave his kingdom, and to fly for refuge to the Hyrcanians and Carmanians. Hereupon Vitellius, the governor of Syria, crossed the Euphrates, and placed Tiridates on the throne. In the following year (A. D. 36) some of the Parthian nobles, jealous of the power of Abdageses, the chief minister of Tiridates, recalled Artabanus, who in his turn compelled Tiridates to fly into Syria. (Tac. Ann. 6.31-37, 41-44; D. C. 58.26; J. AJ 18.5.4.) When Tiberius received news of these events, he commanded Vitellius to conclude a peace with Artabanus (J. AJ 18.5.5), although Artabanus, according to Suetonius (Suet. Tib. 100.66), sent a letter to Tiberius upbraiding him with his crimes, and advising him to satisfy the hatred of his citizens by a voluntary death. After the death of Tiberius, Artabanus sought to extend his kingdom ; he seized Armenia, and meditated an attack upon Syria, but alarmed by the activity of Vitellius, who advanced to the Euphrates to meet him, he concluded peace with the Romans, and sacrificed to the images of Augustus and Caligula. (D. C. 59.27; Suet. Vitell. 2, Calig. 14, with Ernesti's Excursus.)
Subsequently, Artabanus was again expelled from his kingdom by the Parthian nobles, but was restored by the mediation of Izates, king of Adiabene, who was allowed in consequence to wear his tiara upright, and to sleep upon a golden bed, which were privileges peculiar to the kings of Parthia. Soon afterwards, Artabanus died, and left the kingdom to his son Bardanes. Bardanes made war upon Izates, to whom his family was so deeply indebted, merely because he refused to assist him in making war upon the Romans; but when the Parthians perceived the intentions of Bardanes, they put him to death, and gave the kingdom to his brother, Gotarzes. This is the account given by Josephus (J. AJ 20.3) of the reigns of Bardanes and Gotarzes, and differs from that of Tacitus, which is briefly as follows.
Gotarzes, succeeded his father, Artabanus III.; but in consequence of his cruelty, the Parthians invited his brother Bardanes to the throne. A civil war ensued between the two brothers, which terminated by Gotarzes resigning the crown to Bardanes, and retiring into Hyrcania. (Tac. Ann. 11.8, 9.)
Bardanes, the brother of the preceding, attempted to recover Armenia, but was deterred from his design by Vibius Marsus, the governor of Syria. He defeated his brother Gotarzes, who had repented of his resignation, and attempted to recover the throne; but his successes led him to treat his subjects with haughtiness, who accordingly put him to death while he was hunting, A. D. 47. His death occasioned fresh disputes for the crown, which was finally obtained by Gotarzes; but as he also governed with cruelty, the Parthians secretly applied to the emperor Claudius, to beg him to send them from Rome Meherdates, the grandson of Phraates IV. Claudius complied with their request, and commanded the governor of Syria to assist Meherdates. Through the treachery of Abgarus, king of Edessa, the hopes of Meherdates were ruined; he was defeated in battle, and taken prisoner by Gotarzes, who died himself shortly afterwards, about A. D. 50. (Tac. Ann. 11.10, 12.10-14.)
Vonones II., succeeded to the throne on the death of Gotarzes, at which time he was satrap of Media. His reign was short (Tac. Ann. 12.14), and he was succeeded by
Vologeses I., the son of Vonones II. by a Greek concubine, according to Tacitus (Ann. 12.14, 44); but according to Josephus, the son of Artabanus III. (Ant. 20.3.4.) Soon after his accession, he invaded Armenia, took Artaxata and Tigranocerta, the chief cities of the country, and dethroned Rhadamistus, the Iberian, who had usurped the crown. He then gave Armenia to his brother, Tiridates, having previously given Media to his other brother, Pacorus. These occurrences excited considerable alarm at Rome, as Nero, who had just ascended the throne (A. D. 55), was only seventeen years of age. Nero, however, made active preparations to oppose the Parthians, and sent Domitius Corbulo to take possession of Armenia, from which the Parthians had meantime withdrawn, and Quadratus Ummidius to command in Syria. Vologeses was persuaded by Corbulo and Ummidius to conclude peace with the Romans and give as hostages the noblest of the Arsacidae ; which he was induced to do, either that he might the more conveniently prepare for war, or that he might remove from the kingdom those who were likely to prove rivals. (Tac. Ann. 12.50, 13.5_9.) Three years afterwards (A. D. 58), the war at length broke out between the Parthians and the Romans; for Vologeses could not endure Tiridates to be deprived of the kingdom of Armenia, which he had himself given him, and would not let him receive it as a gift from the Romans. This war, however, terminated in favour of the Romans. Corbulo, the Roman general, took and destroyed Artaxata, and also obtained possession of Tigranocerta, which surrendered to him. Tiridates was driven out of Armenia; and Corbulo appointed in his place, as king of Armenia, the Cappadocian Tigranes, the grandson of king Archelaus, and gave certain parts of Armenia to the tributary kings who had assisted him in the war. After making these arrangements, Corbulo retired into Syria, A. D. 60. (Tac. Ann. 13.34-41, 14.23-26; D. C. 62.19, 20.) Vologeses, however, resolved to make another attempt to recover Armenia. He made preparations to invade Syria himself, and sent Monaeses, one of his generals, and Monobazus, king of the Adiabeni, to attack Tigranes and drive him out of Armenia. They accordingly entered Armenia and laid siege to Tigranocerta, but were unable to take it. As Vologeses also found that Corbulo had taken every precaution to secure Syria, he sent ambassadors to Corbulo to solicit a truce, that he might despatch an embassy to Rome concerning the terms of peace. This was granted; but as no satisfactory answer was obtained from Nero, Vologeses invaded Armenia, where he gained considerable advantages over Caesenninus Paetus, and at length besieged him in his winter-quarters. Paetus, alarmed at his situation, agreed with Vologeses, that Armenia should be surrendered to the Romans, and that he should be allowed to retire in safety from the country, A. D. 62. Shortly after this, Vologeses sent another embassy to Rome; and Nero agreed to surrender Armenia to Tiridates, provided the latter would come to Rome and receive it as a gift from the Roman emperor. Peace was made on these conditions; and Tiridates repaired to Rome, A. D. 63, where he was received with extraordinary splendour, and obtained from Nero the Armenian crown. (Tac. Ann. 15.1-18, 25-31; D. C. 62.20_23, 63.1_7.)
In the struggle for the empire after Nero's death, Vologeses sent ambassadors to Vespasian, offering to assist him with 40,000 Parthians. This offer was declined by Vespasian, but he bade Vologeses send ambassadors to the senate, and he secured peace to him. (Tac. Hist. 4.51.) Vologeses afterwards sent an embassy to Titus, as he was returning from the conquest of Jerusalem, to congratulate him on his success, and present him with a golden crown; and shortly afterwards (A. D. 72), he sent another embassy to Vespasian to intercede on behalf of Antiochus, the deposed king of Commagene. (Joseph. B. J. 7.5.2, 7.3; comp. D. C. 66.11; Suet. Nero 57.) In A. D. 75, Vologeses sent again to Vespasian, to beg him to assist the Parthians against the Alani, who were then at war with them; but Vespasian declined to do so, on the plea that it did not become him to meddle in other people's affairs. (D. C. 66.15; Suet. Dom. 2; Joseph. B. J. 7.7.4.) Vologeses founded on the Euphrates, a little to the south of Babylon, the town of Vologesocerta. (Plin. Nat. 6.30.) he seems to have lived till the reign of Domitian.
Pacorus, succeeded his father, Vologeses I., and was a contemporary of Domitian and Trajan; but scarcely anything is recorded of his reign. He is mentioned by Martial (9.36), and it appears from Pliny (Plin. Ep. 10.16), that he was in alliance with Decebalus, the king of the Dacians. It was probably this Pacorus who fortified and enlarged the city of Ctesiphon. (Amm. Marc. 23.6.)
Chosroes, called by Dio Cassius Osroes, a younger son of Vologeses I., succeeded his brother Pacorus during the reign of Trajan. Soon after his accession, he invaded Armenia, expelled Exedares, the son of Tiridates, who had been appointed king by the Romans, and gave the crown to his nephew Parthamasiris, the son of his brother Pacorus. Trajan hastened in person to the east, conquered Armenia, and reduced it to the form of a Roman province. Parthamasiris also fell into his hands. After concluding peace with Augarus, the ruler of Edessa, Trajan overran the northern part of Mesopotamia, took Nisibis land several other cities, and, after a most glorious campaign, returned to Antioch to winter, A. D. 114. In consequence of these successes, he received the surname of Parthicus from the soldiers and of Optimus from the senate. Parthia was at this time torn by civil commotions, which rendered the conquests of Trajan all the easier. In the spring of the following year, A. D. 115, he crossed the Tigris, took Ctesiphon and Seleuceia, and made Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia, Roman provinces. After these conquests, he sailed down the Tigris to the Persian gulf and the Indian ocean; but during his absence there was a general revolt of the Parthians. He immediately sent against them two of his generals, Maximus and Lusius, A. D. 116, the former of whom was defeated and slain by Chosroes, but the latter met with more success, and regained the cities of Nisibis, Edessa, and Seleuceia, as well as others which had revolted. Upon his return to Ctesiphon, Trajan appointed Parthamaspates king of Parthia, and then withdrew from the country to invade Arabia. Upon the death of Trajan, however, in the following year (A. D. 117), the Parthians expelled Parthanmaspates, and placed upon the throne their former king, Chosroes. But Hadrian, who had succeeded Trajan, was unwilling to engage in a war with the Parthians, and judged it more prudent to give up the conquests which Trajan had gained; he accordingly withdrew the Roman garrisons from Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia, and made the Euphrates, as before, the eastern boundary of the Roman empire. The exact time of Chosroes' death is unknown; but during the remainder of his reign there was no war between the Parthians and the Romans, as Hadrian cultivated friendly relations with the former. (Dio Cass. ixviii. 17-33; Aurel. Vict. Caes. 100.13 ; Paus. 5.12.4; Spartian, Hadr. 100.21.)
Vologeses II., succeeded his father Chosroes, and reigned probably from about A. D. 122 to 149. In A. D. 133, Media, which was then subject to the Parthians, was overrun by a vast horde of Alani (called by Dio Cassius, Albani), who penetrated also into Armenia and Cappadocia, but were induced to retire, partly by the presents of Vologeses, and partly through fear of Arrian, the Roman governor of Cappadocia. (D. C. 69.15.) During the reign of Hadrian, Vologeses continued at peace with the Romans ; and on the accession of Antoninus Pius, A. D. 138, he sent an embassy to Rome, to present the new emperor with a golden crown, which event is commemorated on a coin of Antoninus. (Eckhel, vii. pp. 5, 10, 11.) These friendly relations, however, did not continue undisturbed. Vologeses solicited from Antoninus the restoration of the royal throne of Parthia, which had been taken by Trajan, but did not obtain his request. He made preparations to invade Armenia, but was deterred from doing so by time representations of Antoninus. (Capitol. Anton. Pins, 100.9.)
Vologeses III., probably a son of the preceding, began to reign according to coins (Eckhel, iii. p. 538), A. D. 149. During the reign, of Antoninus, he continued at peace with the Romans; but on the death of this emperor, the long threatened war at length broke out. In A. D. 162, Vologeses invaded Armenia, and cut to pieces a Roman legion, with its commander Severianus, at Elegeia, in Armenia. He then entered Syria, defeated Atidius Cornelianus, the governor of Syria, and laid waste every thing before him. Thereupon the emperor Verus proceeded to Syria, but when he reached Antioch, he remained in that city and gave the command of the army to Cassius, who soon drove Vologeses out of Syria, and followed up his success by invading Mesopotamia and Assyria. He took Seleuceia and Ctesiphon, both of which he sacked and set on fire, but on his march homewards lost a great number of his troops by diseases and famine. Meantime Statius Priscus, who had been sent into Armenia, was equally successful. He entirely subdued the country, and took Artaxata, the capitol. (D. C. 70.2, 71.2; Lucian, Alex. Pseudom. 100.27; Capitol. M. Ant. Phil. cc. 8, 9, Verus, cc. 6, 7; Eutrop. 8.10.) This war seems to have been followed by the cession of Mesopotamia to the Romans.
From this time to the downfall of the Parthian empire, there is great confusion in the list of kings. Several modern writers indeed suppose, that the events related above under Vologeses III., happened in the reign of Vologeses II., and that the latter continued to reign till shortly before the death of Commodus (A. D. 192); but this is highly improbable, as Vologeses II. ascended the throne about A. D. 122, and must on this supposition have reigned nearly seventy years. If Vologeses III. began to reign in A. D. 149, as we have supposed from Eckhel, it is also improbable that he should have been the Vologeses spoken of in the reign of Caracalla, about A. D. 212. We are therefore inclined to believe that there was one Vologeses more than has been mentioned by modern writers, and have accordingly inserted an additional one in the list we have given.
Vologeses IV., probably ascended the throne in the reign of Commodus. In the contest between Pescennius Niger and Severus for the empire, A. D. 193, the Parthians sent troops to the assistance of the former ; and accordingly when Niger was conquered, Severus marched against the Parthians. He was accompanied by a brother of Vologeses. His invasion was quite unexpected and completely successful. He took Ctesiphon after an obstinate resistance in A. D. 199, and gave it to his soldiers to plunder, but did not permanently occupy it. Herodian appears to be mistaken in saying that this happened in the reign of Artabanus. (Herodian. 3.1, 9, 10; D. C. 75.9; Spartian. Sever. cc. 15, 16.) Reimar (ad Dio Cass. l.c.) supposes that this Vologeses is the same Vologeses, son of Sanatruces, king of Armenia, to whom, Dio Cassius tells us, that Severus granted part of Armenia; but the account of Dio Cassius is very confused. On the death of Vologeses IV., at the beginning of the reign of Caracalla, Parthia was torn asunder by contests for the crown between the sons of Vologeses. (D. C. 77.12.)
Vologeses V., a son of Vologeses IV., was engaged, as already remarked, in civil wars with his brothers. It was against him that Caracalla made war in A. D. 215, because he refused to surrender Tiridates and Antiochus, who had fled to Parthia from the Romans, but did not prosecute it, since the Parthians through fear delivered up the persons he had demanded. (D. C. 77.19.) He appears to have been dethroned about this time by his brother Artabanus.
Artabanus IV., the last king of Parthia, was a brother of the preceding, and a son of Vologeses IV. According to Herodian, Caracalla entered Parthia in A. D. 216, under pretence of seeking the daughter of Artabanus in marriage; and when Artabanus went to meet him unarmed with a great number of his nobility, Caracalla treacherously fell upon them and put the greater number to the sword; Artabanus himself escaped with difficulty. Dio Cassius merely relates that Artabanus refused to give his daughter in marriage to Caracalla, and that the latter laid waste in consequence the countries bordering upon Media. During the winter Artabanus raised a very large army, and in the following year, A. D. 217, marched against the Romans. Macrinus, who had meantime succeeded Caracalla, advanced to meet him; and a desperate battle was fought near Nisibis, which continued for two days, but without victory to either side. At the commencement of the third day, Macrinus sent an embassy to Artabanus, informing him of the death of Caracalla, with whom the Parthian king was chiefly enraged, and offering to restore the prisoners and treasures taken by Caracalla, and to pay a large stun of money besides. On these conditions a peace was concluded, and Artabanus withdrew his forces.
In this war, however, Artabanus had lost the best of his troops, and the Persians seized the opportunity of recovering their long-lost independence. They were led by Artaxerxes (Ardshir), the son of Sassan, and defeated the Parthians in three great battles, in the last of which Artabanus was taken prisoner and killed, A. D. 226. Thus ended the Parthian empire of the Arsacidae, after it had existed 476 years. (D. C. 78.1, 3, 26, 27, 80.3; Herodian, 4.9, 11, 11, 15, 6.2; Capitolin. Macrin. cc. 8, 12; Agathias, Ilist. 4.24; Syncellus, vol. i. p. 677, ed. Dindorf.) The Parthians were now obliged to submit to Artaxerxes, the founder of the dynasty of the Sassanidae, which continued to reign till A. D. 651. [Sassanidae.] The family of the Arsacidae, however, still continued to exist in Armenia as an independent dynasty. [Arsacidae.]
The best modern works on the history of the Parthian kings are: Vaillant, Arsacidarum imperium sive regum Parthorum historia ad fidem numismatum accomodata, Par. 1725; Eckhel, Doctr. Num. Veter. vol. iii. pp. 523-550; C. F. Richter, Histor. Krit. Versuch über die Arsaciden und Sassaniden-Dynastie, Göttingen, 1804; Krause in Ersch und Gruber's Encyclopädie, Art. Parther.
the name of four Armenian kings. [Arsacidae, pp. 362, b., 363, b., 364, a.]
The eldest son of Artabanus, king of the Parthians, was placed on the throne of Armenia by his father, after the death of Artaxias III. He perished by the treachery of Mithridates, the brother of Pharasmanes, king of Iberia, who had bribed some of the attendants of Arsaces to kill their master. After his death, which happened ill A. D. 35, Mithridates invaded Armenia and took its capital, Artaxata. Josephus (18.3.4.) calls this Armenian king Orodes, but this was the name of his brother, who, as we learn from Tacitus, was sent by the Parthian king to revenge his death. (Tac. Ann. 6.31-33; D. C. 58.26.)
The brother of Artabanus IV., the last Arsacid in Parthia, by whom he was made king of Armenia in the first year of the reign of Alexander Severus. (A. D. 222-223.) When his brother was killed by Artaxerxes (Ardashir), the first Sassanid on the Persian throne, he resisted the usurper, and united his warriors with those of Alexander Severus in the memorable war against Artaxerxes. [Sassanidae.] (Procop. de Aedificiis Justin. 3.1; D. C. 80.3, 4; Herodian, 6.2, &c.; Agathias, pp. 65, 134, ed. Paris.)
the son of Diran (Tiridates III.), ascended the throne either in the seventeenth year of the reign of Constantius, that is, in A. D. 354, or perhaps as early as 341 or 342, after his father had been made prisoner and deprived of his sight by Sapor II., king of Persia. After the reconciliation of Sapor with his captive Diran (Tiridates), Arsaces was chosen king, since his father, on account of his blindness, was unable to reign according to the opinion of the eastern nations, which opinion was also entertained by the Greeks of the Lower Empire, whence we so often find that when an emperor or usurper succeeded in making his rival prisoner, he usually blinded him, if he did not venture to put him to death. The nomination of Arsaces was approved by the emperor Constantius. The new king nevertheless took the part of Sapor in his war with the Romans, but soon afterwards made peace with the latter. He promised to pay an annual tribute, and Constantius allowed him to marry Olympias, the daughter of the praefect Ablavius, a near relation of the empress Constantia, and who had been betrothed to Constans, the brother of Constantius. Olympias was afterwards poisoned by a mistress of Sapor, an Armenian princess of the name of P'harhandsem.
To punish the defection of Arsaces, Sapor invaded Armenia and took Tigranocerta. He was thus involved in a war with the emperor Julian, the successor of Constantius, who opened his famous campaign against the Persians (A. D. 363) in concert with Arsaces, on whose active co-operation the success of the war in a great measure depended. But Julian's sanguine expectations of overthrowing the power of the Sassanidae was destroyed by the pusillanimity, or more probably well calculated treachery, of Arsaces, who withdrew his troops from the Roman camp near Ctesiphon in the month of June, 363. Thence the disastrous retreat of the Romans and the death of Julian, who died from a wound on the 26th of the same month. Jovian, who was chosen emperor in the camp, saved the Roman army by a treaty in July, by which he renounced his sovereignty over the tributary kingdoms of Armenia and Iberia. Arsaces, in the hope of receiving the reward of his treachery, ventured into the camp of Sapor. He was at first received with honour, but in the midst of an entertainment was seized by order of Sapor and confined in the tower of Oblivion at Ecbatana, where he was loaded with silver chains. He died there by the land of a faithful servant, whom he implored to release him with his sword from the humiliation of his captivity. Arsaces reigned tyrannically, and had a strong party against him, especially among the nobles. (Amm. Marc. 20.11, 21.6, 23.2, 3, 25.7, 27.12; Procop. de Bell. Pers. 1.5.)
(V. of Vaillant), the son of Para or Bab. According to Vaillant, he was the nephew of Para, being the son of one Arsaces (IV. of Vaillant), who was the brother of Para; this opinion has been adopted by distinguished historians, but it seems untenable. Arsaces IV. reigned a short time together with his brother Valarsces or Wagharshag, who died soon. In a war against an usurper, Waraztad, the son of Anob, who was the brother of Arsaces III., Arsaces IV. showed such a want of character and energy that he owed his success merely to the bad condnet of the usurper, who was at first supported by the emperor Theodosius the Great. The weakness of Arsaces being manifest, Theodosius and Sapor III. formed and carried into execution the plan of dividing Armenia. Arsaces was allowed to reign as a vassal king of Constantinople in the western and smaller part of Armenia, while the larger and eastern part became the share of Sapor, who gave it to Chosroes or Khosrew, a noble belonging to the house of the Arsacidae, of which there were still some branches living in Persia. According to St. Martin this happened in 387. Procopius mentions one Tigranes, brother of Arsaces, who reigned over eastern Armenia, which he ceded to Sapor. The whole history of the division of Armenia is very obscure, and the chief sources, Procopius and Moses Chorenensis are in manifest contradiction. Arsaces IV. died in 389, and his dominions were conferred by the emperor upon his general, Casavon, who was descended from the family of the Gamsaragans, which was a branch of the Arsacidae. It seems that this general was a most able diplomatist, and that his nomination was a plot concerted between him and Theodosius to bring all Armenia under the imperial authority ; Casavon declared himself a vassal of Chosroes, and this vassal suddenly broke his allegiance towards Sapor, and submitted to Theodosius. On this Bahrain IV., the successor of Sapor, invaded Armenia, seized Chosroes and put Bahram Shapur (Sapor) the brother of Chosroes, on the vassal throne of (eastern) Armenia. (392.) In 414, Chosroes was re-established by Yezdegerd I., the successor of Bahram IV., and after the death of Chosroes, in 415, Yezdegerd's son, Shapur or Sapor, became king. Sapor died in 419, and till 422 there was an interregnum in Armenia till Ardashes (Artasires) ascended the throne. (Procopius, de Aedif. Justin. 3.1. 5; De Bell. Pers. 2.3; Moses Choren. 3.40, &c., 49, &c.)
(Ἀρσάκης). The name of (1) the founder of the Parthian Empire, which was also borne by all his successors, who were hence called the Arsacidae. He was of obscure origin, but he induced the Parthians to revolt from Antiochus II., king of Syria, and became the first monarch of the Parthians, about B.C. 250. The events which immediately followed are stated very differently by different historians. He reigned only two years, and was succeeded by his brother Tiridates.
(2) Tiridates, reigned thirty-seven years, B.C. 248-211, and defeated Seleucus Callinicus, the successor of Antiochus II.
(3) Artabānus I., son of the preceding, was attacked by Antiochus III. (the Great), who, however, at length recognized him as king, about 210.
(4) Priapatius, son of the preceding, reigned fifteen years, and left three sons, Phraates, Mithridates, and Artabanus.
(5) Phraates I. was succeeded by his brother
(6) Mithridates I., who greatly enlarged the Parthian Empire by his conquests. He defeated Demetrius Nicator, king of Syria, and took him prisoner in 138. He died during the captivity of Demetrius, between 138 and 130.
(7) Phraātes II., son of the preceding, defeated and slew in battle Antiochus VII. Sidetes, B.C. 128. Phraates himself was shortly after killed by the Scythians.
(8) Artabānus II., youngest son of No. 4, fell in battle against the Thogarii or Tocharii, apparently after a short reign.
(9) Mithridātes II., son of the preceding, added many nations to the Parthian Empire, whence he obtained the surname of Great. He sent an ambassador to Sulla , B.C. 92.
(10) Mnascīres (?), the successor of the preceding, of whom nothing is known.
(11) Sanatrŏces, reigned seven years, and died about B.C. 70.
(12) Phraātes III., son of the preceding, lived at the time of the war between the Romans and Mithridates of Pontus, by both of whom he was courted. He was murdered by his two sons, Mithridates and Orodes.
(13) Mithridātes III., son of the preceding, was expelled from the throne on account of his cruelty, and was succeeded by his brother Orodes.
(14) Orōdes I., brother of the preceding, was the Parthian king whose general Surenas defeated Crassus and the Romans, B.C. 53. (See Crassus.) After the death of Crassus, Orodes gave the command of the army to his son Pacorus, who invaded Syria both in 51 and 50, but was in each year driven back by Cassius. In 40, the Parthians again invaded Syria, under the command of Pacorus and Labienus, but were defeated in 39 by Ventidius Bassus, one of Antony's legates. In 38, Pacorus once more invaded Syria, but was completely defeated and fell in the battle. This defeat was a severe blow to the aged king, Orodes, who shortly afterwards surrendered the crown to his son Phraates during his lifetime.
(15) Phraātes IV. was a cruel tyrant. In 36, Antony invaded Parthia, but was obliged to retreat after losing a great part of his army. A few years afterwards Phraates was driven out of the country by his subjects, and Tiridates proclaimed king in his stead. Phraates, however, was soon restored by the Scythians, and Tiridates fled to Augustus, carrying with him the youngest son of Phraates. Augustus restored his son to Phraates, on condition of his surrendering the Roman standards and prisoners taken in the war with Crassus and Antony. They were given up in 20, and their restoration was celebrated not only by the poets, but by festivals and commemorative monuments. Phraates also sent to Augustus as hostages his four sons. In A.D. 2, Phraates was poisoned by his wife Thermusa and her son Phraataces.
(16) Phraatăces reigned only a short time, as he was expelled by his subjects on account of his crimes. The Parthian nobles then elected as king Orodes, who was of the family of the Arsacidae.
(17) Orōdes II. also reigned only a short time, as he was killed by the Parthians on account of his cruelty. Upon his death the Parthians applied to the Romans for Vonones, one of the sons of Phraates IV., who was accordingly granted to them.
(18) Vonōnes I., son of Phraates IV., was also disliked by his subjects, who therefore invited Artabanus, king of Media, to take possession of the kingdom. Artabanus drove Vonones out of Parthia, who resided first in Armenia, next in Syria, and subsequently in Cilicia. He was put to death in A.D. 19.
(19) Artabānus III. obtained the Parthian kingdom soon after the expulsion of Vonones, about A.D. 16. Artabanus was involved in hostilities with the Romans, and was expelled more than once by his subjects. (20) Gotarzes succeeded his father, Artabanus III., but was defeated by his brother Bardanes and retired into Hyrcania. (21) Bardānes, brother of the preceding, was put to death by his subjects in 47, whereupon Gotarzes again obtained the crown. (22) Vonōnes II. succeeded Gotarzes about 50. His reign was short. (23) Vologĕses I., son of Vonones II. or Artabanus III. Soon after his accession he conquered Armenia, which he gave to his brother Tiridates. He carried on war with the Romans, but was defeated by Domitius Corbulo, and at length made peace with the Romans on condition that Tiridates should receive Armenia as a gift from the Roman emperor. Accordingly Tiridates came to Rome in 63, and obtained from Nero the Armenian crown. (24) Pacŏrus succeeded his father, Vologeses I., and was a contemporary of Domitian and Trajan. (25) Chosroës or Osroës succeeded his brother Pacorus during the reign of Trajan. His conquest of Armenia occasioned the invasion of Parthia by Trajan, who stripped it of many of its provinces, and made the Parthians for a time subject to Rome. (See Traianus.) Upon the death of Trajan, in A.D. 117, Hadrian relinquished the conquests of Trajan, and made the Euphrates, as before, the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. (26) Vologēses II. succeeded his father, Chosroës, and reigned from about A.D. 122 to 149. (27) Vologēses III. was defeated by the generals of the emperor Verus, and purchased peace by ceding Mesopotamia to the Romans. From this time to the downfall of the Parthian Empire there is great confusion in the list of kings. The last king of Parthia was Artabānus IV., in whose reign the Persians recovered their long-lost independence. They were led by Artaxerxes, the son of Sassan, and defeated the Parthians in three great battles, in the last of which Artabanus was taken prisoner and killed, A.D. 226. Thus ended the Parthian Empire of the Arsacidae, after it had existed 476 years. The Parthians were now obliged to submit to Artaxerxes, the founder of the dynasty of the Sassanidae, which continued to reign till A.D. 651. See Parthia.
- Paus. 5.12.6