Thereupon the emperor Verus pro-
Vologeses
IV.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
c.
66), occurrences excited considerable alarm at Rome, as
sent a letter to Tiberius upbraiding him with his Nero, who had just ascended the throne (A. D. 55),
crimes, and advising him to satisfy the hatred of was only seventeen years of age. Nero, however,
his citizens by a voluntary death. After the death made active preparations to oppose the Parthians,
of Tiberius, Artabanus sought to extend his king- and sent Domitius Corbulo to take possession of
dom; he seized Armenia, and meditated an attack Armenia, from which the Parthians had meantime
upon Syria, but alarmed by the activity of Vitel | withdrawn, and Quadratus Ummidius to command
lius, who advanced to the Euphrates to meet him, in Syria. Vologeses was persuaded by Corbulo
he concluded peace with the Romans, and sacri- and Umnidius to conclude peace with the Romans
ficed to the images of Augustus and Caligula. and give as hostages the noblest of the Arsacidae ;
(Dion Cass. lix. 27 ; Suet. Vitell. 2, Calig. 14, which he was induced to do, either that he might
with Ernesti's Excursus. )
the more conveniently prepare for war, or that he
Subsequently, Artabanus was again expelled | might remove from the kingdom those who were
from his kingdom by the Parthian nobles, but was likely to prove rivals. (Tac. Ann. xii. 50, xiii.
restored by the mediation of Izates, king of Adia- 5—9. ) Three years afterwards (A. D. 58), the
bene, who was allowed in consequence to wear his war at length broke out between the Parthians
tiara upright, and to sleep upon a golden bed, and the Romans; for Vologeses could not endure
which were privileges peculiar to the kings of Par- | Tiridates to be deprived of the kingdom of Arme
thia. Soon afterwards, Artabanus died, and left nia, which he had himself given him, and would
the kingdom to his son Bardanes. Bardanes made not let him receive it as a gift from the Romans.
war upon Izates, to whom his family was so deeply This war, however, terminated in favour of the
indebted, merely because he refused to assist him Romans. Corbulo, the Roman general, took and
in making war upon the Romans; but when the destroyed Artaxata, and also obtained possession
Parthians perceived the intentions of Bardanes, of Tigranocerta, which surrendered to him. Tiri-
they put him to death, and gave the kingdom to dates was driven out of Armenia ; and Corbulo
his brother, Gotarzes. This is the account given appointed in his place, as king of Armenia, the
by Josephus (Ant. xx. 3) of the reigns of Bardanes Cappadocian Tigranes, the grandson of king Arche-
and Gotarzes, and differs from that of Tacitus, laus, and gave certain parts of Armenia to the tri-
which is briefly as follows.
butary kings who had assisted him in the war.
ARSACES XX. , GotaRzes, succeeded his fa- After making these arrangements, Corbulo retired
ther, Artabanus III. ; but in consequence of his into Syria, A. D. 60. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 34-41, xiv. 23-
cruelty, the Parthians invited his brother Bardanes 26; Dion Cass. lxii. 19, 20. ) Vologeses, however, re-
to the throne. A civil war ensued between the solved to make another attempt to recover Armenia.
two brothers, which terminated by Gotarzes re- He made preparations to invade Syria himself, and
signing the crown to Bardanes, and retiring into sent Monaeses, one of his generals, and Mono-
Hyrcania. (Tac. Ann. xi. 8, 9. )
bazus, king of the Adiabeni, to attack Tigranes
ARSACES XXI. , BARDANES, the brother of and drive him out of Armenia. They accordingly
the preceding, attempted to recover Armenia, but I entered Armenia and laid siege to Tigranoceria,
## p. 359 (#379) ############################################
ARSACES.
359
ARSACES.
Bodo
دند
but were unable to take it. As Vologeses also A. D. 114. In consequence of these successes, he
found that Corbulo had taken every precaution to received the sumame of Purthicus from the soldiers
secure Syria, he sent ambassadors to Corbulo to and of Optimus from the senate. Parthia was at
solicit a truce, that he might despatch an embassy this time torn by civil commotions, which rendered
to Rome concerning the terms of peace. This was the conquests of Trajan all the easier. In the
granted ; but as no satisfactory answer was ob- spring of the following year, A. D. 115, he crossed
tained from Nero, Vologeses invaded Armenia, the Tigris, took Ctesiphon and Seleuccia, and made
where he gained considerable advantages over Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia, Roman
Caesenninus Paetus, and at length besieged him provinces. After these conquests, he sailed down
in his winter-quarters. Paetus, alarmed at his the Tigris to the Persian gulf and the Indian
situation, agreed with Vologeses, that Armenia ocean; but during his absence there was a general
should be surrendered to the Ronians, and that he revolt of the Parthians. He immediately sent
should be allowed to retire in safety from the against them two of his generals, Maximus and
country, a. D. 62. Shortly after this, Vologeses Lusius, A. D. 116, the former of whom was defeated
sent another embassy to Rome; and Nero agreed and slain by Chosroes, but the latter met with
to surrender Armenia to Tiridates, provided the more success, and regained the cities of Nisibis,
latter would come to Rome and receive it as a gift Edessa, and Seleucein, as well as others which
from the Roman emperor. Peace was made on had revolted. Upon his return to Ctesiphon, Tra-
these conditions; and Tiridates repaired to Rome, jan appointed Parthamaspates king of Parthia, and
A. D. 63, where he was received with extraordinary then withdrew from the country to invade Arabia.
splendour, and obtained from Nero the Armenian Upon the death of Trajan, however, in the follow-
crown. (Tac. Ann. xv. 1-18, 25—31; Dion Cass. ing year (A. D. 117), the Parthians expelled Par-
lxii. 20—23, lxiii. 1—7. )
thamaspates, and placed upon the throne their
In the struggle for the empire after Nero's former king, Chosroes. But Hadrian, who had
death, Vologeses sent ambassadors to Vespasian, succeeded Trajan, was unwilling to engage in a
offering to assist him with 40,000 Parthians. This war with the Parthians, and judged it more pru-
offer was declined by Vespasian, but he bade Vo dent to give up the conquests which Trajan had
logeses send ambassadors to the senate, and he gained; he accordingly withdrew the Roman gar-
secured peace to him. (Tac. Hist. iv. 51. ) Vologeses risons from Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia,
afterwards sent an embassy to Titus, as he was and made the Euphrates, as before, the eastern
returning from the conquest of Jerusalem, to con- boundary of the Roman empire. The exact time
gratulate him on his success, and present him with of Chostoes' death is unknown; but during the
a golden crown ; and shortly afterwards (A. D. 72), remainder of his reign there was no war between
he sent another embassy to Vespasian to intercede the Parthians and the Romans, as Hadrian culti-
on behalf of Antiochus, the deposed king of Com- vated friendly relations with the former. (Dion
magene. (Joseph. B. J. vii. 5. & 2, 7. $ 3; comp. Cass. ixviii. 17—33 ; Aurel. Vict. Caes. c. 13 ;
Dion Cass. lxvi. 11; Suet. Ner. 57. ) In a. D. 75, Paus. v. 12. $ 4; Spartian, Hadr. c. 21. )
Vologeses sent again to Vespasian, to beg him to ARSACES XXVII. , VOLOGESES II. , succeeded
assist the Parthians against the Alani, who were his father Chobroes, and reigned probably from
then at war with them; but Vespasian declined to about A. D. 122 to 149. In A. D. 133, Media,
do so, on the plea that it did not become him to which was then subject to the Parthians, was over-
meddle in other people's affairs. (Dion Cass. lxvi. run by a vast horde of Alani (called by Dion Cas-
15; Suet. Dom. 2; Joseph. B. J. vii. 7. § 4. ) sius, Albani), who penetrated also into Armenia
Vologeses founded on the Euphrates, a little to and Cappadocia, but were induced to retire, partly
the south of Babylon, the town of Vologesocerta. by the presents of Vologeses, and partly through
(Plin. H. N. vi. 30. ) He seems to have lived till fear of Arrian, the Roman governor of Cappadocia.
the reign of Domitian.
(Dion Cass. lxix. 15. ) During the reign of Ha-
ARSACES XXIV. , PACORUS, succeeded his drian, Vologeses continued at peace with the Ro
father, Vologeses I. , and was a contemporary of mans; and on the accession of Antoninus Pius,
Domitian and Trajan ; but scarcely anything is A. d. 138, he sent an embassy to Rome, to present
recorded of his reign. He is mentioned by Martial the new emperor with a golden crown, which event
(ix. 36), and it appears from Pliny (Ep. x. 16), is commemorated on a coin of Antoninus. (Eckhel,
that he was in alliance with Decebalus, the king vii. pp. 5, 10, 11. ) These friendly relations, how-
of the Dacians. It was probably this Pacorus ever, did not continue undisturbed. Vologeses
who fortified and enlarged the city of Ctesiphop. solicited from Antoninus the restoration of the
(Amm. Marc. xxiii. 6. )
royal throne of Parthia, which had been taken by
ARSACES XXV. , CHOSROES, called by Dion | Trajan, but did not obtain his request. He made
Cassius Osroes, a younger son of Vologeses 1. , preparations to invade Armenia, but was deterred
succeeded his brother Pacorus during the reign of from doing so by the representations of Antoninus.
Trajan. Soon after his accession, he invaded Ar- (Capitol. Anton. Pius, c. 9. )
menia, expelled Exedares, the son of Tiridates, ARSACES XXVIII. , VOLOGESES 111. , probably
who had been appointed king by the Romans, and a son of the preceding, began to reign according
gave the crown to his nephew Parthamasiris, the to coins (Eckhel, iii. p. 538), A. D. 149. During
son of his brother Pacorus. Trajan hastened in the reign of Antoninus, he continued at peace
person to the east, conquered Armenia, and reduced with the Romans; but on the death of this em-
it to the form of a Roman province. Parthama- peror, the long threatened war at length broke
siris also fell into his hands. After concluding out. In a. D. 162, Vologeses invaded Armenia,
peace with Augarus, the ruler of Edessa, Trajan and cut to pieces a Roman legion, with its com-
overran the northern part of Mesopotamia, took mander Severianus, at Elegeia, in Armenia. He
Nisibis and several other cities, and, after a most then entered Syria, defeated Atidius Cornelianus,
glorious campaign, returned to Antioch to winter, ) the governor of Syria, and laid waste every thing
.
;
NY
2
## p. 360 (#380) ############################################
300
ARSACES.
ARSACIDAE
Un
VETTI TANOY
edia
before him.
Thereupon the emperor Verus pro- Vologeses IV. , was engaged, as already remarked,
ceeded to Syria, but when he reached Antioch, he in civil wars with his brothers. It was against
remained in that city and gave the command of him that Caracalla made war in A. D. 215, be-
the army to Cassius, who soon drove Vologeses cause he refused to surrender Tiridates and An-
out of Syria, and followed up his success by in- tiochus, who had fled to Parthin from the Romans,
vading Mesopotamia and Assyria. He took Se but did not prosecute it, since the Parthians
leuceia and Ctesiphon, both of which he sacked through fear delivered up the persons he had de-
and set on fire, but on his march homewards lost manded. (Dion Cass. lxxvii. 19. ) He appears
a great number of his troops by diseases and to have been dethroned about this time by his
famine. Meantime Statius Priscus, who had been brother Artabanus.
sent into Armenia, was equally successful. He ARSACES XXXI. , ARTABANUS IV. , the last
entirely subdued the country, and took Artaxata, king of Parthia, was a brother of the preceding,
the capitol. (Dion Cass. lxx. 2, lxxi. 2; Lucian, and a son of Vologeses IV. According to He-
Alex. Psoudom. c. 27; Capitol. M. Ant. Phil. cc. rodian, Caracalla entered Parthia in A. D. 216,
8, 9, Verus, cc. 6, 7; Eutrop. viii. 10. ) This under pretence of seeking the daughter of Artaba-
war seems to have been followed by the cession of nus in marriage ; and when Artabanus went to
Mesopotamia to the Romans.
meet him unarmed with a great number of his no-
bility, Caracalla treacherously fell upon them and
ΑΣ
put the greater number to the sword ; Artabanus
himself escaped with difficulty. Dion Cassius
merely relates that Artabanus refused to give his
daughter in marriage to Caracalla, and that the
latter laid waste in consequence the countries bor-
dering upon Media. During the winter Artaba-
nus raised a very large army, and in the following
ycar, A. D. 217, marched against the Romans.
PAA Macrinus, who had meantime succeeded Caracalla,
advanced to meet him ; and a desperate battle was
From this time to the downfall of the Parthian fought near Nisibis, which continued for two days,
empire, there is great confusion in the list of kings. but without victory to either side. At the com-
Several modern writers indeed suppose, that the mencement of the third day, Macrinus sent an
events related above under Vologeses 111. , hap- embassy to Artabanus, informing him of the death
pened in the reign of Vologeses II. , and that the of Caracalla, with whom the Parthian king was
latter continued to reign till shortly before the chiefly enraged, and offering to restore the prison-
death of Commodus ( a. D. 192); but this is highly ers and treasures taken by Caracalla, and to pay a
improbable, as Vologeses II. ascended the throne large sum of money besides. On these conditions
about a. d. 122, and must on this supposition a peace was concluded, and Artabanus withdrew
have reigned nearly seventy years. If Vologeses his forces.
III. began to reign in A. D. 149, as we have sup- In this war, however, Artabanns had lost the
posed from Eckhel, it is also improbable that he best of his troops, and the Persians seized the op-
should have been the Vologeses spoken of in the portunity of recovering their long-lost independ-
reign of Caracalla, about A. D. 212. We are ence. They were led by Artaxerxes (Ardshir),
therefore inclined to believe that there was one the son of Sassan, and defeated the Parthians in
Vologeses more than has been mentioned by modern three great battles, in the last of which Artabanus
writers, and have accordingly inserted an ad- was taken prisoner and killed, A. D. 226. Thus
ditional one in the list we have given.
ended the Parthian empire of the Arsacidae, after it
ARSACES XXIX. , VOLOGESES IV. , proba- had existed 476 years. (Dion Cass. Ixxvii. 1, 3,
bly ascended the throne in the reign of Commo- 26, 27, lxxx. 3; Herodian, iv. 9, 11, 14, 15, vi.
dus. In the contest between Pescennius Niger 2; Capitolin. Macrin. cc. 8, 12; Agathias, Hist. iv.
and Severus for the empire, A. D. 193, the Par- 24; Syncellus, vol. i. p. 677, ed Dindorf. ) The
thians sent troops to the assistance of the former ; Parthians were now obliged to submit to Artax-
and accordingly when Niger was conquered, erxes, the founder of the dynasty of the Sassani-
Severus marched against the Parthians. He was dae, which continued to reign till A. D. 651.
accompanied by a brother of Vologeses. His in- [SASSANIDAE. ] The family of the Arsacidae,
vasion was quite unexpected and completely suc- however, still continued to exist in Armenia as an
cessful. He took Ctesiphon after an obstinate re- independent dynasty. [ARSACIDAE. )
sistance in A. D. 199, and gave it to his soldiers The best modern works on the history of the
to plunder, but did not permanently occupy it. Parthian kings are: Vaillant, Arsacidarum impe-
Herodian appears to be mistaken in saying that rium sive reyum Parthorum historia ad fidem numis-
this happened in the reign of Artabanus. (Hero- matum accomodata, Par. 1725; Eckhel, Doctr.
dian. iii. 1, 9, 10; Dion Cass. lxxv. 9; Spartian. Num. Veter, vol. iii. pp. 523—550 ; C. F. Richter,
Sever. cc. 15, 16. ) Reimar (ad Dion Cass. I. c. ) Histor. Krit. Versuch über die Arsaciden und Sas-
supposes that this Vologeses is the same Vologeses, saniden-Dynastie, Göttingen, 1804; Krause in
son of Sanatruces, king of Armenia, to whom, Ersch und Gruber's Encyclopädie, Art
. Parther.
Dion Cassius tells us, that Severus granted part of ARSA'CES, the name of four Armenian kings.
Armenia ; but the account of Dion Cassius is very [ARSACIDAE, pp. 362, b. , 363, b. , 364, a. ]
confused. On the death of Vologeses IV. , at the ARSA'CIDAE. 1. The name of a dynasty of
beginning of the reign of Caracalla, Parthia was Parthian kings. [ARSACES. ]
torn asunder by contests for the crown between 2. The name of a dynasty of Armenian kings,
the sons of Vologeses. (Dion Cass. lxxvii. 12. ) who reigned over Armenia during the wars of the
ARSACES XXX. , VOLOGESES V. , a son of Romans with Mithridates the Great, king of Pou-
## p. 361 (#381) ############################################
ARSACIDAE.
361
ARSACIDAE.
tus, and with the Parthians. The history of this, the Armenian historians. They were one of the
dynasty is involved in great difficulties, as the most powerful families in Armenia. After they
Latin and Greek authors do not always agree with had come to the throne, they sometimes were com-
the Armenian historians, such as Moses Chorenensis, pelled to pay tribute to the khalifs and to the em-
Faustus Byzantinus, and others. The Romans do perors of Constantinople, and in later times they
not call the dynasty of the Armenian kings by the lost a considerable part of Armenia. A branch of
name of Arsacidae ; they mention several kings of this family reigned at Kars for a considerable time
the name of Arsaces, and others descended from the after 1079. Another branch acquired the kingdom
Parthian dynasty of the Arsacidae, and they seem of Georgia, which it possessed down to the present
not to have known several kings inentioned by the day, when the last king, David, ceded his kingdom
Armenian historians. On the other hand, the to Russia, in which country his descendants are
Armenian writers know but one dynasty reigning still living. The princes of Bagration in Russia
in Armenia during that period, and they do not are likewise descended from the Pagratidae, an-
mention several kings spoken of by the Romans; other branch of whom settled in Imerethia in the
or, if they mention their names, they do not con- Caucasus, and its descendants still belong to the
sider them as kings. The consequence of this is, principal chiefs of that country.
that every account based exclusively on Roman VII. DYNASTY OF THE ARDZRUNIANS, said to
and Greek writers would be incomplete ; they have been descended from the ancient kings of
want to be compared with the Armenian historians, Assyria. Several members of it were appointed
and thus only a satisfactory result car be obtained governors of Armenia by the first khaliſs. In a. D.
Several attempts have been made to reconcile the 855, this family became independent in the northern
different statements of the western and eastern part of Armenia in the country round the upper
historians, as the reader may see from the notes of part of the Euphrates. Adom and Abusahl, the
the brothers Whiston and the works of Vaillant, last Ardzrunians, were killed in 1080 by the em-
Du Four de Longuerue, Richter, and especially peror Nicephorus Botaniates, who united their do-
St. Martin, which are cited below.
minions with the Byzantine empire.
The expression “kings of Armenia” is in many VIII. MOHAMMEDAN DYNASTIES. 1. Of Kurd-
instances vague, and leads to erroneous conclusions, ish origin, from A. D. 984 to a. D. 1085. 2. Of
especially with regard to the Arsacidae. The trans Turkoman origin, from A. D. 1084 to A. D. 1312.
actions of the Romans with Armenia will present | They resided in different places, and the extent
much less difficulties if the student will remember of their dorninions varied according to the military
that he has to do with kings in Armenia, and kings success of the khalifs of Egypt and the Seljukian
of Armenian origin reigning in countries beyond princes.
the limits of Armenia. The history of the Arsa- IX. DYNASTIES OF DIFFERENT ORIGIN, from
cidae cannot be well understood without a previous the eleventh to the fourteenth century. Some
knowledge of the other dynasties before and after kings belonged to the Pagratidae, among whom
that of the Arsacidae ; for Armenian kings were was the celebrated Haython I. or Hethum in 1224;
known to the Greeks long before the accession of and some were Latin princes, among whom was Leo
the Arsacidae ; and the annals of the Eastern em- VI. of Lusignan, who was driven out by the khalif
pire mention many important transactions with of Egypt, and died in Paris in 1393, the last king
kings of Armenia, belonging to those dynasties, of Armenia. Otto, duke of Brunswick, from whom
which reigned in this country during a period of is descended the present house of Hanover, was
almost a thousand years after the fall of the Arsa- crowned as king of Armenia in Germany, but he
cidae. But as any detailed account would be out never entered the country.
of place here, we can give only a short sketch. THE DYNASTY OF THE ARSACIDAE. (See
I. DYNASTY of Haïg, founded by Haïg, the son above, No. 111. ) It has already been said, that
of Gathlas, who is said to have lived B. c. 2107. there are considerable discrepancies between the
Fifty-nine kings belong to this dynasty, and statements of the Romans and those of the Arme-
among them Zarmaïr, who, according to the As- nians concerning this dynasty. The Romans tell
menian historians, assisted the Trojans at the siege us that Artaxias, governor of Armenia Magna for
of their city, where he commanded a body of As Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, made himself
syrians; Dikran or Tigranes, a prince mentioned independent in his government B. c. 188; and that
by Xenophon (Cyrop. iii
. 1, v. 1, 3, viii. 3, 4); Zadriates became king of Armenia Minor, of which
and Wabe, the last of his house, who fell in a country he was praefect. The descendents of Ar-
battle with Alexander the Great in B. C. 328.
sent a letter to Tiberius upbraiding him with his Nero, who had just ascended the throne (A. D. 55),
crimes, and advising him to satisfy the hatred of was only seventeen years of age. Nero, however,
his citizens by a voluntary death. After the death made active preparations to oppose the Parthians,
of Tiberius, Artabanus sought to extend his king- and sent Domitius Corbulo to take possession of
dom; he seized Armenia, and meditated an attack Armenia, from which the Parthians had meantime
upon Syria, but alarmed by the activity of Vitel | withdrawn, and Quadratus Ummidius to command
lius, who advanced to the Euphrates to meet him, in Syria. Vologeses was persuaded by Corbulo
he concluded peace with the Romans, and sacri- and Umnidius to conclude peace with the Romans
ficed to the images of Augustus and Caligula. and give as hostages the noblest of the Arsacidae ;
(Dion Cass. lix. 27 ; Suet. Vitell. 2, Calig. 14, which he was induced to do, either that he might
with Ernesti's Excursus. )
the more conveniently prepare for war, or that he
Subsequently, Artabanus was again expelled | might remove from the kingdom those who were
from his kingdom by the Parthian nobles, but was likely to prove rivals. (Tac. Ann. xii. 50, xiii.
restored by the mediation of Izates, king of Adia- 5—9. ) Three years afterwards (A. D. 58), the
bene, who was allowed in consequence to wear his war at length broke out between the Parthians
tiara upright, and to sleep upon a golden bed, and the Romans; for Vologeses could not endure
which were privileges peculiar to the kings of Par- | Tiridates to be deprived of the kingdom of Arme
thia. Soon afterwards, Artabanus died, and left nia, which he had himself given him, and would
the kingdom to his son Bardanes. Bardanes made not let him receive it as a gift from the Romans.
war upon Izates, to whom his family was so deeply This war, however, terminated in favour of the
indebted, merely because he refused to assist him Romans. Corbulo, the Roman general, took and
in making war upon the Romans; but when the destroyed Artaxata, and also obtained possession
Parthians perceived the intentions of Bardanes, of Tigranocerta, which surrendered to him. Tiri-
they put him to death, and gave the kingdom to dates was driven out of Armenia ; and Corbulo
his brother, Gotarzes. This is the account given appointed in his place, as king of Armenia, the
by Josephus (Ant. xx. 3) of the reigns of Bardanes Cappadocian Tigranes, the grandson of king Arche-
and Gotarzes, and differs from that of Tacitus, laus, and gave certain parts of Armenia to the tri-
which is briefly as follows.
butary kings who had assisted him in the war.
ARSACES XX. , GotaRzes, succeeded his fa- After making these arrangements, Corbulo retired
ther, Artabanus III. ; but in consequence of his into Syria, A. D. 60. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 34-41, xiv. 23-
cruelty, the Parthians invited his brother Bardanes 26; Dion Cass. lxii. 19, 20. ) Vologeses, however, re-
to the throne. A civil war ensued between the solved to make another attempt to recover Armenia.
two brothers, which terminated by Gotarzes re- He made preparations to invade Syria himself, and
signing the crown to Bardanes, and retiring into sent Monaeses, one of his generals, and Mono-
Hyrcania. (Tac. Ann. xi. 8, 9. )
bazus, king of the Adiabeni, to attack Tigranes
ARSACES XXI. , BARDANES, the brother of and drive him out of Armenia. They accordingly
the preceding, attempted to recover Armenia, but I entered Armenia and laid siege to Tigranoceria,
## p. 359 (#379) ############################################
ARSACES.
359
ARSACES.
Bodo
دند
but were unable to take it. As Vologeses also A. D. 114. In consequence of these successes, he
found that Corbulo had taken every precaution to received the sumame of Purthicus from the soldiers
secure Syria, he sent ambassadors to Corbulo to and of Optimus from the senate. Parthia was at
solicit a truce, that he might despatch an embassy this time torn by civil commotions, which rendered
to Rome concerning the terms of peace. This was the conquests of Trajan all the easier. In the
granted ; but as no satisfactory answer was ob- spring of the following year, A. D. 115, he crossed
tained from Nero, Vologeses invaded Armenia, the Tigris, took Ctesiphon and Seleuccia, and made
where he gained considerable advantages over Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia, Roman
Caesenninus Paetus, and at length besieged him provinces. After these conquests, he sailed down
in his winter-quarters. Paetus, alarmed at his the Tigris to the Persian gulf and the Indian
situation, agreed with Vologeses, that Armenia ocean; but during his absence there was a general
should be surrendered to the Ronians, and that he revolt of the Parthians. He immediately sent
should be allowed to retire in safety from the against them two of his generals, Maximus and
country, a. D. 62. Shortly after this, Vologeses Lusius, A. D. 116, the former of whom was defeated
sent another embassy to Rome; and Nero agreed and slain by Chosroes, but the latter met with
to surrender Armenia to Tiridates, provided the more success, and regained the cities of Nisibis,
latter would come to Rome and receive it as a gift Edessa, and Seleucein, as well as others which
from the Roman emperor. Peace was made on had revolted. Upon his return to Ctesiphon, Tra-
these conditions; and Tiridates repaired to Rome, jan appointed Parthamaspates king of Parthia, and
A. D. 63, where he was received with extraordinary then withdrew from the country to invade Arabia.
splendour, and obtained from Nero the Armenian Upon the death of Trajan, however, in the follow-
crown. (Tac. Ann. xv. 1-18, 25—31; Dion Cass. ing year (A. D. 117), the Parthians expelled Par-
lxii. 20—23, lxiii. 1—7. )
thamaspates, and placed upon the throne their
In the struggle for the empire after Nero's former king, Chosroes. But Hadrian, who had
death, Vologeses sent ambassadors to Vespasian, succeeded Trajan, was unwilling to engage in a
offering to assist him with 40,000 Parthians. This war with the Parthians, and judged it more pru-
offer was declined by Vespasian, but he bade Vo dent to give up the conquests which Trajan had
logeses send ambassadors to the senate, and he gained; he accordingly withdrew the Roman gar-
secured peace to him. (Tac. Hist. iv. 51. ) Vologeses risons from Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia,
afterwards sent an embassy to Titus, as he was and made the Euphrates, as before, the eastern
returning from the conquest of Jerusalem, to con- boundary of the Roman empire. The exact time
gratulate him on his success, and present him with of Chostoes' death is unknown; but during the
a golden crown ; and shortly afterwards (A. D. 72), remainder of his reign there was no war between
he sent another embassy to Vespasian to intercede the Parthians and the Romans, as Hadrian culti-
on behalf of Antiochus, the deposed king of Com- vated friendly relations with the former. (Dion
magene. (Joseph. B. J. vii. 5. & 2, 7. $ 3; comp. Cass. ixviii. 17—33 ; Aurel. Vict. Caes. c. 13 ;
Dion Cass. lxvi. 11; Suet. Ner. 57. ) In a. D. 75, Paus. v. 12. $ 4; Spartian, Hadr. c. 21. )
Vologeses sent again to Vespasian, to beg him to ARSACES XXVII. , VOLOGESES II. , succeeded
assist the Parthians against the Alani, who were his father Chobroes, and reigned probably from
then at war with them; but Vespasian declined to about A. D. 122 to 149. In A. D. 133, Media,
do so, on the plea that it did not become him to which was then subject to the Parthians, was over-
meddle in other people's affairs. (Dion Cass. lxvi. run by a vast horde of Alani (called by Dion Cas-
15; Suet. Dom. 2; Joseph. B. J. vii. 7. § 4. ) sius, Albani), who penetrated also into Armenia
Vologeses founded on the Euphrates, a little to and Cappadocia, but were induced to retire, partly
the south of Babylon, the town of Vologesocerta. by the presents of Vologeses, and partly through
(Plin. H. N. vi. 30. ) He seems to have lived till fear of Arrian, the Roman governor of Cappadocia.
the reign of Domitian.
(Dion Cass. lxix. 15. ) During the reign of Ha-
ARSACES XXIV. , PACORUS, succeeded his drian, Vologeses continued at peace with the Ro
father, Vologeses I. , and was a contemporary of mans; and on the accession of Antoninus Pius,
Domitian and Trajan ; but scarcely anything is A. d. 138, he sent an embassy to Rome, to present
recorded of his reign. He is mentioned by Martial the new emperor with a golden crown, which event
(ix. 36), and it appears from Pliny (Ep. x. 16), is commemorated on a coin of Antoninus. (Eckhel,
that he was in alliance with Decebalus, the king vii. pp. 5, 10, 11. ) These friendly relations, how-
of the Dacians. It was probably this Pacorus ever, did not continue undisturbed. Vologeses
who fortified and enlarged the city of Ctesiphop. solicited from Antoninus the restoration of the
(Amm. Marc. xxiii. 6. )
royal throne of Parthia, which had been taken by
ARSACES XXV. , CHOSROES, called by Dion | Trajan, but did not obtain his request. He made
Cassius Osroes, a younger son of Vologeses 1. , preparations to invade Armenia, but was deterred
succeeded his brother Pacorus during the reign of from doing so by the representations of Antoninus.
Trajan. Soon after his accession, he invaded Ar- (Capitol. Anton. Pius, c. 9. )
menia, expelled Exedares, the son of Tiridates, ARSACES XXVIII. , VOLOGESES 111. , probably
who had been appointed king by the Romans, and a son of the preceding, began to reign according
gave the crown to his nephew Parthamasiris, the to coins (Eckhel, iii. p. 538), A. D. 149. During
son of his brother Pacorus. Trajan hastened in the reign of Antoninus, he continued at peace
person to the east, conquered Armenia, and reduced with the Romans; but on the death of this em-
it to the form of a Roman province. Parthama- peror, the long threatened war at length broke
siris also fell into his hands. After concluding out. In a. D. 162, Vologeses invaded Armenia,
peace with Augarus, the ruler of Edessa, Trajan and cut to pieces a Roman legion, with its com-
overran the northern part of Mesopotamia, took mander Severianus, at Elegeia, in Armenia. He
Nisibis and several other cities, and, after a most then entered Syria, defeated Atidius Cornelianus,
glorious campaign, returned to Antioch to winter, ) the governor of Syria, and laid waste every thing
.
;
NY
2
## p. 360 (#380) ############################################
300
ARSACES.
ARSACIDAE
Un
VETTI TANOY
edia
before him.
Thereupon the emperor Verus pro- Vologeses IV. , was engaged, as already remarked,
ceeded to Syria, but when he reached Antioch, he in civil wars with his brothers. It was against
remained in that city and gave the command of him that Caracalla made war in A. D. 215, be-
the army to Cassius, who soon drove Vologeses cause he refused to surrender Tiridates and An-
out of Syria, and followed up his success by in- tiochus, who had fled to Parthin from the Romans,
vading Mesopotamia and Assyria. He took Se but did not prosecute it, since the Parthians
leuceia and Ctesiphon, both of which he sacked through fear delivered up the persons he had de-
and set on fire, but on his march homewards lost manded. (Dion Cass. lxxvii. 19. ) He appears
a great number of his troops by diseases and to have been dethroned about this time by his
famine. Meantime Statius Priscus, who had been brother Artabanus.
sent into Armenia, was equally successful. He ARSACES XXXI. , ARTABANUS IV. , the last
entirely subdued the country, and took Artaxata, king of Parthia, was a brother of the preceding,
the capitol. (Dion Cass. lxx. 2, lxxi. 2; Lucian, and a son of Vologeses IV. According to He-
Alex. Psoudom. c. 27; Capitol. M. Ant. Phil. cc. rodian, Caracalla entered Parthia in A. D. 216,
8, 9, Verus, cc. 6, 7; Eutrop. viii. 10. ) This under pretence of seeking the daughter of Artaba-
war seems to have been followed by the cession of nus in marriage ; and when Artabanus went to
Mesopotamia to the Romans.
meet him unarmed with a great number of his no-
bility, Caracalla treacherously fell upon them and
ΑΣ
put the greater number to the sword ; Artabanus
himself escaped with difficulty. Dion Cassius
merely relates that Artabanus refused to give his
daughter in marriage to Caracalla, and that the
latter laid waste in consequence the countries bor-
dering upon Media. During the winter Artaba-
nus raised a very large army, and in the following
ycar, A. D. 217, marched against the Romans.
PAA Macrinus, who had meantime succeeded Caracalla,
advanced to meet him ; and a desperate battle was
From this time to the downfall of the Parthian fought near Nisibis, which continued for two days,
empire, there is great confusion in the list of kings. but without victory to either side. At the com-
Several modern writers indeed suppose, that the mencement of the third day, Macrinus sent an
events related above under Vologeses 111. , hap- embassy to Artabanus, informing him of the death
pened in the reign of Vologeses II. , and that the of Caracalla, with whom the Parthian king was
latter continued to reign till shortly before the chiefly enraged, and offering to restore the prison-
death of Commodus ( a. D. 192); but this is highly ers and treasures taken by Caracalla, and to pay a
improbable, as Vologeses II. ascended the throne large sum of money besides. On these conditions
about a. d. 122, and must on this supposition a peace was concluded, and Artabanus withdrew
have reigned nearly seventy years. If Vologeses his forces.
III. began to reign in A. D. 149, as we have sup- In this war, however, Artabanns had lost the
posed from Eckhel, it is also improbable that he best of his troops, and the Persians seized the op-
should have been the Vologeses spoken of in the portunity of recovering their long-lost independ-
reign of Caracalla, about A. D. 212. We are ence. They were led by Artaxerxes (Ardshir),
therefore inclined to believe that there was one the son of Sassan, and defeated the Parthians in
Vologeses more than has been mentioned by modern three great battles, in the last of which Artabanus
writers, and have accordingly inserted an ad- was taken prisoner and killed, A. D. 226. Thus
ditional one in the list we have given.
ended the Parthian empire of the Arsacidae, after it
ARSACES XXIX. , VOLOGESES IV. , proba- had existed 476 years. (Dion Cass. Ixxvii. 1, 3,
bly ascended the throne in the reign of Commo- 26, 27, lxxx. 3; Herodian, iv. 9, 11, 14, 15, vi.
dus. In the contest between Pescennius Niger 2; Capitolin. Macrin. cc. 8, 12; Agathias, Hist. iv.
and Severus for the empire, A. D. 193, the Par- 24; Syncellus, vol. i. p. 677, ed Dindorf. ) The
thians sent troops to the assistance of the former ; Parthians were now obliged to submit to Artax-
and accordingly when Niger was conquered, erxes, the founder of the dynasty of the Sassani-
Severus marched against the Parthians. He was dae, which continued to reign till A. D. 651.
accompanied by a brother of Vologeses. His in- [SASSANIDAE. ] The family of the Arsacidae,
vasion was quite unexpected and completely suc- however, still continued to exist in Armenia as an
cessful. He took Ctesiphon after an obstinate re- independent dynasty. [ARSACIDAE. )
sistance in A. D. 199, and gave it to his soldiers The best modern works on the history of the
to plunder, but did not permanently occupy it. Parthian kings are: Vaillant, Arsacidarum impe-
Herodian appears to be mistaken in saying that rium sive reyum Parthorum historia ad fidem numis-
this happened in the reign of Artabanus. (Hero- matum accomodata, Par. 1725; Eckhel, Doctr.
dian. iii. 1, 9, 10; Dion Cass. lxxv. 9; Spartian. Num. Veter, vol. iii. pp. 523—550 ; C. F. Richter,
Sever. cc. 15, 16. ) Reimar (ad Dion Cass. I. c. ) Histor. Krit. Versuch über die Arsaciden und Sas-
supposes that this Vologeses is the same Vologeses, saniden-Dynastie, Göttingen, 1804; Krause in
son of Sanatruces, king of Armenia, to whom, Ersch und Gruber's Encyclopädie, Art
. Parther.
Dion Cassius tells us, that Severus granted part of ARSA'CES, the name of four Armenian kings.
Armenia ; but the account of Dion Cassius is very [ARSACIDAE, pp. 362, b. , 363, b. , 364, a. ]
confused. On the death of Vologeses IV. , at the ARSA'CIDAE. 1. The name of a dynasty of
beginning of the reign of Caracalla, Parthia was Parthian kings. [ARSACES. ]
torn asunder by contests for the crown between 2. The name of a dynasty of Armenian kings,
the sons of Vologeses. (Dion Cass. lxxvii. 12. ) who reigned over Armenia during the wars of the
ARSACES XXX. , VOLOGESES V. , a son of Romans with Mithridates the Great, king of Pou-
## p. 361 (#381) ############################################
ARSACIDAE.
361
ARSACIDAE.
tus, and with the Parthians. The history of this, the Armenian historians. They were one of the
dynasty is involved in great difficulties, as the most powerful families in Armenia. After they
Latin and Greek authors do not always agree with had come to the throne, they sometimes were com-
the Armenian historians, such as Moses Chorenensis, pelled to pay tribute to the khalifs and to the em-
Faustus Byzantinus, and others. The Romans do perors of Constantinople, and in later times they
not call the dynasty of the Armenian kings by the lost a considerable part of Armenia. A branch of
name of Arsacidae ; they mention several kings of this family reigned at Kars for a considerable time
the name of Arsaces, and others descended from the after 1079. Another branch acquired the kingdom
Parthian dynasty of the Arsacidae, and they seem of Georgia, which it possessed down to the present
not to have known several kings inentioned by the day, when the last king, David, ceded his kingdom
Armenian historians. On the other hand, the to Russia, in which country his descendants are
Armenian writers know but one dynasty reigning still living. The princes of Bagration in Russia
in Armenia during that period, and they do not are likewise descended from the Pagratidae, an-
mention several kings spoken of by the Romans; other branch of whom settled in Imerethia in the
or, if they mention their names, they do not con- Caucasus, and its descendants still belong to the
sider them as kings. The consequence of this is, principal chiefs of that country.
that every account based exclusively on Roman VII. DYNASTY OF THE ARDZRUNIANS, said to
and Greek writers would be incomplete ; they have been descended from the ancient kings of
want to be compared with the Armenian historians, Assyria. Several members of it were appointed
and thus only a satisfactory result car be obtained governors of Armenia by the first khaliſs. In a. D.
Several attempts have been made to reconcile the 855, this family became independent in the northern
different statements of the western and eastern part of Armenia in the country round the upper
historians, as the reader may see from the notes of part of the Euphrates. Adom and Abusahl, the
the brothers Whiston and the works of Vaillant, last Ardzrunians, were killed in 1080 by the em-
Du Four de Longuerue, Richter, and especially peror Nicephorus Botaniates, who united their do-
St. Martin, which are cited below.
minions with the Byzantine empire.
The expression “kings of Armenia” is in many VIII. MOHAMMEDAN DYNASTIES. 1. Of Kurd-
instances vague, and leads to erroneous conclusions, ish origin, from A. D. 984 to a. D. 1085. 2. Of
especially with regard to the Arsacidae. The trans Turkoman origin, from A. D. 1084 to A. D. 1312.
actions of the Romans with Armenia will present | They resided in different places, and the extent
much less difficulties if the student will remember of their dorninions varied according to the military
that he has to do with kings in Armenia, and kings success of the khalifs of Egypt and the Seljukian
of Armenian origin reigning in countries beyond princes.
the limits of Armenia. The history of the Arsa- IX. DYNASTIES OF DIFFERENT ORIGIN, from
cidae cannot be well understood without a previous the eleventh to the fourteenth century. Some
knowledge of the other dynasties before and after kings belonged to the Pagratidae, among whom
that of the Arsacidae ; for Armenian kings were was the celebrated Haython I. or Hethum in 1224;
known to the Greeks long before the accession of and some were Latin princes, among whom was Leo
the Arsacidae ; and the annals of the Eastern em- VI. of Lusignan, who was driven out by the khalif
pire mention many important transactions with of Egypt, and died in Paris in 1393, the last king
kings of Armenia, belonging to those dynasties, of Armenia. Otto, duke of Brunswick, from whom
which reigned in this country during a period of is descended the present house of Hanover, was
almost a thousand years after the fall of the Arsa- crowned as king of Armenia in Germany, but he
cidae. But as any detailed account would be out never entered the country.
of place here, we can give only a short sketch. THE DYNASTY OF THE ARSACIDAE. (See
I. DYNASTY of Haïg, founded by Haïg, the son above, No. 111. ) It has already been said, that
of Gathlas, who is said to have lived B. c. 2107. there are considerable discrepancies between the
Fifty-nine kings belong to this dynasty, and statements of the Romans and those of the Arme-
among them Zarmaïr, who, according to the As- nians concerning this dynasty. The Romans tell
menian historians, assisted the Trojans at the siege us that Artaxias, governor of Armenia Magna for
of their city, where he commanded a body of As Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, made himself
syrians; Dikran or Tigranes, a prince mentioned independent in his government B. c. 188; and that
by Xenophon (Cyrop. iii
. 1, v. 1, 3, viii. 3, 4); Zadriates became king of Armenia Minor, of which
and Wabe, the last of his house, who fell in a country he was praefect. The descendents of Ar-
battle with Alexander the Great in B. C. 328.
