Roman–Parthian Wars
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Roman–Parthian Wars
The Roman–Parthian Wars (54 BC – 217 AD) were a series of conflicts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years of Roman–Persian Wars. Battles between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 54 BC. This first incursion against Parthia was repulsed, notably at the Battle of Carrhae (53 BC). During the Roman Liberators' civil war of the 1st Century BC, the Parthians actively supported Brutus and Cassius, invading Syria, and gaining territories in the Levant. However, the conclusion of the second Roman civil war brought a revival of Roman strength in Western Asia.Bivar (1968), 57 In 113 AD, the Roman Emperor Trajan made eastern conquests and the defeat of Parthia a strategic priority,Lightfoot (1990), 115: "Trajan succeeded in acquiring territory in these lands with a view to annexation, something which had not seriously been attempted before ..Although Hadrian a ...
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Avidius Cassius
Gaius Avidius Cassius ( 130 – July 175 AD) was a Syrian Roman general and usurper. He was born in Cyrrhus, and was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, who served as ''praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egypt, and Julia Cassia Alexandra, who was related to a number of royal figures, including her descent from both Augustus and Herod the Great. He began his military career under Antoninus Pius, rising to the status of ''legatus legionis''. He served during the Parthian war of Lucius Verus, in which he distinguished himself, for which he was elevated to the Senate, and later made Imperial legate. During the Bucolic War, he was given the extraordinary title of '' Rector Orientis'', giving him ''Imperium'' over all of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. In 175, Cassius declared himself emperor, because he had received news, from Marcus Aurelius' wife Faustina the Younger, that the Emperor Marcus Aurelius was about to die. He received broad support in the eastern provinces ...
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Roman–Persian Wars
The Roman–Persian Wars, also known as the Roman–Iranian Wars, were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranian empires: the Parthian and the Sasanian. Battles between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 54 BC; wars began under the late Republic, and continued through the Roman (later Byzantine) and Sasanian empires. A plethora of vassal kingdoms and allied nomadic nations in the form of buffer states and proxies also played a role. The wars were ended by the early Muslim conquests, which led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire, shortly after the end of the last war between them. Although warfare between the Romans and Persians continued over seven centuries, the frontier, aside from shifts in the north, remained largely stable. A game of tug of war ensued: towns, fortifications, and provinces were continually sacked, captured, destroyed, and traded. Neithe ...
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Vologases IV Of Parthia
Vologases IV ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191. He was the son of Mithridates V (). Vologases spent the early years of his reign re-asserting Parthian control over the Kingdom of Characene. From 161 to 166, he waged war against the Roman Empire; although initially successful, conquering Armenia and Syria, he was eventually pushed back, briefly losing control of the Parthian capitals of Seleucia and Ctesiphon to the Romans. The Romans suffered heavy losses from a plague erupting from Seleucia in 166, forcing them to withdraw. The war ended soon afterward, with Vologases losing most of northern Mesopotamia to the Romans. He died in 191 and was succeeded by his son Vologases V. Name Vologases is the Greek and Latin form of the Parthian ''Walagaš'' (). The name is also attested in New Persian as ''Balāsh'' and Middle Persian as ''Wardākhsh'' (also spelled ''Walākhsh''). The etymology of the name is unclear, although ...
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Sanatruces II Of Parthia
Sanatruces II of Parthia, was a pretender to the throne of the Parthian Empire during the disputed reign of his uncle Osroes I. He is only known from the writings of the Byzantine historian John Malalas (''Chronographia''), who is often not very reliable. The person of this ruler and the related events remain therefore enigmatic. When Osroes was deposed by the invading Emperor Trajan in 116 in favor of the puppet ruler Parthamaspates, Sanatruces and his father, Osroes' brother Mithridates, together claimed the diadem and continued the struggle against the Romans in Mesopotamia. Trajan then marched southward to the Persian Gulf, defeated them, and declared Mesopotamia a province of the Roman Empire.A. D. H. Bivar, ''The Political History of Iran under the Arsadis'', in: E. Yarshater (editor), ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3: The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanid Periods, Part 1'', 1981, , p. 90 After the Romans withdrew, Osroes drove out Parthamaspates and reclaimed the Par ...
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Osroes I Of Parthia
Osroes I (also spelled Chosroes I or Khosrow I; xpr, 𐭇𐭅𐭎𐭓𐭅 ''Husrōw'') was a Parthian contender, who ruled the western portion of the Parthian Empire from 109 to 129, with a one-year interruption. For the whole of his reign he contended with the rival king Vologases III () who was based in the eastern provinces. In 116, Osroes I was briefly ousted from his throne at Ctesiphon during an invasion by Roman emperor Trajan (), who installed Osroes' son, Parthamaspates. After Trajan's death the following year, Osroes I's rule was reinstated by the Parthian nobility. In 129, he was removed from power by Vologases III. Biography In 109, Osroes I revolted against Parthian king Pacorus II () in order to claim the throne for himself. During the reign of Pacorus II's son Vologases III (), Osroes I managed to seize the western part of the empire, including Mesopotamia, while Vologases III ruled in the east. In 113, Osroes I violated the Treaty of Rhandeia with the Romans b ...
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Tiridates I Of Armenia
Tiridates I ( xpr, 𐭕𐭉𐭓𐭉𐭃𐭕, ''Tīridāt''; el, Τιριδάτης, ''Tiridátes'') was King of Armenia beginning in 53 AD and the founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the Roman–Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates I (one of the brothers of Vologases I of Parthia) was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor Nero in 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had ''de facto'' ceded Armenia to the Parthian Empire. In addition to being a king, Tiridates I was also a Zoroastrian priest and was accompanied by other magi on his journey to Rome in 66. In the early 20th century, ...
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Vologases I Of Parthia
Vologases I ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II (r. 51). He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies. Name Vologases is the Greek and Latin form of the Parthian ''Walagaš'' (). The name is also attested in New Persian as ''Balāsh'' and Middle Persian as ''Wardākhsh'' (also spelled ''Walākhsh''). The etymology of the name is unclear, although Ferdinand Justi proposes that ''Walagaš'', the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (''varəda''), and "handsome" (''gaš'' or ''geš'' in Modern Persian). Background Vologases was a son of Vonones II, a Parthian prince who ruled the northern Iranian kingdom of Media Atropatene, and possibly subsequently the whole Parthian Empire for a few months. Vologases' mother was a Greek concubine of the Parthian harem. The name of the Arsacid branch established by Vologases I has been coine ...
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Artabanus III (of Parthia)
Artabanus III ( xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus IV, was a Parthian prince who competed against his brother Pacorus II () for the Parthian crown from 79/80 to 81. Artabanus III's claim to the throne seems to have little support in the Parthian Empire, with the exception of Babylonia. Artabanus III's most notable action was to give refuge to a Pseudo-Nero named Terentius Maximus. Artabanus III initially agreed to lend military aid to Terentius Maximus to capture Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ..., until he found about the real identity of the impostor. Coin mints of Artabanus III disappear after 81, which suggests that Pacorus II had defeated him. References Sources * (2 volumes) * {{DEFAULTSOR ...
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Phraates IV
Phraates IV (also spelled Frahad IV; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 37 to 2 BC. He was the son and successor of Orodes II (), and was given the throne after the death of his brother Pacorus I. Phraates IV soon murdered all his brothers, and also possibly his father. His actions alienated the Armenians and also some of his nobles, including the distinguished Monaeses, who fled to the Roman triumvir Mark Antony, but shortly returned and reconciled with Phraates IV. Phraates IV was attacked in 36 BC by Mark Antony, who marched through Armenia into Media Atropatene, and was defeated and lost the greater part of his army. Antony, believing himself betrayed by Artavasdes II, king of Armenia, invaded his kingdom in 34 BC, took him prisoner, and concluded a treaty with Artavasdes I, king of Media Atropatene. But when the war with Octavian broke out, Antony could not maintain his conquests; Phraates IV recovered Media Atropatene and m ...
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Pacorus I Of Parthia
Pacorus I (also spelled Pakoros I; xpr, 𐭐𐭊𐭅𐭓; died 38 BC) was a Parthian prince, who was the son and heir of Orodes II (). The numismatist David Sellwood deduced that Pacorus ruled in . It is uncertain whether Pacorus ruled alongside his father, or ruled independently. His wife was an unnamed Armenian princess, who was a sister of the Artaxiad king of Armenia, Artavasdes II (). Following the Parthian victory against the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, the Parthians attempted to capture Roman-held territories in Western Asia, with Pacorus acting as one of the leading commanders. Although they were initially successful, they were repelled by the Romans. Pacorus himself was defeated and killed at the Battle of Mount Gindarus by the forces of the Publius Ventidius Bassus. His death spurred a succession crisis in which Orodes II, deeply afflicted by the death of his favourite son, relinquished the throne to his other son Phraates IV () as his new heir. Name ...
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Orodes II Of Parthia
Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers quickly fell out and entered into a dynastic struggle, in which Orodes was triumphant. Meanwhile, the Roman general and triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus had made an attempt to extend his share of Roman territory by eastward conquest. This attempt proved disastrous, with Crassus meeting his end in 53 BC, in the Battle of Carrhae, by Orodes' general Surena. Orodes himself had invaded Armenia and forced king Artavasdes II () to submit and abandon his alliance with the Romans. The victory at Carrhae secured for the Parthians the countries east of the Euphrates. Then, the next year they invaded Syria, but with little success. Surena, whose achievements had made him too dangerous, was killed by Orodes, and Pacorus I, the son and heir o ...
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