Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი) (died 58) was a king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. He plays a prominent role in the historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

’ account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

under

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. According to

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

, Pharasmanes was a member of the third Pharnavazid dynasty and reigned from 1 to 58. Pharasmanes is mentioned on the Stele of Vespasian. During his reign, Iberia was transformed into the Transcaucasian empire, that would dominate the kingdoms of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Life

As allies of Rome, his brother Mithridates was installed as king of

by Roman emperor

, who invaded Armenia in 35. When the

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

prince Orodes, son of

Artabanus II of Parthia Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...

, attempted to dispossess Mithridates of his newly acquired kingdom, Pharasmanes led a large Iberian army and defeated the Parthians in a pitched battle (Tacitus, ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

''. vi. 32–35). Pharasmanes personally smashed Orod's helmet with one blow: Orod galloped off, and the rumours of his death demoralized the Parthians. Around 52, Pharasmanes instigated his son,

Rhadamistus Rhadamistus ( ka, რადამისტი, radamist'i, hy, Հռադամիզդ, Hřadamizd) (died 58) was a royal prince of the Pharnavazid dynasty of the Kingdom of Iberia who reigned over the Kingdom of Armenia from 51 to 53 and 54 to 55. ...

, whose ambitious and aspiring character began to give him umbrage, to make war upon his uncle Mithridates, and supported him in his enterprise. After a short reign, Rhadamistus was in turn expelled by the Parthians in 55, and took refuge again in his father's dominions. The Romans had expressed their displeasure at the proceedings of Rhadamistus, and in order to curry their favor, Pharasmanes put his son to death. Pharasmanes was apparently succeeded by Mithridates (Mihrdat) I.

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

(1967). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', p. 101. Georgetown University Press.

Family

At an unknown date, Pharasmanes married an unnamed Armenian princess of the Artaxiad dynasty. She was the daughter of the Artaxiad Armenian monarchs

Tigranes IV Tigranes IV (30s BC–1) was a Prince of the Kingdom of Armenia and member of the Artaxiad Dynasty who served as a Roman Client King of Armenia from 8 BC until 5 BC and 2 BC until 1 AD. Family background and early life Tigranes IV was the son b ...

and his sister-wife Erato. His Armenian wife bore him three sons: Mithridates I (Mihrdat),

, and Amazaspus (Amazasp), who is known from the

Epigram of Amazaspos The Epigram of Amazaspos ( ka, ამაზასპის ეპიგრამა) is a funerary epigram written in Ancient Greek on an inscription found in Rome. It memorialises the death of the Pharnavazid royal prince Amazaspos, brother of ...

found in

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 ...

Diarchy

Toumanoff has tentatively suggested the identification of Pharasmanes with the Aderki (or Rok) of the medieval Georgian chronicles whose reign is said to have coincided with the appearance of the first

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

communities in Iberia, and the travel of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from Mtskheta to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

whence they witnessed the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

and brought the

Holy Tunic The Seamless Robe of Jesus (also known as the Holy Robe, Holy Tunic, Holy Coat, Honorable Robe, and Chiton of the Lord) is the robe said to have been worn by Jesus during or shortly before his crucifixion. Competing traditions claim that the ro ...

to Iberia. According to the Georgian chronicles, Aderki's division of his kingdom between his two sons, Kartam (Kardzam) and Bartom (Bratman), inaugurated the start of

dyarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

in Iberia which would last for five generations. Many modern scholars, however, doubt the existence of the diarchy, for the contemporary foreign source make references only to sole monarch. Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', pp. 285-287. Peeters Publishers, .

References

Bibliography

* Rayfield, D. (2013) Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia,

Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In rece ...

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Pharasmanes 01 Of Iberia 1st-century BC births 58 deaths Pharnavazid kings of Iberia Roman client rulers 1st-century monarchs in Europe 1st-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown Filicides

Life

Family

Diarchy

See also

References

Bibliography