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Vardanes I was a king of the
Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conq ...
from 40 to 46 AD. He was the heir apparent of his father Artabanus II (), but had to continually fight against his brother
Gotarzes II Gotarzes II ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōtarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of Artabanus II. When his father died in 40, his brother Vardanes I was to succeed to the throne. However, the throne was ...
, a rival claimant to the throne. Vardanes' short reign ended when he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles .


Name

"Vardanes" (also spelled Bardanes) is the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
attestation of the Middle Iranian name ''Wardān'', meaning "rose". The name is transliterated in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as ''Ordanes'' and ''Ordones'' , and in Hatran Aramaic as wrdn.


Biography

In , Vardanes' father and reigning Parthian king Artabanus II () died, entrusting his realm to Vardanes. However, the throne was seized by
Gotarzes II Gotarzes II ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōtarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of Artabanus II. When his father died in 40, his brother Vardanes I was to succeed to the throne. However, the throne was ...
, an adopted son of Artabanus II. Gotarzes had another of his brothers, Artabanus, along with his wife and child, executed shortly after. An uproar against this execution shortly followed, with an appeal being sent to Vardanes, who took Gotarzes by surprise and defeated him, after travelling 375 miles in two days.Tacitus
11.8
Vardanes was supported by the governors of the neighbouring Parthian provinces, and quickly gained control over most of the Parthian realm. The
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
n city of Seleucia, which had been in rebellion since 35 AD, did not acknowledge Vardanes, who then besieged the city. However, the long siege of Seleucia resulted in Gotarzes gaining the upper hand in the conflict, allowing him to raise a new force and drive off Vardanes, who fled to
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, so ...
in
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
. A contemporary bust of a Parthian king was discovered at the ancient court of the Yuezhis (early Kushans) in Khalchayan, Bactria, suggesting that this may represent Vardanes as he sought refuge, and possibly an alliance, at the Yuezhi court. At the same time,
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 ...
suffered turmoil, when its Arsacid king Orodes, the brother of Vardanes, was deposed by the Roman emperor Claudius (), who appointed the
Pharnavazid The Pharnavazid ( ka, ფარნავაზიანი, tr) is the name of the first dynasty of Georgian kings of Kartli (Iberia) preserved by '' The Georgian Chronicles''. Their rule lasted, with intermissions, from the 3rd century BC to th ...
prince
Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates ( Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic form of an Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by the Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It may refer to: Rulers *Of Cius (al ...
in his stead. Just before Vardanes and Gotarzes clashed in battle, they reached an accord after Gotarzes informed Vardanes of a conspiracy being planned against them by a prominent group. Under the accord Vardanes was to keep his crown, while Gotarzes became the ruler of
Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian ...
. In June 42, Vardanes forced Seleucia to submit to the Parthians again after a rebellion of seven years.; ; He significantly reduced the autonomy of the city and removed its privilege to mint its own coins. Around the same time, the Greek philosopher
Apollonius of Tyana Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of ...
visited the court of Vardanes, who provided him with the protection of a caravan as he travelled to the realm of the Indo-Parthians. When Apollonius reached Indo-Parthia's capital
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area ...
, his caravan leader read Vardanes' official letter, perhaps written in Parthian, to an Indian official who treated Apollonius with great hospitality. Encouraged by his recent triumphs, Vardanes prepared to invade and reconquer Armenia, but ultimately abandoned his plans, due to threats of war from the Roman governor of Syria,
Gaius Vibius Marsus Gaius Vibius Marsus, whom Tacitus calls "''vetustis honoribus studiisque illustris''", was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was consul in 17 AD. Biography Marsus was Suffect consul for the second half of the year 17 with Lucius Vo ...
, and the renewed conflict with Gotarzes, who had terminated their accord. Vardanes defeated Gotarzes on the Erindes, a river situated on the
Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
-Hyrcania border. He then proceeded to conquer the remaining Parthian provinces, reaching as far as
Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
. In he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles, who feared that their status might become endangered.


References


Bibliography


Ancient works

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


Modern works

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Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vardanes 01 Of Parthia 1st-century Parthian monarchs 45 deaths Year of birth unknown Murdered Persian monarchs 1st-century Iranian people 1st-century murdered monarchs 1st-century Babylonian kings