Vologases III ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was 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 conque ...
from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of
Pacorus II
Pacorus II (also spelled Pakoros II; ) was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 78 to 110. He was the son and successor of Vologases I ().
During the latter part of his father's reign, Pacorus ruled the Parthian Empire along with him. ...
().
Vologases III's reign was marked by civil strife and warfare. At his ascension, he had to deal with the usurper
Osroes I
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 co ...
(), who managed to seize the western part of the empire, which left Vologases III in control of its eastern parts. After Osroes I violated the
Treaty of Rhandeia with the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
by appointing
Parthamasiris as the king 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 ' ...
in 113, the Roman emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
() invaded the Parthian lands, briefly seizing the Parthian cities of
Seleucia and
Ctesiphon and reaching as far as the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
. These gains were short-lived; all the Roman gains had been lost after Trajan's death in 117. Vologases III, whose eastern domains were untouched, took advantage of the weakened state of Osroes I to regain lost territory, and finally defeated him in 129. Another contender named
Mithridates V shortly appeared afterwards, but was also defeated by Vologases III, in 140.
Vologases III had to face an invasion by the nomadic
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
from 134 to 136, while in the east, he sought to increase the political and military actions as a response to the enlargement of the
Kushan Empire. Under the Roman emperor
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatori ...
(), disturbance once occurred in Armenia due to the Romans appointing a new king in Armenia. Vologases III, however, did not protest, either due to not being powerful enough, or possibly because he did not want to put the thriving long-distance trade in jeopardy, from which the Parthian state was gaining hefty income from. Vologases III was succeeded by Mithridates V's son
Vologases IV in 147.
Name
Vologases is the
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 ...
and
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 of the ...
form of 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 ...
''Walagaš'' (). The name is also attested in
New Persian
New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thr ...
as ''Balāsh'' and
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...
as ''Wardākhsh'' (also spelled ''Walākhsh''). The etymology of the name is unclear, although
Ferdinand Justi
Ferdinand Justi (2 June 1837 in Marburg, Germany – 17 February 1907 in Marburg) was a German linguist and Orientalist.
He finished his studies of linguistics at the University of Marburg and the University of Göttingen. In 1861 he lived in Ma ...
proposes that ''Walagaš'', the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (''varəda''), and "handsome" (''gaš'' or ''geš'' in Modern Persian).
Reign
Vologases III was a son of
Pacorus II
Pacorus II (also spelled Pakoros II; ) was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 78 to 110. He was the son and successor of Vologases I ().
During the latter part of his father's reign, Pacorus ruled the Parthian Empire along with him. ...
(). During the last years of Pacorus' reign, Vologases III co-ruled with him. A Parthian contender named
Osroes I
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 co ...
appeared in 109. Pacorus died in the same year, and was succeeded by Vologases III, who continued his father's struggle with Osroes I over the Parthian crown. Osroes I managed to seize the western part of the empire, including
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 ...
, while Vologases III ruled in the east. Osroes I violated the
Treaty of Rhandeia with the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
by deposing Vologases III's brother
Axidares and appointing the latter's brother
Parthamasiris as the king 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 ' ...
in 113. This gave the Roman emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
() a
pretext A pretext (adj: pretextual) is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rat ...
to invade the Parthian domain and take advantage of the ongoing civil war between Vologases III and Osroes I. Trajan conquered Armenia and turned it into a Roman province in 114. In 116, Trajan captured
Seleucia and
Ctesiphon, the capitals of the Parthians. Trajan even reached as far as the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
, where he forced the Parthian vassal ruler of
Characene
Characene (Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou ( ...
,
Attambelos VII, to pay tribute. Fearing a revolt by the Parthians, Trajan installed Osroes I's son
Parthamaspates on the throne at Ctesiphon.
However, these gains were short-lived; revolts occurred in all the conquered territories, with the
Babylonians and
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 ...
pushing the Romans out of Mesopotamia, and the Armenians causing trouble under the leadership of a certain Sanatruk. After Trajan's death in 117, the Parthians removed Parthamaspates from the throne and reinstated Osroes I. Trajan's successor,
Hadrian () renounced the remnants of Trajan's conquests in the east, and acknowledged the Treaty of Rhandeia, with the Parthian prince
Vologases becoming the new king of Armenia.
[; ; ] The weakened state of the western part of the Parthian Empire gave Vologases III—whose eastern domains were untouched—the opportunity to regain lost territory seized by Osroes I.
Vologases III finally managed to remove Osroes I from power in 129. However, shortly afterwards, a new contender named
Mithridates V appeared. Vologases III also faced new challenges in other places; in 134, the 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 ...
,
Pharasmanes II () caused the nomadic
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
to invade the domains of the Parthians and Romans. They reached as far as
Caucasian Albania,
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 e ...
, Armenia, and also
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
; they were eventually repelled two years later after many obstacles and heavy economic costs. In the east, Vologases III sought to increase the political and military actions as a response to the enlargement of the
Kushan Empire. Vologases III defeated and deposed Mithridates V in 140.
Under Hadrian's successor,
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatori ...
(), a disturbance occurred after the Romans appointed a new king in Armenia. Vologases III, however, did not protest, either due to not being powerful enough, or possibly because he did not want to put the thriving long-distance trade in jeopardy, from which the Parthian state was gaining hefty income from. Vologases III was succeeded by Mithridates V's son
Vologases IV in 147.
Coinage and Rock reliefs
Under Pacorus II, the usage of the image of the Greek goddess
Tyche
Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite ...
on the reverse of the
Parthian coins 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 ...
became more regular than that of the seated king with a bow, specifically on the coin mints from
Ecbatana. This was reversed under Vologases III. Rarely, a
fire temple is depicted on the reverse of his coins. On the obverse of his coins is a portrait of him using the same
tiara
A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...
as his father. A
rock relief
A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ...
at
Behistun portrays an Parthian monarch, most likely Vologases III.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vologases 03 Of Parthia
147 deaths
2nd-century Parthian monarchs
Year of birth unknown
2nd-century Iranian people