''For other Parthian Monarchs of this name, see Orodes'' Orodes of Armenia (flourished 1st century) was a Parthian Prince who served as a

Roman 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 lett ...

Client 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 ''O ...

in 35 and from again 37 until 42. Orodes was the second born son of the Parthian King

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 ...

by an unnamed wife. He was born and raised in the Parthian Empire. Orodes was the namesake of his Parthian relations who ruled with this name as King. In 35 after the death of his older brother

Arsaces I Arsaces or Arsakes (, , Graecized form of Old Persian ) is the eponymous Greek form of the dynastic name of the Parthian Empire of Iran adopted by all epigraphically attested rulers of the Arsacid dynasties. The indigenous Parthian and Armenian f ...

, who served briefly as

Client King of

, Artabanus II installed him as the new King of Armenia. When Orodes arrived in Armenia, Orodes avenged the death of Arsaces I by executing the bribed servants who poisoned Arsaces I. As this time the Roman emperor

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 ...

, refused to accept the Armenian Kingship of Orodes and Tiberius appointed the Iberian Prince Mithridates as the new Roman Client Armenian King with the support of his brother, King

Pharasmanes I of Iberia Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი) (died 58) was a king of Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus’ account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire under Tiberius, Cali ...

. Orodes faced Mithridates in a military campaign in Armenia that was in unfavorable conditions for Orodes. In the military campaign, Pharasmanes I had sent his own troops and mercenaries to assist Mithridates. Orodes had the support of the Parthian army. Orodes had lost his military campaign against Mithridates in which he may have been injured and returned to Parthia.Chaumont, ''Armenia between Rome and Iran I: the advent of Augustus to the accession of Diocletian'', p.90 Mithridates then became the new Roman Client King of Armenia later in 35. In 37, Mithridates was arrested by the Roman emperor

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 Germani ...

for unknown reasons and Orodes in 37 was restored to his Armenian Kingship. He reigned from 37 until 42 and little is known on his reign. In 42, the Roman Emperor

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 Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

replaced Orodes for unknown reasons and installed again Mithridates as the new Roman Client King of Armenia.

References

Sources

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 of Imperial Rome, 1st century * R. Grousset, History of Armenia from its origins to 1071, Paris Payot, 1947 (reprinted again in 1984, 1995 & 2008) * M.L. Chaumont, ''Armenia between Rome and Iran I: the advent of Augustus to the accession of Diocletian'' from Aufstieg und Niedergang der Welt Römischen II, 1976 {{Armenian kings 1st-century kings of Armenia Roman client kings of Armenia 1st-century Iranian people Parthian princes