Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/374

Rh 356 ARSACES. Armenian king, implored Pompey''s assistance, the Roman general judged it more prudent not to enter into war with the Parthians, alleging as reasons for declining to do so, that the Roman people had not assigned him this duty, and that Mithridates was still in arms. (Dion Cass, xxxvii. 6, 7 ; Plut. Pomp. 38, 39.) Phraates was murdered soon afterwards by his two sons, Mithridates and Orodes. (Dion Cass, xxxix. 56.) Arsaces XIII., Mithridates III., the son of the preceding, succeeded his father apparent- ly during the Armenian war. On his return from Armenia, Mithridates was expelled from the throne, on account of his cruelty, by the Parthian senate, as it is called, and was succeeded by his brother Orodes. Orodes appears to have given Media to Mithridates, but to haA'c taken it from him again ; whereupon Mithridates applied to the Roman general, Gabinius, in Syria, B. c. 55, who promised to restore him to Parthia, but soon after relinquished his design in consequence of having received a great sum from Ptolemy to place him upon the throne of Egypt. ^Mithridates, however, seems to have raised some troops ; for he subse- quently obtained possession of Babylon, where, after sustaining a long siege, he surrendered him- self to his brother, and was immediately put to death by his orders. (Justin, xlii. 4 ; Dion Cass, xxxix. 56 ; Appian, -Syr. 51 ; Joseph. B.J. i. 8. § 7.) Arsaces XIV., Orodks I., the brother of the preceding, was the Parthian king, whose general Surenas defeated Crassus and the Romans, in B. c. 53. [Crassus.] The death of Crassus and the destruction of the Roman army spread universal alarm through the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. Orodes, becoming jealous of Surenas, put him to death, and gave the command of the army to his son Pacorus, who was then still a youth. The Parthians, after obtaining possession of all the country east of the Euphrates, entered Syria, in K c. 51, with a small force, but were driven back by Cassius. In the following year (b. c. 50) they again crossed the Euphrates with a much larger arm}', which was placed nominally under the com- mand of Pacorus, but in reality under that of Osaces, an experienced general. They advanced as far as Antioch, but unable to take this city inarched against Antigoneia, near which they were defeated by Cassius. Osaces was killed in the battle, and Pacorus thereupon withdrew from Syria. (Dion Cass. xl. 28, 29 ; Cic. ad Att. v. 18, 21, ad Fain. XV. 1.) Bibulus, who succeeded Cassius in the command in the same year, induced Omoda- pantes, one of the Parthian satraps, to revolt from Orodes, and proclaim Pacorus king (Dion Cass. xL 30), in consequence of which Pacorus became sus- pected by his father and was recalled from the arm}'. (Justin, xlii. 4.) Justin (/. c.) seems to have made a mistake in stating that Pacoras was recalled before the defeat of the Parthians by Cas- sius. On the breaking out of the war between Caesar and Pompey, the latter applied to Orodes for assistance, which he promised on condition of the cession of Syria ; but as this was refused by Pompey, the Parthian king did not send him any troops, though he appears to have been in favour of his party rather than of Caesar's. (Dion Cass, xli. 55 ; Justin, I. c.) Caesar had intended to in- vade Parthia in the year in which he was assassi- nated, b. c. 44 ; and in the civil war which followed, Brutus and Cassius sent Labienus, the son of ARSACES. Caesar's general, T. Labienus, to Orodes to solicit his assistfince. This was promised ; but the battle of Philippi was fought, and Brutus and Cassius fell (b. c. 42), before Labienus could join them. The latter now remained in Parthia, Meantime Antony had obtained the East in the partition of the Roman world, and consequently the conduct of the Parthian war ; but instead of making any preparations against the Parthians, he retired to Egypt with Cleopatra. Labienus advised the Parthian monarch to seize the opportunity to in- vade Syria, and Orodes accordingly placed a great army under the command of Labienus and Pacorus. They crossed the Euphrates in b. c. 40, overran Syria, and defeated Saxa, Antony's quaestor. Labienus penetrated into Cilicia, where he took Saxa prisoner and put him to death ; and while he was engaged with a portion of the army in sub- duing Asia Minor, Pacorus was prosecuting con- quests with the other part in Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. These successes at length roused An- tony from his inactivity. He sent against the Parthians Ventidius, the ablest of his legates, who soon changed the face of affairs. He defeated Labienus at Mount Taurus in b. c. 39, and put him to death when he fell into his hands shortly after the battle. By this victory he recovered Cilicia ; and by the defeat shortly afterwards of Phamapates, one of the Parthian generals, he also regained Svria, (Dion Cass, xlviii. 24 — 41; Veil. Pat. ii. 78*; Liv. EpU. 127 ; Flor. iv. 9 ; Plut. Anton, c. 33 ; Appian, B. C. v. 65.) In the fol- lowing year, b. c. 38, Pacorus again invaded Syria with a still larger army, but was completely de- feated in the district called Cyrrhestice. Pacorus himself fell in the battle, which was fought on the 9th of June, the very day on which Crassus had fallen, fifteen years before. (Dion Cass. xlix. 19, 20 ; Plut. Anton, c. 34 ; Liv. Epit. 128 ; Oros. vi. 1 8 ; Justin, /. c.) This defeat was a severe blow to the Parthian monarchy, and was deeply felt by the aged king, Orodes. For many days he refused to take food, and did not utter a word ; and when at length he spoke, he did nothing but call upon the name of his dear son Pacorus. Weighed down by grief and age, he shortly after surren- dered the crown to his son, Phraates, during his life-time. (Justin, /. c; Dion Cass. xlix. 23.) The inscription on the annexed coin is BASIAEHS BA2IAEnN AP2AKO(T) ETEPrET(OT) EHI- Arsaces XV., Phraates IV., who is de- scribed as the most wicked of the sons of Orodes, commenced his reign by murdering his father, his thirty brothers, and his own son, who was grown up, that there might be none of the royal family whom the Parthians could place upon the throne in his stead. In consequence of his cruelty many of the Parthian nobles fled to Antony (b. c. 37)
 * ANOT2 *IAEAAHN0(2).