Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/381

Rh ARSACIDAE. of the Parthians, was driven out of Armenia by Corbulo, who appointed in his place Tigranes IV., the grandson of king Archelaus, a. d. 60. [Ti- granes IV.] Tiridates subsequently received the crown as a gift from Nero, A. D. 63. [Arsaces XXIII., Tiridates I.] ExEDARES {Ardaslw^ IIf-)y an Arsacid (of the younger Armenian branch), was driven out by Chosroes or Khosrew, king of the Parthians. (Dion Cass. Ixviii. 17.) According to Moses Chorenensis (ii. 44 — 57), Exedares, who is called Ardashes 111., was a mighty piince, who humbled the annies of Domitian, but was finally driven out "by Trajan. Chosroes placed on the throne in his stead Parthamasiris, a Parthian prince. Exedares reigned during forty-two years, from a. D. 78 to ] 20, but was several times compelled to Hy from his kingdom. Parthamasiris, the son of Pacorus (Arsaces XXIV.), king of Parthia, and the nephew of Chosroes, who supported him against Trajan. Parthamasiris, reduced to extremity, humbled him- self before Trajan, and placed his royal diadem at the feet of the emperor, hoping that Trajan would restore it to him and recognize him as a subject king. But he was deceived in his expectation, and Armenia was changed into a Roman province. According to some accounts, he was put to death by Trajan. (Dion Cass. Ixviii. 17 — "20; comp. Eutrop. viii. 2 ; Fronto^ Princip. Hist. p. 248, ed. Niebulir.) Partiiamaspates, was appointed by Trajan king of Parthia, but after he had. been expelled by the Parthians [Arsaces XXV.]; he seems to have subsequently received the kingdom of Arnienia from Hadrian. (Comp. Spartan. Hiuir. cc. 21, 5, where he is called Fsamatossiris.) AcHAEMENiDES, the son of Parthamaspates. There are some coins on which lie is represented with the diadem, which seems to have been given to him by Antoninus Pius. (lamblichus, ap. FJiot. Cod. 1)4. p. 75, b, ed. Bekker.) SoAEMUs or SoHEMUs (2oa</ios), the son of Atliaemcnides, Avas established on the throne by Thucydides, the lieutenant of Lucius (Martins) Verus, during the reign of M. Auielius Antoninus, (lamblich. ap. Phot. I. c.) We ham from Moses Chorenensis (ii. 60 — 64), that the national king, who was supported by Vologcscs II. of Parthia, was Dikran or Tignuies. Soaemus was an Arsacid. (Dion Cass. Fraym. Ixxi. p. 1201, ed. Reimar.) Sanatruces (2ai'aTpouK7ys), the son of Soae- mus, as it seems, was established on the throne by Septimius Severus. According to Sitidas, he was a man highly distinguished by his warlike quali- ties and many nobler virtues. He seems to be the king of Armenia mentioned by Dion Cassius, who w.'us treacherously seized upon by Caracalla, about A. D. 212. The Annenian name of Sanatnices is Sanadrug. (Dion Cass. Ixxv. 9, Ixxvii. 12 ; Suidas, s. V. 'SavarpovHTji ; comp. Herodian, iii. 9.) VuLOGESEs, the son of Sanatruces, whom Dion Cassius(lxxvii. 12) calls king of the Parthians. [Ar- saces XXIX.] Vciillant thinks that he was the king .'eized upon by Csu^calla. On the other hand, the Armenijui historians tell us that Wagharsh, in (J reek Vologeses or Valarsases, the son of Dikran (Tigranes), reigned over Armenia, or part of Anmnia, from a. d. 178 to 198, and that he per- ish(>d in a battle against the Khazars, near Der- bont, in 198. It is of course impossible that he ARSACIDAE. 363 should have been seized by Caracalla, who suc- ceeded his father Septimius Severus in 211. Nor do the Armenians mention any king of that name who was a contemporary either of Septimiug Severus or Caracalla. (Moses Choren. ii. Go — 68.) Tiridates II., the sou of Vologeses. [Tiri- dates II.] Arsaces 1 1., the brother of ArtabanusIV.,the last Arsacid in Parthia, by whom he was made king of Armenia in the first year of the reign of Alexander Severus. (a. d. 222 — 223.) When his brother was killed by Artaxerxes (Ardashir), the first Sassanid on the Persian throne, he resisted the usurper, and united his warriors with those of Alexander Severus in the memorable war against Artaxerxes. [Sassamdae.] {Frocop. de AedifU'iis Justin, iii. 1 ; Dion Cass. Ixxx. 3, 4 ; Herodian, vi. 2, &c.; Agathias, pp. 65, 134, ed. Paris.) Artavasdes III., the ally of Sapor against the emperor Valerian, A. d. 260. (Trebell. Poll Va- lerian. 6.) Eusebius {Hist.Ecd. ix. 8) mentions a Christian king of Armenia during the reign of Diocletian, who seems to have been the son of Artavasdes III. During the war of Diocletian with Narses, king of Persia, this king of Armenia joined the Roman army commanded by Galerius Caesar. After the accession of Maximinianus he was involved in a war with this emperor, who intended to abolish the Christian religion in Armenia. Tiridates III. [Tiridates III.] Arsaces III. (Tiranus), the son of Diran (Tiridates III.), ascended the throne either in the seventeenth year of the reign of Constantius, that is, in A. D. 354, or perhaps as early as 341 or 342, after his father had been made prisoner and de- prived of his sight by Sapor II., king of Persia. After the reconciliation of Sapor with his captive Diran (Tiridates), Arsaces was chosen king, since his father, on account of his blindness, was unable to reign according to the opinion of the eastern nations, which opinion was also entertained by the Greeks of the Lower Empire, whence we so often find that when an emperor or usurper succeeded in making his rival prisoner, he usually blinded him, if he did not venture to put him to death. The nomination of Arsaces was approved by the emperor Constantius. The new king nevertheless took the part of Sapor in his war with the Romans, but soon afterwards made peace with the latter. He promised to pay an annual tribute, and Con- stantius allowed him to marry Ol^'mpias, tlie daughter of the praefect Ablavius, a near rehition of the empress Constantia, and who had been be- trothed to Constans, the brother of Constantius. Ulympias was afterwards poisoned by a mistress of Sapor, an Annenian princess of the name of P'harhandsem. To punish the defection of Arsaces, Sapor in- vaded Anuenia and took Tigranocerta. He was thus involved in a war with the emperor Julian, the successor of Constantius, who opened his famous campaign ag:vinst the Persians (a. d. 363) in concert with Arsaces, on whose active co-opei-:i- tion the success of the war in a great measure di*- pended. But Julian's sanguine expectations of overthrowing the power of the Sassanidae was de- stroyed by the pusillanimity, or more probably well calculated treachery, of Arsaces, who withdrew his troops from the Roman camp near Ctesiphon in the mouth of June, 363. Thence the disastrous