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[German version] L. Iulius Aurelius Septimius V. Athenodorus, son of Odaenathus [2] and Zenobia, perhaps identical to the Timolaos [5] mentioned in the Historia Augusta (SHA Gall. 13,2; SHA Tyr. Trig. 15,2 et passim; but cf. SHA Aur. 38,1). He was still a child when his father was murdered (in AD 267), so that his career was guided by Zenobia: V. appears after 267 as rex regum and corrector totius orientis (CIS II 3971), was later imperator and dux Romanorum [1] and Augustus in the spring of 272 (ILS 8924). Coins from Alexandria showing both Aurelianus [3] and V. should n…

[German version] (German Roderich, Spanish Rodrigo, Arabic Luḏrīq). Last king of the Visigoths. The so-called Crónica Mozárabe (in Spanish) of AD 754, which provides information about the end of the West Gothic empire, reveals that R. was initially provincial governor (of Hispania Baetica ?) and in 710, after the death of Witiza, was elected king, an election which did not go unopposed. At the very time the Muslims invaded Spain in April/May 711, R. was fighting the Basques; yet he managed to deploy an approxim…

[German version] Commander of Sapor [2] II, entrusted with the defence of the Persian western frontier. He spoke in favour of peace negotiations with Rome in AD 357 (Amm. Marc. 16,9,3 f.; 17,5). When the Persian War flared up again in 359, T. and Nohodares successfully led small, highly manoeuvrable divisions against the Romans (Amm. Marc. 18,8,3; 19,9,7; cf. Them. Or. 4,57). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

Roman nomen gentile of Sabine origin. Its members begin to appear in the sources late in the 3rd cent. BC. Politically the most important branch was that of the Terentii Varrones which attained the ranks of the nobility with T. [I 14] Varro, consul in 216 BC. From the mid-2nd cent., several families of this branch were in simultaneous and unconnected existence. Cognomina showing geographical origins are widespread among the Terentii (Afer, Lucanus, Massaliota). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] As people's tribune in 54 BC, T. prevented…

(Ἐρατώ; Eratṓ). [German version] [1] One of the nine Muses One of the nine  Muses; daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Hes. Theog. 78; Apollod. 1,13). Attribution of a sphere of activity, as in the case of the other Muses, emerged only gradually. Plato i.a. assigns her to the sphere of the erotic, on account of her name (Phdr. 259d); but she is above all the Muse of love-lyric, and is appealed to in this connection by poets (cf. Verg. Aen. 7,37; Ov. Ars am. 2,16; 425). She is portrayed i.a. on the François Vase (570 BC) and on the Basle lekythos (together with  Thamyris and  Klio). Bloch, René (Berne) Bibl…

(Ὀρώδης; Orṓdēs). [German version] [1] O. I Parthian king, 1st cent. BC Parthian king around 81/80-76/5 BC who is mentioned under the name Uruda only in cuneiform texts [1. 517, 1162f., 1165, 1170f., 1174, 1446]. He was probably a son of Artabanus [4] I and therefore a brother of the kings Mithridates [13] II and Gotarzes I who ruled before him and Sanatruces who ruled after him. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography 1 T.G. Pinches, J.N. Strassmaier, A. J. Sachs, Late Babylonian Astronomical and Related Texts, 1955. J. Oelsner, Randbemerkungen zur arsakidischen Geschichte …

[German version] (App. Mithr. 19: Nemánēs; but cf. Memnon FGrH 434 F 22: Menophánēs). An Armenian in the service of Mithridates [6] VI of Pontus, who dealt M. Aquillius [I 4] a heavy defeat in Bithynia in 88 BC. He seems then to have entered the service of the Paphlagonian king Mithridates Philopator Philadelphus, a son of Mithridates VI, as a ‘N., son of Naimanes’ appears among the envoys who brought gifts in the former's name to the Roman Capitol in about 80 BC (CIL I2 730 = CIL VI 30922 = ILS 30 = ILLRP 180). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

(Στρατονίκη; Stratoníkē). [German version] [1] Daughter of Alexander [2] I, c. 500 BC Daughter of the Macedonian king Alexander [II 2] I. In the winter of 429/8 BC, she was married by her brother Perdiccas [2] II to Seuthes [1], nephew of the Odrysian king Sitalces [1], in exchange for Seuthes' having achieved the withdrawal of Thracian troops from Macedonia (Thuc. 2,101,5 f.). Zahrnt, Michael (Kiel) [German version] [2] Wife of Antigonus [1], 4th cent. BC Daughter of one Corrhagus, married to Antigonus [1], mother of Demetrius [2] Poliorketes and a Philippus, who died…

[German version] Son of Sūrēn Abdagaeses, centre of a conspiracy against the Parthian king Artabanus [5] II. At his instigation, in AD 35 a Parthian legation obtained from Tiberius the dispatch of prince Phraates to be pretender to the throne. After his death, Phraates' son or nephew Tiridates was installed as his successor in the Parthian Empire by L. Vitellius, the legate of Syria. S. took  Tiridates' side, taking with him his own troops (Tac. Ann. 6,31 f.; 6,36 f.). S.' subsequent fate is unknown. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

(also Mithradates; Μιθριδάτης/ Mithridátēs, Μιθραδάτης/ Mithradátēs ). The personal name Μιθραδάτης is Persian - coins [4. 10-17] attest to the original spelling. Inscriptions, (Syll.3 709 passim; 741,14,23; 742,4; 12) sporadically give Μιθριδάτης, even contemporary ones (Greek ILS 37,8, Latin ILS 38,28; 60,5; 9), which is the form found in most later documents (Syll.3 785,10) and manuscripts. The change α/ι is due to weakening of vowels at the morpheme boundary, demonstrable from the 5th century onwar…

[German version] (Μιθροβουζάνης; Mithrobouzánēs). Son of Zariadris of Sophene, who was at the court of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia when his father died (163 BC). Ariarathes rejected the proposal of Artaxias I (Artaxias [1]) of Armenia to eliminate the sons of Zariadris and to split Sophene between Armenia and Cappadocia, and helped M. to take up his throne (Diod. Sic. 31,22; Pol. 31,16). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Schottky, Media Atropatene und Groß-Armenien, 1989, 196-199.

(Οὐράνιος/ Ouránios). [German version] [0] Usurper, mid 3rd cent. L. Iulius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus U. Antoninus, usurper, who had coins minted in Emesa in 253/4; very likely identical with the priest of Aphrodite Sampsigeramus (Ioh. Mal. 12 p. 296 f.) who warded off an attack on Emesa by the Persian army in 253, in the course of which their leader (in the text Sapor [1] I himself) was killed. It may be that Or. Sib. 13,158-171 and IGLS 1799-1801 also refer to these events. When with Valerianus' [2] d…

[German version] (Βᾶς; Bâs). The Bithynian dynast was the son of Boteiras and second successor to  Doedalses. Memnon (FGrH 434 F 12,4) gives him 71 years, of which he ruled for 50 (377/6-328 BC). His victory over Calas, the satrap charged by Alexander [4] the Great with the conquest of  Bithynia, falls in his late phase (between 333 and 328). This event gave rise to an independent Bithynian ‘kingdom’, whose first king was B.'s son  Zipoetes [1] . Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

[German version] [1] 1st cent. AD Parthian king Son of Vologaeses I, who fought Pacorus for the Parthian crown from AD 89/90, but did not succeed until 108/9. His meddling in Armenia (cf. Axidares; Parthamasiris) provoked Trajan's Parthian War (Parthian and Persian Wars), which O. weathered despite severe setbacks. In 117, he expelled his son Parthamaspates, who had been drawn to the Roman side and whom Trajan had made king of the Parthians. A treaty was concluded at a meeting with Hadrian in 123, and O…

(Φαρνάβαζος; Pharnábazos). [German version] [1] Persian, Satrap of Dascylium [2]/Phrygia Persian, from 468 or 455 BC satrap of Dascylium [2] in Phrygia (Thuc. 2,67,1). Plontke-Lüning, Annegret (Jena) [German version] [2] Grandson of Ph. [1], satrap of Dascylium [2] Grandson of P. [1], satrap of Dascylium [2], died after 373 BC; in 413/12 BC he was an ally of Sparta and in 409 BC of Athens (he sheltered Alcibiades [3] in 404 und had him murdered at the request of Lysander [1]; Xen. Hell. 1,1,6; 14; 2,16; 3,8ff.; Diod.Sic. 14,11,2; Ne…

(Σαμψιγέραμος; Sampsigéramos) [German version] [1] Prince of Emesa and Arethusa, 1st cent. BC The prince of Emesa and Arethusa (Str. 16,2,11) in Syria; was an (unfaithful) ally of Antiochus [14] XIII, whom he captured twice and killed in 64 BC (Diod. Sic. 40,1b). His good relationship with Pompeius [I 3] prompted Cicero to use his exotic Aramaic name as a nickname for Pompey (Cic. Att. 2,14,1; 16,2; 17,1-2; 23,2-3). S. was named among the princes who supported the rebellion of the Pompeian Caecilius [I 5] Bassus, which began in 46 BC (Str. 16,2,10). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) …

(Middle Persian Narseh, Armenian Nersēh, Greek Ναρσῆς/ Narsȇs, also Ναρσαῖος/ Narsaȋos). [German version] [1] Brother of Sapor I, died in AD 302 Brother of Sapor I, when he was prince-governor of (Persian) Armenia in AD 293 he overthrew his great-nephew Wahram III from the Persian throne and documented his success in the Paikuli inscription (cf. [1]). In about 296, N. renewed the conflict with Rome by invading (Roman) Armenia. The emperor Galerius [5] suffered a defeat at Carrhae (Ḥarran) in 297, but was able to besi…

[German version] Chosroes [6] II's general who in 614 AD conquered Jerusalem and in 626 besieged Constantinople. On 27 April 630 he overthrew Ardashir [3] III and ruled as Persian king of kings until he was himself killed on 9 June 630 [1]. PLRE 3B, 1141-1144. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography 1 M. Ibn-G. at Tabari, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden (with German transl., comm. and additions by  Th. Nöldeke), 1879 (reprint 1973), 290-303, 388-390.

(Τιγράνης/ Tigránēs). [German version] [1] T. I. Father of T. [2] (App. Syr. 48), king of Armenia around 120-95 BC. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] T. II. Son of T. [1], born in 140 BC. In c. 120 BC, after a lost battle against the Parthians, he was given over to them, to be released in Armenia in 95. For his release, he had to hand over an area containing 70 valleys. In c. 93, T. annexed Orontes' [6] IV kingdom of Sophene. Not later than after the death of the Parthian king Mithridates [13] II (88/87), he recaptured the 70 valleys and annexed other…

[German version] In AD 62, the Parthian Vologaeses I succeeded in encircling the Roman army of Caesennius [4] Paetus near Rhandia. V.--commander of the cavalry--was sent from the Parthian side to negotiate the capitulation. In the discussion, Paetus prided himself on the Roman supremacy over Armenia which had been in existence from Licinius [I 26] Lucullus and Pompeius [I 3] , while V. emphasised the actual Parthian dominance. His part in the negotiations that followed cannot be clearly determined…

[German version] [1] Member of the royal family of Cappadocia, 4th cent. BC Brother of Ariarathes I of Cappadocia who helped Artaxerxes [3] III in the Egyptian campaigns. His brother adopted his son Ariarathes II. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] Member of the royal family Cappadocia, 2nd cent. BC (also Olophernes in the manuscripts). Son of Ariarathes  IV of Cappadocia and Antiochis. He was allegedly foisted on the king by the queen who was initially childless. When she wanted to obtain the crown for her younger son Mithridates…

[German version] [1] River to the east of the Sea of Azov In Ptol. 5,8,2 and 14 (Οὐαρδάνης/ Ouardánēs) the most southerly of the seven rivers beyond the Tanais (Don) flowing from the east into the Maeotis (Sea of Azov), on which five cities are mentioned; the V., which is also known to Amm. 22,8,26, was a large navigable river which can be identified with the Kuban. In Antiquity it also had the name Hypanis [2], in the Roman period, however, it had the Sarmatic name V. Plontke-Lüning, Annegret (Jena) Bibliography E. Polaschek, s. v. V. (1), RE 8 A, 367 f.  V. Gajdukevič, Das Bosporanische R…

(Οὐολόγαισος/ Ouológaisos(and other spellings); Lat. Vologaeses (and other spellings), Parthian Walagaš), name of Iranian and Armenian rulers (Parthians). [German version] [1] V. I Son of Vonones [2] II and a Greek mistress (Tac. Ann. 12,44; Jos. Ant. Lud. 20,3,4 erroneously referred to him as the son of Artabanus [5] II). In AD 50/51, he successfully fought for the Parthian throne against Gotarzes II. The first phase of his reign was marked by a war on two fronts--against the Romans in Armenia and against a son of Vardanes [2] who operated from Hyrcania. In c. 61, V. succeeded in des…

[German version] Son of the Chorasanian governor Farruḫ-Hormizd, who overthrew Azarmiducht in AD 631 and effected the recognition of  Yazdgird III in 633. As supreme commander he tried to fend off an Arab incursion. Under R.'s leadership, for example, a Persian army advanced as far as the border fortification of Al-Qādisīya on the edge of the Syrian Desert. In the spring of 636 or 637 a battle of several days developed there, in which the Persians were defeated after R. had fallen (PLRE 3B, 1100). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography B. W. Robinson, s. v. R., EI2 8, 1995, 636-638  B. Spu…

[German version] (Κυρρηστική; Kyrrhēstikḗ). Region in northern Syria south of  Commagene, between the Euphrates and the  Amanus; named after its capital Cyrrhus [2]. The name is used for the first time, but perhaps anachronistically, in connection with events of the year 286 BC (Plut. Demetrius 48,6). Attested with certainty is a revolt of 6,000 Cyrrhesticans against Antiochus [5] the Great in 221 (Pol. 5,50; 57). At the time Seleucid rule was ending, local dynasts appear to also have had their say in the political affairs in C: the Cyrrhestican and (apparently disloyal) Roman socius C…

(Προυσίας/ Prousías). [German version] [1] P. I, the Lame King of Bithynia from 230 BC Son of Ziaelas and king of Bithynia c. 230-182 BC. P. gave support to Rhodes after the earthquake of 227 (Pol. 5,90,1) and in alliance with it fought Byzantium, but was unable to keep his conquest (Pol. 4,47-52). In 216 he destroyed the Celtic Aegosages (Pol. 5,111; [1. 43]). Characteristics of his policy were friendship with Macedonia and enmity with Pergamum. In the first of the Macedonian Wars [A] he fought by agreement with Phi…

[German version] [1] Commander of the guard for the detained Parthian king Vonones I, whom he killed in AD 19 Commander of the guard for the Parthian king Vonones I, who was detained in Pompeiopolis, Cilicia; in AD 19, he killed the king at the river Pyramus during an escape (Tac. Ann. 2,68; cf. Suet. Tib. 49,2). He is probably identical to the C. R. Rufus mentioned in CIL V 2837 (= ILS 2022). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] R. Palaemon, Q. Roman teacher of grammar, 1st cent. Famous Roman teacher of grammar (cf. Juv. 6,451 ff.; 7,215 ff.) of the 1st cent. AD from V…

[German version] (Ζαβεργάς; Zabergás). In the winter of AD 558/9, Z. the khan of the Hunnish Cotrigurs led his warriors across the frozen Danube and advanced as far as Constantinople. Belisarius, who had retired from active service in 551, was recalled and sent with a motley army against the Cutrigurs. Z. lost the battle and soon afterwards abandoned his camp at Melantias. Since Iustinianus [1] recalled Belisarius immediately after his initial success, Z. was able to plunder the diocese of Thracia …

[German version] After the murder of Pap in AD 374 his nephew (or cousin?) V. was installed by the Roman government as king in Armenia. He had the imperial general Mušel Mamikonian, the son of Vasaces [1], murdered and c. 378 was banished by Vasaces's brother Manuel (Faustus [4] of Byzantium 5,34 f.; 5,37; legendary Moses [2] of Chorene 3,40). PLRE 1, 945. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M.-L. Chaumont, s. v. Armenia and Iran II, EncIr 2, 418-438, esp. 428 R. H. Hewsen, The Successors of Tiridates the Great, in: Rev. des études arméniennes 13, 1978/79, 99-126 J. Markwart, Sü…

(Τιριδάτης/ Tiridátēs). [German version] [1] Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch (Ael. VH 12,1). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Achaemenid commander of Persepolis, 2nd half of 4th cent. BC Achaemenid commander and 'treasurer' of Persepolis, who was kept in his post by Alexander [4] the Great after the surrender of the 'citadel' and treasure (Diod. Sic. 17,69,1; Curt. 5,5,2; 6,11). From 330/29 BC T. was a strategos of the Ariaspae and Gedrosians (Gedrosia) (Diod. Sic. 17,81,2). In 328/7 BC, Alexander gave the estates of a T. to the pa…

[German version] [1] V. I was the eldest of four Parthian princes who in 10 BC were placed in the custody of the Romans by their father Phraates [4] IV. He was able to succeed Orodes [3] III c. 8 AD, but did not manage to gain the respect of the Iranian nationalist nobility that Artabanus [5] II arrayed against him. V. was able to force his competitor to temporarily retreat into the Medean mountains, but ultimately had to flee from him to Armenia. He tried to win the throne there, which was vacant after the final retreat of Erato […

(Σάμος/ Sámos). [German version] [1] King of Armenia, 3rd cent. BC King of Armenia first half of the 3rd cent. BC, appears among the paternal ancestors of Antiochus [16] I of Commagene as the father of king Arsames [4] (OGIS 394). S. (and not his homonymous descendant) founded Samosata, later the capital of Commagene, and Samokart in the Armenian region of Arzanene. In c. 255 BC he hosted the Bithynian prince Ziaelas. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] S. Theosebes Dicaeus (Σ. Θεοσεβὴς Δίκαιος/ S. Theosebḕs Díkaios). Great-grandson of S. [1], son of Ptolemaeus [III…

[German version] Sassanid queen, daughter of  Chosroes II and sister of  Boran, whom she succeeded on the throne for a few months. She had the governor of Chorasan killed and was then overthrown by his son Rustam. (PLRE 3A, 160). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography Ph. Gignoux, s.v. Âzarmîgduxt, EncIr 3, 190.

[German version] (Βαράθης/ Baráthēs, Varazes). An Armenian who was sent by Iustinianus [1] to Italy in 548 at the head of 800 of his countrymen and arrived at just the right time to rescue Verus (PLRG 3B, 1370) and his Heruli from total destruction by Totila (Procop. Goth. 3,27). Recalled from Italy in 551, he was appointed leader of 800 Tzans (Armenian sub-tribe) against the Persians in Lazica (Procop. Goth. 4,13,10). His identification with an Armenian commander V. in Lazica in 556 (Agathias 4,13) is disputed. PLRE 3B, 1362 f. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

(Ζιποίτης/ Zipoítēs). [German version] [1] Bithynian prince, 356-280 BC Born in 356 BC, he succeeded his father, the Bithynian prince Bas, in 328. In 315 BC, his first attempt to expand his kingdom by conquering Chalcedon and Astacus [1] failed (Diod. Sic. 19,60,3). In the period after the battle of Ipsus (in 301), Z. defeated two of Lysimachus' [2] strategoi (Memnon FGrH 434 F 6,3). Renewed fighting with Chalcedon (Plut. Mor. 302e) and the conquest of Astacus (Str. 12,4,2; Paus. 5,12,7) are probably con…

(Ζηνοβία; Zēnobía). [German version] [1] Wife of Radamistus, 1st cent. AD The wife of the Armenian king Radamistus is the heroine of an episode in Tacitus (Ann. 12,51): when her husband was forced to flee to Iberia in AD 54, she was apparently unable to cope with the hardships of the journey due to her pregnancy and supposedly asked to be killed. Injured by her husband and thrown into the Araxes, Z. was rescued and brought to Radamistus' rival Tiridates [5] I, who treated her honourably. These events were …

[German version] A king of Armenia known from coins, to whom the twelfth pedestal of the paternal ancestors of  Antiochus [16] I of Commagene can be assigned. Thus he would be the son of  Arsames and the father of Xerxes of Armenia as well as the ruler who committed himself to make tribute payments to  Antiochus [5] III (Pol. 8,25). His reign may fall in the decade before 215 BC. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Schottky, Media Atropatene und Groß-Armenien, 1989 M.-L. Chaumont, in: Gnomon 67, 1995, 330-336.

[German version] [1] Sculptor whose existence is contested Sculptor whose existence is contested. Pliny (HN 36,35) mentions a work in marble in Rome Venerem lavantem †sesededalsa† stantem, from which the Bithynian name D. is gleaned, an emendation which is largely accepted. This D. is then identified with Daedalus, who according to a Byzantine source created a Zeus Stratios for the Bithynian King Nicomedes. The statue type of that Zeus has not been established with any certainty. The statue of the standing Venus that Pli…

(Modern Persian Hormizd, Arab. Hurmuz; Sassanids). [German version] [1] H. I. Son of Sapor I, Persian governor in Armenia, approx. AD 250 Lat. Odomastes (HA Tyr. Trig. 2,2). Son of  Sapor I, on whose order he invaded Armenia. He was in office there from c. AD 252 as Persian governor with the title of Great King and succeeded his father after his death (autumn 272) to the throne of Persia for c. one year. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] H. II. Nephew of H. [1], king of Persia AD 302-309 Nephew of [1], king of Persia AD 302-309 (Agathias 4,25,1). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) …

[German version] (Μοναίσης; Monaísēs). Parthian nobleman who fled from  Phraates IV. to Marcus Antonius [I 9] in 37 BC. The latter accepted him as a possible pretender to the throne (Cass. Dio 49,24,2), but did not oppose M.'s reconciliation with Phraates (Plut. Antonius 37). In Anthony's Parthian War (Parthian and Persian Wars), M. defeated the Roman army (Hor. Carm. 3,6,9) but had his cousin, Mithradates, show the retreating triumvir a route to the Armenian border (Plut. Antonius 46). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Karras-Klapproth, Prosopographische Studien z…

[German version] [1] I. Armenian king (190-around 160 BC) Son of one Zariadris, descended from Orontes. At the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC he ruled the Araxes valley around Armavira under Seleucid sovereignty. After the battle of Magnesia (190 BC), he revolted and established himself as king with Roman consent. He founded the new capital city Artaxata, allegedly following the advice of Hannibal. Campaigns of conquest against neighbouring countries and peoples increased the power of the king so consider…

(Μενέμαχος/ Menémachos). [German version] [1] Pontic general, 71 BC Pontic general. When Mithradates [6] VI and Licinius [I 26] Lucullus faced one another at the Lycus in northern Bithynia in 71 BC, Mithradates had a unit under M. and Myron attack a Roman supply column under M. Fabius Hadrianus. The king tried to explain its heavy defeat (the two leaders and almost all the men fell) by the lack of experience of the generals (Plut. Lucullus 17; Sall. fr. IV 8 M.). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] Cavalry leader of Tigranes II of Armenia, 67 BC Cavalry leader of Tigranes II …

[German version] [1] A. I. Founder and Ruler of the Parthian Empire (247-217 BC) Uncertain origin; around 250 BC under his leadership, the Parni invaded the region of Astauene. The confusion in the eastern part of the Seleucid kingdom allowed A. to conquer Parthia around 238, and Hyrcania shortly thereafter. He was crowned in Asaak. In spite of a counterattack led by Seleucus II, A. was able to maintain his hold on Parthia and Hyrcania. He left a strong state behind him at his death in 217. He was the founder of the Parthian Empire and founding father of the Arsacids. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfel…

(Latin Vasaces). [German version] [1] V. Mamikonian Armenian, imperial general under Arsaces [4] II of Armenia. V. tried to maintain good relations with Rome. Together with the king, c. 368 he fell into the hands of Sapor [2] II, who had V. flayed (Procop. BP 1,5: Βασσίκιος; Faustus [4] Buzandaci 3,16; 4,2; 4,11; 4,16; 4,20; 4,23-49; 4,53 ff.). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] V. of Siunik from 442 governor of Armenia, became involved in the conflict between his Christian countrymen and his Zoroastrian general Yazdgird [2] II. After a Persian …

(Ἀσάνδρος; Asándros) [German version] [1] Macedonian satrap of Lydia (334-331 BC) Son of a certain Philotas, probably related to  Parmenion, under Alexander [4] the Great the commander of the  Prodromoi and  Paeones (so in Diod. Sic. 17,17,4), in 334-331 BC satrap of  Lydia; he participated in the conquest of  Caria. In the winter of 329/28 he led troops to Alexander and then is no longer mentioned. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve, 2, no. 165 Heckel, 385. [German version] [2] Macedonian satrap of Caria (around 320 BC) Son of Agathon, after the death of  Alexander…

(Σανατρούκης/ Sanatroúkēs). [German version] [1] Parthian ruler, 1st cent. BC (Greek literary sources: Σινατρούκης/ Sinatroúkēs, Phlegon of Tralleis, fr. 12 in Photius; Σινατροκλῆς/ Sinatroklês, Ps.-Lucian, Macr. 15; or in the genitive: Σιντρίκου/ Sintríkou, App. Mithr. 104). Son of Artabanus [4] I and brother of Mithridates [13] II, Gotarzes I and Orodes [1] I. In 78/7 BC, in his 80th year, S. was elevated to the Parthian throne by the Sacaraucae and ruled a further 7 years (Ps.-Lucian, Macr. 15). In the conflict between Mith…

[German version] (Παρθαμάσιρις/ Parthamásiris). Brother of Axidares; he was chosen by Osroes [1] to be the successor to the Armenian throne. In AD 114, Trajan met with P. in Elegeia but refused to acknowledge him and had him killed contrary to international law (Fronto, Principia historiae p. 212 van den Hout 1988). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Karras-Klapproth, Prosopographische Studien zur Geschichte des Partherreiches, 1988  PIR2 P 131.

(Φαρασμάνης; Pharasmánēs). [German version] [1] Ph. I. King in the Caucasus (1st cent. AD) Son of Mithridates [19] and king of Iberia [1] (Caucasus). From AD 35, as an ally of Rome, P. had been supporting the Armenian kingdom of his brother Mithridates [20] (Tac. Ann. 6,32-35; 11,8-9) and, after AD 51, that of his own son Radamistus (Tac. Ann. 12,44-47). His relatives’ failure as client kings to Rome (cf. Tac. Ann. 13,37) and the acceptance of the Arsacid Tiridates I. as king of Armenia must have affected him…

[German version] The third Parthian king and the first to take the name Arsákēs as an epithet (Arsaces III). He reigned c. 191-176 BC. He was the father of the Parthian kings Phraates [1] I, Mithridates [12] I and Artabanus [4] I and therefore the progenitor of all later Arsacids (Arsaces; Just. Epit. 41,5,8-9; Nisa ostrakon 1760). Parthia; Parthians Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Schottky, Parther, Meder und Hyrkanier, in: AMI 24, 1991, 61-134, esp. 95-98  J. Wolski, L'empire des Arsacides, 1993, 58-65.

[German version] The Welshman N. is said to be the author of the Historia Brittonum, which appeared around AD 829, although his authorship has recently been disputed [1. 1089f.]. The work is a compilation in Latin, and does not form a coherent historical account, but collates source texts for such an account in a semi-chronological sequence. This literary form, consciously chosen by the author, represents a modern and, for its time, unique approach to dealing with historical material [2]. The information preserved by N. is certainly of extremely disparate value, especiall…

[German version] (Ζιαήλας; Ziaḗlas). The son from the first marriage of Nicomedes [2] I was excluded by him from the succession to the Bithynian throne. Z. therefore fled c. 255 BC to an Armenian king whose name is not known (Samos [1]). After his father's death, with the help of the Galatian Tolistobogii in battles lasting until c. 250, he succeeded in gaining the main part of Bithynia (Memnon FGrH 434 F 14). In a letter sent to Cos between 246 and 242 (Syll.3 456 = Welles 25) Z. recognized the asylum ( ásylon ) of the Temple of Asclepius there. The letter also r…

[German version] (Ζαμάσφης/ Zamásphēs). Persian king, son of Peroz [1] I. His reign 496-499 interrupted that of his brother Cavades [1] I, who had been dethroned in a conspiracy of high nobles and Zoroastrian clerics because of his support for Mazdak. When Cavades, who had escaped from the 'Castle of Forgetfulness', returned at the head of an army of Hephthalitae, Z. vacated the throne without a fight (Agathias 4,28). His later fate is unclear. PLRE 2, 1195. Sassanids Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography A. Lippold, s. v. Z., RE 9 A, 2308 f. K. Schippmann, Grundzüge der Geschi…

(Φραάτης; Phraátēs). [German version] [1] P. I Parthian king, 1st half of the 2nd cent. BC Son of Phriapatius, Parthian king from 176 BC. In about 171 BC, P. defeated the Amardi and deported them to Charax near the Caspian Gates (Isidorus of Charax 7). He died soon afterwards, after having appointed his brother Mithridates [12] I as his successor (Just. Epit. 41,5,9-10). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Schottky, Media Atropatene und Groß-Armenia, 1989, Index s.v. P. [German version] [2] P. II Parthian king, 2nd half of the 2nd cent. BC Nephew of P. [1], son of Mithridates…

(Δημῶναξ; Dēmônax or Δαμῶναξ; Damônax). [German version] [1] D. of Mantinea Arbitrator in Cyrene about 550 BC Respected aristocrat who was appointed as ‘arbitrator’ (καταρτιστήρ; katartistḗr) in  Cyrene about 550 BC on the advice of the Delphic Oracle (Hdt. 4,161). To resolve the internal conflicts, D. reformed the three phylai in which he redistributed the different groups of colonists and immigrants, the Theraeans and Perioeci, Peloponnesians and Cretans, ‘Nesiotai’, i.e. people from the (Ionian?) islands [1]. D. restricted the royal power o…

(Ἀριοβαρζάνης; Ariobarzánēs, Old Persian Ariyabrdana). [German version] [1] Satrap of Dascylium Vice-governor in 407 BC under  Pharnabazus, satrap of Dascylium, and perhaps his eldest son (Xen. Hell. 1,4,7) [1]; guest-friend of the Spartan  Antalcidas (Xen. Hell. 5,1,28). Succeeded Pharnabazus in 387 BC as satrap of Propontis [1]. In 368 BC A. succeeded, with the aid of his confidant  Philiscus, in assuring the support of Athens and Sparta (Xen. Hell. 7,1,27), which he in fact obtained during his revolt a…

[German version] [1] Member of the Parthian royal house P. (not P. I!), a son of Orodes [2] II; he is central to the first phase of the  Parthian Wars which followed the battle of Carrhae. In 53 BC, P. got engaged to a sister of the Armenian king Artavasdes [2] II, sealing the latter's coming over to the Parthian side. The Parthian invasion of Syria (51-50) was only nominally under the leadership of P., who was still young.  He played a greater part in the great attack on Syria, carried out under his command from 41 onward, but after initial success he died at Gindarus in 38 BC. Parthia Schottky, Mart…

[German version] (Ζαρβιηνός /Zarbiēnós). A king of Corduene (Gordyaea), who negotiated with Appius Claudius [I 24] Pulcher in 71/70 BC over an alliance with Licinius [I 26] Lucullus, and was betrayed to his overlord Tigranes [2] II of Armenia, who disposed of him. Lucullus gave him a magnificent burial in 69 and confiscated his treasures (Plut. Lucullus 21; 29). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

[German version] More correctly perhaps Gylakes (Armenian Głak), Armenian eunuch and ‘head gentleman-in-waiting’ ( Hajr mardpet). After C. had temporarily changed over to the Persian side, he attempted from AD 368 onwards, together with the ‘regent’ ( hazarapet)  Artabannes [1], to protect the interests of young king  Pap and to limit the power of the higher nobility and the Church. Around 370 Sapor II induced Pap, through secret messages, to murder his ministers and to have their heads sent to him (Amm. Marc. 27,12; 30,1,3). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography J. Markwart, S…

The term 'Parthian and Persian wars' refers to the wars which the Romans initially fought against the Parthians (see A an B below) and subsequently against their successors, the Persian dynasty of the Sassanids (see C and D). [German version] A. Up to the end of the Roman republic The diplomatic relations between Romans and Parthians, begun under L. Cornelius [I 90] Sulla, had gradually deteriorated. Nevertheless, the invasion into the Parthian kingdom in 54 BC, headed by the triumvir M. Licinius [I 11] Crassus, took place without any provocat…

[German version] [1] Q. Cornelius V. Author of an antiquarian compilation, 1st cent. Roman equestrian of the 1st cent. AD (probably c.45 praef. vexillariorum in Thracia). Author of an antiquarian compilation mentioned by Plinius [1] (Pliny the Elder) as source of books 3 (?), 8, 10, 14 and 15 of his Naturalis historia, and quoted at 3,108 (?), 10,5 and 14,11. Schmidt, Peter Lebrecht Bibliography PIR2 C 1471. [German version] [2] P. Licinius V. Roman emperor 253-260, born 199 (thus the gist of Ioh. Mal. 12 p. 298; SHA Valer. 5,1 is false); from a noble family (Aur. V…

(Vararanes). [German version] [1] V. I Son of Sapor [1] I, Persian Great King AD 273-276. The capture and death of Mani take place in his time. PLRE 1, 945. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] V. II Son of V. [1], Persian Great King 276-293. V. had to go to battle with Carus [3] in 283, who was advancing on Ctesiphon. The sudden death of the Emperor and the retreat of the Romans gave the King room to breathe. PLRE 1, 945. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography A. Sh. Shabazi, s. v. Bahrâm I-II, EncIr 3, 515-517. [German version] [3] V. III Son of V. [2], overthrown after his …

(Ἀρτάβ/πανος, Ἀρταπάνης; Artáb/panos, Artapánēs, Old Pers. Rtabānuš, Elamite Irdabanuš). [German version] [1] Brother of Darius I and uncle of Xerxes Brother of Darius I and uncle of Xerxes, who warned Darius and Xerxes against the campaigns against the Scythians (Hdt. 4.83) and against Greece (7.10-18) respectively [1]. Xerxes sent him back from Abydus on the Dardanelles and commissioned him with the regency for the duration of the war (Hdt. 7,46-53). Perhaps around 500 BC may have been satrap of Bactria and therefore identical to the Irdabanuš of PF 1287, 1555 [2]. Kuhrt, Amélie (L…

Name of an old patrician family, probably connected with the name of the god  Jupiter [1. 281; 2. 729]. The gens was one of the so-called ‘Trojan families’, who were said to have moved from Alba Longa to Rome under king Tullus Hostilius [I 4] (see below). The Iulii were prominent in the 5th and 4th cents. BC. Their connection to the family branch of the Caesares, which rose to prominence from the 3rd cent. and whose outstanding member was the dictator  Caesar (with family tree), is unclear. Caesar's adoptive son,…

[German version] In AD 694/5, W. became co-regent of his father, the Visigoth king Egica, who had become senile and died in 702. Information about his sole reign is difficult to obtain. The acts of the 18th Council of Toledo ( c. 703) are lost; medieval historiography (beginning with the Chronicon Moissacense, 9th cent.) primarily describes the alleged (particularly moral) misconduct of the last but one Visigoth king. This was apparently supposed to explain the swift collapse of the kingdom, which W.'s successor Rodericus was scarcely…

[German version] Sassanid queen, daughter of  Chosroes II and possibly the sister-bride of  Cavades II. She came to power in spring 630, after the usurper Sharwaraz was deposed, and ruled until autumn 631 (PLRE 3A, 246). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M.-L. Chaumont, s.v. Bôrân, EncIr 4, 366.

[German version] After the death of King Artabanus II [5] which did not occur before AD 39, the empire of the Parthians was shaken by battles for the throne that filled the entire period of the reign of his successor G. His relationship to his predecessor and to the Arsacids is unclear: whilst he is usually regarded in the literary sources as the son of Artabanus (Tac. Ann. 11,8f.; Jos. Ant. Iud. 20,3,4), various pieces of circumstantial evidence lead us to conclude that he was only the foster-son…

[German version] [1] Parthian king Parthian king; see  Osroes. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] C. King of Armenia, early 3rd cent. AD was most probably the name of the Arsacid king of Armenia who took part in the Parthian war of Septimius Severus, and in 214 or 216 was captured by Caracalla. His name was not given in the Greek sources, but mention of an ‘Armenian C.’ in an inscription at Egyptian Thebes (CIG 4821) may relate to him. The thesis of Armenian writers, frequently taken up by researchers, …

(Ἀρσάμης; Arsámēs). [German version] [1] Son of Ariaramnes Old Pers. Ars̆āma, son of Ariaramnes, father of Hystaspes, grandfather of Darius I [1. DB §2]. Xerxes [1. XPf §3] says that A. was still alive when Darius came to the throne (522/521BC). The insciptions attributed to him and his father are probably not genuine [1. 12; 2. 65-67]. Kuhrt, Amélie (London) Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Helen (Utrecht) [German version] [2] Son of Darius I Son of Darius I and Artystone. Commanded the Aethiopians and Arabs for his half-brother Xerxes in the campaign against Greece (…

(Πτολεμαῖος/ Ptolemaîos). Personal name meaning 'warlike' (not 'hostile'), first recorded in Hom. Il. 4,228; the name occurred in Macedonia in the 5th and 4th cents. BC, from where it spread to Thessaly, still in the 4th cent. (IG IX 2, 598). It became prominent with the Lagid dynasty, and became common, not only in Egypt, where it may at first have indicated solidarity with the dynasty, but also elsewhere. It underwent many deformations and transmutations. Ptolemies Famous persons: P. [1] I Soter, P. [6] III Euergetes; P. [22], the son of Caesar; the scientist Claudius P. [65]. Ameling, Wa…

[German version] (Ῥοδομίστος/ Rhodomístos). The son of the Iberian king Pharasmanes [1] I; in AD 51, with the collusion of his father and the acquiescence of the Romans, he toppled his uncle, brother-in-law and step-father Mithridates [20] from the Armenian throne. Despite governing cruelly, R. was unable to withstand the Parthian nominee Tiridates [5] I and had to retreat to Iberia [1] in 54. His pregnant wife Zenobia [1], whom R. initially dragged along on the escape and then wounded and threw in…

(Ἰζάτης; Izátēs). [German version] [1] I. I. King of Adiabene until c. 30 AD King of  Adiabene until c. AD 30. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] I. II. Grandson of I. [1], king from approx. 36 AD Grandson of I. [1], king from c. AD 36. Some years later he took in his hard-pressed Parthian overlord Artabanus [5] II and organized the latter's return to the throne, for which he was rewarded with the territory of Nisibis and privileges. His fickle politics in the struggles for the succession after Artabanus' death can be most…

[German version] (‘stallion and steed’). The brothers H. and H., sons of the Jute (Danish) Wihtgil, were said to be the leaders of Anglo-Saxon warriors recruited by the southern British king Vortigern in AD 449 to help him repel the Scots and Picts. After a few years, a conflict developed between the Britons and their Germanic allies. In the battle of Aylesford (455) Horsa is said to have died on the Germanic side, and Vortigern's son Categirn, on the British. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Hengist founded the kingdom of Kent in the same year. Hengist and his son Oisc …

[German version] (Ζαριάδρης/ Zariádrēs). In Chares [2] of Mytilene (FGrH 125, F 5 = Ath. 13,575), there is a love story between Z., the brother of a certain Hystaspes of Media, and the daughter of a Sarmatian prince. It exhibits strong similarities to an episode in Iranian literature. There two brothers called Guštâsp and Zarêr appear and it is Guštâsp who (under circumstances comparable to those of Chares' Z.) wins the daughter of the ruler of Rûm. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Boyce, Z. and Zarêr, in: BSO(A)S 17, 1955, 463-477 E. Yarshater, Iranian National History,…

[German version] According to R. Göbl's classification ([1], cf. [2]),  Iran experienced four successive ‘waves’ of invading Hunnic peoples from the 4th cent. AD. While the first three groups of these ‘Iranian Huns’ (Kidarites, Alchon, Nezak) have left few traces in the literary sources, the H. in the 5th/6th cents. AD belonged to the most prominent and dangerous eastern neighbours of the Persians. They are first explicitly attested at the time of King Perozes and were vividly described by Procopius (BP 1,3). According to his report, the Ephthalitai were a Hunnic people, also kn…

[German version] is the name in British (Nennius, Historia Brittonum 31-49) and English sources of a king who, in AD 428 or 449, enlisted the Anglo-Saxons under Hengist and Horsa and was thereby responsible for the Germanic conquest of Britannia. Gildas 23 does not mention V. by name, but calls him by the probably less appropriate title of superbus tyrannus ('proud tyrant'). PLRE 2, 1185. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography A. J. Kettle, s. v. V., LMA 8, 1860  J. Morris, Arthurian Period Sources 3, 1995, 171 f.

(Σόαιμος/ Sóaimos, Σόεμος/ Sóemos). [German version] [1] Ituraean, under Herodes [1] the Great, executed in 29 BC Ituraean (Ituraea), in a position of trust under Herodes [1] the Great, who in 30 BC gave him the duty of guarding him and, should he not return from his visit to Octavianus [1], of killing his wife Mariamme [1] and mother-in-law Alexandra. S. revealed the order to them and in 29 was executed by Herod (Jos. Ant. Iud. 15,185; 204-229). Bringmann, Klaus (Frankfurt/Main) [German version] [2] Tetrarch of the Ituraeans, 1st cent. AD Tetrarch of the Ituraeans (Ituraea) AD 38-49,…

(Isdigerdes). [German version] [1] Y. I Persian great king 399-420/1. His rule represents a high point of good relations with the Roman East (otherwise: Claud. in Eutropium 2,475f.). This was expressed e.g. in the dying Arcadius' [1] request of Y. to take on the guardianship of his under-age son Theodosius [3] II (Procop. Pers 1,2,7-10; Theophanes A. 5900; uncertainty in Agathias 4,26,3-7), but, above all, Y. appeared so tolerant to Christians that Western accounts even ascribe to him the intention of…

[German version] [1] A. I, founder of the Sassanid empire, died 242 AD A. I, the founder of the Sassanid empire, whose background and beginnings are partially obscure. It seems certain that he was the son of Papak, a minor Persian ruler under Parthian supremacy. But it is difficult to situate his ancestor Sasan in his genealogy, even though, by tradition, Sasan is seen as the high priest of the temple of Anahita near Istachr (Fars) and as Papak's father. Even during Papak's lifetime, A. began to extend his d…

(Κλεοπάτρα; Kleopátra, Lat. Cleopatra). I. Mythology [German version] [I 1] Daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia Daughter of  Boreas and  Oreithyia, first wife of  Phineus. C. was rejected in favour of  Idaea [3], whom Phineus married as his second wife; her sons were blinded (Apollod. 3.200; Hyg. Fab. 18). Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) [German version] [I 2] Daughter of Idas and Marpessa Daughter of  Idas and  Marpessa, wife of  Meleager. After her abduction by Apollo she was also called ‘Alcyone’ after her mother's …

[German version] (Πισσούθνης/ Pissoúthnēs), son of one Hystaspes, may have been related to the Achaimenidai [1. 174 and note 3]. As satrap of Sardis in 440 BC he supported the oligarchs of Samos in their (unsuccessful) rebellion against Athens (Thuc. 1,115; cf. Plut. Pericles 25). Between 430 and 427 P. sent Arcadian and native mercenaries to help the Greeks of Colophon, but they failed (Thuc. 3,34). When the Lesbians and other Ionian Greeks formed contacts with Sparta in 427, they held out to the …

(Ὀρόντης/ Oróntēs, MSS; Ὀρόντας/ Oróntas, OGIS 264,4; Ἀροάνδης/ Aroándēs, OGIS 390ff.). Armenian satraps and kings: O. [1-6]; the river O. [7]. [German version] [1] Relative of the Armenian royal family Relative of the royal family. After initial antagonism with Cyrus [3] the Younger, O. became his follower, and was subsequently convicted of treason and executed (Xen. An. 1,6; 9,29). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] O. I Persian governor of Armenia Son of the Bactrian Artasyras. As the Persian governor of Armenia, he married Rhodogune, the daughter of…

[German version] (Ζαβεργάνης/ Zabergánēs). In 531 the Persian diplomat Z. succeeded in annihilating his rival Mebodes (Procop. BP 1,23,25 f.). In 540 he took part in the conquest of Antioch [1] (Procop. Pers. 2,8,30-32), and shortly afterwards he received a letter from the empress Theodora [2] with a request to mediate peace (Procop. Arc. 2,32-35). In 544 he led negotiations with citizens from Edessa [2], which was under siege (Procop. Pers. 2,26,16-19). PLRE 3B, 1410. Sassanids Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)

(Ξέρξης/ Xérxēs; Old Persian Xšayāršā, 'ruling over heroes'). [German version] [1] X. I Achaemenid great king (486-465 BC), son of Darius [1] I and Atossa [1]. 'Born in the purple', X. was designated by his father as his successor (XPf 31 ff. = [6. 81-85]; Hdt. 7,2 f.; Porphyrogénnētos ). At the beginning of his reign he defeated an uprising in Egypt (Hdt. 7,3), and later the rebellions of Šamaš-Erība and Bēl-Šimmanni in Babylonia [3. 361 ff.]. A campaign to Greece (in 480/79 BC) - about which only accounts from the…

[German version] Son of the Parthian king Pacorus, who was made king of Armenia in about AD 110 by his father. When Osroes ousted Pacorus, A. also lost his throne to his own brother Parthamasiris. During the subsequent period, he seems to have made efforts to prevent contact being made between Parthamasiris and his Roman sovereign  Trajanus and, in so doing, to gain some recognition for himself. He was unsuccessful in this respect. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography M. Karras-Klapproth, Prosopographische Studien zur Gesch. des Partherreiches, 1988 A. Stein, s.v. Exedares,…

[German version] [1] Commander serving under the Armenian king Arsaces II (mid-4th cent. AD) Commander serving under the Armenian king Arsaces II, who fled to Shapur II and was later appointed, together with  Cylaces, as the governor of Armenia. Both soon went over to the side of Arsaces' son  Pap, who first found refuge with the Romans, but was assigned to Armenia by  Valens at the request of A. and Cylaces. During a renewed Persian attack, A. and Cylaces along with Pap fled to the mountains. A. then receive…

[German version] The Arian (Arianism) of Harudic descent was the duke of Brixia when he succeeded Arioald as king of the Langobardi in AD 636. Under his rule, the Ligurian coast from the city of Luna [3] up to the Frankish border and Opitergium in Venetia were captured. A campaign against the exarchate of Ravenna (late 643) was stalled following a battle on the river Scultenna (Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum 4,42; 45; 47). On 22 November 643, R. decreed the Edictus R. , a collection of Langobardic legal conventions. R. died in 652. PLRE, 3B, 1096. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliog…

(Persian Šāpūr, Greek Σαπώρης/ Sapṓrēs). [German version] [1] I Son of Ardashir [1] and Great King of Persia AD 240/242-272, of the dynasty of the Sassanids. The main source for his reign is the trilingual inscription (Middle Persian, Parthian, Greek) discovered in 1936-1939 on the Kaba-ye Zardošt in Naqš-e Rostam (near Persepolis), the so-called Res Gestae Divi Saporis (= RGDS; [1. 284-371]; Trilingual inscriptions). S. defeated Gordianus [3] III in 244 at Misichē (Pirisabora) in Assyria; Gordianus died under suspicious circumstances. S. compelled t…

Nomen gentile, probably originally Etruscan, occurred at Rome only from the 1st cent. BC onwards. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] A certain S. from Camerinum was commissioned to recruit followers for Catilina at Picenum in 63 BC, presumably because he was of the Umbrian-Picenan municipal nobility (cf. CIL I2 1921; 1929) (Sall. Catil. 27,1). Bartels, Jens (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] Friend of Horace's; he hoped to enter the cohors amicorum of a member of the imperial household through his relationship with the latter (Hor. Carm.…

(Ἀριαράθης/ Ariaráthēs). Name of kings of Cappadocia. [German version] [1] A. I A. I, b. 405/4 BC, became satrap of Northern Cappadocia under Artaxerxes [3] III, and retained the position under the latter's successors and during the Macedonian conquest (v. Alexander [4] the Great). In 322 BC, he was defeated by Perdiccas [4], who had him executed. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] A. II Son of Orophernes [1], nephew and adoptive son of A. [1], defeated the Seleucid strategos Amyntas around 280 BC [1. 93 f.] with the assistance of Orontes [4] III of Armeni…

[German version] (Μιθροπάστης; Mithropástēs). Son of the satrap Arsites of Phrygia Minor. M. fled from Darius III (Darius [3]) to the island of Ogyris (modern Maṣīra) in the Red Sea before 330 BC, and from there to Mazenes, on the isle of Oaracta (modern Kism) in the Persian Gulf. When Nearchus [2] landed there in 325/4, they both joined him. M. then participated in the subsequent journey across the Persian Gulf, during which he informed Nearchus about the island of Ogyris, which he had visited (Nearchus, FGrH 133 F 27; 28). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography H. Schiwek, Der Persisc…

[German version] Name of an Iranian noble family [1], attested from the 1st cent. BC (Plut. Crassus 21 et passim) until the 9th cent. AD [2]. The S. crowned the Parthian kings and served as commanders-in-chief under the Arsacids and Sassanids. It remains unclear whether the S. owned estates in Sacastane and thereby had family connections with the Indo-Parthian dynasty (as in [3]). Abdagaeses; Sinnaces Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography 1 R. Schmitt, Sûrên aber Kârin. Zu den Namen zweier Parthergeschlechter, in: Münchner Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 42, 1983, 197-205 2 W.…

[German version] A pro-Roman king of Iberia [1] who was expelled in AD 368/9 by Sapor [2] II (Amm. Marc. 27,12,4). In 370, Valens [2] had S. brought back by Terentius [II 1], and Aspacures, S.' pro-Persian cousin, arranged for the territory along the Cyrus [5] to be divided between them, so S. received only the part bordering on Armenia and the Lazi (Amm. Marc. 27,12,16 f.). This arrangement was approved by the emperor but aroused the anger of the great king, who wanted to maintain the rule of his…

(Ἀρταουάσδης; Artaouásdēs). [German version] [1] I. King of Armenia between 160 and 120 BC King of Armenia between 160 and 120 BC. He was the son of Artaxias I and father (not brother) of Tigranes I. Toward the end of his rule, he was attacked by the Arsacid  Mithridates II (Just. Epit. 42,2,6), which led to the handing over of his grandson Tigranes II to the Parthians as a hostage. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] II. King of Armenia between (55-34 BC) (also called Artabazes, Ἀρταβάζης; Artabázēs) as son and successor to Tigranes II. Began his rule as king of Arm…

[German version] Parthian noble from the house of Suren, who in AD 36 supported the counter-king  Tiridates against  Artabanus [5] II and after Tiridates' failure fled to Syria (Tac. Ann. 6,31 and passim). Whether he is identical to the homonymous troop leader of Artabanus (Ios. Ant. Iud. 18,9,4) is just as uncertain as his possible relation to the Indo-Parthian King Abdagases (1st cent. AD). Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography E. Herzfeld, in: AMI 4, 1932, 75 ff. M. Karras-Klapproth, Prosopographische Studien zur Gesch. des Partherreiches, 1988 J. Markwart, in: ZDMG 49…

[German version] (Pahlavi pāp, bāb, ‘father’). Son of the Armenian king Arsaces [4] II and Pharandsem of Siwnik'. After his father was captured, P. fled to Valens, who restored him as ruler of Armenia in the same year (AD 369) with the support of the comes et dux Terentius (Amm. Marc. 27,12,9-10). In the following,  Sapor [2] II managed to persuade P. to implement anti-Roman measures. P. thus dispatched the heads of his ministers Cylaces and Artabannes [1] to the Persian king (Amm. Marc. 27,12,14). However, the poisoning of the katholikós Nersēh by the king as claimed by Armenian …

(Γόρδιος; Górdios). [German version] [1] Mythical founder of the Phrygian state Mythical founder of the Phrygian state and eponymous hero of its capital  Gordium. When birds flew around him as he was ploughing, he wanted to find out the significance of the sign from the seers in the city. A beautiful girl from a family of seers whom he asked for information at the city gate interpreted the sign as a promise of royal honour and offered to marry him. In order to end a civil war, the  Phrygians followed Zeus'…

The name of several kings of Osroene in the era from 94 BC to AD 244. Worthy of notice are: [German version] [1] II. Ariamnes bar Abgar (68-53 BC) A. II Ariamnes bar Abgar, reigned 68-53 BC. He was accused by the Romans of having caused the catastrophe of Crassus. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] V Ukkāmā (the Black) (4BC to 50 AD) A. V Ukkāmā (the Black), 4 BC - AD 7 and AD 13-50; played a dubious role in the Parthian struggle for the throne between Gotarzes II and Meherdates. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [3] VIII, the Great (77-212 AD) A. VIII, the Great, 177-21…

[German version] (Μιθρήνης; Mithrḗnēs). Eminent Persian, who surrendered the castle of Sardis to  Alexander [4] the Great in 334 BC (Arr. Anab. 1,17,3f.; Diod. Sic. 17,21,7: Mithrínēs; Dion Chrys. 73,2: Mithránēs). After having accepted him as an honoured member of his retinue and having used him in diplomatic service (Curt. 3,12,6), Alexander appointed him satrap of Armenia, which had not yet been conquered (Arr. Anab. 3,16,5; Diod. Sic. 17,64,6; Curt. 5,1,44 and 8,12), in 331/330. However, the Orontides (Orontes IV), of wh…

[German version] [1] C.I. Sassanid king since 488 AD Sassanid king from AD 488, son of  Perozes. After he had first played individual powerful families off against each other, he supported the social-religious movement of  Mazdac in order to destroy the power of the aristocracy. This led in 496 to a conspiracy of the Zarathustrian clergy with the higher nobility, in the course of which C.'s brother Zamasphes was elevated to the throne whilst he himself disappeared in the ‘castle of oblivion’. C. managed…

[German version] (Ἀσποῦργος; Aspoûrgos). Although this Bosporan king is unknown to literary sources, his reign can be attested for AD 10/11-38/9. A. was therefore the (direct?) successor to his mother  Dynamis, who reigned until AD 7/8. The name of his father is given in inscriptions as Ἀσάνδροχος/Asándrochos (IOSPE II 36), doubtless a variant of  Asander [3]. A. was not acknowledged by Rome until he appeared there in person [1. 337 with n. 8]. A. was the father of the later Bosporan king Cotys [II…