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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)

(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)

[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)

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[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 Parthia…

(Σαμψιγέραμος; Sampsigéramos) [German version] [1] Prince of Emesa and Arethusa, 1st cent. BC…

[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  …

(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 domina…

[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] …

(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 …

[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…

[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 ab…

[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. …

[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 [2], but here too he was unable to establish himself in the face of Artabanus' …

(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)

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[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] (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).…

[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…

[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…

(Latin Vasaces). [German version] [1] V. Mamikonian…

(Σανατρούκης/ Sanatroúkēs). [German version] [1] Parthian ruler, 1st cent. BC…

[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.

[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. Wol…

[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].…

[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 …

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(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…

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[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 (…

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). …

(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] …

[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 evi…

[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, …

[German version] (Ῥοδομίστος/ Rhodomístos). The son of the Iberian king Pharasmanes [1] I; in AD 51, with the collusion of h…

(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, in: Cambridge History of Iran 3 (1), 1983, 359-477, esp. 467 f. K. Ziegler, W. Hinz, s. v. Z., RE 9 A, 2324 f.

[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 known as ‘White Huns’. He stresses, however, that they did not intermingle with other known Huns, were distinguished from them in appearance and way of life, and lived separately from the others north of the Persians. The H. were also not nomadic, they had a king and an ordered state. At the time of Perozes and his son Cavades I, the H. had a strong influence on the Sassanid empire, until their power was broken by combined actions of the western Turks…