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Tiridates I of Armenia

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Historical figures

   Statue of Tiridates I of Armenia in the park of the Palace of
   Versailles.
   Enlarge
   Statue of Tiridates I of Armenia in the park of the Palace of
   Versailles.

   Tiridates I ( Armenian: Տրդատ I, Trdat I), was king of Armenia from 53
   AD with a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much
   longer one from 58 to 62. He was the founder of the Armenian line of
   the Arsacid Dynasty known as the Arshakuni Dynasty, although not the
   first Arsacid on the Armenian throne.

Ascension

   In 53 Roman governor of Cappadocia, Paelignus, invaded Armenia and
   ravaged the country, then under an Iberian usurper King Radamisto.
   Syrian governor Quadratus sent a force to repair these outrages; but he
   was recalled so as not to provoke a war with Parthia. King Vologases I
   of Parthia took the opportunity and invaded Armenia, conquering
   Artaxata and proclaiming his brother Tiridates as king. A winter
   epidemic forced him to withdraw his troops from Armenia, allowing
   Radamisto to come back and punish locals as traitors; who eventually
   revolted and replaced him with the Parthian prince Tiridates in early
   55. Radamisto escaped along with his wife Zenobia. Zenobia, was
   captured but Tiridates treated her like a royal queen. Radamisto
   himself returned to Iberia and was soon put to death by his father
   Parasmanes I of Iberia for having plotted against the royal power.

War with Rome

   Unhappy with the growing Parthian influence at their doorstep, Roman
   Emperor Nero sent General Corbulo with a large army to the east in
   order to restore Roman client Kings. A Hasmonean named Aristobul was
   given Lesser Armenia (Nicopolis and Satala), Sohaemus of the house of
   Emessa received Armenia Sophene. In the spring of 58 Corbulo entered
   into Greater Armenia from Capadoccia and advanced towards Artaxata,
   while Parasmanes I of Iberia attacked from the north, and Antiochus IV
   of Commagene attacked from the southwest. Tiridates ran away from the
   capital and Corbulo burned Artaxata to the ground. In the summer
   Corbulo began moving towards Tigranocerta, through a very rough
   terrain, passing through the Taronitida (Taron) where several of his
   commanders died in an ambush by the Armenian resistance, however they
   arrived to the city that opened its doors, except one citadel that
   resisted, and was destroyed in the ensuing assault. By this time the
   majority of Armenians had abandoned resistance and accepted the prince
   given by Rome. Nero gave the crown to the last royal descendant of the
   Kings of Capadoccia, the son of Glaphyra (daughter of Archelaus of
   Cappadocia) and Alexander of Judea, the brother of Herod Archelaus, who
   assumed the name Tigranes VI, his brother was Tigranes V. Border
   districts were given to Roman allies that assisted Corbulo. Tigranes
   invaded the Kingdom of Adiabene in 61, which was a vassal of Parthians.
   Vologeses considered this as an act of aggression from Rome and
   restarted a campaign to put Tiridates back on the Armenian throne, but
   this failed when the Parthians could not break the defense of
   Tigranocerta. Vologases, decided to come to terms with Rome. It was
   agreed that both the Roman and Parthian troops should evacuate Armenia,
   that Tigranes should be dethroned, and the position of Tiridates
   recognized. The Roman government declined to accede to these
   arrangements and sent Lucius Caesennius Paetus, governor of Cappadocia,
   to settle the question by bringing Armenia under direct Roman
   administration. Paetus was an incapable commander and suffered a
   humiliating defeat at the Battle of Rhandeia in 62. The command of the
   troops was again entrusted to Corbulo, who led that following year a
   strong army into Melitene and beyond into Armenia, eliminating all of
   the regional governors he suspected were pro-Parthian. Finally in
   Rhandeia, Corbulo and Tiridates made a peace agreement, and Tiridates
   was recognized king of Armenia but he would be a client of Rome; a
   Roman garrison would remain in the country permanently, in Sophene, and
   Artaxata would be reconstructed. Tiridates agreed that he would go to
   Rome to be crowned by Nero.

Tiridates in Rome

   Prior to embarking toward Rome, Tiridates visited his mother, and two
   brothers in Media Atropatene and Parthia. On his long trek he was
   accompanied by his family and an imposing retinue, comprised of many
   feudal lords and 3,000 horsemen. Tiridates was a chief priest of the
   Mithraic religion, so he avoided the sea route and traveled by land,
   Mithraism and Zoroastrianism prohibited desecrating water with any
   refuse of the human body. Their route therefore lay across Thrace, via
   Illyria, on the eastern shores of the Adriatic, and Picenum, in
   northeastern Italy, the journey taking nine months. Tiridates, rode on
   horseback, having his children and the Queen at his side. Nero greeted
   Tiridates at Neapolis ( Naples) in October, sending a state chariot to
   carry the visitor over the last few miles. No one was supposed to
   approach the Emperor armed, but Tiridates maintained his dignity by
   refusing to remove his sword as he approached the ruler of the Roman
   Empire, though as a compromise, he agreed to have his sword firmly
   fastened in the sheath, so that it could not be drawn. At Puteolis
   (modern Pozzuoli, near Naples), Nero ordered athletic games to be
   staged in honour of his guest. The Armenian King himself had an
   opportunity to display his ability as a marksman by shooting one arrow
   through the bodies of two buffaloes. The climax of the ceremonies was
   of course reserved for the capital, Rome which was profusely decorated
   with flags and bunting, and gorgeously illuminated at night.
   Marble statue of Tiridates erected in Rome in honor of his visit.
   Louvre Museum.
   Enlarge
   Marble statue of Tiridates erected in Rome in honour of his visit.
   Louvre Museum.

   On the day after their arrival, Nero came to the forum, clothed in
   triumphal vestments and surrounded by dignitaries and soldiers, all
   resplendent in expensive attire and glittering armor. While he sat on
   the imperial throne, Tiridates and his retinue advanced between two
   lines of soldiers. Arriving in front of the dais, Tiridates knelt, with
   hands clasped on his breast. When the thundering shouts and
   acclamations excited by this spectacle had subsided, Tiridates
   addressed the Emperor:

          My Lord, I am a descendant of Arsakes and the brother of the
          Kings Vologases and Pacorus. I have come to you who are my god;
          I have worshipped you as the Mithra; I shall be whatever you
          would order me to be, because you are my destiny and fortune.

   To which Nero replied:

          You have done well by coming here to enjoy my presence in
          person. What your father has not left to you and what your
          brothers did not preserve for you, I do accord to you, and I
          make you King of Armenia, so that you, as well as they, may know
          that I have the power to take away and to grant kingdoms.

   Tiridates then mounted the steps of the platform and knelt, while Nero
   placed the royal diadem on his head. When the young King was about to
   kneel a second time, Nero lifted him by his right hand after kissing
   him, made him sit by his side on a chair a little lower than his own.
   Meanwhile, the populace gave tumultuous ovations to both rulers. A
   Praetor, speaking to the audience, interpreted and explained the words
   of Tiridates who spoke in Greek. According to Pliny the Elder,
   Tiridates initiated Nero into the Mithraic cult. Tacitus claimed that
   Tiridates was also interested in all things Roman. However, Edward
   Champlin, Professor of Classics and Cotsen Professor of Humanities from
   Princeton University, believes that the account of Tiridates'
   coronation in the Roman Forum was missinterpreted:

          When Nero entered with the senators and the guard, he ascended
          the Rostra and sat in his chair of state, looking back down the
          Forum in an east-southeasterly direction. That is, as Tiridates
          approached him through the ranks of soldiers, the rising sun
          would have hit Nero full on the face, in all his triumphal
          splendor. The prince then addressed the emperor from the ground,
          looking up to him on the Rostra: "I have come to you, my god,
          worshipping you as I do Mithra." The important point --
          something Nero would know as an initiate, whether others did or
          not -- is that for Zoroastrians the sun was the eye of Mithra,
          and Mithra was often so closely associated with the sun as to be
          identified with it: "the Sun whom they call Mithres," as Strabo
          puts it. Moreover, when Zoroastrians prayed in the open air,
          they turned toward the sun, since their religion bound them to
          pray facing fire. Thus, when Tiridates stood in the open Roman
          Forum facing the sunlit emperor, and worshipping him as he did
          Mithra, he was in essence worshipping the sun. An ex-praetor
          translated his words and proclaimed them to the crowd. At this
          stage in Rome's history, very few of those present would have
          known who Mithra was, but there is a good likelihood that the
          interpreter relayed Tiridates' words as "I have come to you, my
          god, worshipping you as I do the Sun." For Nero, the marriage of
          Roman triumph and Parthian ceremony culminated in a splendid
          theatrical affirmation of his role as the new god of the Sun.

   Public festivites continued for some time after the coronation
   ceremony. The interior of the Theatre of Pompey and every piece of its
   furniture were entirely gilded for the occasion; for which reason Rome
   ever afterwards recalled that date as "the Golden Day." Daytime
   festivities were on a scale no less lavish than those of the night.
   Royal purple awnings stretched as protection against the heat of the
   sun. Nero, clad in green and wearing a chariot driver's headdress, took
   part in the chariot race. At the evening banquets, in gold-embroidered
   vestments, he sang and played on the lyre. In memory of these events,
   the Senate honored Nero with the laurel wreath and the title of
   Imperator, or commander-in‑chief of the armies. No reception comparable
   to this in magnitude and splendor is recorded in the history of Rome.
   Besides the enormous sum spent in festivities, the Roman Government
   bore the entire cost of the journey of Tiridates and his retinue from
   and to their homeland. Nero also made a gift to Tiridates of 50,000,000
   sesterces. Amazed by the extravagance of the Emperor, Tiridates is said
   to have expressed to Corbulo his surprise at his serving such a master.
   On the other hand, he is said to have remarked to Nero, "Sire, you have
   a wonderful servant in the person of Corbulo."
   Greek inscription of Tiridates I on basalt rock from Garni.
   Enlarge
   Greek inscription of Tiridates I on basalt rock from Garni.

   Peace prevailed at this time throughout the Roman Empire. Nero
   therefore closed the gates of the Temple of Janus, which were never
   shut save in times of universal peace. When Tiridates returned to
   Armenia, he took with him a great number of skilled artisans for the
   reconstruction of Artaxata. He renamed the capital Neronia, in honour
   of the Emperor; he embellished the royal residence of Garni, near by,
   with colonnades and monuments of dazzling richness. Rome now counted
   upon Armenia as a loyal ally, even after Nero's death and through the
   entire duration of Vespasian's rule in the East.

War with Alans

   In 72 the Alans, a warlike nomadic Sarmatian tribe, made an incursion
   into Media Atropatene as well as various districts of northern Armenia.
   Tiridates and his brother Pacorus, King of Media Atropatene faced them
   at a number of battles during one of which Tiridates was briefly
   captured; the Alans withdrew with a lot of booty after plundering
   Armenia and Media Atropatene. The king of Iberia asked for protection
   against the Alans from Vespasian who helped construct the fortress of
   Harmozica around the Iberian capital Mtskheta, near modern Tbilisi. The
   exact date of the end of Tiridates' reign is unknown, various sources
   name Sanatruces as his successor. It is known that Tiridates' nephew,
   Axidares, the son of Pacorus II of Parthia was King of Armenia by 110.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_I_of_Armenia"
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