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Roman–Parthian War of 58–63

Rome and Parthia fought over the throne of Armenia. Corbulo took Artaxata and Tigranocerta, but after a Roman army capitulated at Rhandeia the war ended in a compromise: Tiridates, the brother of Vologases I, would rule Armenia but receive his crown from Nero.

Date
58–63year known · duration: ≈ 5 years
Place
Artaxatatoday: near Artashat, Ararat Province, Armenia · Middle East and Egypt
Participants
Roman Empire, Parthian Empire, Kingdom of Armenia, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Tiridates I of Armenia, Vologases I, Nero
Threads
Middle East and Egypt (1st–5th c.)
Also known as
Armenian War of 58–63; Treaty of Rhandeia; Peace of Rhandeia; Рандейский мир; Война за Армению

In 52/53 Vologases I installed his brother Tiridates on the throne of Armenia, and Rome saw a challenge to its influence in the kingdom. Nero sent Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo to the East: in 58 his legions took the northern capital, Artaxata, and burned it because they could not spare men to garrison it, and in 59 they took the southern capital, Tigranocerta, where Rome installed Tigranes VI as king.

In 62 the new governor of Cappadocia, Lucius Caesennius Paetus, was trapped by the Parthians at Rhandeia and capitulated, agreeing to withdraw from Armenia. In 63 Corbulo returned and a settlement was reached at the same place: Tiridates laid his diadem at the foot of Nero’s statue and undertook to receive it again from the emperor in Rome, which he did in 66. The compromise — an Arsacid king crowned by Rome — opened a period of relatively peaceful relations between the two empires that lasted about fifty years.

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Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Roman–Parthian War of 58–63
  2. Wikipedia (English): Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
  3. Wikipedia (English): Lucius Caesennius Paetus
  4. Wikipedia (Russian): Римско-парфянская война (58—63)
  5. Wikipedia (Russian): Гней Домиций Корбулон
  6. Wikipedia (Russian): Луций Юний Цезенний Пет (консул 61 года)
  7. Tacitus. Annals, books XIII–XV.
  8. Wikidata: Q1533828