Vonones was a Parthian prince
who, although he managed to seize two thrones during his life, was unfortunately
always outmaneuvered by his enemies. His father was the Parthian king, Phraates
IV (r. 38-2 BCE), who after making peace with Augustus (r. 31 BCE – 14 CE),
sent the Roman dictator several of his sons (including Vonones) as hostages, in
a display of peace and respect. Therefore, Prince Vonones grew up with a
thorough dose of Greco-Roman culture that would stay with him for the rest of
his life. From the luxury of Rome, Vonones could only listen as reports came in
of his father being murdered, followed by the short reign of Phraates V, and
then the even shorter reign (mere months) of Orodes III. After the death of
Orodes III, the Parthians were in need of a new monarch, and luckily enough,
they had several members of the Parthian royal line living in the Roman Empire.
Therefore, a party of diplomats from Parthia soon arrived in Rome to petition
the emperor to allow Vonones to return home and become king of the Parthians.
The Romans, thrilled at the thought of having a pro-Roman king leading the
Parthians, sent Vonones home to be crowned.
The exact date of King
Vonones’ reign remains in debate. Almost all scholars agree that he was
politically active in the first two decades of the 1st century CE, with 8/9-11/12
(give or take a few years) being the usual dates given for his time of rule in
Parthia. He seemed to have been a well-educated man, who brought his Greek and
Roman teachings with him to Parthia. For instance, he minted coins in which his
name was stamped in Greek. The new king’s noticeable Romanization, however,
quickly became a problem among his subjects. The Roman statesman and historian,
Tacitus (c. 56-117), claimed that Vonones I was uninterested in the local
Parthian culture and tradition. Unlike his countrymen, the king did not care
for horses. Similarly, while he enjoyed being carried around in a litter, he
supposedly detested the Parthian-styled banquets that were expected of him.
Also, instead of filling his court with local Parthians, he was said to have
imported Greeks and Romans to serve as his government advisors. As these differences
between ruler and subjects continued to persist, both sides began to look at
the other as something entirely alien.
In the end, the Parthians
rallied behind a rival king named Artabanus III (r. 11/12-38) and Vonones I was
forced to flee from his kingdom. With remarkable timing, he then found shelter
in Armenia, which miraculously happened to be a kingdom without a king.
Curiously, Vonones was able to quickly place himself upon the Armenian throne.
Yet, the Parthians did not like that Vonones had found a new kingdom, especially
one that neighbored their own empire. The refugee king in Armenia also
threatened the uneasy relationship between the Roman and Parthian Empires, for
which the Kingdom of Armenia served as a buffer state. Eventually, around the
year 15 or 16, the Roman governor of Syria became so concerned about the
situation that he had Vonones seized and placed him under luxurious house
arrest in the Roman Empire.
According to Tacitus, Vonones
remained under house arrest in the Roman province of Syria until the year 18,
when Emperor Tiberius’ adopted son, Germanicus, had the twice dethroned monarch
moved to the town of Pompeiopolis, a settlement on the coast of Cilicia. This
was apparently done as a diplomatic gesture to Parthia after King Artabanus III
had accused Vonones of leading intrigues from his luxurious prison in Syria.
Unfortunately, the new location in Pompeiopolis must not have been up to
Vonones’ standards, for he attempted to escape in the year 19. He was
reportedly attempting to flee to relatives in the lands of the Scythians when
Roman troops caught up. Sadly, Vonones apparently had outlived his usefulness,
for he was killed during or shortly after being apprehended.
Written by C. Keith Hansley.
Picture Attribution: (Coin of
Vonones I of Parthia with Greek inscriptions from the mint at Ecbatana. The
reverse shows Nike with a palm, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
- The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vonones-I
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/42668016?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- http://www.parthia.com/vonones1.htm
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Phraates-IV
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Phraates-V
- http://www.parthia.com/orodes3.htm
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