Vologaeses VI.

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Coin of Vologaeses VI.

Vologaeses VI. (also Balāš or Valgāš ) was a Parthian king who ruled from around 207/8 to 227. In the latest research, it is sometimes also counted as Vologaeses V.

Life

Vologaeses VI. was the son of Vologaeses' V. , whose successor he became. Very little is known about his rule. From around 213 he had to fight against his younger brother Artabanos IV , who controlled the media , had coins minted in Ekbatana and tried to usurp power in the Parthian Empire. Vologaeses apparently soon lost control of most of the empire. This was the case at the latest in 216 when the Roman Emperor Caracalla invaded the Parthian Empire. In 215 Caracalla had asked Vologaeses to hand over a Greek philosopher named Antiochus and a certain Tiridates - probably an Armenian prince - Vologaeses had complied with the demand. The following year, however, Artabanos rejected a request from Caracalla to send the emperor a Parthian princess as wife. From this one can conclude that Vologaeses was inferior to Artabanos by 216 and no longer played an important role, even though Vologaeses coins were minted in Seleukeia on the Tigris until 221/222 .

The Roman army invading Parthia in 216 reached Arbela , where the graves of the rulers there, who were Parthian vassals, were desecrated. In 217 Caracalla was murdered by its own troops; the new emperor Macrinus suffered a defeat against Artabanos and had to make peace in 218. A short time later, Ardaschir I , the local king of Persis , rebelled against his sovereign Artabanos, whom he defeated and killed in 224. Subsequently, Ardashir conquered large parts of the Parthian Empire and founded the New Persian Sassanid Empire . Vologaeses VI. could perhaps hold out until 226 or 227 and benefit briefly from the defeat of Artabanos, but then his trail is lost.

literature

  • ADH Bivar: The political History of Iran under the Arsacids . In: Ehsan Yarshater , The Cambridge History of Iran . Vol. 3, Cambridge 1983, pp. 94-97.
  • Malcolm AR Colledge: The Parthians . Thames and Hudson, London 1967, pp. 53, 171, 173.

Web links

Commons : Vologaeses VI.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Vologaeses V. King of the Parthian Empire
207–227 		---
personal data
SURNAME Vologaeses VI.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Parthian Empire (207–227)
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century
DATE OF DEATH after 226