Vonones I.

Vonones coin. The back shows a Nike ; Inscription on the front: King Vonones. The coin was minted in Ekbatana and shows a style that has already moved away from Greek models

Vonones I († 19 ) was a Parthian king who ruled from around 6-12 AD. He was the eldest son of Phraates IV.

After Orodes III. had been murdered, the Parthian nobles in Rome asked for a son of Phraates IV, who was to ascend the throne in Parthia. King Phraates IV. On the advice of his wife Musa in the year 10 BC. Four of his sons were sent to Rome for safe custody. The Roman ruler Augustus then sent Vonones to Parthia.

However, the new king was now fully Romanized in his way of life, which earned him the reputation of a slave to the Roman. So around 10 AD Artabanos rose to rulership of the Parthians, who was finally able to completely usurp the crown after a battle in 12 AD. Vonones then fled to Armenia and became king there. So he founded the Armenian dynasty of the Arsacids . At Artabanos' urging, however, he was deposed by Augustus and exiled to Syria . He later resided in Cilicia , where he was killed trying to escape in 19.

Sources and literature

• Tacitus : annals. II, 2-4, 68
• Malcolm AR Colledge: The Parthians. Thames and Hudson, London 1967, p. 48.

Web links

Commons : Vonones I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Vonones on Parthia.com (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Orodes III.	King of the Parthian Empire 6–12	Artabanos II.