Rhadamistus
Encyclopedia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
prince who reigned in Armenia from 51 to 53 and 54 to 55 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. Considered to be an usurper and tyrant, he was overthrown in a rebellion supported by the Parthian Empire
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
.
Life
Rhadamistus, son of King Parsman I of IberiaPharsman I of Iberia
Pharasmanes I was a king of Iberia who plays a prominent role in Tacitus’ account of Rome’s eastern policy and campaigns under Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero...
(Pharasmanes), was known for his ambition, good looks, and valor. Parsman, fearing usurpation by his son, convinced Rhadamistus to make war upon his uncle, King Mithridates of Armenia
Mithridates of Armenia
Mithridates of Armenia was an Iberian prince and a king of Armenia under the protection of the Roman Empire.Mithridates was installed by his brother Pharasmanes I of Iberia who, encouraged by Tiberius, invaded Armenia and captured its capital Artaxata in 35...
, Parsman’s brother, and father of Rhadamistus' wife, Zenobia. The Iberians invaded with a large army and forced Mithridates into the fortress of Gorneas (Garni
Garni
Garni is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia, situated approximately 28 km southeast from Yerevan.- History :...
), which was garrisoned by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
under the command of Caelius Pollio, a prefect, and Casperius, a centurion. Pollio, swayed by Rhamistus' bribery, induced the Roman soldiers to threaten capitulation of the garrison. Under this compulsion, Mithridates agreed to surrender to his nephew. Rhadamistus executed Mithridates and his sons despite a promise of non-violence, and became King of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(51).
Rome decided not to aid their Armenian allies, only nominally demanding that Pharasmanes withdraw from Armenia. The Roman governor of Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, Paelignus, invaded Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
anyway, ravaging the country. Syrian governor Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus sent a force to restore order, but he was recalled so as not to provoke a war with Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
, whose King Vologases
Vologases I of Parthia
Vologases I of Parthia, sometimes called Vologaeses or Vologeses or, following Zoroastrian usage, Valakhsh ruled the Parthian Empire from about 51 to 78. Son of Vonones II by a Thracian concubine, he succeeded his father in 51 AD. He gave the kingdom of Media Atropatene to his brother Pacorus II,...
took the opportunity to send his army into Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, driving out the Iberians (53). A winter epidemic forced the Parthians to withdraw from Armenia, allowing Rhadamistus to return. He punished as traitors those Armenian cities that had surrendered to the Parthians. They soon revolted and replaced him with the Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n prince Tiridates
Tiridates I of Armenia
Tiridates I was King of Armenia beginning in AD 53 and the founder of the Arshakuni Dynasty, the Armenian line of the Arsacid Dynasty. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58...
(55). Rhadamistus had to escape along with his pregnant wife, Zenobia, of whom Tacitus relates a romantic story. Unable to bear a long ride on horse, she convinced her husband to kill her so she would not fall into the hands of their pursuers. Though stabbed and left at the banks of the Araxes, she survived and was found by some shepherds. They carried Zenobia to the court of Tiridates, who received her kindly and treated her as royalty.
Rhadamistus himself returned to Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
. However, he was soon put to death by his father for having plotted against the royal power.
In art
- Georg Friedrich Handel scored the opera RadamistoRadamisto (Handel)Radamisto is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on L'amor tirannico, o Zenobia by Domenico Lalli and Zenobia by Matteo Noris...
(1720) to Nicola Francesco HaymNicola Francesco HaymNicola Francesco Haym was an Italian opera librettist, composer, theatre manager and performer, and numismatist. He is best remembered for adapting texts into libretti for the London operas of George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Bononcini...
's libretto, based on Domenico Lalli’s story. - Two operas titled Zenobia were scored to Pietro Metastasio's libretto, one by Giovanni Bononcini in 1737, and another by Johann Adolph HasseJohann Adolph HasseJohann Adolph Hasse was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music...
in 1761. - The discovery of the injured and unconscious Zenobia on the riverbank is the subject of classical paintings by Bouguereau, Paul Baudry and Nicolas PoussinNicolas PoussinNicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
.
See also
- List of Armenian Kings
- ZenobiaZenobiaZenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...
- Queen of Palmyra, often confused with Rhadamistus' wife