Vonones I of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire

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....

 from about 8 to 12 AD. He was the eldest son of Phraates IV of Parthia

Phraates IV of Parthia

King Phraates IV of Parthia, son of Orodes II, ruled the Parthian Empire from 37–2 BC. He was appointed successor to the throne in 37 BC, after the death of his brother Pacorus I...

 (ruled c. 37–2 BC) and was sent to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 as a hostage in the 20s BC as surety for a treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 his father made with Augustus.

After the assassination of Orodes III

Orodes III of Parthia

King Orodes III of Parthia was raised to the throne of the Parthian Empire around AD 4 by the magnates after the death of Phraates V of Parthia . He was killed after a short reign "on account of his extreme cruelty"...

 in about the year 6 AD, the Parthians applied to Augustus for a new King from the house of Arsaces. Augustus sent them Vonones I, but he could not maintain himself as King; he had been educated as a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, and was despised by the Parthian nobility as a slave of the Romans. Another member of the Arsacid house, Artabanus II

Artabanus II of Parthia

Artabanus II of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from about AD 10 to 38. He was the son of a princess of the Arsacid Dynasty, who lived in the East among the Dahan nomads...

 (ruled c. 10–38), who was living among the Dahan nomads in the east of Parthia, was invited to the throne. In a civil war he defeated and expelled Vonones I.

The coins of Vonones I date from 8 to 12 AD and bear the inscription "King Vonones, conqueror of Artabanus" commemorating a temporary victory over his rival. Those of Artabanus II begin in the year 10. In about the year 12 Vonones I fled into Armenia

Roman Armenia

From the end of the 1st century BC onwards, Armenia was, in part or whole, subject to the Roman Empire and its successor, the East Roman or Byzantine Empire...

 and became King there. But Artabanus II demanded his deposition, and as Augustus did not wish to begin a war with the Parthians he removed Vonones I into Syria

Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...

, where he was kept in custody, though in a kingly style. Later he was moved to Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

, and when he tried to escape in about 19 AD, he was killed by his guards.