Eastern Mediterranean 59 AD: War of the Armenian Succession

In 54 AD the Armenians rose up against Rhadamistus’ rule, restoring the Parthian prince Tiridates to power. The Roman emperor Nero—who had succeeded Claudius that year—asked Tiridates to Rome to receive his crown as a client king, but was rebuffed. In response, the Romans invaded Armenia, deposing Tiridates and placing their own candidate on the throne.

About this map

Download map
(download without labels)

Main Events

54 AD First Restoration of Tiridates I▲

When the Iberian prince Rhadamistus retook the throne of Armenia after the unsuccessful Parthian occupation of 53–54 AD, he ruthlessly punished those cities who had surrendered to the Parthians. Soon tiring of his reign, they rose in revolt, forcing him to flee his palace on horseback (upon his arrival in Iberia he would be executed as a traitor, while his wife Zenobia—who he had abandoned for dead during his retreat—was rescued by the Parthians). With Rhadamistus’ departure, the Parthian prince Tiridates I became King of Armenia again.in wikipedia

58–59 AD Corbulo’s Conquest of Armenia▲

When the Parthian prince Tiridates I became King of Armenia in 54 AD, the new Roman emperor Nero demanded that he travel to Rome for customary approval (as Armenia was a Roman client state). When, after some delay, Tiridates refused in 58, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, the Roman commander of Cappadocia and Galatia, invaded with a force of three legions and a large number of local auxiliaries. In a two-year campaign, the Romans captured the two Armenian capitals of Artaxata and Tigranocerta and placed their candidate, Tigranes VI, on the throne.in wikipedia