Rhadamistus ( ka, რადამისტი, radamist'i, hy, Հռադամիզդ, Hřadamizd) (died 58) was a royal prince of the Pharnavazid dynasty of the

Kingdom of Iberia In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ...

who reigned over the Kingdom of Armenia from 51 to 53 and 54 to 55. He was considered a

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

and

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

, who was overthrown in a rebellion supported by the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

Life

Rhadamistus was the eldest son of King

Pharasmanes I of Iberia Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი) (died 58) was a king of Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus’ account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire under Tiberius, Cali ...

. His mother was an unknown

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

princess of the Artaxiad dynasty, who was the daughter of the Artaxiad Armenian monarchs

Tigranes IV Tigranes IV (30s BC–1) was a Prince of the Kingdom of Armenia and member of the Artaxiad Dynasty who served as a Roman Client King of Armenia from 8 BC until 5 BC and 2 BC until 1 AD. Family background and early life Tigranes IV was the son b ...

and his sister-wife Erato. Rhadamistus was known for his ambition, extraordinary strength, size of body, good looks and valor. Rhadamistus suffered impatiently an aged father's keeping him so long out of possession of the

, which even if he had it, still seemed too small for satisfaction of his desires. Rhadamistus, by publicly talking about it in his audacious manner scared Pharasmanes as with his own declining years he feared usurpation by his son so he convinced Rhadamistus to make war upon his uncle, King

Mithridates of Armenia Mithridates of Armenia ( ka, მითრიდატე; hy, Միհրդատ Իբերացի, fl. 1st century) was a Pharnavazid prince of the Kingdom of Iberia who served as a King of Armenia under the protection of the Roman Empire. Mithridat ...

. Rhadamistus pretended that he was at feud with his father and stepmother and went to his uncle Mithridates. His uncle received Rhadamistus like a son and with an excessive kindness. Later as if he reconciled with his father he returned to

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, telling his father that everything was ready and that he must complete this affair by using his sword. Meanwhile, his father, Pharasmanes invented a pretext for war by recalling when he was fighting with the king of the Albanians and appealing to the Romans for help, his brother, had opposed him and he would now avenge him because of that. Pharasmanes gave his son a large Iberian army, who by a sudden invasion forced Mithridates to take shelter in the fortress of Gorneas, which was strongly garrisoned by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

under the command of Caelius Pollio, a camp-prefect, Casperius and a centurion. Rhadamistus reminded his uncle of their tie of being relatives, of the seniority in age of his father, and how he himself was the father-in-law of him, as Rhadamistus was married on Mithridates' daughter

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city ...

. Rhadamistus told him that the Iberians were not against peace and urged his uncle to conclude a treaty. Pharasmanes by secret messages had recommended Rhadamistus to hurry on the siege by all possible means. Later, Pollio, swayed by Rhadamistus' bribery, induced the Roman soldiers to threaten capitulation of the garrison. Under this compulsion, Mithridates agreed to surrender to his nephew and quit the fortress. Rhadamistus seeing his uncle threw himself into his embraces, feigning respect and calling him father-in-law and his parent. He promised that he would do him no harm or violence either by the sword or by poison. He drew him into a neighboring woods, where he assured him that the appointed sacrifice was prepared for their confirmation of peace in the presence of the Iberian

god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

s, as it was their custom, whenever they joined alliance, to unite their right hands and bind together the thumbs in a tight knot and then, when the blood would flow into the extremities, they would let it escape by a slight puncture and then suck it in turn. But on this occasion the one who was applying the knot pretended that it had fallen off, and suddenly seized the knees of Mithridates flinging him to the ground. At the same moment a rush was made by others, and chains were thrown around him. Rhadamistus was mindful of his promise so he neither unsheathed the sword nor used any poison against his uncle to kill him, but instead had him thrown on the ground and then smothered his uncle under a mass of heavy clothes and

featherbed A tick mattress, bed tick or tick is a large bag made of strong, stiff, tightly-woven material ( ticking). This is then filled to make a mattress, with material such as straw, chaff, horsehair, coarse wool or down feathers,Dictionnaire de l'ameu ...

s. Later the sons of Mithridates were also butchered by Rhadamistus for having shed tears over their parent's death. Rhadamistus also killed Mithridates' wife, who was his own sister. Rhadamistus became King of Armenia in 51.

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

chose not to aid their Armenian allies, as their summoned council said "any crime in a foreign country was to be welcomed with joy". They only nominally demanded from Pharasmanes to withdraw from Armenian territory and remove his son. Despite this, the Roman governor of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

, Paelignus, invaded

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and ravaged the country. Syrian governor

Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus (c. 12 BC – c. 60 AD) was a Roman senator of the Principate. He was the first member of the Ummidii to reach the office of consul in his family, or a ''homo novus''. Quadratus is also known for his tenure as gov ...

sent a force to restore order, but was recalled so as not to provoke a war with

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

. Consequently, King

Vologases I Vologases I ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II (r. 51). He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies. Name V ...

, having recently ascended the Parthian throne and needing a principality for his brother Tiridates, he saw in the situation of Armenia an excellent opportunity of gratifying his brother and advancing his own reputation. To detach Armenia once more from the dominion of Rome and re-attach it to Parthia would be a great inauguration of his reign so he sent his large army into Armenia in 51, eventually driving out the Iberians in 53. A severe winter epidemic and terrible

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

forced the Parthians to withdraw from Armenia, allowing Rhadamistus to return who was now fiercer than ever. Rhadamistus treated

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

with extraordinary severity, looking on them as rebels who could forsake him if such opportunity is given. He punished those Armenian cities that had surrendered to the Parthians, which soon revolted and replaced him with the

n prince Tiridates I in 55. Rhadamistus escaped along with his pregnant wife, Zenobia. Unable to bear a long ride on horse, out of fear of the enemy and love of her husband, she convinced Rhadamistus to kill her with the honourable death to avoid the shame of captivity from their pursuers. Rhadamistus embraced, cheered, and encouraged her wife, admiring her heroism, he unsheathed his scymitar, stabbed her, dragged her to the bank of the

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

and committed her to the river stream, so that her body might be swept away. Then in headlong flight he hurried to Iberia, his ancestral kingdom. Zenobia meanwhile as she yet breathed and showed signs of life on the calm water at the river's edge, was found by some shepherds, who inferring from her noble appearance and that she was no base-born woman, bound up her wound and applied to it their rustic remedies. When they found out her name and her adventure, they conveyed her to the city of Artaxata to King Tiridates, who received her kindly and treated her as a royal person. Rhadamistus himself returning home to Iberia was soon, in 58, put to death as traitor who had plotted against the royal power by his own father who wanted to prove his loyalty to Rome, and in particular to Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

. Pharasmanes died later in the same year as well and he was succeeded by his second son and brother of Rhadamistus, Mihrdat, who became a new king of Iberia.Javakhishvili, p. 161, § 6

In art

Paintings

*"Radamisto uccide Zenobia" by Luigi Sabatelli (1803). *"Rhadamistes and Zenobia" by Jean-Joseph Taillasson. *"

Shepherds Find Zenobia on the Banks of the Araxes ''Shepherds Find Zenobia on the Banks of the Araxes'' is an 1850 oil on canvas painting by William Bouguereau, now in the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Its subject is drawn from Tacitus's '' Histories'' (XII.51), in which Rhadami ...

" by William Bouguereau (1850) *"Radamisto in atto di spingere Zenobia ferita nel fiume Arasse" by

Francesco Alberi 300px, Allegory of Napoleon as Liberator of Italy (c. 1800) Francesco Alberi (3 March 1765–24 January 1836) was an Italian Neoclassical style painter, active in Bologna, Padua, Rimini and Rome. He was born in Rimini, and initially appren ...

. *"Queen Zenobia Thrown Into the Araxes River" by François-Nicolas Chifflart. *"Rhadamiste poignarde sa femme Zénobie" by Etienne Meslier.

Operas

*"L’Amour tyrannique" by

Georges de Scudéry Georges de Scudéry (22 August 1601 – 14 May 1667), the elder brother of Madeleine de Scudéry, was a French novelist, dramatist and poet. Life Georges de Scudéry was born in Le Havre, in Normandy, whither his father had moved from Provence. ...

(1638). *" Zenobia e Radamisto" by

Giovanni Legrenzi Giovanni Legrenzi (baptized August 12, 1626 – May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late 17th century, and ext ...

(1665). *"Radamisto" by Tomaso Albinoni (1698). *"L'amor tirannico, o Zenobia" by Domenico Lalli (1710). *"Rhadamiste et Zénobie" by

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (13 January 1674 – 17 June 1762) was a French poet and tragedy, tragedian. Biography Crébillon was born in Dijon, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was Civil law notary, notary-royal. Having been educated at the ...

(1711). *" Radamisto" by George Frideric Handel (1720). *"Radamisto" by

Nicola Francesco Haym Nicola Francesco Haym (6 July 1678 – 31 July 1729) was an Italian opera librettist, composer, theatre manager and performer, literary editor and numismatist. He is best remembered for adapting texts into libretti for the London operas of Georg ...

. * Senesino was first to play Rhadamistus.

Plays

*Unfinished play "Rodamist i Zenobiya" by

Alexander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...

Gallery

File:Sabatelli - Rhadamistus killing Zenobia 1803.jpg, ''Rhadamistus killing Zenobia'' by
Luigi Sabatelli File:Rhadamistes and Zenobia by TAILLASSON, Jean-Joseph 1806.jpg, ''Rhadamistes and Zenobia'' by
Jean-Joseph Taillasson File:Queen Zenobia Thrown Into the Araxes River by François-Nicolas Chifflart.jpg, Rhadamistus in ''Queen Zenobia Thrown Into the Araxes River'' by
François Chifflart File:Metastasio - Zenobia - Herissant Vol.06 - Paris 1780.png, Rhadamistus from the opera of

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

References

Sources

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'', Book XII-XIII * Javakhishvili, Ivane (2012), History of the Georgian Nation, Vol. 1 * Crévier, Jean-Baptiste Louis (1814) L'Histoire des empereurs des Romains * Bunson, Matthew (2009) ''

Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire The ''Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire'', written by Matthew Bunson in 1994 and published by Facts on File, is a detailed depiction of the history of the Roman Empire. This work, of roughly 494 pages (a 2002 revised version contains 636 pages) s ...

'' *

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

(1969), Chronology of the early Kings of Iberia, Vol. 25 * Suny, Grigor Ronald (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition, Indiana University Press, * Rawlinson, George (2012) The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World * Cantù, Cesare (1847) Historia universal *Tomlins, Frederick (1844) A Universal History of the Nations of Antiquity {{authority control 1st-century kings of Armenia Pharnavazid dynasty Georgian princes Roman client kings of Armenia Familicides Regicides Murderers of children 58 deaths Year of birth unknown 1st-century executions Executed people from Georgia (country) Heirs apparent who never acceded Executed monarchs