Orodes of Armenia (flourished 1st century) was a Parthian prince who served as a Roman client king of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in 35 and from again 37 until 42. Orodes was the second born son of King

Artabanus II of Parthia Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He was the nephew and succe ...

by a wife whose name is unknown. He was born and raised in the Parthian empire. Orodes was the namesake of his Parthian relations who ruled with this name as king. In 35 after the death of his older brother Arsaces I, who served briefly as Roman client king of

, Artabanus II installed him as the new king of Armenia. When Orodes arrived in Armenia, Orodes avenged the death of Arsaces I by executing the bribed servants who poisoned Arsaces. As this time the Roman emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, refused to accept the kingship of Orodes and Tiberius appointed the Iberian prince Mithridates as the new Roman client Armenian king with the support of his brother, King

Pharasmanes I of Iberia Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი; died 58) was a king (''Mepe (title), mepe'') of Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus' account of policy and campaigns in the e ...

. Orodes faced Mithridates in a military campaign in Armenia that was in unfavorable conditions for Orodes. In the military campaign, Pharasmanes I had sent his own troops and mercenaries to assist Mithridates. Orodes had the support of the Parthian army. Orodes had lost his military campaign against Mithridates in which he may have been injured and returned to Parthia.Chaumont, ''Armenia between Rome and Iran I: the advent of Augustus to the accession of Diocletian'', p.90 Mithridates then became the new client king later in 35. In 37, Mithridates was arrested by the Roman emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

for unknown reasons and Orodes in 37 was restored to his kingship. He reigned from 37 until 42 and little is known on his reign. In 42, the Roman emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

replaced Orodes for unknown reasons and installed again Mithridates as the new client king.

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. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, Annals of Imperial Rome, 1st century * R. Grousset, History of Armenia from its origins to 1071, Paris Payot, 1947 (reprinted again in 1984, 1995 & 2008) * M.L. Chaumont, ''Armenia between Rome and Iran I: the advent of Augustus to the accession of Diocletian'' from '' Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'' II, 1976 * Schmitt, Tassilo (2022)
"König Pharasmanes I. als Bumberazi (ბუმბერაზი) bei Tacitus. Erwägungen zu kaukasisch-iberischer Heldenepik, Kulturtransfer, senatorischer Selbstdarstellung und römischer Historiographie"
ing Pharasmanes I as Bumberazi (ბუმბერაზი) in Tacitus. Considerations on Caucasian-Iberian heroic epic, cultural transfer, senatorial self-representation and Roman historiography ''Phasis'' 25, pp. 49-114. {{Armenian kings 1st-century kings of Armenia Roman client kings of Armenia 1st-century Iranian people Parthian princes