( I ) VOLOGAESES I., son of Vonones II. by a Greek concubine (Tac. Ann. xii. 44), succeeded his father in A.D. 5o (Tac. Ann. xii. 14; cf. Joseph. Ant. xx. 3, 4). He gave the kingdom of Media Atropatene to his brother Pacorus, and occupied Armenia for another brother, Tiridates (Tac. Ann. xii. 5o, xv. 2 ; Joseph, Ant. xx. 3, 4). This led to a long war with Rome (54-63), which was ably conducted by the Roman general Corbulo. The power of Vologaeses was weakened by an attack of the Dahan and Sacan nomads, a rebellion of the Hyrcanians, and the usurpation of Vardanes IY (Tac. Ann. xiii. 7, 37; xiv. 25 ; xv. I ; cf. Joseph. Ant. xx. 4, 2, where he is prevented from attacking the vassal king of Adiabene by an invasion of the eastern nomads). At last a peace was concluded, by which Tiridates was acknowledged as king of Armenia, but had to become a vassal of the Romans ; he went to Rome, where Nero gave him back the diadem (Tac. Ann. xv. I ff.; Dio Cass. lxii. 19 ff., lxiii. I ff.) ; from that time an Arsacid dynasty ruled in Armenia under Roman supremacy. Vologaeses
was satisfied with this result, and honoured the memory of Nero (Suet. Nero, 57), though he stood in good relations with Vespasian also, to whom he offered an army of 40,000 archers in the war against Vitellius (Tac. Hist. iv. 51; Suet. Vespas. 6; cf. Joseph. Ant. vii. 5, 2, 7, 3; Dio Cass. lxvi. II). Soon afterwards the Alani, a great nomadic tribe beyond the Caucasus, invaded Media and Armenia (Joseph. Bell. vii. 7, 4) ; Vologaeses applied in vain for help to Vespasian (Dio Cass. lxvi. 12; Suet. Domitian, 2). It appears that the Persian losses in the east also could not be repaired; Hyrcania remained an independent kingdom (Joseph.
Bell. vii. 7, 4; Aurel. Vict. Epit. is, 4). Vologaeses I. died about A.D. 77. His reign is marked by a decided reaction against Hellen ism; he built Vologesocerta (Balashkert) in the neighbourhood of Ctesiphon with the intention of drawing to this new town the inhabitants of the Greek city Seleucia (Plin. vi. 122).