CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.), Roman general. In the reign of Tiberius, he was praetor, and was appointed to the charge of the roads and bridges. Under Claudius he was governor of lower Germany (A.D. 47). He punished the Frisii who refused to pay the tribute, and was about to advance against the Chauci when he was ordered by the emperor to with draw behind the Rhine. Corbulo cut a canal from the Mosa (Meuse) to the northern branch of the Rhine, which still forms oue of the chief drains between Leyden and Sluys.
Soon after the accession of Nero, Vologaeses (Vologasus), king of Parthia, overran Armenia, drove out the Roman nominee, and set his own brother Tiridates on the throne. Corbulo was there upon sent out to the Elst with full military powers. Two years were spent in reorganizing the demoralized Syrian legions; in 58 Corbulo took the offensive, and in the brilliant campaign of 59 he captured Artaxata and Tigranocerta. In 6o a Romanized prince, Tigranes, was set up as king of Armenia; but in 61 he provoked the Parthians by invading their territory, and was driven from Armenia. Corbulo concluded an armistice for the winter (61-62) by which both sides were to evacuate Armenia, and the matter was to be referred to Nero. Nero decided to annex Armenia, and Paetus was sent out to attack from Cappadocia while Corbula held Syria, but his incompetence led to his total defeat at Rhandeia (62). Corbulo was now given supreme command, and in 63 crossed the Euphrates with a strong army; the enemy submitted, and Tiridates laid down his diadem at the foot of the emperor's statue at Rhandeia, promising not to resume it until he received it from the hand of Nero in Rome. In 67 disturbances broke out in Judaea, but Nero gave the command to Vespasian and sum moned Corbulo to Greece. On his arrival at Cenchreae he received the order to commit suicide. Without hesitation he obeyed, exclaiming, "I have deserved it" (""Mtos"). Whether he was really guilty of conspiracy is unknown, but so great was his pop ularity that he could easily have seized the throne. Corbulo wrote an account of his Asiatic experiences, which is lost.
See Tacitus, Annals, xii.—xv.; Dio Cassius, lix. Is, lx. 3o, lxii. 19-23, lxiii. 6, 17, lxvi. 3; H. Schiller, Geschichte des rOmischen Kaiserreichs unter der Regierung des Nero (1872) ; E. Egli, "Feldziige in Armenien von 41--63," in M. Biidinger's Untersuchungen zur romischen Kaiser geschichte, (1868) ; Mommsen, Hist. of the Roman Provinces, ii. (1886) ; for the Armenian campaigns see B. W. Henderson in Classical Review (April, May, June, Igor) and W. Schur, "Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Orient feldziige Corbulos" (Klio xix.) and Die Orient politik des Kaisers Nero (Leipzig, 1923) ; in general D. T. Schoonover, A Study of Gn. Domitius Corbulo (Chicago, 1909).