Artuasdes, endeavouring to accomplish his designs by cunning and treachery more than by wisdom and valour, cultivated at first the friendship of the Romans, but, being offended at the king of Media, employed that friendship as the instrument of his revenge. Hence, he had the address to persuade Marc Antony, who was marching with a formidable army against the Parthians, to invade Media, and offered to assist him with his counsel and arms. But in the interval between the for mation and the execution of this design, Artuasdes was secretly reconciled to the Median prince, Artavasdes, and sought to betray the Romans into his hand. Twenty thousand Romans, under the command of Statianus, were conducted by the Armenian prince through al most impassable mountains, where they lost all their baggage and engines of war. Worn out with the toil some march, they arrived at Atropatena, where they were attacked by the Medes and Parthians, and scarce ly a man escaped from the battle. Artuasdes led back his own troops in safety into Armenia ; while Antony, who had formed, but was forced to raise, the siege of Phraata, precipitately followed him, to escape from the pursuit of the Medes and Parthians. The Roman ge neral, knowing the weakness of his own army, and the strength of that of his enemy, durst not avenge his wrongs on the field of battle, but sought vengeance by imitating the treachery of Artuasdes. Dissembling his resentment, he loaded that prince with every mark of friendship and confidence ; and having procured for his harassed army winter quarters in Armenia, hastened to meet Cleopatra at the castle of Leucome in Phoenicia. Professing still the warmest affection to Artuasdes, An tony sent him repeated invitations to come and see him, with which Artuasdes refused still to comply ; but re moving in the spring to Nicopolis, in Armenia Minor, he renewed his solicitations, and conjured him as an ally of the Romans, and as his own most intimate friend, to come thither, not only to assist him with his counsel, in prosecuting the Parthian war, but to consult about a marriage which he proposed between his son Alexan der, whom he had by Cleopatra, and the king's daugh ter. Artuasdes, conscious of his own treachery, sus pected the designs of Antony ; but impelled by the ad vice of his friends, he set out for the Roman camp, and, immediately upon his arrival, was apprehended, loaded with chains, and forced to discover his treasure.
Artuasdes was no sooner thrown into prison, than Ar taxias, his eldest son, ascended the Armenian throne, led forth his army against the Romans, was vanquished in a decisive engagement, and fled for safety to the Parthians. Antony, having subdued Armenia, return ed to Egypt, and Artuasdes, with his wife and chil dren, bound in chains of gold, and led behind his cha riot, swelled the triumph of the conqueror when be en tered Alexandria. Antony, soon after, commanded the captive prince to be put to death, sent his head as a pre sent to the king of Parthia, and bestowed the kingdom of Armenia on his son Alexander. Artaxias, having prevailed upon the Parthians to assist him with a pow erful army, returned to dispute the crown with the son of Pompey ; and, being joined by a great number of the Armenians, who were still attached to their native prince, conquered the Merles, who had espoused the cause of his rival, and again recovered his kingdom. Short time did he real) the fruits of victory. He was either forced into exile by the Cappadocians and Ro mans, as Josephus informs us ; or, according to Taci tus, was put to death by the treachery of his friends.
His younger brother Tigranes II. under the auspices of Tiberius and the Romans, ascended the throne : but entering into a treasonable correspondence with their enemies, they deprived him of his kingdom and his life. His sons, who succeeded him, left no memorial of their names, but their subjection to the Romans. At their death, Augustus would have imposed upon the Arme nians Artuasdes II., probably the son of the last Artax ias, but the patience of his subjects under Roman slave ry was already exhausted, they expelled him from his dominions, and, in despair, surrendered the indepen dence of their country to the king of Parthia. Caius,
the adopted son of Augustus, set out to Armenia to pro tect the majesty of the Roman name ; and, detaching the Parthians from the interest of that kingdom, es tablished Artuasdes on the throne. At his death, which happened soon after, Tigranes III. who had formerly advanced some pretensions to sovereign power, solicit ed by rich presents the consent of Augustus ; but while the emperor hesitated, he asserted his claim by arms, and subdued almost all the country. Caius, however, hastened to oppose him, and having routed his forces, expelled him from his dominions. At the request of the Armenians, Caius permitted Ariobarzanes, a Me dian, to ascend the throne. He was succeeded by Ve nones, who had been exiled from Parthia by his own subjects under the command of Artabanus, who not only usurped his territories, but forced him to abandon Ar menia, which he bestowed upon his own son ()modes. Orodes was obliged to relinquish the crown to Zeno, son of Polemo, king of Pontus, who assumed the name of Artaxias. After a peaceful reign of 16 years, he was succeeded by Arsaces, son of Artabanus, who, in the first year of his administration, was murdered by his servants at the instigation of Mithridates Iberus, bro ther of Pharasmenes, king of Iberia. The murderer re ceived the sceptre from the hand of Tiberius ; and, as sisted by the Syrians, forced Artabanus to from his kingdom, which he had invaded. Falling afterwards under the displeasure of Caligula, he was brought in chains to Rome. During his captivity, the Parthians almost conquered the country ; but when he was libe rated by Claudius, the Iberians and Romans expelled them, and put hint in possession of the kingdom. He was, soon after, with singular circumstances of trea chery, murdered by Rhadamistus, son of his brother Pharasmenes. Rhadamistus, who ascended the throne, employed the beginning of his reign in acts of cruelty to the surviving family of his predecessor : but when lie imagined that the foundations of his authority were cemented by their blood, he was attacked by Tiridates, brother of Vologesis, king of Parthia, who, in right of his ancestors, claimed the sceptre. The Armenians, who groaned under the cruelty of their monarch, joined the invader, and Rhadamistus was driven from his king dom. Four times did he return to vindicate his autho rity ; but Tiridates at last remained master of the field. The Armenians, whose country was thus alternately ra waged by the Iberians and the Parthians, were driven in despair to solicit Nero to put an end to their miseries, and Domitius Corbulo was sent with an army to restore tranquillity to that distracted nation. Tiridates, how ever, supported by the power of his brother, relused to submit to his arbitration ; but on the field of battle his forces were routed by Roman bravery, and he was ob liged to abandon the kingdom. Nero bestowed the scep tre upon Tigranes, grandson of Herod the Great, who, having long been an hostage at Rome, was entirely de voted to the Roman interest. Valogesis, however, in formed that his brother was expelled, and a stranger ad vanced to the throne, endeavoured, both by arms and negotiation, to restore Tiridates. His attempts, which were attended with various success, might at last have been defeated, had not the death of Tigranes afforded a favourable opportunity for new negotiations. The majesty of Rome was preserved from violation by the prostration of Tiridates at the feet of an image which represented the emperor ; and, receiving the crown as a gift from Nero, he acknowledged his subjection to the Roman name. He reigned nine years; and his succes sors, without interruption, continued the vassals of Rome, till the time of Trajan, who, extending the eastern boun dary of the empire to the Tigris, degraded the ancient kingdom of Armenia into a province, and divested its governors of the very appearance of royalty.