Tiridates I of Armenia

Tiridates I
A painting of the statue of Tiridates I in the Louvre Museum by Panos Terlemezian[1]
King of Armenia
1st Reign52–58
PredecessorRhadamistus
SuccessorTigranes VI
2nd Reign62–88
Coronation66, in Rome by Nero
PredecessorTigranes VI
SuccessorSanatruk
Died88
DynastyArsacid dynasty
FatherVonones II
ReligionZoroastrianism[2][3][4]

Tiridates I (Parthian: 𐭕𐭉𐭓𐭉𐭃𐭕, Tīridāt; Ancient Greek: Τιριδάτης, Tiridátes) was King of Armenia beginning in 53 AD and the founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the Roman–Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates I (one of the brothers of Vologases I of Parthia) was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor Nero in 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had de facto ceded Armenia to the Parthian Empire.[5]

In addition to being a king, Tiridates I was also a Zoroastrian[2][3][4] priest and was accompanied by other magi on his journey to Rome in 66. In the early 20th century, Franz Cumont speculated that Tiridates was instrumental in the development of Mithraism which ultimately became the main religion of the Roman Army and spread across the whole empire.[6] Furthermore, during his reign, he started reforming the administrative structure of Armenia, a reform which was continued by his successors, and which brought many Iranian customs and offices into it.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference terlemez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Lang, David Marshall (1980). Armenia, cradle of civilization. Allen & Unwin. pp. 84, 141, 149. (..) Though Tiridates was to be a client king of the Romans, Nero rightly judged that his investiture would satisfy the honour of the Parthians as well. Three years later, Tiridates made the journey to Rome. As a magus or priest of the Zoroastrian faith, he had to observe the rites which forbade him to defile water by travelling. (...)
  3. ^ a b Boyce 1984, p. 84.
  4. ^ a b Russell 1987, p. 268.
  5. ^ Redgate, Anne Elizabeth (2000). The Armenians (First ed.). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc. pp. 88–91. ISBN 0-631-22037-2.
  6. ^ Cumont, F. (1905). Les religions orientales dans le paganisme romain. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. ISBN 978-88-8419-289-9.
  7. ^ Chaumont 1986, pp. 418–438.