Arsacids (Parthians)
Vologases III
بلاش سوم
- Reign
- c. 110–147 CE
- Dynasty
- Arsacids (Parthians)
- Persian page
- فارسی
Featured dossier
Vologases III: the king who paid the Alans to leave
Vologases III (“Vologases II” in the older numbering) ruled for nearly forty years, first beside Osroes and then alone. After Trajan’s war came a quiet period. The greatest danger came from the north: the Alans raided Albania, Media and Armenia in 134–136 CE, and Vologases probably paid them to withdraw. When Rome installed a new king in Armenia he did not react, perhaps to keep the peace and the trade.
- years of reign
- ~37
- Alan raids (CE)
- 134–136
Map: from Seleucia to the Caucasus
Administration & economyc. 110–112 CE1 of 5
The reign begins
According to Le Rider, Vologases ruled from 111/112 CE. In the older numbering he is “Vologases II”, with a very long reign (77/78–146/147 CE).
Certainty: DisputedLe Rider gave the coins of 77/78, 89/90 and 106–108 to a separate king he called “Vologases II”, so the old “Vologases II” became “Vologases III”. Iranica reports this, and all these dates are disputed.
Sources: K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1986, updated 2016 · D. Sellwood, 1980
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Three separate layers
Each section has three layers: “Historical evidence” is only what the sources say; “Philosophical interpretation” is our reading by the standard of property and liberty; “Modern cultural meaning”. Quotations come only from published translations, with references.
Historical evidencePhilosophical interpretationModern cultural meaning
Dossier · 1
Vologases II or III?
Seleucia coins in the name of “Vologases” run from 77/78 to 146/147 CE. Older scholars gave them all to one king, “Vologases II”, with a reign of nearly seventy years. Le Rider gave the coins of 77/78, 89/90 and 106–108 to a separate king, whom he called “Vologases II”, and the long-lived king became “Vologases III” (from 111/112 CE).
This site follows Le Rider’s numbering. His “Vologases II” is a king known only from a few groups of coins, perhaps a claimant in the east or beside Pacorus II. All of this is reconstruction, and Iranica treats it as disputed.
When a period’s history is rebuilt only from coins, one new attribution can create or erase a king. The reader should know where we have evidence and where we have a guess.
Sources: K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica · D. Sellwood
Dossier · 2
The Alans and the price of peace
Iranica: the Alans, nomads from the north Caucasus, raided Albania, Media and Armenia in 134–136 CE and got as far as Cappadocia. Vologases probably paid them to withdraw. Under Antoninus Pius, Rome installed a new king in Armenia and the Parthians did not react.
Iranica offers two explanations for Vologases’ restraint: insufficient forces, or a wish to keep the peace and the very profitable caravan trade. This was, Iranica says, a time of peace that lasted into the early reign of Vologases IV.
Paying for peace is sometimes cheaper than war, and free trade is a strong motive for peace. But it was the taxpayers who footed the bill.
Sources: K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica
Synthesis
After the storm of Trajan’s war, Vologases III brought Parthia to relative calm: he pushed aside his rival Osroes, paid the Alans to leave and did not fight Rome. Even his number is disputed, and most of what we know comes from his coins.
Bibliography
- K. Schippmann, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Arsacids ii. The Arsacid dynasty (1986, updated 2016). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arsacids-ii/
- D. Sellwood, An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, 2nd ed. (1980). The standard numbering of Parthian coins (“S”); some of its attributions have since been revised.
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