id they ask Claudius to infringe
it." Their desire was not to throw off the authority of the Arsacidse,
but only to exchange one Arsacid for another. The rule of Gotarzes had
became intolerable, alike to the nobility and the common people. He had
murdered all his male relatives, or at least all that were within his
reach--first his brothers, then his near kinsmen, finally even those
whose relationship was remote; nor had he stopped there; he had
proceeded to put to death their young children and their pregnant wives.
He was sluggish in his habits, unfortunate in his wars, and had betaken
himself to cruelty, that men might not despise him for his want of
manliness. The friendship between Rome and Parthia was a public matter;
it bound the Romans to help the nation allied to them--a nation which,
though equal to them in strength, was content on account of its respect
for Rome to yield her precedence. Parthian princes were allowed to be
hostages in foreign lands for the very reason that then it was always
possible, if their own monarch displeased them, for the people to obtain
a king from abroad, brought up under milder influences.

This harangue was made before the Emperor Claudius and the assembled
Senate, Meherdates himself being also present. Claudius responded to it
favorably. He would follow the example of the Divine Augustus, and allow
the Parthians to take from Rome the monarch whom they requested.
That prince, bred up in the city, had always been remarkable for his
moderation. He would (it was to be hoped) regard himself in his new
position, not as a master of slaves, but as a ruler of citizens. He
would find that clemency and justice were the more appreciated by a
barbarous nation, the less they had had experience of them Meherdates
might accompany the Parthian envoys; and a Roman of rank, Caius Cassius,
the prefect of Syria, should be instructed to receive them on their
arrival in Asia, and to see them safely across the Euphrates.

The young prince accordingly set out, and reached the city of Zeugma in
safety. Here he was joined, not only by a number of the Parthian nobles,
but also by the reigning king of Osrhoene, who bore the usual name of
Abgarus. The Parthians were anxious that he should advance at his best
speed and by the shortest route on Ctesiphon, and the Roman governor,
Cassius, strongly advised the same course; but Meherdates fell under
the influence of the Osrhoene monarch, who is thought by Tacitus