t he was able at once to bestow
a principality upon Paeorus, to whom he felt specially indebted; but in
order adequately to reward his other benefactor, he found it necessary
to conquer a province and then make its government over to him. Hence
his frequent attacks upon Armenia, and his numerous wars with Rome for
its possession, which led ultimately to an arrangement by which the
quiet enjoyment of the Armenian throne was secured to Tiridates.

The circumstances under which Volagases made his first attack upon
Armenia were the following. Pharasmanes of Iberia, whose brother,
Mithridates, the Romans had (in A.D. 47) replaced upon the Armenian
throne, had a son named Rhadamistus, whose lust of power was so great
that to prevent his making an attempt on his own crown Pharasmanes found
it necessary to divert his thoughts to another quarter.

Armenia, he suggested, lay near, and was a prize worth winning;
Rhadamistus had only to ingratiate himself with the people, and then
craftily remove his uncle, and he would probably step with ease into
the vacant place. The son took the advice of his father, and in a little
time succeeded in getting Mithridates into his power, when he ruthlessly
put him to death, together with his wife and children. Rhadamistus then,
supported by his father, obtained the object of his ambition, and became
king. It was known, however, that a considerable number of the Armenians
were adverse to a rule which had been brought about by treachery and
murder; and it was suspected that, if an attack were made upon him,
he would not be supported with much zeal by his subjects. This was the
condition of things when Volagases ascended the Parthian throne, and
found himself in want of a principality with which he might reward the
services of Tiridates, his brother. It at once occurred to him that, a
happy chance presented him with an excellent opportunity of acquiring
Armenia, and he accordingly proceeded, in the very year of his
accession, to make an expedition against it. At first he carried all
before him. The Iberian supporters of Rhadamistus fled without risking a
battle; his Armenian subjects resisted weakly; Artaxata and Tigranocerta
opened their gates; and the country generally submitted. Tiridates
enjoyed his kingdom for a few months; but a terrible pestilence, brought
about by a severe winter and a want of proper provisions, decimated the
Parthian force left in garrison; and Volagases found himself oblig