Revisiting Lucius Verus' eastern campaign

Authors

  • Rafael Rodríguez Pérez Universidad de Sevilla

Keywords:

Lucius Verus, Roman-Parthian Wars, Parthia, Vologases IV, Marcus Aurelius, Rome, Antonines, II century A.D., Cappadocia, Syria, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Osrhoene

Abstract

After Trajan’s Parthian campaign (115-117 AD), the situation in the Roman Empire’s eastern frontier seems to have been characterized by a state of peace filled with diplomatic tension. Soon after the death of Antoninus Pius and the rise of co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus in the year 161, Arsacid king Vologases IV launched an offensive in which the philo-Roman king of Armenia was deposed and Roman possessions in Syria were attacked. After the failed attempts of withstanding the attack, the Senate decreed the mobilisation of an army under Verus’ command, who set his headquarters in Antioch in the final months of 162. From there, after the appropriate preparation, Roman counter-offensive is carried out in three different fronts: Armenia, Osrhoene and Syria-Mesopotamia. The latter, led by Avidius Cassius, would culminate with the capture and sack of the twin cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. The present study will revise the aforementioned facts through the information given by primary sources.

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Portada Revista Itálica

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Published

2022-03-24

How to Cite

Rodríguez Pérez, R. (2022). Revisiting Lucius Verus’ eastern campaign. Revista ITÁLICA , (4), 1–22. Retrieved from https://upo.es/revistas/index.php/italica/article/view/5463

Issue

No. 4 (2022): Revista Itálica 4 (2022)

Section

Artículos TFG

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