Vologases III ( Walagash) was king of the Parthian Empire from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of Pacorus II. Vologases III's reign was marked by civil strife and warfare. At his ascension, he had to deal with the usurper Osroes I, who managed to seize the western part of the empire, which left Vologases III in control of its eastern parts. After Osroes I violated the Treaty of Rhandeia with the Romans by appointing Parthamasiris as the king of Armenia in 113, the Roman emperor Trajan invaded the Parthian lands, briefly seizing the Parthian cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon and reaching as far as the Persian Gulf. These gains were short-lived; all the Roman gains had been lost after Trajan's death in 117. Vologases III, whose eastern domains were untouched, took advantage of the weakened state of Osroes I to regain lost territory, and finally defeated him in 129. Another contender named Mithridates V shortly appeared afterwards, but was also defeated by Vologases III, in 140. Vologases III had to face an invasion by the nomadic Alans from 134 to 136, while in the east, he sought to increase the political and military actions as a response to the enlargement of the Kushan Empire. Under the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, disturbance once occurred in Armenia due to the Romans appointing a new king in Armenia. Vologases III, however, did not protest, either due to not being powerful enough, or possibly because he did not want to put the thriving long-distance trade in jeopardy, from which the Parthian state was gaining hefty income from. Vologases III was succeeded by Mithridates V's son Vologases IV in 147. Name Vologases is the Greek and Latin form of the Parthian Walagaš. The name is also attested in New Persian as Balāsh and Middle Persian as Wardākhsh (also spelled Walākhsh). The etymology of the name is unclear, although Ferdinand Justi proposes that Walagaš, the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (varəda), and "handsome" (gaš or geš in Modern Persian).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Vologases III ( Walagash) was king of the Parthian Empire from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of Pacorus II.

Overview

Vologases III ( Walagash) was king of the Parthian Empire from 110 to 147. He was the son and successor of Pacorus II. Vologases III's reign was marked by civil strife and warfare. At his ascension, he had to deal with the usurper Osroes I, who managed to seize the western part of the empire, which left Vologases III in control of its eastern parts. After Osroes I violated the Treaty of Rhandeia with the Romans by appointing Parthamasiris as the king of Armenia in 113, the Roman emperor Trajan invaded the Parthian lands, briefly seizing the Parthian cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon and reaching as far as the Persian Gulf. These gains were short-lived; all the Roman gains had been lost after Trajan's death in 117. Vologases III, whose eastern domains were untouched, took advantage of the weakened state of Osroes I to regain lost territory, and finally defeated him in 129. Another contender named Mithridates V shortly appeared afterwards, but was also defeated by Vologases III, in 140. Vologases III had to face an invasion by the nomadic Alans from 134 to 136, while in the east, he sought to increase the political and military actions as a response to the enlargement of the Kushan Empire. Under the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, disturbance once occurred in Armenia due to the Romans appointing a new king in Armenia. Vologases III, however, did not protest, either due to not being powerful enough, or possibly because he did not want to put the thriving long-distance trade in jeopardy, from which the Parthian state was gaining hefty income from. Vologases III was succeeded by Mithridates V's son Vologases IV in 147. Name Vologases is the Greek and Latin form of the Parthian Walagaš. The name is also attested in New Persian as Balāsh and Middle Persian as Wardākhsh (also spelled Walākhsh). The etymology of the name is unclear, although Ferdinand Justi proposes that Walagaš, the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (varəda), and "handsome" (gaš or geš in Modern Persian).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).