VOLOGESES III., probably a son of the preceding, began to reign
according to coins (Eckhel, iii. p. 538), A. D. 149. During the
reign, of Antoninus, he continued at peace with the Romans; but on the death of this emperor,
the long threatened war at length broke out. In A. D. 162, Vologeses
invaded Armenia, and cut to pieces a Roman legion, with its commander Severianus, at Elegeia,
in Armenia. He then entered Syria, defeated Atidius Cornelianus, the governor of Syria, and
laid waste every thing before him. Thereupon the emperor Verus proceeded to
Syria, but when he reached Antioch, he remained in that city and gave the command of the army
to Cassius, who soon drove Vologeses out of Syria, and followed up his success by invading
Mesopotamia and Assyria. He took Seleuceia and Ctesiphon, both of which he sacked and set on
fire, but on his march homewards lost a great number of his troops by diseases and famine.
Meantime Statius Priscus, who had been sent into Armenia, was equally successful. He entirely
subdued the country, and took Artaxata, the capitol. (D. C. 70.2,
71.2; Lucian, Alex. Pseudom. 100.27;
Capitol. M. Ant. Phil. cc. 8, 9, Verus, cc. 6, 7;
Eutrop. 8.10.) This war seems to have been followed by the
cession of Mesopotamia to the Romans.
From this time to the downfall of the Parthian empire, there is great confusion in the list
of kings. Several modern writers indeed suppose, that the events related above under Vologeses
III., happened in the reign of Vologeses II., and that the latter continued to reign till
shortly before the death of Commodus (A. D. 192); but this is highly
improbable, as Vologeses II. ascended the throne about A. D. 122, and
must on this supposition have reigned nearly seventy years. If Vologeses III. began to reign
in A. D. 149, as we have supposed from Eckhel, it is also improbable
that he should have been the Vologeses spoken of in the reign of Caracalla, about A. D. 212. We are therefore inclined to believe that there was one
Vologeses more than has been mentioned by modern writers, and have accordingly inserted an
additional one in the list we have given.