FAQ

Tacitus on the Parthians

Publication date: 19.12.2017

ELECTRUM, 2017, Volume 24, pp. 171 - 189

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.17.026.7508

Authors

Edward Dąbrowa
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-9096 Orcid
All publications →

Titles

Tacitus on the Parthians

Abstract

Tacitus is the only Roman historian who devoted his works to such an extent to Rome’s eastern neighbor – the Parthian Empire. Scholars have researched the problem of Tacitus’ attitude towards the Parthians on many occasions. It seems that what is the most important question is not Tacitus’ opinion, but the perspective from which he looked at this topic combined with the source he used when describing the Parthians and their history. Another interesting question is also how deep Tacitus’ knowledge was of the past of the Parthian Empire and the history of Roman-Parthian relations. The aim of this paper is to verify what Tacitus wrote about the Parthians throughout his works. Without taking into account all this evidence, it is not possible to propose a proper evaluation or balanced observations concerning his presentation of the Roman-Parthian relations and internal history, society and customs of the Arsacid state in the first century CE.

References

Download references

Birley, A.R. (2000), The Life and Death of Cornelius Tacitus, Historia 49: 230–247.

Colpe, C. (1974), Die Arsakiden bei Josephus, in: O. Betz, K. Haacker, M. Hengel (hrsg.), Josephus-Studien. Untersuchungen zu Josephus, dem antiken Judentum und dem Neuen Testament. Otto Michel zum 70.Gebutrstag gewidmet, Göttingen: 97–108.

Cornell, T.J. (ed.) (2013), The Fragments of the Roman Historians, vol. 2: Texts and Translations,Oxford.

Dąbrowa, E. (1981), Les rapports entre Rome et les Parthes sous Vespasien, Syria58: 187–204.

Dąbrowa, E. (1983), La politique de l’État parthe à l’égard de Rome – d’Artaban II à Vologèse I (ca 11–ca 79 de n.e.) et les facteurs qui la conditionnaient, Kraków.

Dąbrowa, E. (1984), Vologèse I et l’Hyrcanie, Iranica Antiqua19: 141–147.

Dąbrowa, E. (1987), Les premiers ‘otages’ parthes à Rome, Folia Orientalia24: 63–71.

Dąbrowa, E. (1989), Les héros de luttes politiques dans l’État parthe dans la première moitié du Ier siècle de notre ère, Iranica Antiqua24: 311–322.

Dąbrowa, E. (1994), The Bellum Commagenicumand the ornamenta triumphaliaof M. Ulpius Traianus, in: E. Dąbrowa (ed.), The Roman Army in the East. Proceedings of a Colloquium held at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków in September 1992, Kraków: 19–27.

Dąbrowa, E. (2002), ‘… ostentasse Romana arma satis...’. The Military Factor in Roman-Parthian Relations under Augustus and Tiberius, in: Ph. Freeman et al. (eds), Limes XVIII. Proceedings of the XVIIIthInternational Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Amman, Jordan (September 2000), Oxford: 275–279.

Dąbrowa, E. (2013), The Parthian Aristocracy: Its Social Position and Political Activity, Parthica15: 53–62.

Dąbrowa, E. (2015), L’histoire des Parthes dans la Géographiede Strabon, Studi Ellenistici, vol. 29, Pisa–Roma: 285–303.

Debevoise, N.C. (1938), A Political History of Parthia, Chicago, IL.

Eck, W., Caballos, A., Fernández, F. (1996), Das senatus consultum de Cn. Pisone patre, München.

Ehrhardt, N. (1998), Parther und parthische Geschichte bei Tacitus, in: J. Wiesehöfer (hrsg.), Das Partherreich und seine Zeugnisse. Beiträge des Internationalen Colloquiums, Eutin (27.–30. Juni 1996), Stuttgart: 295–307.

Goodblatt, D. (1987), Josephus on Parthian Babylonia (Antiquities XVIII, 310–379), Journal of the American Oriental Society 107: 605–622.

Hackl, U., Jacobs, B., Weber, D. (2010), Quellen zur Geschichte des Partherreiches. Textsammlung mit Übersetzungen und Kommentaren, vol. 2, Göttingen–Oakville, CT.

Heil, M. (1997), Die orientalische Außenpolitik des Kaisers Nero, München.

Karras-Klapproth, M. (1988), Prosopographische Studien zur Geschichte des Partherreiches auf der Grundlage antiker literarischer Überlieferung, Bonn.

Kovacs, F.L. (2014), Artaxias III and a Numismatic Enigma, Armenian Numismatic Journal, ser. II, 10: 19–25.

Kovacs, F.L. (2016), Armenian Coinage in the Classical Period, Lancaster, PA–London.

Krengel, E. (2013), Die erste Münzprägung für Zenon / Artaxias aus Pontus, JNG63: 59–73.

Levick, B. (2013), 82. Cn. Domitius Corbulo, in: T.J. Cornell (ed.), The Fragments of the Roman Historians, vol. 1: Introduction, Oxford: 538–545.

Malloch, S.J.V. (2013), The Annals of Tacitus, Book 11. Edited with a Commentary by S.J.V. Malloch, Cambridge.

Niedergaard, E. (1988), The Four Sons of Phraates IV in Rome, Acta Hyperborea1: 102–115.

Oliver, R.P. (1977), The Praenomen of Tacitus, AJPh98: 64–70.

Pani, M. (1972), Roma e i re d’Oriente da Augusto a Tiberio (Cappadocia, Armenia, Media Atropatene), Bari.

Pani, M. (1993), La missione di Germanico in Oriente: politica estera e politica interna, in: M. Pani, Potere e valori a Roma fra Augusto e Traiano, 2nd ed., Bari: 235–255.

Potter, D.S. (1991), The Inscriptions on the Bronze Herakles from Mesene: Vologeses IV’s War with Rome and the Date of Tacitus’ Annales, ZPE88: 277–290.

Rajak, T. (1998), The Parthians in Josephus, in: J. Wiesehöfer (hrsg.), Das Partherreich und seine Zeugnisse. Beiträge des Internationalen Colloquiums, Eutin (27.–30. Juni 1996), Stuttgart: 309–324.

Scardigli, B. (2009), Ostaggi – ‘ospiti‘ a Roma, in: S. Conti, B. Scardigli (a cura di), Stranieri a Roma. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Certosa di Pontignano, 22–23 maggio 2006), Ancona: 121–143.

Shayegan, M.R. (2017), Persianism: or Achaemenid Reminiscences in the Iranian and Iranicate World(s) of Antiquity, in: R. Strootman, M.J. Versluys (eds.), Persianism in Antiquity, Stuttgart: 401–455.

Sonnabend, H. (1986), Fremdenbild und Politik. Vorstellungen der Römer von Ägypten und dem Partherreich in der späten Republik und frühen Kaiserzeit, Frankfurt a/M–Bern–New York.

Strugnell, E. (2008), Thea Musa, Roman Queen of Parthia, Iranica Antiqua43: 275–298.

Syme, R. (1958), Tacitus, 2 vols., Oxford.

Täubler, E. (1904), Die Parthernachrichten bei Josephus, Berlin.

Walser, G. (1951), Rom, das Reich und die fremden Völker in der Geschichtsschreibung der frühen Kaiserzeit. Studien zur Glaubwürdigkeit des Tacitus, Baden-Baden.

Wheeler, E.L. (2002), Roman Treaties with Parthia: Völkerrechtor Power Politics?, in: Ph. Freeman et al. (eds.), Limes XVIII. Proceedings of the XVIIIth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Amman, Jordan (September 2000), Oxford: 287–292.

Wolski, J. (1966), Les Achéménides et les Arsacides. Contribution à l’histoire de la formation des traditions iraniennes, Syria 43: 65–89.

Wolski, J. (1991), L’époque parthe entre l’hellénisme et l’iranisme, in: Histoire et cultes de l’Asie Centrale préislamique : sources écrites et documents archéologiques. Actes du Colloque international du CNRS (Paris, 22–28 novembre 1988), Paris: 49–55.

Wolski, J. (1993), L’Empire des Arsacides, Leuven.

Information

Information: ELECTRUM, 2017, Volume 24, pp. 171 - 189

Article type: Original article

Authors

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-9096

Edward Dąbrowa
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-9096 Orcid
All publications →

Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

Published at: 19.12.2017

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

Edward Dąbrowa (Author) - 100%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English

View count: 1986

Number of downloads: 1817

<p>Tacitus on the Parthians</p>