Vardanes I was a king of theParthian Empire from 40 to 46 AD. He was the heir apparent of his fatherArtabanus II (r. 12–40), but had to continually fight against his brotherGotarzes II, a rival claimant to the throne. Vardanes' short reign ended when he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles .

Vardanes I
King of Kings
Coin of Vardanes I,Seleucia mint
King of theParthian Empire
Reign	40 – 46
Predecessor	Artabanus II
Successor	Gotarzes II
Died	46
Dynasty	Arsacid dynasty
Father	Artabanus II
Religion	Zoroastrianism

"Vardanes" (also spelled Bardanes) is theLatin attestation of theMiddle Iranian nameWardān, meaning "rose". The name is transliterated inGreek asOrdanesὈρδάνης andOrdonesὈρδώνης, and inHatran Aramaic as wrdn.^[1]

Inc. 40 AD, Vardanes' father and reigningParthian kingArtabanus II (r. 12–40) died, entrusting his realm to Vardanes.[2] However, the throne was seized byGotarzes II, an adopted son of Artabanus II.^[2][3] Gotarzes had another of his brothers, Artabanus, along with his wife and child, executed shortly after.^[2] An uproar against this execution shortly followed, with an appeal being sent to Vardanes, who took Gotarzes by surprise and defeated him, after travelling 375 miles in two days.^[2][4] Vardanes was supported by the governors of the neighbouring Parthian provinces, and quickly gained control over most of the Parthian realm.^[2][4]

TheMesopotamian city ofSeleucia, which had been in rebellion since 35 AD, did not acknowledge Vardanes, who then besieged the city.^[2][5] However, the long siege of Seleucia resulted in Gotarzes gaining the upper hand in the conflict, allowing him to raise a new force and drive off Vardanes, who fled toBactria inCentral Asia.^[2][6] A contemporary bust of a Parthian king was discovered at the ancient court of theYuezhis (earlyKushans) inKhalchayan, Bactria, suggesting that this may represent Vardanes as he sought refuge, and possibly an alliance, at the Yuezhi court.^[7]

At the same time,Armenia suffered turmoil, when itsArsacid kingOrodes, the brother of Vardanes, was deposed by theRoman emperorClaudius (r. 41–54), who appointed thePharnavazid princeMithridates in his stead.^[8]

Just before Vardanes and Gotarzes clashed in battle, they reached an accord after Gotarzes informed Vardanes of a conspiracy being planned against them by a prominent group. Under the accord Vardanes was to keep his crown, while Gotarzes became the ruler ofHyrcania.^[8][9] In June 42, Vardanes forced Seleucia to submit to the Parthians again after a rebellion of seven years.^[10] He significantly reduced the autonomy of the city and removed its privilege to mint its own coins.^[5] Around the same time, the Greek philosopherApollonius of Tyana visited the court of Vardanes, who provided him with the protection of a caravan as he travelled to the realm of theIndo-Parthians. When Apollonius reached Indo-Parthia's capitalTaxila, his caravan leader read Vardanes' official letter, perhaps written in Parthian, to an Indian official who treated Apollonius with great hospitality.^[11]

Encouraged by his recent triumphs, Vardanes prepared to invade and reconquer Armenia, but ultimately abandoned his plans, due to threats of war from the Roman governor ofSyria,Gaius Vibius Marsus, and the renewed conflict with Gotarzes, who had terminated their accord.^[6] Vardanes defeated Gotarzes on the Erindes, a river situated on theMedia-Hyrcania border. He then proceeded to conquer the remaining Parthian provinces, reaching as far asAria.^[8] Inc. 46 he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles, who feared that their status might become endangered.[6]^[12]

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