Antiochus of Commagene and the Alans

In the fourth year of Vespasian's reign, Antiochus, king of Commagene, and his whole household fell into great misfortunes. The cause was this. Caesennius Paetus, then governor of Syria, sent a letter to Caesar, whether he was telling the truth or acting out of hatred for Antiochus, for that was never clearly established. In it he said that Antiochus and his son Epiphanes had decided to revolt from the Romans and had made a treaty with the king of Parthia. They must therefore be stopped beforehand, he wrote, before they struck first and threw the whole Roman empire into war. With such a report before him, Caesar was not going to disregard it, and the nearness of the kingdoms made the matter call for greater care. For Samosata, the largest city of Commagene, lies on the Euphrates, so that if the Parthians had any such design, it would give them the easiest crossing and a secure reception. Paetus was believed and was given authority to do what he thought best. He did not delay. He suddenly invaded Commagene while Antiochus and his people were expecting nothing, leading the Sixth Legion together with some cohorts and squadrons of cavalry. Kings fought on his side as well: Aristobulus of the country called Chalcidene, and Sohemus of the country called Emesa. The invasion met no opposition, for no one in the country was willing to raise a hand against them. When the news unexpectedly reached Antiochus, he did not entertain even a thought of war with the Romans. He decided to leave his whole kingdom just as it was and slip away with his wife and children, thinking that in this way he would show the Romans he was innocent of the charge brought against him. He went fifteen miles from the city and camped on the plain. [a]

Paetus sent men to seize Samosata and held the city through them, while he himself advanced against Antiochus with the rest of his force. Yet even under this pressure the king was not drawn into any act of war against the Romans. He lamented his own fortune and endured whatever he had to suffer. But his sons were young, experienced in war, and of exceptional bodily strength, and they could not easily bear the disaster without a fight. So Epiphanes and Callinicus turned to arms. The battle was fierce and lasted the whole day. They showed outstanding courage and broke off at evening with their own forces in no way diminished. Yet even after the battle had gone this way, Antiochus did not think it bearable to stay. Taking his wife and daughters, he fled with them to Cilicia, and by doing so he broke the spirit of his own soldiers. As though he had given up the kingdom, they revolted and went over to the Romans, and everyone's despair was plain. So Epiphanes and his men had to save themselves from the enemy before they were wholly deserted by their allies. In all, ten horsemen crossed the Euphrates with them. From there they were brought in safety to Vologeses, king of Parthia, where they were not scorned as fugitives but were thought worthy of every honor, as if they still had their former prosperity. [d]

When Antiochus had reached Tarsus in Cilicia, Paetus sent a centurion after him and sent him in chains to Rome. But Vespasian would not allow the king to be brought up to him in that state. He thought it right to respect their old friendship rather than keep up an implacable anger on the pretext of the war. So while Antiochus was still on the road, he ordered his chains removed, and told him to give up the journey to Rome and live for the present in Sparta. He also gave him large revenues, so that his way of life would be not only plentiful but royal. When Epiphanes and his companions, who had been very afraid for their father, learned this, their minds were freed from a great and grievous anxiety. They too had hope of reconciliation with Caesar, since Vologeses had written to him on their behalf; for even in prosperity they could not bear to live outside the Roman empire. Caesar kindly granted them safe conduct, and they came to Rome. Their father came to them at once from Sparta, and they stayed there, treated with every honor. [e]

As we have shown somewhere before, the nation of the Alans are Scythians who live around the Tanais and Lake Maeotis. At this time they planned to invade Media and the lands still beyond it to plunder them, and they negotiated with the king of the Hyrcanians, for he is master of the pass that King Alexander closed with iron gates. When he let them through, they fell in a mass on the Medes, who suspected nothing, and plundered a populous country full of every kind of livestock, and no one dared to resist them. For Pacorus, the king of the country, had fled in fear into the rough ground and given up everything else to them. His wife and his concubines had been taken captive, and he barely got them back from the Alans by paying a hundred talents. So the Alans plundered at their ease, with no fighting, and went on as far as Armenia, pillaging everything. Tiridates was king of Armenia. He met them and gave battle, and came close to being taken alive in the battle itself. A man threw a noose around him and would have dragged him off, if Tiridates had not been quicker, cut the rope with his sword, and escaped. Made still more savage by the battle, the Alans ravaged the country, and driving a great multitude of people and other plunder from both kingdoms, they went back again to their own land. [f]