multitude of people who hailed him as king of Armenia under the name Artaxias.[1]
Germanicus then returned to Syria, where an embassy from the Parthian king reached him. The proposal was made that the friendly alliance in effect between their predecessors should be renewed, and Artabanus sent word that he would be willing to come as far as the Euphrates, the traditional meeting-place for Roman and Parthian and the boundary between the two great empires. He requested, however, that Vonones be removed from the neighborhood of the frontier, whence he was fomenting discontent among the Parthians. Germanicus replied with politeness but made no mention of the proposed conference, which apparently never took place. He did transfer Vonones to the coastal city of Pompeiopolis (ancient Soli, near modern Mezitli) in Cilicia.[2] At the same time Germanicus sent Alexander, perhaps a Palmyrene merchant, on a mission to Mesene and to a certain Orabazes. The nature of his message we can only conjecture; but it could hardly involve any direct threat against the Parthians, with relations as amicable as they then were. The embassy suggests
- ↑ Tac. Ann. ii. 56; cf. also Suet. Gaius 1. 2 and Strabo xii. 3. 29. Coins were struck in Caesarea of Cappadocia with the legend GERMANICUS ARTAXIAS and with the coronation scene; see Mattingly and Sydenham, Rom. Imp. Coin., I, 104, No. 8. Mattingly suggests that these were perhaps struck by Caligula.
- ↑ Tac. Ann. ii. 58; the contemporary Strabo xvi. 1. 28 confirms the fact that the Euphrates was still the boundary.
