Battle of Rhandeia

The Battle of Rhandeia was a battle fought between Armenia and Parthia against the Roman Empire. It was fought just after the Mithridatic Wars. The Romans were led by Lucius Caesennius Paetus. They were defeated by the Parthian-Armenian army led by Tiridates I of Armenia.

Battle of Rhandeia
Date 62 Location Rhandeia, Kingdom of Armenia Result Parthian-Armenian victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Kingdom of Armenia, Parthia
Commanders and leaders
Lucius Caesennius Paetus Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo	Tiridates I of Armenia
Strength
~35,000 Romans siege equipment Iberian conscripts	~Ayrudzi 10,000
Casualties and losses
High at least 15,000 Romans dead ~500 taken captive Siege equipment destroyed Iberian conscripts forced to exile Rhandeia	Mild no more than 1,000 Ayrudzi dead

The Parthians made Tiridates the King of Armenia. He was the brother of the Parthian king Vologases I. Tiridates replaced Tigranes, a Roman ally, as king. The Romans fought to take back the throne, but were forced into surrender at Rhandeia (autumn 62).

Battle Of Rhandeia Media

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  Armenia and the Roman East in ca. 50 AD, before the outbreak of the war.

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  Operations during the first two years of the war: Corbulo's invasion and conquest of Armenia.

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  Relief depicting a Parthian horse-archer. Highly skilled and mobile, they formed the backbone of the Parthian army. In combination with the heavy cataphract cavalry they formed a very effective force that had already annihilated a Roman army at Carrhae.

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  Silver coin of Vologases I, King of Parthia.

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  Operations during the final years of the war: the raids of Tigranes into Parthian territory provoked a Parthian counterattack, which culminated in the surrender of the Roman army of L. Caesennius Paetus.

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  Celebratory as struck in 66, showing the gates of the Temple of Janus closed as a symbol of universal peace. It would not last long: in the same year, the Jewish Revolt broke out, and many of the units involved in the Armenian War would be deployed against the Jewish rebels.

Related pages

• Armenian Empire