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CHAPTER VIII

THE CAMPAIGN OF CORBULO

THE emperor Claudius was poisoned in October, 54, and the youthful Nero ascended the throne. News of events in Armenia reached Rome by December, and preparations were immediately begun for war.^[1] The oriental legions were recruited to war strength and then moved in the direction of Armenia. Antiochus IV of Commagene and Agrippa II of Chalcis (Andjar) were to collect troops and hold them in readiness for an invasion of Parthia, and bridges were to be constructed across the Euphrates. Lesser Armenia was given to Aristobulus, a son of the former king Herod of Chalcis and first cousin of Agrippa II; Sophene was turned over to a Sohaemus, perhaps of the same family as the one who had just succeeded to the throne of Emesa.^[2] To take command of the forces gathered to "retain" Armenia, Cn. Corbulo was recalled from Germany. Corbulo was a seasoned veteran and a career man, and his appointment was undoubtedly a wise move. The X

1. Tac. Ann. xiii. 6; Nero was seventeen years old on the sixteenth of December, 54.
2. Tac. Ann. xiii. 7; Josephus Ant. xx. 158 and Bell. ii. 252; Dessau 8958. Emesa and Sophene are too far apart to make the identity of these two men likely; see PW, art. "Sohaemus," No. 4.

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