VIII.
Sub idem tempus Mithridates, quem imperitasse Armeniis iussuque G. Caesaris vinctum memoravi, monente Claudio in regnum remeavit, fisus Pharasmanis opibus. (Mithridates, quem imperitasse Armeniis iussuque G. Caesaris vinctum memoravi, monente Claudio in regnum remeavit, fisus Pharasmanis opibus: ‘Mithridates, whom I mentioned had ruled over the Armenians and, on orders of Caligula, had been arrested [and brought to Rome], on Claudius’ suggestion returned to his kingdom, trusting in the support of [his brother] Pharasmanes.’ The last report on the political situation in the Orient was in Book 6, ch. 32ff., with Mithridates seizing the throne of Armenia, thanks to the military support of his brother Pharasmanes, the king of Iberia, and in ch. 45 with Artabanus III back on the throne of Parthia. In the period between 37 and 47 A.D., dealt with in the missing books (7-10) of the Annals, the following changes occurred: (a) Mithridates is ordered to Rome and is kept in custody until Claudius sends him back to the Orient, as related above; (b) Armenia falls again under Parthian influence; (c) Artabanus III dies between 40-and 42 A.D. and a power struggle ensues between his three sons, as mentioned next. quem imperitasse Armeniis …vinctum [esse] memoravi: indirect speech governed by memoravi; Armeniis is dat. with imperito; monente Claudio is abl. abs., ‘Claudius urging him’; fisus … opibus: the semi-deponent fido takes abl.; being deponent, fisus has active meaning, ‘having put his trust in … ‘) is rex Hiberis idemque Mithridatis frater nuntiabat discordare Parthos summaque imperii ambigua, minora sine cura haberi. (is rex Hiberis idemque Mithridatis frater nuntiabat discordare Parthos summaque imperii ambigua, minora sine cura haberi: ‘he, the king of the Iberians and at the same time (idem) the brother of Mithridates, informed him that the Parthians were quarreling, that the throne [was] in question, and that less important issues were disregarded.’ The Hiberi or Iberians lived on the south side of the Caucasus, west of the Albani. aliquid sine cura haberi: idiom, ‘to hold something of no importance’) nam Gotarzes inter pleraque saeva necem fratri Artabano coningique ac filio eius paraverat, unde metus [eius] in ceteros, et accivere Vardanen. (Gotarzes … Artabano … Vardanen: the three sons of Artabanus III: Gotarzes was king after killing Artabanus, his wife and child; ‘hence fear of him [spread] to the rest and they called in Verdanes.’ These events did not occur in the current year, 47 A.D., but at least five years earlier, during the early reign of Claudius.) ille, ut erat magnis ausis promptus, biduo tria milia stadiorum invadit (ille, ut erat magnis ausis promptus, biduo tria milia stadiorum invadit: ‘he, Verdanes, ready for bold undertakings as (ut) he always was, traversed in two days three thousand stadia.’ One stadium being 607 feet, the distance covered was well over three hundred miles. Commentators dismiss this as pure fantasy, and someone has suggested that the text should perhaps read triduo duo milia. invadit is historical present as are cunctatur and implicatur below.) ignarumque et exterritum Gotarzen proturbat; neque cunctatur quin proximas praefecturas corripiat, solis Seleucensibus dominationem eius abnuentibus. (neque cunctatur quin proximas praefecturas corripiat, solis Seleucensibus dominationem eius abnuentibus: ‘he did not even hesitate to seize upon the neighboring provinces, the people of Seleucia alone refusing his rule.’ neque cunctatur quin corripiat: the particle quin introduces a complementary clause of consecutive sense after negative or interrogative main verbs of hindering, delaying, recusing, resisting, doubting, ignoring, prohibiting, omitting, and the like. Tacitus, always the innovator, extends here the usage to a verb expressing hesitation. The present subjunctive corripiat conforms to the sequence of tenses, since the historical present cunctatur can be either primary or historical. See A.G. 485, e. solis Seleucensibus … abnuentibus is abl. abs. Seleucia on the Tigris is within present-day Baghdad. Cf. Book 6, ch. 42.) in quos ut patris sui quoque defectores ira magis quam ex usu praesenti accensus, implicatur obsidione urbis validae (in quos ut patris sui quoque defectores ira magis quam ex usu praesenti accensus, implicatur obsidione urbis validae: lit. ‘more burning with rage against the people (in quos) of Selucia, traitors also of his father, than from any urgent tactical advantage (ex usu praesenti), he entangled himself in the siege of a well-defended city.’ It appears that defectores was first used by Tacitus, once in the Historiae and twice in the Annales.) et munimentis obiecti amnis muroque et commeatibus firmatae. interim Gotarzes Daharum Hyrcanorumque opibus auctus (Daharum Hyrcanorumque opibus auctus: ‘reinforced by contingents of the Dahae and of the Hyrcanians’; the Dahae inhabited the southeastern shores of the Caspian sea in the lands to the north of the Hyrcanians, who were settled southeast of the same sea.) bellum renovat, coactusque Vardanes omittere Seleuciam Bactrianos apud campos (Bactrianos apud campos: ‘in the fields of Bactria’; apud, especially in later Latin, is found replacing ad + acc. to mark proximity, even when movement is involved. Similarly, apud became a substitute for in + abl. Ancient Bactria occupied parts of eastern Iran and western Afghanistan, in the corner formed by the Hindu Kush range to the south and the Pamir to the east.) castra contulit.