IV.
Dein iussu Augusti inpositus Artavasdes (Artavasdes: not fully identified, but presumably one of the sons of Artavasdes I mentioned in previous chapter.) et non sine clade nostra deiectus. tum Gaius Caesar (Gaius Caesar: the grandson of Augustus from the marriage between his daughter Julia and Vipsanius Agrippa, his collaborator and friend. Gaius stayed in the Orient from 1 B.C. to 4 A.D., when he was mortally wounded in Armenia, some say on Livia’s orders, who wanted to clear the way to the throne for her son Tiberius.) componendae Armeniae (componendae Armeniae: use of dat. gerundive to express purpose, ‘for Armenia to be pacified’) deligitur. is Ariobarzanen, origine Medum, (Ariobarzanen, origine Medum: the son of Artabazus, king of Media) ob insignem corporis formam et praeclarum animum volentibus Armeniis praefecit. Ariobarzane morte fortuita absumpto (Ariobarzane morte fortuita absumpto: ‘Ariobarzanes having been removed by an accidental death’) stirpem eius haud toleravere; temptatoque feminae imperio, cui nomen Erato, eaque brevi pulsa, (temptatoque feminae imperio, cui nomen Erato, eaque brevi pulsa: abl. abs. with attached rel. clause: ‘the rule of a woman, named Erato, having been tried and she soon after having been driven away’; it is generally agreed that she most probably was the sister and wife of Tigranes III, thus, both heirs of Tigranes II, as noted in previous chapter. brevi is short for brevi tempore; Erato has only nominative and vocative forms. cui is dat. of possessor with implied erat.) incerti solutique et magis sine domino quam in libertate profugum Vononen in regnum accipiunt. sed ubi minitari Artabanus et parum subsidii in Armeniis, vel, si nostra vi defenderetur, bellum adversus Parthos sumendum erat, rector Syriae Creticus Silanus excitum custodia circumdat, (ubi minitari Artabanus et parum subsidii in Armeniis, vel, si nostra vi defenderetur, bellum adversus Parthos sumendum erat, rector Syriae Creticus Silanus excitum custodia circumdat, manente …: ubi is here with the causal sense of ‘since’ (Ernout), followed by historical infinitive (equivalent to imperfect indicative) and by indicative. The extract is a complex sentence, consisting of two subordinate clauses with ubi (separated by vel), and one with si, one main clause, and one abl. abs.: ‘since Artabanus kept issuing threats and [there was] little help in the Armenians or since, if Vonones were to be supported by our forces, war with Parthia was inevitable, Creticus Silanus, the governor of Syria, sent for Vonones and kept him under close guard, leaving him …’. subsidii is partitive genitive after the neuter parum; si …defenderetur: imperfect subjunctive for prospective (potential) condition in the past; Creticus Silanus will be mentioned again in ch. 43. circumdat is historical present like the preceding accipiunt. For Artabanus see previous chapter.) manente luxu et regio nomine. quod ludibrium ut effugere agitaverit Vonones in loco reddemus. (quod ludibrium ut effugere agitaverit Vonones in loco reddemus: ‘I will relate in its proper place how he schemed to escape such (quod) insulting treatment.’ Interrogative ut introduces an indirect question with subjunctive; agitaverit is governed by the future reddemus, a primary tense that calls for perfect subjunctive for past action (cf. A.G. 482, 573-575, 585); quod is here adjective modifying ludibrium, not pronoun.)