Ariobarzanes

In about 8 BCE, Tigranes IV succeeded his father Tigranes III as king of Armenia. He embarked upon a pro-Parthian policy, which was unacceptable to the Romans and causing some diplomatic exchanges between the Parthian king Phraataces and the emperor Augustus.^note[Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.10.18.]

When no solution was achieved, Augustus sent a pretender to the east, whose name was Artavasdes or Artabazus (two ways of spelling the same name),^note[Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.10.20.] but he was either dethroned by the Armenian people or succumbed to an illness.^note[Tacitus, Annals 2.4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.10.20.] More or less at the same time, Tigranes IV "perished in a war with barbarians".^note[Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.10a.5.]

In the meantime, Augustus' grandson Gaius Caesar had arrived in the east, acting with the powers of a consul.^note[Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.10a.4.] Learning that both Armenian reulers were dead, the Roman prince selected Ariobarzanes, a former king of Media Atropatene who had been dethroned by the Parthians, as new king in Armenia.

According to Tacitus, the Armenians "raised no objection to his good looks and brilliant qualities".^note[Tacitus, Annals 2.4.] Nevertheless, Gaius Caesar had to intervene with his army.^note[Strabo, Geography 11.14.6.]

Ariobarzanes' reign started in 2 CE, but was very brief, because he had a deadly accident in 4 CE.^note[Tacitus, Annals 2.4.] He was succeeded by his son Artavasdes III, who was almost immediately assassinated.^note[Augustus, Res Gestae 27.]