King of Armenia During Vologases' early life, he became the ruler of
Armenia, succeeding
Sohaemus. Throughout the 1st and 2nd-centuries, the Armenian throne was usually occupied by a close relative of the Parthian
King of Kings, who held the title of "Great King of Armenia". Unlike the previous eight Arsacid princes who ruled Armenia, Vologases was able to ensure that his
descendants ruled on the Armenian throne; they would rule the country until the
Sasanian abolition of the Armenian throne in 428. In 189, he also imposed his son
Rev I (whose mother was the sister of the
Pharnavazid ruler
Amazasp) on the
Iberian throne. His
descendants would rule Iberia until 284 when it was replaced by another Parthian family, the
Mihranids.
King of the Parthian Empire In 191 after the death of his father
Vologases IV, Vologases ascended the Parthian throne and passed the Armenian throne to his son
Khosrov I (). It is uncertain if the transition of power to Vologases V was peaceful or marred in a civil war. His claim to the throne, however, was not uncontested; a rival king,
Osroes II (190), had set himself up in
Media even before the death of Vologases IV, but Vologases appears to have quickly put him down.
Septimius Severus Vologases supported Emperor
Pescennius Niger () in his struggle for the Roman throne against Emperor
Septimius Severus () in 192–193, during the
Year of the Five Emperors. Furthermore, he also intervened in the affairs of the Roman vassal states in northern
Mesopotamia—
Adiabene and
Osroene. Because of this, Septimius Severus, who emerged victorious in the struggle, attacked the Parthian Empire in 195. Severus advanced into Mesopotamia, made Osroene a Roman province, and captured the Parthian capital
Ctesiphon in 199. At the same time, revolts were occurring in the Parthian provinces of Media and
Pars. Septimius Severus now declared himself
Parthicus Maximus ("great victor in Parthia"). He was, however, unable to maintain his conquests, due to lack of food supplies and reinforcements. As a result, he withdrew his forces; during his withdrawal, he attempted in vain to conquer the
Arab fortress of
Hatra twice, later withdrawing his forces to
Syria. In 202, peace was restored, reaffirming Roman rule in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia. But, in the words of
Iranologist Touraj Daryaee, "the dynasty [had] lost much of its prestige" and reached a "turning point". The
kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Arsacid overlords. Indeed, in 205/6,
Pabag, a local ruler in Persis, rebelled and overthrew his overlord
Gochihr, taking the Persis capital
Istakhr for himself. His son
Ardashir I would go on to continue his conquests, overthrowing the Parthian Empire and establishing the
Sasanian Empire in 224. Vologases died in 208, succeeded by his son
Vologases VI (), however another son,
Artabanus IV (), attempted to seize the throne a few years later, resulting in a
civil war. == Notes ==