CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.)

This article appears in Volume V07, Page 137 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: COM-COR

CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.) , Roman general, was the half-brother of Caesonia, one of the wives of the emperor Caligula. In the reign of Tiberius he held the office of praetor, and was appointed to the superintendence of the roads and bridges. Under

Claudius

he was

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of lower Germany (A.D. 47). He punished the Frisii who refused to pay the tribute, and was on the point of advancing against the Chauci, but was recalled by the emperor and ordered to withdraw behind the Rhine. In order to provide employment for his soldiers,

Corbulo

CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.)

made them cut a canal from the Mosa (Meuse) to the northern branch of the Rhine, which still forms one of the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

drains between Leiden and Sluys, and before the introduction of railways was the

ordinary

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

traffic road between Leiden and Rotterdam. Soon after the accession of Nero, Vologaeses (Vologasus), king of

Parthia

PARTHIA

, overran Armenia, drove out Rhadamistus, who was under the protection of the Romans, and set his own brother Tiridates on the throne.

Corbulo

CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.)

was thereupon sent out to the

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

with full military powers. After some delay, he took
the offensive in 58, and, reinforced by troops from Germany, attacked Tiridates. Artaxata and Tigranocerta were captured, and

Tigranes

TIGRANES, or DIKRAN

, who had been brought up in Rome and .was the obedient servant of the government, was installed king of Armenia. In 61

Tigranes

TIGRANES, or DIKRAN

invaded Adiabene, an integral portion of the Parthian kingdom, and a conflict between Rome and

Parthia

PARTHIA

seemed unavoidable. Vologaeses, how-ever, thought it better to come to terms. It was agreed that both the Roman and Parthian troops should evacuate Armenia, that Tigranes should be dethroned, and the position of Tiridates .recognized. The Roman government declined to accede to these arrangements, and L. Caesennius Paetus,

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of Cappadocia, was ordered to settle the question by bringing Armenia under direct Roman administration. The protection of Syria in the meantime claimed all Corbulo's attention. Paetus, a weak and incapable man, suffered a severe defeat at Rhandea (62), where he was surrounded and forced to capitulate and to evacuate Armenia. The command of the troops was again entrusted to Corbulo. In 63, with a strong army, he crossed the Euphrates, but Tiridates declined to give battle and concluded peace. At Rhandea he laid down his diadem at the foot of the emperor's statue, promising not to resume it until he received it from the hand of Nero himself in Rome. In 67 disturbances broke out in Judaea, but Nero, jealous of Corbulo's success and popularity, ordered Vespasian to take command of the forces and summoned Corbulo to Greece. On his arrival at Cenchreae, the port of Corinth, messengers from Nero met Corbulo, and ordered him to commit suicide. Without hesitation he obeyed, ex-claiming, " I have deserved it." Whether he had really given any grounds for suspicion is unknown; but there is no doubt, so

great

GREAT

was his popularity with the soldiers and such the hatred felt for Nero, that he could easily have seized the throne. Corbulo wrote an account of his Asiatic experiences, which is lost.
See Tacitus, Annals, xii.-xv.; Dio

Cassius

lix. 15, lx. 3o, Ixii. 19-23, 1xiii. 6, 17, lxvi. 3; H. Schiller, Geschichte des romischen Kaiserreichs unter der Regierung des Nero (1872) ; E. Egli, " Feldzuge in Armenien von 41-63," in M. Budinger's Untersuchungen zur romischen Kaisergeschichte, i. (1868); Mommsen, Hist. of the Roman Provinces, ii. (1886) ; for the Armenian campaigns see B. W. Henderson in Classical Review (April, May, June, 1901); in general D. T. Schoonover, A Study of Cn. Domitius Corbulo (Chicago, 1909).

End of Article: CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/COM_COR/CORBULO_GNAEUS_DOMITIUS_1st_ce.html">
CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.)
</a>

(Previous)
CORBRIDGE

(Next)
CORD (derived through the Fr. corde, from the L...

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email