Artabanus IV of Parthia

Artabanus IV was the last effective king of the Parthian Empire, ruling much of the Arsacid realm from about 213 until 224 CE. A son of Vologases V, he challenged his brother Vologases VI and gained control over most Parthian territories while his rival retained a reduced base in Mesopotamia. Artabanus therefore inherited both a divided dynasty and the continuing strategic pressure of the Roman Empire on Iran’s western frontier.

In 217 Artabanus confronted the Roman emperor Macrinus after Caracalla’s invasion of Parthian territory. The hard-fought Battle of Nisibis ended in a negotiated Roman withdrawal and substantial payments to the Parthians. Artabanus then faced a more dangerous internal challenger, Ardashir of Persis. Their forces met at Hormozdgan on 28 April 224, where Artabanus was defeated and killed. Ardashir’s victory inaugurated the Sasanian Empire and ended Arsacid rule over Iran.

In Alex Gough’s Emperor’s Fate, Caracalla invades Parthian territory while presenting himself as a new Alexander, and Silus serves close enough to the emperor to see the fear and calculation behind the performance.