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the Armenians eventually came to respect the Mede because of his noble person and spirit.
Unfortunately, Ariobarzanes died after a short time and his son Artavasdes was quickly killed.
¤ ARIOGAESUS (d. after 173 A.D.) King of the Quadi and ruler who faced Emperor MARCUS
AURELIUS on the Danube. In 172-173, the tribes of the lazyges and Quadi assisted one another in
rebelling against Rome. The Quadi broke all treaties with Rome and in 173 ousted their king, Furtius,
replacing him with the chieftain Ariogaesus. Marcus Aurelius refused to recognize Ariogaesus or to
negotiate any new treaties, despite the assurances of the Quadi. A reward of 1000 gold pieces was offered
by Rome for Ariogaesus' capture, and 500 gold pieces for his head. Within a short time the king of the
Quadi was in the hands of the Romans, but Marcus Aurelius did not execute him. In keeping with his
philosophical policies, the emperor exiled Ariogaesus to Alexandria, where he spent the rest of his days.
¤ ARIOVISTUS (fl. 71-58 B.C.) King of the Suebi and one of the most successful leaders in the era of
Julius Caesar. The Suebi invaded Gaul in 71 B.C., crossing the Rhine and defeating the Aedui. These
actions and the subsequent victory of Ariovistus, commanding the German forces at Magetobriga (where he
defeated a combined Gallic army) in 61 B.C., were followed by his request to Rome for official
recognition as a rightful king.
The Senate, influenced by the proconsul of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, and by Julius Caesar
(according to the GALLIC WARS), declared Ariovistus a "friend of Rome." Clearly, Ariovistus was
considered a counterbalance to the dangerous Gallic tribes; however, when he began to demonstrate
further ambitions in the west, Caesar was forced to reconsider this policy. The petitions of the Aedui, sent
in 58, convinced the Senate that these Germans occupying the lush Alsace region were too great a threat.
In the summer of 58, Caesar launched his campaign, with about 50,000 men. Ariovistus had an army of
almost 75,000. The two generals parried with one another for a time, but Caesar crushed the Germans on
September 10, somewhere in Alsace. Ariovistus apparently died sometime later; Dio stated that he
escaped over the Rhine.
¤ ARISTIDES, AELIUS (Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus) (117-181 A.D.) Writer, rhetorician and
adherent of Asclepius, who was a gifted speaker and author. His career in politics could have been
remarkable, but Aristides suffered a series of terrible illnesses, thought by some to have been
psychosomatic.
He was born in Adriani in Mysia and studied the classics under Alexander of Cotiaeon, the tutor of
Marcus Aurelius, and also studied rhetoric with Herodes Atticus. Rhetoric became his chosen profession,
and he traveled to Athens, Egypt and Rome to continue his studies. While in Rome he wrote and
delivered a powerful panegyric to the city, the wonder of the world.
Finding a receptive audience, Aristides could have achieved the greatness of such contemporaries as
Herodes Atticus, Cornelius Pronto and the earlier sophist, Palaemon. Instead, Aristides succumbed to the
first of many illnesses, the exact cause and nature of which were never fully clarified. His public career
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