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CARACALLA, ruling on his own after 211 A.D., was remembered for one architectural achievement: the
Baths of Caracalla. Built from 212 to 216, they were exceptional, with huge decorated rooms: the
Calidarium, Natatio and Frigidarium. Little remains of later reigns, except for the partially rebuilt
temples of SEVERUS ALEXANDER'S reign. Between the reigns of Caracalla and DIOCLETIAN, from
211 to 284 A.D., few examples of construction are evident. It is known, however, that in 271 the
Emperor AURELIAN built sturdy but commonplace walls around the city.
With Diocletian and the Age of the TETRARCHY, Rome was totally eclipsed. The Empire was divided
into four great areas, and each tetrarch (either an "augustus" or a "caesar") controlled vast territories. Each
wished to live in grandeur and built accordingly. The designs used in this period were traditional Roman.
Other palaces at TRIER, THESSALONICA, MILAN and NICOMEDIA displayed architectural splendors.
Diocletian's palace at SPLIT, on the Yugoslavian coast, was the most beautiful of these royal residences.
The palace at Split was created from 300 to 306 A.D. and was designed much like a great military camp.
The walled complex reflected the military activity of the period.
In Rome, during the period from Diocletian to the end of the Empire, three lasting achievements became
part of the city's heritage. Diocletian constructed Baths (298-306 A.D.) that were more compact and united
in theme and design. Constantine, in 315, ordered the carving of a giant Arch, thus marking a return to
classicism; and the BASILICA MAXENTIUS was the culmination of the traditional style of architecture in
the Western Empire. The new age that would stretch into the Middle Ages began in the East, and its birth
was seen in the building of CONSTANTINOPLE.
¤ ARTABANUS III (d. 38 A.D.) King of Parthia from 12 to 38 A. D. ousted from his throne on several
occasions, managing always to survive and to return to power. Like so many of the Arsacid princes,
Artabanus came to the kingship after a struggle, in his case, with the despised Vonones I. Originating
from an Arsacid line, but having served in Media, the prince was chosen by the Parthians to lead the
country, and Vonones was driven into Armenia, and then into Syria and Cilicia, where he died in 19 A.D.
Artabanus possessed only a temporary hold on his throne and was always aware of the dangerous
factions involved in court politics. Such concerns prevented him from questioning Germanicus'
placement in 18 of the Pontic descendant of Polemo I, Zeno, on Armenia's throne. Instead, he waited and
sent a letter of friendship to Rome. The next years were spent solidifying his territorial holdings with a
series of successful campaigns. By 34, he felt prepared to carry out his ambitions.
In 34, Zeno (also called Artaxias) died. Artabanus immediately set his own son Arsaces on the throne of
Armenia. According to Tacitus, he then sent to Rome threatening letters. Such actions stirred the proRoman
faction into sending a delegation to Rome, to ask Tiberius for assistance. The emperor dispatched Phraates,
the son of Phraates IV of Parthia, to the scene, but he died in Syria and did not reach his
destination. Tiberius then sent Tiridates, who was also an Arsacid. Tiridates overcame Artabanus and ruled,
albeit briefly (see ABDAGAESES).
Artabanus returned to the throne soon after, but in 35, at the instigation of the Romans, Mithridates of the
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