Tiradates I of Armenia - Versailles, France
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 48.292 E 002° 07.051
31U E 435201 N 5406139
In addition to being King of Armenia, Tiradates I was a Zoroastrian priest..and may be responsible for the development of Mithraism.
Waymark Code: WMCZWK
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 10/31/2011
Views: 10
Tiradates I was crowned King by the Roman Emperor Nero in AD 66 (after already having been King for three years)in an attempt to settle the Roman conflict with Parthia where his brother Vologases I served as King. The length of his reign is unknown as are the dates of his birth and death.
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"In addition to being a king, Tiridates was also a Zoroastrian priest and was accompanied by other magi on his journey to Rome in AD 66. In the early 20th century, Franz Cumont speculated that Tiridates was instrumental in the development of Mithraism,[5] which—in Cumont's view—was simply Romanized Zoroastrianism. This "continuity" theory has since been questioned.[6] Tiridates is one of the principal characters in George Frideric Handel's opera Radamisto and Reinhard Keiser's opera Octavia."
This 1687 marble statue is located in the Garden of the Versailles Palace and entitled "Prisonnier Barbare dit aussi Tirdate" or "Barbaric Prisoner also known as Tiradates".
The artist is Antoine Andre (died around 1699).