Vonones was the eldest son of Phraates IV (q.v.) and was in Rome as a hostage when the Parthian king Orodes III died in about AD 7. The Parthians requested the return of one of the sons of Phraates IV, and the Roman emperor Tiberius sent Vonones. But Vonones' foreign manners and dependence on Rome alienated the Parthians. Artabanus III, king of Media Atropatene, revolted and entered the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia about AD 12. Vonones fled to Armenia, where he secured the Armenian throne, but because of pressure from Artabanus he was forced to abdicate about AD 15. Vonones then went to Antioch in Syria, where the Roman governor kept him in custody until he was killed in an attempt to escape.