[-39-] Antony meanwhile resigned his office as soon as appointed, putting Lucius Sempronius Atratinus in his place; consequently some name the latter and not the former in the enumeration of the consuls.  In the course of his efforts to take vengeance on the Armenian king with least trouble to himself, he asked the hand of his daughter, pretending to want to unite her in marriage to his son Alexander; he sent on this errand one Quintus Deillius, who had once been a favorite of his, and promised to give the monarch many gifts.  Finally, at the beginning of spring, he came suddenly into Nicopolis (founded by Pompey) and sent for him, stating that he wanted to deliberate on and execute with his aid some measures against the Parthians.  The king suspecting the plot did not come, so he sent Deillius to have another talk with him and marched with undiminished haste toward Artaxata.  In this way, after a long time, partly by persuading him through friends, and partly by scaring him through his soldiers, and writing and acting toward him in every way as thoroughly friendly, he induced him to come into his camp.  Thereupon the Roman arrested him and at first keeping the prince without bonds he led him around among the garrisons with whom his treasures were deposited, to see if he could win them without a struggle.  He made a pretence of having arrested him for no other purpose than to collect tribute of the Armenians that would ensure both his preservation and his sovereignty.  When, however, the guardians of the gold would have nothing to do with him and the troops under arms chose Artaxes, the eldest of his children, king in his stead, Antony bound him in silver chains.  It seemed disgraceful, probably, for one who had been a king to be made fast in iron bonds. [-40-] After this, capturing some settlements peaceably and some by force, Antony occupied all of Armenia, for Artaxes after fighting an engagement and being worsted retired to the Parthian prince.  After doing this he betrothed to his son the daughter of the Median king with the intention of making him still more his friend; then he left the legions in Armenia and went once more to Egypt, taking the great mass of booty and the Armenian with his wife and children.  He sent them ahead with the other captives for a triumph held in Alexandria, and himself drove into the city upon a chariot, and among the other favors he granted to Cleopatra he brought before her the Armenian and his family in golden bonds.  She was seated in the midst of the populace upon a platform plated with silver and upon a gilded chair.  The barbarians would not be her suppliants nor do obeisance to her, though much coercion was brought to bear upon them and hopes were held out to persuade them, but they merely addressed her by name:  this gave them a reputation for spirit, but they were subject to a great deal of ill usage on account of it.