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Vologases VI (Parthian: Walagash, , Balāsh) was the uncontested king of the Parthian Empire from 208 to 213, but afterwards fell into a dynastic struggle with his brother Artabanus IV, who by 216 was in control of most of the empire, even being acknowledged as the supreme ruler by the Roman Empire. Vologases VI continued to rule Seleucia until 221/2, and coin mints of him even appear in Mesopotamia until 228, when he was presumably defeated by the Sasanian Empire, who had previously defeated Artabanus IV and now succeeded the Parthians as the kings of Iran.
Caracalla thus chose to preoccupy himself with an invasion of Armenia. He appointed a freedman named Theocritus as the leader of the invasion, which eventually ended in a disaster. Caracalla then once again sought to start a war with the Parthians. In another attempt to gain a pretext, he requested Artabanus to marry his daughter, which he declined. It is disputed whether Caracalla's proposal was sincere or not. Caracalla's choice to contact Artabanus shows that the latter was now considered the dominant king over Vologases, who would rule a small principality centered around Seleucia until 221/2. A few years later (224), Ardashir I (), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, defeated and killed Artabanus, thus putting an end to the Parthian Empire. Over the next few years, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire, and must have driven out or defeated Vologases in Mesopotamia soon after 228.
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