TheMilitary campaigns of Tigranes the Great constituted offensives byTigranes the Great, King of Armenia, against client kingdoms of theRoman Republic andParthian Empire. His conquests extended the realm from theCaspian Sea in the east to theMediterranean Sea in the west, encompassing territories such as Syria, Phoenicia, and parts of Anatolia (modern-dayTurkey). He built a new capitalTigranocerta and populated it with people deported from Cappadocia. His initial invasions ofCappadocia drew the attention of the Roman Republic and after being defeated in two separate campaigns, Tigranes was allowed to keep Armenia as aclient kingdom of Rome while paying an indemnity of 6,000 talents and relinquishing all his conquests.

In 120 BCE, Tigranes was taken as hostage, following his uncleArtavasdes' defeat byMithradates II, king of Parthia.^[1] By 95 bce, Tigranes had inherited thekingdom of Armenia from his father and secured his freedom by surrendering seventy valleys to the Parthians.^[1] In 91 BCE, Mithradates II, king of Parthia, died and Gotarzes I, his son, took over as ruler.^[1] During his reign, the Parthian Empire was divided by civil war, while Rome was preoccupied with theSocial war, to which Tigranes expanded his territory by the conquering and annexing formerclient-kingdoms.^[2]

Tigranes invaded Sophene around 95 BCE,^[3] either executing or leaving Artanes as its client-king.^[4]

In 91-90 BCE,^[a][b] Tigranes was persuaded by his father-in-law,Mithridates VI Eupator, to attack the Roman clientkingdom of Cappadocia.^[6] Ariobarzanes, king of Cappadocia, fled to Rome ahead of Tigranes' army,^[6] while a treaty between Mithridates and Tigran gave Cappadocian cities and lands to the former and its population and movable property(spoils) to the latter.^[7] In response, Roman general Sulla occupied Cappadocia, forced out and killed many Armenians and disloyal Cappadocians, and re-installed Ariobarzanes as client-king of Cappadocia.^[8] Despite Sulla's invasion, Tigranes was able to unite the eastern province of Cappadocia, Melitene, with Sophene.^[9]

From 88 to 85 BCE, Tigranes retook the seventy valleys,^[c] given to the Parthian Empire for his freedom, located in Atropatene.^[10] He invaded and occupied Adiabene, Gordyene,^[2] and Media-Atropatene, and accordingNina Garsoïan his forces advanced as far as Ecbatana.^[d][1] According to Manandian, Tigranes did, however, burn Adrapana, a fort 10 kilometers from Ecbatana.^[12]

In 84-83 BCE, Tigranes annexed Cilicia Pedias, Mygdonia, Osroene,^[e] andCommagene.^[1]Mithridates I Callinicus, king of Commagene, would continue to rule, although as a vassal.^[14] Mithridates' son,Antiochus I, would inherit Commagene from his father and continue as aclient-king until the Roman offensive of 69 bce.^[14] Tigrane oversaw the resettlement of Arabs from southern Mesopotamia into Osroene,Edessa specifically.^[9]

In Syria, the constant civil war between the Seleucids, and recent death of its ruler in 84 BCE,^[15] had prompted an appeal for Tigranes to accept the throne.^[1] The conquest of Syria by Tigranes was bloodless, and Aleppo maintained its independence as a city-state.^[15] One of Tigran's generals,Magadates, was appointed governor of the newly constituted province of Syria that most likely included Cilicia.^[1] The king's brother Guras was put in charge of the significant Mesopotamian city of Nisibis.^[1]

According to some primary sources, Tigranes campaign advanced as far as Egypt,^[f] while secondary sources indicate his armies only reached northern Palestine.^[16]

Acting on the news of Sulla's death, Tigranes invaded Cappadocia, again, this time deporting 300,000 of its people to his capital Tigranocerta.^[13] This raised the population of Tigranocerta to 500,000 people.^[13]

Tigranes' empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,^[1] yet his conquests were short-lived.^[17] After the Romans had defeated his father-in-law,Mithridates VI Eupator in 70 BCE, Tigranes would be defeated in two separate campaigns.^[17] This freed the kingdoms of Iberia, Albania and Media Atropatene from Armenian hegemony, while Adiabene and Mesopotamia were returned to their local rulers.^[18] In 66 BCE, the Roman general Pompey allowed Tigranes to become aclient-king of Rome and keep Armenia,^[19] after paying a war indemnity of 6,000 talents and relinquishing all provinces and kingdoms taken in his previous campaigns.^[20]

• Assar, Gholamreza F. (2006)."A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 91–55 BC".Parthica. Instituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali:55–104.
• Baumer, Christoph (2021).History of the Caucasus. Vol. 1: At the Crossroads of Empires. I.B. Tauris.ISBN 978-1788310079.
• Burns, Ross (2018).Aleppo: A History. Taylor & Francis.ISBN 978-0815367987.
• Facella, Margherita (2022). "Commagene". In Kaizer, Ted (ed.).A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 223–239.ISBN 978-1444339826.
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• Hind, John G.F. (1994). "Mithridates". In Crook, J.A.; Lintott, Andrew; Rawson, Elizabeth (eds.).The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146-43 B.C. Cambridge University Press. pp. 129–164.ISBN 978-0521256032.
• Keaveney, Arthur (2005).Sulla: The Last Republican. Routledge.ISBN 978-0415336611.
• Lang, David Marshall (1970).Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. George Allen and Unwin Ltd.ISBN 978-0049560086.
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• Marciak, Michal (2017).Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West. Brill.ISBN 978-9004350700.
• Mommsen, Theodor (2010).The History of Rome. Vol. 4, Part 1. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1148100272.
• Overtoom, Nikolaus Leo (2020).Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0190888329.
• Patterson, Lee E. (2015)."Antony and Armenia".TAPA.145 (1 (Spring)). The Johns Hopkins University Press:77–105.
• Sherwin-White, A.N. (1994). "Lucullus, Pompey and the East". In Crook, J.A.; Lintott, Andrew; Rawson, Elizabeth (eds.).The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146-43 B.C. Cambridge University Press. pp. 229–273.ISBN 978-0521256032.
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• van Wijlick, Hendrikus A.M. (2020).Rome and the Near Eastern Kingdoms and Principalities, 44-31 BC: A Study of Political Relations during Civil War. Brill.ISBN 978-9004441743.

• Military campaigns involving ancient Rome
• Artaxiad dynasty
• 1st century BC in Armenia

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