| Period | Ancient history |
|---|---|
| Dates | 401 BC – 387 AD |
| Preceded by | Satrapy of Armenia |
| Followed by | Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity) |
Armenian Mesopotamia (Armenian:Հայոց Միջագետք) was a region in NorthernMesopotamia that was inhabited partly byArmenians. In antiquity, this region bordered the Armenian provinces ofTsopk andAghdznik to the North, as well asAssyrian Mesopotamia andCommagene to its south.[1] Northern Mesopotamia came under Armenian rule during the reign ofTigranes the Great (95 BC - 55 BC).[2] However, Tigranes’ empire in Mesopotamia came to an end in 66 BC when he submitted to the Roman statesman and generalPompeius.[3] By 37 BC, only eight of its provinces remained part of theKingdom of Armenia. The remaining part of the territory was split up betweenRome andPersia.[1] For most of its history, Armenian Mesopotamia was primarily composed of the major cities ofDiyarbakir (Amid),Tigranocerta,Dara,Tur Abdin (Cephas),Dadima,Arsamosata, andCitharizum.[4] ItsArmenian population remained until theArmenian genocide of WWI.[1]
Armenian communities in the regions ofGreater Syria andMesopotamia date back to antiquity inpre-Christian times.[5]Historically, the borders of Armenia extended to Mesopotamia and a large number of Armenian merchants and artisans migrated there during theAchaemenid andSeleucid periods. When the region came under Armenian rule during the reign ofTigranes the Great, many Armenian administrators, merchants, and artisans were settled in Mesopotamia. Even after the region was retaken by the Romans, significant Mesopotamian Armenian communities continued to exist, especially in the cities ofAntioch,Amida, andEdessa. In the latter two cities,Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of theArmenian alphabet, travelled with his disciples to find inspiration for the Armenian alphabet.[5] A large number of Armenians moved to northern Mesopotamia following the conquest of theBagratid Kingdom of Armenia by theByzantine Empire in the 11th century AD.[6]
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