This article is about the Kingdom of Armenia during classical antiquity. For a list of other Armenian Kingdoms, seeKingdom of Armenia (disambiguation).
TheKingdom of Greater Armenia[9] or simplyGreater Armenia orArmenia Major (Armenian:Մեծ ՀայքMets Hayk;[10]Latin:Armenia Maior), sometimes referred to as theArmenian Empire underTigranes II, was anArmenian kingdom in theAncient Near East which existed from 331 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into the successive reigns of threeroyal dynasties:Orontid (331–200 BC),Artaxiad (189 BC – 12 AD), andArsacid (52–428).[11]
Under the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC), the Armenian throne was divided in two—Greater Armenia andSophene—both of which passed to members of theArtaxiad dynasty in 189 BC. During theRoman Republic's eastern expansion, the Kingdom of Armenia, underTigranes the Great, reached its peak, from 83 to 69 BC, after it reincorporated Sophene and conquered the remaining territories of the falling Seleucid Empire, effectively ending its existence and raising Armenia into an empire for a brief period, until it was itself conquered by Rome in 69 BC. The remaining Artaxiad kings ruled as clients of Rome until they were overthrown in 12 AD due to their possible allegiance to Rome's main rival in the region,Parthia.
During theRoman–Parthian Wars, theArsacid dynasty of Armenia was founded whenTiridates I, a member of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, was proclaimed King of Armenia in 52. Throughout most of its history during this period, Armenia was heavily contested betweenRome and Parthia, and theArmenian nobility was divided among pro-Roman, pro-Parthian or neutral factions. From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became aprovince of theRoman Empire under EmperorTrajan. The Kingdom of Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, theByzantine andSassanid empires. In 301/314,Tiridates III proclaimedChristianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state in history to embrace Christianity officially.
Prior to the 9th century BC, the geographic region known as theArmenian Highlands was inhabited by Proto-Armenian and other tribes which did not yet constitute a unitary state or nation. The first state to rule over a significant part of the Armenian Highlands was theKingdom of Urartu, also known as the Kingdom of Van or Ararat and called Biainili in theUrartian language used by its rulers. The kingdomcompeted with Assyria over supremacy in the highlands of Ararat and theFertile Crescent.
Orontes III and the ruler ofLesser Armenia, Mithridates, recognized themselves independent, thus elevating the former Armenian satrapy into a kingdom, giving birth to the kingdoms of Armenia and Lesser Armenia. Orontes III also defeated theThessaliancommander Menon, who wanted to captureSper's gold mines.[14]
Tigran II's Armenian Empire, superimposed on a contemporary map of the regionMap of Armenia and the Roman client states in eastern Asia Minor, ca. 50 AD, before the Roman–Parthian War and the annexation of the client kingdoms into the Empire
TheSeleucid Empire's influence over Armenia had weakened after it was defeated by theRomans in theBattle of Magnesia in 190 BC. A Hellenistic Armenian state was thus founded in the same year byArtaxias I alongside the Armenian kingdom ofSophene led byZariadres. Artaxias seizedYervandashat, united theArmenian Highlands at the expense of neighboring tribes and founded the new royal capital ofArtaxata near theAraxes River.[16] According toStrabo andPlutarch,Hannibal received hospitality at the Armenian court of Artaxias I. The authors add an apocryphal story of how Hannibal planned and supervised the building of Artaxata.[17] The new city was laid on a strategic position at the juncture of trade routes that connected theAncient Greek world withBactria,India and theBlack Sea which permitted the Armenians to prosper.[16]Tigranes the Great saw an opportunity for expansion in the constant civil strife to the south. In 83 BC, at the invitation of one of the factions in the interminable civil wars, he entered Syria, and soon established himself as ruler of Syria—putting theSeleucid Empire virtually at an end—and ruled peacefully for 17 years.[18] During the zenith of his rule, Tigranes the Great extended Armenia's territory outside of the Armenian Highland over parts of the Caucasus and the area that is now south-easternTurkey,Iran,Syria andLebanon, becoming one of the most powerful states in theRoman East.
Augustus installedTigranes V as king of Armenia in AD 6, but ruled withErato of Armenia. The Romans then installedMithridates of Armenia as client king. Mithridates was arrested byCaligula, but later restored byClaudius. Subsequently, Armenia was often a focus of contention between Rome and Parthia, with both major powers supporting opposingsovereigns andusurpers. The Parthians forced Armenia into submission in AD 37, but in AD 47 the Romans retook control of the kingdom. In AD 51 Armenia fell to anIberian invasion sponsored by Parthia, led byRhadamistus.Tigranes VI of Armenia ruled from AD 58, again installed by Roman support. The period of turmoil ends in AD 66, whenTiridates I of Armenia was crowned king of Armenia byNero. For the remaining duration of the Armenian kingdom, Rome still considered it a client kingdomde jure, but the ruling dynasty was of Parthian extraction, and contemporary Roman writers thought that Nero hadde facto yielded Armenia to the Parthians.[21]
UnderNero, the Romans fought a campaign (55–63) against theParthian Empire, which had invaded the Kingdom of Armenia, allied with the Romans. After gaining Armenia in 60, then losing it in 62, the Romans sent theLegio XVApollinaris fromPannonia toGnaeus Domitius Corbulo,legatus ofSyria. In 63, strengthened further by the legionsIIIGallica,VMacedonica,XFretensis andXXII, General Corbulo entered into the territories ofVologases I of Parthia, who then returned the Armenian kingdom toTiridates, king Vologases I's brother. An agreement was reached at theTreaty of Rhandeia in 63, according to which members of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty would rule Armenia as client kings of Rome.[22]
Another campaign was led by EmperorLucius Verus in 162–165, afterVologases IV of Parthia had invaded Armenia and installed his chief general on its throne. To counter the Parthian threat, Verus set out for the east. His army won significant victories and retook the capital.Sohaemus, a Roman citizen of Armenian heritage, was installed as the newclient king.[23] But during an epidemic within the Roman forces, Parthians retook most of their lost territory in 166. Sohaemus retreated to Syria, and theArsacid dynasty was restored to power in Armenia.
Kingdom of Armenia after the division of Armenia in 387
After the fall of the Arsacid dynasty in Persia, the succeedingSassanid Empire aspired to reestablish Persian control. The Sassanid Persians occupied Armenia in 252.[24] However, in 287,Tiridates III the Great was brought to power by the Roman armies. AfterGregory the Illuminator's spreading of Christianity in Armenia, Tiridates accepted Christianity and made it his kingdom's official religion.[25] The date of Armenia's conversion to Christianity is traditionally held to be 301, preceding the Roman EmperorConstantine the Great's conversion and theEdict of Milan by a dozen years.In 387, the Kingdom of Armenia was split between theEastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. Western Armenia first became aprovince of theRoman Empire under the name ofArmenia Minor, and laterByzantine Armenia;Eastern Armenia remained a kingdom within Persia until, in 428, the localnobility overthrew the king, and the Sassanids installed amarzban (governor) in his place, beginning theMarzpanate period overPersian Armenia.[26] Those parts of historical Armenia remained firmly under Persian control until theMuslim conquest of Persia, while the Byzantine parts remained until being conquered, also by invading Arabic armies, in the 7th century. In 885, after years of Roman, Persian, and Arab rule, Armenia regained its independence under theBagratuni dynasty.[27]
The army of the Kingdom of Armenia reached its peak under the reign ofTigranes the Great. According to the author ofJudith, his army included chariots and 12,000 cavalrymen, most likely heavy cavalry orcataphracts, a unit also commonly used by Seleucids and Parthians. His army consisted mainly of 120,000 infantrymen and 12,000mounted archers, also an important feature of theParthian army. Like the Seleucids, the bulk of Tigranes' army were foot soldiers. The Jewish historianJosephus talks of 500,000 men in total, including camp followers. These followers consisted of camels, donkeys, and mules used for baggage, sheep, cattle, and goats for food, said to be stocked in abundance for each man, and hoards of gold and silver. As a result, the marching Armenian army was listed as "a huge, irregular force, too many to count, like locusts or the dust of the earth", not unlike many other enormous Eastern armies of the time. The smallerCappadocian, Graeco-Phoenician, andNabataean armies were generally no match for the sheer number of soldiers, with the organizedRoman army with itslegions eventually posing a much greater challenge to the Armenians.[28]
Note that the numbers given by Israelite historians of the time were probably exaggerated, considering the fact that theHasmonean Jews lost the war against Tigranes.
Plutarch wrote that the Armenian archers could kill from 200 meters with their deadly-accurate arrows. The Romans admired and respected the bravery and the warrior spirit of the Armenian Cavalry – the core of Tigran's Army. The Roman historian Sallustius Crispus wrote that the Armenian [Ayrudzi – lit. horsemen] Cavalry was "remarkable by the beauty of their horses and armor". Horses in Armenia, since ancient times were considered as the most important part and pride of the warrior.[29]
Since antiquity, Kingdom of Armenia had a cavalary called "Azatavrear", which consisted mainly of elite Armenians. "Azatavrear" cavalry made up the main part of the king's court. In medieval times, the cavalry were collected from nobles (usually the youngest sons of Armenian lords), and were known as Ayrudzi, or "horsemen." During times of peace, Armenian cavalry were divided into small groups which took the roles of guarding the King and other Armenian lords, as well as their families. Some part of the Armenian cavalry force was always patrolling Armenian borders, under the command of an Armenian general (sparapet). The group of Armenian cavalry whose main mission was the protection of the Armenian king and his family consisted of 6000 heavily armored horsemen in the ancient period, and 3000 horsemen in the medieval period. During times of war, the number of Armenian cavalry would rise, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to at least 20,000 horsemen. Besides heavy cavalry, there was also light cavalry, which primarily consisted of mounted archers.[citation needed]
"Legio Armeniaca" translates from Latin as "Armenian Legion" and "prima" as "first". The Armenian First Legion was one of the later-period Roman imperial legions. This Legion was mentioned in the late-antique text known asNotitia Dignitatum. It is most likely that the Armenian First Legion was formed in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, in the western part of the Kingdom, with the mission to protect the lands of Armenia from intrusion. It might first have been the garrison of Armenian lands which had been under the control of theRoman Empire. The Armenian First Legion took part in the ill-fated Persian campaign of the emperor Julianus Apostata in 363.
"Legio Armeniaca" translates from Latin as "ArmenianLegion" and "Secunda" as "Second". Like the First legion, the Armenian Second Legion was one of the later-periodRoman imperial legions. This legion is also mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum. The Armenian Second Legion was thought to have been created around the end of the 3rd century or in the beginning of the 4th century. The Armenian Second Legion had a permanent camp in one of the Northern provinces of the Orient, and built a camp inSatala. The Armenian Second legion is mentioned in the year 360 AD as a part of the garrison of Bezabda (anciently called Phoencia) in upper Tigris. InBezabde the Armenian Second Legion served together with the Legions Parthica and II Flavia. In 390 ADBezabde was taken by the Persian army, and a terrible bloodbath ensued against the inhabitants and garrison. The legion seemed to have survived this battle, because it appears in Notitia Dignitatum, which was written in the 5th century.
Later on, the Armenian Second legion became a part of the Byzantine army.
Amanor and/orVanatur – God of the Armenian new year, Navasard, at the end of July. His temple was located inDiyadin.
Anahit – Cognate of the IranianAnahita. The goddess of fertility and birth, and daughter or wife of Aramazd, Anahit is identified withArtemis andAphrodite. Temples dedicated to Anahit were established inArmavir,Artashat,Ashtishat.
Astghik – Cognate of the SemiticIshtar. Fertility goddess and consort ofVahagn, sharing a temple with him atDerik. The holiday ofVardavar was originally in honor of Astghik.
Barsamin – God of sky and weather, probably derived from the Semitic godBaal Shamin.
Hayk – Legendary forefather of the Armenian people,archer, and slayer of theTitan Bel.
Mihr – Cognate with the PersianMithra. God of the sun and light, son ofAramazd, the brother ofAnahit andNane. His center of worship was located in Bagaharich, and the temple of Garni was dedicated to him.
Nane – Possible cognate of the SumerianNanaya. Daughter of Aramazd, war and motherhood goddess. Her cult was related toAnahit, both of their temples located near each other inGavar.
Tir orTiur – God of wisdom, culture, science and studies, he also was an interpreter of dreams. He was the messenger of the gods and was associated withApollo. Tir's temple was located nearArtashat.
Tsovinar – Also calledNar, she was the goddess of rain, sea and water, though she was actually a fiery being who forced rain to fall.
Vahagn – Cognate of the IranianVerethragna. The storm god andherculean dragon slayer.Derik housed the central temple to Vahagn.
During the 1st century AD, Christianity spread through Armenia due to (according to legend) the efforts of the apostlesBartholomew andThaddeus. After persecutions by kingsSanatruk,Axidares,Khosrov I, andTiridates III, Christianity was adopted as the state religion by Tiridates III after he was converted byGregory the Illuminator. Armenia's adoption of Christianity as the state religion (the first country to do so) distinguished it fromParthian andMazdaen influence.[30]
Until the lateParthian period, Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian-adhering land.[31] With the advent of Christianity, both paganism and Zoroastrianism gradually started to diminish. The founder of theArsacid branch in Armenia,Tiridates I, was a Zoroastrian priest or magus.[32][31] A noted episode which illustrates the observance by the Armenian Arsacids is the famous journey of Tiridates I to Rome in A.D. 65–66.[33] With the adoption of Christianity in the early 4th century, Zoroastrianism's influence in the kingdom gradually started to decline.
Little is known about pre-Christian Armenian literature. Many literature pieces known to us were saved and then presented to us byMoses of Chorene.[34][35] This is a pagan Armenian song, telling about the birth ofVahagn:
Armenian version
Երկնէր երկին, երկնէր երկիր, Երկնէր եւ ծովն ծիրանի, Երկն ի ծովուն ունէր և զկարմրիկն եղեգնիկ։
Ընդ եղեգան փող ծուխ ելանէր, Ընդ եղեգան փող բոց ելանէր, Եւ ի բոցոյն վազէր խարտեաշ պատանեկիկ։
Նա հուր հեր ունէր, Բոց ունէր մօրուս, Եւ աչքունքն էին արեգակունք։
Translation
In travail were heaven and earth, In travail, too, the purple sea, The travail held in the sea the small red reed.
Through the hollow of the stalk came forth smoke, Through the hollow of the stalk came forth flame, And out of the flame a youth ran․
Fiery hair had he, Ay, too, he had flaming beard, And his eyes, they were as suns.
By the 2nd century BC, according toStrabo, the inhabitants of Greater Armenia spoke theArmenian language, implying that modern Armenians descended from that population.[36][37][38][39]
Yervandashat – The ancient town sits upon an escarpment overlooking the junction of theArax River andAkhurian River. According toMovses Kaghankatvatsi,Orontes IV founded Yervandashat to replaceArmavir as his capital after Armavir had been left dry by a shift of the Arax. The archaeological site has not been subject of major research, but fortifications and some remains of palaces have been uncovered. Ancient Yervandashat was destroyed by the army of thePersian KingShapur II in the 360s.
Artashat (Artaxata) – King Artashes I founded Artashat in 185 BC in the region of Ostan within the historical province ofAyrarat, at the point where the Araks river was joined by the Metsamor river during the ancient era, near the heights ofKhor Virap. The story of the foundation is given by the Armenian historianMovses Khorenatsi of the 5th century: "Artashes traveled to the location of the confluence of theEraskh andMetsamor [rivers] and taking a liking to the position of the hills (adjacent toMount Ararat), he chose it as the location of his new city, naming it after himself."[40] According to the accounts given by Greek historiansPlutarch andStrabo, Artashat is said to have been chosen and developed on the advice of theCarthaginian generalHannibal. The city's strategic position in the Araks valley on theSilk Road soon made Artashat a centre of bustling economic activity and thriving international trade, linkingPersia andMesopotamia with theCaucasus andAsia Minor. Its economic wealth can be gauged in the numerous bathhouses, markets, workshops, and administrative buildings that sprang up during the reign of Artashes I. The city had its own treasury and customs. The amphitheatre of Artashat was built during the reign of kingArtavasdes II (55–34 BC). The remains of the huge walls surrounding the city built by King Artashes I can still be found in the area. After losing its status as a capital, Artashat gradually lost its significance.
Tigranakert was founded by the Armenian emperorTigranes the Great in the 1st century BC. Tigranakert was founded as the new capital of the Armenian Empire in order to be in a more central position within the boundaries of the expanding empire. Its population was 120,000 and it also had manytemples and anamphitheater.
Vagharshapat – In the first half of the 1st century, during the reign of the ArmenianArshakuni kingVologases I (Vagharsh I) (117–144), the old town of Vardgesavan was renovated and renamed Vagharshapat, which still persists as the official appellation of the city. The original name, as preserved by Byzantine historianProcopius (Persian Wars), was Valashabad—"Valash/Balash city" named after king Balash/Valash/Valarsh of Armenia. The name evolved into its later form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh, which is common inArmenian language. Khorenatsi mentions that the town of Vardges was totally rebuilt and fenced by Vagharsh I, eventually becoming known as Norakaghak ('New City') or Vagharshapat. The city served as a capital for the Arshakuni Kingdom of Armenia between 120 and 330 AD and remained the country's most important city until the end of the 4th century. When Christianity became the state religion of Armenia, Vagharshapat was eventually called Ejmiatsin (or Etchmiadzin), after the name of theMother Cathedral. Starting in 301, the city became the spiritual centre of the Armenian nation, home to the Armenian Catholicosate, one of the oldest religious organizations in the world. Vagharshapat was home to one of the oldest schools established by SaintMashtots and the home of the first manuscripts library in Armenia founded in 480 AD. Starting in the 6th century, the city slowly lost its importance—especially after the transfer of the seat of the Catholicosate toDvin in 452—until the foundation of theBagratid Kingdom of Armenia in 885. After the fall of the Bagratid dynasty in 1045, the city gradually became an insignificant place until 1441, when the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate was transferred from theCilician town ofSis back to Etchmiadzin.
Dvin – The ancient city of Dvin was built byKhosrov III the Small in 335 on the site of an ancient settlement and fortress from the 3rd millennium BC. The palace in Dvin contained a Zoroastrian fire-temple constructed by Sasanians.[41] Since then the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian kings of theArshakuni dynasty. Dvin had a population of about 100,000 citizens of various professions including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, etc. After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, Dvin became the residence of Sassanid-appointedmarzpans (governors), Byzantinekouropalates and laterUmayyad andAbbasid-appointedostikans (governors), all of whom were of seniornakharar stock. In 640 Dvin was the center of theemirate of Armenia.
Political geography
The Kingdom of Armenia was bordered byCaucasian Albania in the east,[42]Iberia in the north,[43] theRoman Empire in the west, and Parthia, later succeeded by Sassanian Empire, in the south. The border between Iberia and the Kingdom of Armenia was theKur River, which was also the border between Caucasian Albania and Kingdom of Armenia.
Regions of Greater Armenia (Arsacid Armenia).Historical provinces of Greater Armenia
Traditionally, Greater Armenia was divided into 15 provinces. These provinces all existed at some point, but they never existed all at the same time. In reality, Greater Armenia comprised nearly 200 districts of varying sizes and types. The 15 provinces were as follows:[47]
^Bedoukian, Paul Z. (1978).Coinage of the Artaxiads of Armenia. London:Royal Numismatic Society. p. 4.The coins of the Artaxiads are so distinctive that they can be readily identified at a glance. Their distinctive feature is the Armenian tiara which appears on the obverse of all their coins.
^Lang, David M (1980). "Paul Z. Bedoukian: Coinage of the Artaxiads of Armenia. 1978".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.43 (3):606–607.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00137693.The Artaxiads were the most illustrious dynasty ever to reign over the Armenians, and the only one to strike a national coinage in Great Armenia [...] The best known variety of Artaxiad coins is the silver tetradrachm of Tigranes the Great...
^Carradice, Ian (1978).Ancient Greek Portrait Coins.British Museum. p. 14....from Armenia the most notable coins are those with the portrait of Tigranes the Great...
^Lang, David Marshall (1980).Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. Allen & Unwin. pp. 84, 141, 149.(..) Though Tiridates was to be a client king of the Romans, Nero rightly judged that his investiture would satisfy the honour of the Parthians as well. Three years later, Tiridates made the journey to Rome. As a magus or priest of theZoroastrian faith, he had to observe the rites which forbade him to defile water by travelling. (...)
^Overtoom, Nikolaus Leo (2020).Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0190888329.
Canepa, Matthew P. (2020).The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity Through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press.
de Jong, Albert (2015). "Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw; Tessmann, Anna (eds.).The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Thomson, Robert W. (1978).Moses Khorenatsʻi, History of the Armenians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.ISBN0-674-39571-9.
Hakobyan, T.Kh.; Melik-Bakhshyan, St.T.; Barseghyan, H.Kh. (1986).Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of place names of Armenia and neighboring regions] (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan: Yerevan University Publishing House.
Further reading
M. Chahin,The Kingdom of Armenia (1987, reissued 1991)
Ashkharbek Kalantar,Armenia: From the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, Civilisations du Proche Orient, Série 1, Vol. 2, Recherches et Publications, Neuchâtel, Paris, 1994;ISBN978-2-940032-01-3
Ashkharbek Kalantar,The Mediaeval Inscriptions of Vanstan, Armenia, Civilisations du Proche-Orient: Series 2 – Philologie – CDPOP 2, Vol. 2, Recherches et Publications, Neuchâtel, Paris, 1999;ISBN978-2-940032-11-2
Ashkharbek Kalantar,Materials on Armenian and Urartian History (with a contribution by Mirjo Salvini), Civilisations du Proche-Orient: Series 4 – Hors Série – CPOHS 3, Neuchâtel, Paris, 2004;ISBN978-2-940032-14-3
.svg)
