During his lifetime, the Armenian king Tigran II was called the Great and King of Kings. During the reign of this brave warrior and wise ruler, his country reached its greatest prosperity and unprecedented power.
Tigran II was the eldest son of Tigran I, the Armenian king from the Artashesid dynasty. He is believed to have been born in 140 BC. At the age of 35, the heir to the throne was taken hostage by the Parthians, who in 105 BC. attacked the Armenian kingdom and inflicted a crushing defeat on it. Tigran had to spend ten whole years at the court of King Mithridates II before he could return to his homeland. When news of his father's death arrived in 95, Tigran II managed to bargain for his freedom in exchange for several vast fertile Armenian valleys. The terms of the ransom were extremely harsh - Tigran had to give up lands that gave the Parthians direct access to the capital Artashat, and cede Lake Urmia, from which table salt was extracted.
Returning to Armenia, the king did not waste time. First, he annexed two small neighboring states of Korduk and Tsopk to his kingdom, then covered his rear by marrying the daughter of the Pontic king Mithridates VI and concluding a military alliance with him. It took Tigran II another year to create a strong and combat-ready Armenian army. When the goal was achieved, the king set out on the first of his many campaigns. After capturing Cappadocia, Iberia and Caucasian Albania, Tigran decided to get even with the Parthians for his humiliating captivity, and at the same time return the rich lands given for freedom. In 88 BC. he defeated the Parthian army and captured most of the country, including Mesopotamia and Mygdonia. In addition, the Parthian king Gotraz I ceded his title of King of Kings to Tigranes II.
Tigran II the Great surrounded by his subjects
After the victorious Parthian campaign, Tigran turned his gaze towards the Syrian possessions of the Seleucids. He could afford it: Armenia prospered like never before in its history, wealth flowed into the country like a river from all the captured lands. In 88 BC. the king went on a campaign against Syria and almost without difficulty conquered almost the entire country. He made the Syrian capital Antioch his main residence in the south. Bronze coins with the image of Tigran II soon began to be minted here. In 77 BC, having thoroughly strengthened his power and significantly expanded the borders of Armenia, which now stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, Tigran began to build his new capital. The city was named Tigranakert. Here the king resettled the inhabitants of the Greek cities and the highest Armenian nobility whom he had captured; This was also where his official residence was located.
The last major military campaign of King Tigran was the confrontation with the Romans. The latter watched with concern the growth of the power and authority of the Armenian kingdom. The formal reason for the conflict was the refusal of Tigran II to hand over to the Romans Mithridates VI, who fled to the protection of his son-in-law after the defeat in the battle of Kabira. In 69 BC. The Romans, led by Lucullus, invaded Armenia and besieged Tigranakert. The battle was lost, and the city itself was captured and plundered. A year later, Tigran the Great took revenge on the Romans for his fallen capital: in the battles of Aratsan and Artashat, he dealt a crushing blow to the enemy army.
However, the power of Greater Armenia had already been undermined. In subsequent years, Tigran had to fight for hegemony with two powers at once - Rome and Parthia. In the latter, the son of Tigran II sat on the throne, who betrayed his father and entered into an alliance with Gnaeus Pompey. The king of kings was forced to sign an agreement under which Armenia had to give up most of the captured lands and pay six thousand talents of indemnity. However, despite this, Armenia still managed to retain its status as one of the great powers, and last years The reign of Tigranes II, who died at the age of 85 in 55 BC, was marked by peace and prosperity for the Armenian kingdom.
Part 1. Armenia on the map of Pomponia Mela
A detailed fundamental study of the historical geography of Armenia, the reflection of its ethnic and geographical boundaries in various historical sources, requires special attention to ancient Roman cartography. One of its most famous representatives is Pomponius Mela (15-60), a geographer of the 40s of the 1st century AD, the author of a small but important work “De situ Orbis” (“Description of the World”). The authorship of Pomponius is attributed to one of the oldest maps in world history (the so-called “Map of Pomponius Mela”). IN in this case we are interested in geographical location Armenia of the 1st century. We present to our readers an ancient reconstruction of a Roman cartographic document, widely known in world historical science.
Fragments of the reconstructed map of Pomponius depicting Armenia.
In the above fragments of the map we see that Armenia covers a fairly vast territory. In the south it reaches the Mediterranean Sea (Mare Nostrum), and in the north - the Black Sea basin (Pontus Euxinus) and a large river that forms a delta before flowing into the Caspian Sea (Caspium mare). On the map it is indicated by the hydronym Araxes, but in this case the Kura River is hidden under this name, because it is located significantly higher than the bed of the real Araxes.
Let us also recall other Roman and Greek sources of the 1st-2nd centuries, in particular, the “Natural History” of Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), who wrote that Armenia "extends to Kur"(Book VI, 4) and about the “Geography” of Claudius Ptolemy, according to which “ Great Armenialimited on the north by part of Colchis, Iberia and Albania along the above line passing through the Cyrus River". (Book V. XII).
Returning to the map of Pomponius, we note that on it, above Armenia, Savromatae, the forerunner of Alania, is located. The Iberians lived between the Sarmatians and the Armenians (the Russian historian and writer of the 19th century Osip Senkovsky in “Some Doubts Concerning the History of the Georgians” even quotes the words of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus: “The Iberians, who own mountainous places, suddenly pour Sarmatia onto Armenia through the Caucasian pass”), who, however, on the map, like the Albanians, are located much further south, in the Kaspiana region. This is probably due to Pomponius’s insufficient information regarding the peoples living between Sarmatia (Sauromatia) and Armenia. Meanwhile, the very significance of the map for world science is very great. Let us not diminish the significance of this cartographic document for Armenian historiography, because this is one of the oldest records of Armenia in early cartography.
Next, we present an almost similar reconstruction of the Pomponius map of 1898, authored by a German cartographer and naturalist of the 19th-20th centuries. Conrad Miller (1844-1933). The corresponding fragment is presented below.
This version is almost completely similar to the one presented above. We again see Armenia, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea (more precisely, from the Issky or Alexandretta Gulf) to the Black Sea. The extreme limit of Armenia again appears as a wide river, which forms a delta when it flows into the Caspian Sea and, as we noted above, was mistakenly designated as “Araxis”. At the same time, the semi-mythical tribe “Amazones” is located behind it. It was mentioned in the 1st century. BC. by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo: “The Amazons live in the neighborhood of the Gargareans in the northern foothills of those parts of the Caucasus Mountains that are called Keraunian” (Strabo, “Geography”, XI, V, 1). That is, the Amazons, if they really existed, lived side by side with the Albanian tribe of Gargars in the mountains of the Greater Caucasus Range, or in the foothills. But, as you know, this mountain range is adjacent to the lands of the left bank of the Kura. That is, the Gargars, who were one of the largest Agvan peoples, could not inhabit any lands on the right (Armenian) bank of the Kura, and certainly neither they nor the Amazons lived in the Araks basin. All this, as well as the fact that on the map of Pomponia Armenia is wedged into the Caucasus region, located opposite the inhabitants of the mountains and foothills of the Greater Caucasus - the Sarmatians and Amazons - proves that its extreme limit was the Kura, and not the real Araks.
Let us present another reconstruction of the Pomponius map, carried out by Justin Winsor (1831-1897), a famous American historian, professor, president of the American Library Association.
On this map we again see Armenia from sea to sea. However, here our country is located between the Black (Pontus) and Caspian (Caspium) seas. In the north, it reaches the spurs of the Greater Caucasus Range (namely the Greater - from Taman to Absheron), in connection with which let us remember the location of the Armenian province of Kambisen or Kambechan-Shaki, which, unlike other adjacent regions of Armenia, was located on the left bank of the Kura , in the area of present Sheki, and adjacent to the Greater Caucasus Range. It would not be amiss to quote the words of Strabo: “The province of Armenia is Favena, as well as Comisena and Orhisthena, which exhibits greatest number horsemen Horzen and Cambysene- the northernmost and most covered with snow; they are located on the border with the Caucasus Mountains, with Iberia and Colchis"(XI, 14, 4). Thus, both the map of Pomponius and Strabo’s “Geography” confirm the fact that all those regions that are now “disputed” by Azerbaijani historians belong to Armenia, while simultaneously destroying another Azerbaijani myth - about the absence of Armenia in Transcaucasia until the 19th century.
At the same time, let’s return to the topic of Armenia’s location between the seas. If we take as a basis Winsor’s reconstruction, in which Armenia extends between the Black and Caspian seas, then it is advisable to recall the medieval Georgian source “Kartlis Tskhovreba” by Leonti Mroveli (11th century), who wrote that “Chaos (According to the ancient Gaykan legend - the ancestor of the Armenians Hayk - N.M.) settled in the place where his father Targamos was and occupied the country stretching to the north, as I described. In the south, its lands extended from Mount Orets, and in the east all the way to the Gurgan Sea. In the west, his possessions were right up to the Pontic Sea...”. Mountains Oret, the essence, Taurus. The Pontic Sea is the Black Sea, and the Gurgan Sea is nothing more than the Caspian.
Let us also recall the map of 1660 by the Dutchman Nikolaus Vischer of the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, which included Greater Armenia (Armenia Major), and the southeastern coast of the Black Sea between Trebizond and Chorokh (the lands of historical Hamshen, to this day inhabited by Muslim Armenians - Hemshils) - to Little Armenia (Armenia Minor). Let us again quote the words of the 19th century Russian historian Platon Zubov, according to whom “The Arsacid era (before 428 A.D.) is truly the era of glory, greatness and originality of the Armenian State, standing alongside the first powers of Asia, for it, reaching the Tigris and Euphrates, relied on both seas, the Black and Caspian, and The northern border was at the gates of Tiflis,” his contemporary Sergei Glinka, who noted that S. Glinka, who wrote that “ Great Armenia, unfairly called Turkomania by new geographers, located between the Black and Caspian seas, Georgia and Mesopotamia or Diyarbakir. It is divided by the Araks River. Its western part belongs to Turkey, eastern to Persia.". And a whole series of encyclopedic sources from the 19th and early 20th centuries. gives Armenia access to the Black or Caspian Sea, and often to both seas. That is, if we take Winsor’s reconstruction as a basis, then we can state that Armenia was understood as a country washed from the west by the Black Sea, and from the east by the Caspian Sea, and in the 1st century. AD (Pomponius Mela), and in the 11th century. (Leontiy Mroveli), and in the 17th century. (Nikolaus Vischer, Nicolas Sanson), and in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (Sergey Glinka, Platon Zubov, encyclopedic sources edited by Zeddler, Leer, Toll, Novitsky, etc.). However, one should not ignore the more detailed reconstruction of Miller, an equally authoritative scientist. Moreover, the two reconstructions of two famous scientists - German and American - do not contradict each other, evidence of which is the map of Christoph Weigel “Armenia Vtraque” (Nuremberg, 1720), which we have already repeatedly presented on the pages of the website, on which Armenia reaches all three seas - the Black , Caspian and Mediterranean.
Returning to Pomponius Chalk, we would like to consolidate the cartographic data with a fragment from the work of this ancient Roman author “De situ Orbis” mentioned at the beginning of the article (
Expulsion of Transcaucasian Armenians to Persia. "Great Surgun"
Despite wars, invasions and resettlement, Armenians, quite possibly, until the 17th century, still constituted the majority of the population of Eastern Armenia. In 1604, Abbas I the Great used scorched earth tactics against the Armenians in the Ararat Valley. Over 250 thousand Armenians were evicted from Eastern (Transcaucasian) Armenia. Arakel Davrizhetsi, a 17th-century author, reports:
“Shah Abbas did not heed the pleas of the Armenians. He called his nakharars to him and appointed them as overseers and guides for the inhabitants of the country, so that each prince with his army would evict and expel the population of one gavar.”
The city of Julfa in the province of Nakhichevan was taken at the very beginning of the invasion. After this, Abbas' army fanned out along the Ararat Plain. The Shah followed a cautious strategy: he advanced and retreated depending on the situation, he decided not to risk his campaign in head-on clashes with stronger enemy units.
While besieging the city of Kars, he learned of the approach of a large Ottoman army led by Cigazade Sinan Pasha. An order was given to withdraw the troops. To prevent the enemy from possibly resupplying from this land, Abbas ordered the complete destruction of all cities and rural areas in the plain. And as part of all this, the entire population was ordered to accompany the Persian army in their retreat. About 300 thousand people were thus sent to the banks of the Araks River. Those of them who tried to resist the deportation were immediately killed. Earlier, the Shah had ordered the destruction of the only bridge, and people were forced to cross the water, where a huge number of people drowned, carried away by the current, never reaching the opposite shore. This was just the beginning of their ordeal. One eyewitness, Father de Gouyan, describes the situation of the refugees as follows:
“It was not only the winter cold that caused torment and death to the deported people. The greatest torment was due to hunger. The provisions that the deportees took with them soon ran out... The infants cried, asking for food or milk, but none of this was available, because that women's breasts were dry from hunger. Many women, hungry and emaciated, left their starving children on the side of the road and continued their painful journey. Some went into the nearby forests to try to find some food. As a rule, they did not return. Often those who died served as food for those who were still alive."
Unable to support his army in the desert plain, Sinan Pasha was forced to spend the winter in Van. The armies sent to pursue the Shah in 1605 were defeated, and by 1606 Abbas had again conquered all the territory he had previously lost to the Turks.
Part of the territory of Armenia since the 15th century was also known as Chukhur-Saad. Since the time of Ismail I, administratively it formed the Chukhur-Saad beglarbey of the Safavid state. After the death of Nadir Shah and the fall of the Afshar dynasty, local rulers from the Qizilbash Ustajlu tribe, who were the hereditary rulers of Chukhur-Saad, declared their independence with the formation of the Erivan Khanate. As a result of the displacement of the Armenian population from Armenia, by the 18th century Armenians accounted for 20% of the total population of the Chukhur-Saad region. Later, the Turkic tribe Kengerli replaced the Ustajlu clan on the khan's throne. Under the rule of the Qajars, the Erivan Khanate recognized vassal dependence on Qajar Iran. The khan clan of Kengerli was replaced by a khan from the Qajar clan. The Nakhichevan and Karabakh khanates also existed on the territory of historical Armenia.
Eastern Armenia on the map of the Persian Empire. John Pinkerton, 1818.
From the beginning of the 17th to the middle of the 18th century in the territory Nagorno-Karabakh, under the Safavid Shah Abbas I, five Armenian meliqdoms (small principalities) were created, collectively known as Khams. The Armenian population of Khamsa was ruled by princes from the families of Melik-Beglerian, Melik-Israelyan (later Mirzakhanyan and Atabekyan), Melik-Shakhnazaryan, Melik-Avanyan and Hasan-Jalalyan, of which the Hasan-Jalalyans, their younger branch the Atabekyans and Melik-Shahnazaryans were the indigenous dynasties , the rest of the princes were immigrants from other regions of Armenia.
In the 18th century, David Bek and Joseph Emin led the struggle of Transcaucasian Armenians against the Turks and Iranians.
Armenian national liberation struggle of the 18th century
In Moscow, Israel Ori meets with Peter I and gives him a letter from the Syunik meliks. Peter promised to provide assistance to the Armenians after the end of the war with Sweden. Thanks to his wide erudition and his intellect, Ori attracted the sympathy of the imperial court. Ori proposed the following plan to Peter: to liberate Georgia and Armenia, it is necessary to send a 25,000-strong Russian army of 15,000 Cossacks and 10,000 infantry to Transcaucasia. The Cossacks must pass through the Daryal Gorge, and the infantry must sail across the Caspian Sea from Astrakhan. On the spot, Russian troops will have to receive support armed forces Georgians and Armenians. It was decided that it was necessary to send a special mission to Persia led by Ori, which would find out the mindset of the local residents, collect information about roads, fortresses, etc. In order not to arouse suspicion, Ori would have to say that he was sent by the Pope to to the court of Soltan Hussein to collect information about the life of Christians in the Persian Empire.
In 1707, after all the necessary preparations, Ori, with the rank of colonel in the Russian army, set out with a large detachment. French missionaries in Persia tried to prevent Ori's arrival in Isfahan, informing the Shah that Russia wanted the formation of an independent Armenia, and Ori wanted to become the Armenian king. When Ori arrived in Shirvan, he had to wait several days for permission to enter the country. In Shamakhi he met with local Georgian and Armenian leaders, supporting their orientation towards Russia. In 1709 he arrived in Isfahan, where he again negotiated with political leaders. Returning to Russia from Persia, Ori unexpectedly died in Astrakhan in 1711.
In 1722, the Armenians of Syunik and Nagorno-Karabakh rebelled against Persian rule. The uprising was led by David Bek and Yesai Hasan-Jalalyan, who managed to overthrow Iranian rule for several years. The uprising also spread to the Nakhichevan region. In 1727, the Safavids recognized David Bek's power over the region, and the commander himself even received the right to mint coins. In 1730, with the assassination of his successor Mkhitar Sparapet, the 8-year uprising of the Armenians of Syunik ended.
A new revival of the Armenian national liberation movement was observed in the second half of the 18th century. Thus, already in 1773, Sh. Shaamiryan, in his work “The Trap of Ambition,” outlined the republican principles of the future independent Armenian state. Significant figures in the national liberation struggle of the era were Joseph Emin and Movses Bagramyan, who put forward plans to recreate the Armenian state.
At the end of the 18th century, the Armenian meliks of Nagorno-Karabakh waged a tireless struggle against Ibrahim Khalil Khan in the hope of restoring Armenian statehood in Karabakh.
Entry of Eastern Armenia into the Russian Empire
WITH early XIX centuries, the territories of historical Eastern Armenia are gradually annexed to Russian Empire. As a result of the Russian-Persian War of 1803-1813, the Karabakh Khanate was annexed to Russia (formed in the mid-18th century after the capture of the Armenian melikdoms of Khamsa), which was populated predominantly by Armenians, as well as Zangezur in historical Syunik with a mixed population at that time. Twice attempts to besiege Erivan were unsuccessful. On October 5, 1827, during the Russian-Persian War of 1826-1828, Erivan was taken by Count Paskevich; a little earlier (in June), the capital of the Nakhichevan Khanate, the city of Nakhichevan, also fell.
The Turkmanchay Peace Treaty, which was then signed, gave the territories of these khanates to Russia and established within a year the right of free resettlement of Muslims to Persia, and Christians to Russia. In 1828, on the site of the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates, the Armenian region was formed, and the descendants of Armenians who were forcibly evicted from Transcaucasia by the Persian authorities at the beginning of the 17th century were massively resettled from Iran. Subsequently, in 1849, the Armenian region was transformed into the Erivan province.
As a result of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, another part of historical Armenia came under the control of the Russian Empire - Kars and its environs, from which the Kars region was organized.
Armenian region within the Russian Empire (existed until 1849)
Western Armenia
Mehmed II captured Constantinople in 1453 and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman sultans invited an Armenian archbishop to establish an Armenian patriarchate in Constantinople. The Armenians of Constantinople grew in number and became respected (if not full-fledged) members of society.
The Ottoman Empire was governed according to Islamic laws. "Infidels" such as Christians and Jews had to pay additional taxes to satisfy the requirements of their dhimmi status. The Armenians living in Constantinople enjoyed the support of the Sultan, unlike those who lived on the territory of historical Armenia. They were subjected to cruel treatment by local pashas and beys and were forced to pay taxes to the Kurdish tribes. Armenians (like other Christians living in the Ottoman Empire) also had to give up a portion of healthy boys to the Sultan's government, which made them Janissaries. It is known that some Ottoman generals were proud of their Armenian origin.
In the XVI - early XX centuries. The rulers of the Ottoman Empire actively populated the historical Armenian lands with Muslim Kurds, who were more loyal to Turkish rule and had fewer political ambitions than the Armenians. With the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century, the attitude of the authorities towards Christians in general, and towards Armenians in particular, began to noticeably deteriorate. After Sultan Abdulmecid I carried out reforms on his territory in 1839, the situation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire improved for some time.
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The northeast of Asia Minor was spared the invasion of Alexander the Great; it did not become the scene of battles between the diadochi, and the Celts did not reach here either. From the disintegrated Persian possessions on the southern shore of the Black Sea, the kingdom of Pontus emerged. It skillfully maneuvered in fights between neighboring powers, recognizing dependence either on Seleucid Syria or on Macedonia. And when Rome crushed both, it recognized itself as a vassal of the victors. Although the vassalage was purely nominal, Pontus practically remained independent. Its population was a mixture various peoples- Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Phrygians, Lydians and Lycians. The kingdom reached its peak in the 2nd century. BC e. under the rule of Mithridates VI Eupator. At that time, the strongest power in the region was Greater Armenia, ruled by the “king of kings” Tigran II the Great. From the very beginning, the Greek king saw Armenia as his military and economic ally. By order of Mithridates, Armenian merchants were given special privileges in the territory of Pontus, which contributed to the establishment of close trade relations. Mithridates spoke fluently all the languages of the peoples who inhabited his empire and did not communicate with any of his subjects through an interpreter. Therefore, at the first meeting, King Tigran was pleasantly surprised to hear his native language from the lips of the Greek king.
The entire personal guard of the king of the Greek empire consisted of ethnic Armenians, in addition, the head of the Pontic cavalry was also an Armenian - Agasar Sukhpatentsi. Many historians call Mithridates the most ambitious king of his era. “King Mithridates tried to create a special empire that would eclipse all others. And, of course, he understood that war against Rome would be inevitable. At that time, only the Armenian king Tigran could afford an equal war against the empire, so he tried to draw Tigran into direct confrontation. However, he was a wise ruler and understood that it would be disastrous for Armenia due to internal instability. But Mithridates, being a subtle diplomat and purposeful politician, married his daughter Cleopatra to the Armenian king,” writes American historian Richard Thomas. The first meeting between the kings took place in the new capital of the Armenian empire - Tigranakert. After considering the proposals, Tigran and Mithridates divided their spheres of influence, Tigran in Western Asia, Mithridates in Asia Minor. After this, the Armenian king immediately began a campaign against Cappadocia: at Nevshikhir, the Armenian army defeated the most combat-ready part of the army of King Ariobarzanes, who after this news fled to Rome, leaving Caesarea empty. Tigran placed his comrade-in-arms and renowned commander, Gordeus Akhvirani, on the throne. The question of conquering the remaining territories was only a matter of time.
Even before the war with Rome, the Armenian king provided military support to his son-in-law. Mithridates his best commander Diophantus with a selected 6,000-strong corps to conquer Crimea. However, in the first battle Diophantus was defeated. Not far from Chersonesos was the second Aryamnian cavalry corps, led by the famous commander Arasp Bagharat, who, by order of his king, went to the aid of his Greek allies. A week later, the Pontians, having received reinforcements, went on the offensive. In turn, the Scythians also began to seek support and turned to the Roxolani king Tazius, who sent them an army. “The Scythian-Sarmatian army numbered more than 50 thousand people against 25 thousand Pontians and 5 thousand Armenian cavalrymen. Despite their numerical superiority, the Scythians were completely defeated. One of the main factors in the victory was the leadership talent of Difoant and Bagharat. The Aramnian cavalry completely destroyed Palak’s Sarmatian corps, cutting them off from the Scythians, who were defeated by Difoant,” says Columbia University professor Samuel Totten. The Greek king generously rewarded the Armenian commander for his courage in the battle of Chersonese. After some time, Mithridates decided to strike Rome first. During that period, the Allied War broke out with the Italic tribes rebelling against Rome and a civil war broke out between the Optimates led by Sulla and the Populars led by Marius. This development of events foreshadowed success for the Greek king. In 89 BC. e. Mithridates gave the signal, and the extermination of the Romans began throughout Asia Minor. In a few days, more than 80 thousand people were killed, and the population of Asia Minor came under the rule of the Pontic king.
After which he moved troops to the Balkans, and almost all of Greece immediately went over to his side. And his main ally, King Tigran, captured the northern part of Mesopotamia, Syria and Phenicia. The war with Rome began in 74 BC. e. At the first stage, Evpator was successful and won victories. But more energetic commanders were appointed to Thrace: Gaius Scribonius Curio conquered the Dardanians, who lived in the territory of present-day Serbia, and went to the Danube, and Lucullus defeated the kingdom of the Bessians and took their capital Uskudama by storm. The remnants of the Pontic army, joining forces with the armored Armenian cavalry, managed to hold back the further advance of the Romans. But Lucullus used diplomacy and entered into an alliance with the ruler of Parthia, Phraates, who had at his court the heir to the Armenian throne, Tigran the Younger, who had quarreled with his father and laid claim to the kingdom. And the forces of Armenia were neutralized, the Parthians attacked from the east. It took Tigranes time to gather an army scattered throughout the empire and completely defeat the Parthians. After the defeat, Mithridates sent to Tigran. Lucullus sent an ambassador to Tigranes, Appius Claudius, demanding the extradition of Mithridates, but was refused. Lucullus started a war against Armenia; Tigran was at that time in the southern border regions of his state. In order to return to Armenia, he and his bodyguards were forced to make an almost thousand-kilometer forced march. Having reached Tigranakert, the Romans kept the capital under siege for 6 months. All this time, Tigran was gathering forces for the decisive battle.
Two Roman legions penetrated the rear of the Armenian army and, having struck, actually decided the outcome of the battle. However, it was here that Tigran’s leadership talent manifested itself. Realizing that defeat would decide the fate of Tigranakert, Tigran the Great nevertheless chose a course of action, subsequently for a long time not used in European countries. The question was: what to save - the army or the territory? In contrast to the system of actions accepted throughout the world at that time, Tigran decided to preserve not the territory, but the army, which left him the opportunity to win the war. Having captured and subjected to terrible plunder the capital of Armenia, the Romans returned to Korduk for the winter. And at that time the Armenian army developed a new tactic that corresponded to the prevailing conditions and was preparing to use it. The army was divided into two parts. The infantry under the command of Mithridates was sent to the rear of the Romans with the task of cutting off their communications, and Tigran's cavalry began to deliver unexpected blows to the Roman army moving towards Artashat. One of these lessons was the Battle of Aratsani in 68. BC e.
Despite the claims that Mithridates VI Eupator advised Tigranes to abandon the decisive battle in the capital and suggested some actions to him, Tigranes nevertheless quite confidently brought the matter to victory in the war, given the incomparably great potential of Rome. After the defeat, Lucullus fled to Rome, which sent legions led by Pompey against Armenia. After several battles, Pompey developed great respect for the Armenian king and subsequently recognized only Tigran as the legitimate king of Greater Armenia. And Tigran the Younger, who with his detachment met the Romans in a friendly manner on the Araks, was chained and declared a prisoner. Pompey rejected the proposal of the Parthian king Phraates to divide Armenia along the Euphrates. Then Tigran gathered an army and severely punished the traitors, executing the Parthian king. In the same year, a second battle took place near the city of Nicopolis between the Romans and the troops of King Mithridates. At night, the Roman legions suddenly attacked the sleeping Pontians and defeated them. Soon the Greek cities of the Northern Black Sea region and the Azov coast rebelled against Mithridates VI Eupator. The royal army, led by his son Pharnaces, also rebelled against the sovereign. Then in 63 BC, King Mithridates committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword, not wanting to surrender to the enemy.
Symbol of Great Armenia
Armenian historians consider the first Armenian “coat of arms” to be an image of two birds with an eight-pointed sun (or star) between them. Such a plot was depicted on the crown of the king of the Artashesid dynasty Tigran II the Great and some of his heirs (in particular, it was depicted on the drachma coins of King Artavazd II (56–34 BC). This plot was preserved in the third field shield state emblem Armenian Republic 1918-1921 and in the modern coat of arms.
Symbol of Armenia under Bagratuni
From the 1st century BC. the territory of Armenia became the arena and object of struggle between Rome and the Parthian kingdom. In 62 AD. Greater Armenia fell into the power of a branch of the Parthian Arsacids. The symbol of the Arsacid dynasty, presumably, was also an image of the sun between two sitting birds. According to the testimony of the ancients and authors, the kings of the Arshakuni dynasty also “wore (the sign of) an eagle.” The golden eagle was an element of the monarch's headdress - the pativa. The symbol of the Bagratuni dynasty was a two-headed bird holding a sheep in its talons. According to other sources, the sign of Bagratuni was an image of a lion (or paired lions) with a cross.
Regalia
Description of the regalia
Zvartnots Temple
Other Armenian states and entities
Armenian kingdom
Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստան)
Section is under development
origin of name
The toponym “Armenia” goes back to the Hurrian name of the Armi- region adjacent to Melitene, located on the Armenian Highlands. This name passed into Old Persian through the Aramaic ˊarmǝn-āiē, and in the form “Arminiyaiy” it appears six times in the Behistun Inscription of 522 BC. e. The ancient Greek form of the name is ancient Greek. Ἀρμενία. The ancient Greek name for Armenians, used before the spread of Ἀρμένιοι, was Μελιττήνιοι.
According to Movses Khorenatsi, the name “Armenia” and the corresponding ancient Greek and ancient Persian toponyms are given by the name of the Urartian king Aram. In Armenian, the name of the country sounds like “Hayk” (Armenian: Հայք, Hayk). In the Middle Ages, the place of the Armenian toponym-forming suffix “-k” was taken by the borrowed Iranian suffix “-stan” and the country began to be called “Hayastan” (Armenian: Հայաստան, Hayastan). According to one version, the name of the country comes from the mythological leader of the Armenians, Hayk, who, according to legend, in 2492 BC. e. defeated the army of the Assyrian king Bel in battle, and later formed the first Armenian state. This year is considered the first in the traditional Armenian calendar. Another version connects this name with the ancient state of Hayas. According to the third version, the self-name of Armenia comes from the Urartian name of Melitene - Ḫāti.
Great Armenia
Great Armenia (Armenian Մեծ Հայք, ancient Greek Μεγάλη Ἀρμενία, lat. Armenia Magna, pehl. Buzurg Armenā, Georgian დიდი სომხეთ ი, other Russian Great Armenia, the name Greater Armenia is less commonly used) - an ancient Armenian state on territory of the Armenian Highlands, which existed for more than 600 years, starting from 190 BC. e. to 428 AD e.
Under Tigran II, having become a major power, it had borders from the Kura to the Jordan and from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea
The term "Armenia" (Armina) first appears in the Behistun Inscription around 521 BC. e. Persian king Darius I to designate the Persian satrapy in the territory of the former kingdom of Urartu. From later Greek sources, two satrapies with this name are known: Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia. The territory of the latter was hereditarily ruled by the Orontid dynasty (Ervandids, Armenian Ervanduni).
After the fall of the Achaemenid kingdom under the attacks of the Macedonians, the Armenian lands became virtually independent. The rulers of Southern Armenia recognized the power of Alexander, but this recognition remained purely formal: Alexander himself did not pass through Armenia, and his military leaders also failed to penetrate its territory. From the end of the 4th century. BC e. Independent or semi-independent states begin to emerge on the territory of Armenia. Satrap Ervand (Orontes) during the struggle of the Diadochi in 316 BC. e. created the independent kingdom of Airarat. In 220 BC. e. (according to other sources, around 200 BC), the Armenian kingdom of Airarat was annexed by the Seleucid king Antiochus III to the part of Armenia under his control, located in the area of Lake Van and along the upper reaches of the Tigris, which from now on began to be called Great. Thus, already at the end of the 3rd century. BC e. almost all Armenian lands came under the rule of the Seleucids.
Around the same time, in the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd century. BC e. Armenians inhabit almost the entire territory that later made up historical Armenia.
As Trans-Euphrates Little Armenia moved away from the main line of development of ancient Armenian statehood, the designation “Great Armenia” also acquired independent meaning and turned into official name ancient Armenian state. It is in this sense that it is used in the Greek inscription from Garni of 77 AD. e. King Trdat I, (Greek Megale Armenia - “Great Armenia”). This name of the state is also recorded in other inscriptions, for example in the inscription of King Trdat III at the beginning of the 4th century, found in Aparan. The same designation is also used in other foreign language sources - Latin, Persian, Georgian, Russian and other sources.
Artashesid Dynasty
The founder of the dynasty was Artashes I, who called himself Yervandid. Its connection with the previous one ruling dynasty Armenia is not completely clear.
Artashes I
After the defeat of Antiochus from the Romans, the local ruler (strategist) Artashes I (Artaxius) in 189 BC. e. led the Armenian uprising against the Seleucids and proclaimed himself an independent king. His kingdom was called “Great Armenia” in contrast to “Little Armenia” located west of the Euphrates, where Antiochus’ relative Mithridates ruled. Thus Artashes became the founder of the Artashesid dynasty. He expanded the possessions of Great Armenia by uniting almost the entire Armenian Highlands. Artashes also carried out a reform that strengthened private ownership of land, in particular, he ordered the demilitation of the country's internal lands. He founded the new capital of the Armenian monarchy - Artashat (ancient Greek “Arta?ksata”). Already in the era of Artashes, as Strabo reports, the entire population of Armenia spoke one language - Armenian.
Tigran II the Great
Great Armenia reached its highest power under Tigran II (95-55 BC), who founded a new capital - Tigranakert, and managed to unite all Armenian lands. Under him, the borders of Greater Armenia expanded significantly; for several decades it included Tsopk (Sofena), Media, Atropatena (Atrpatakan), Syria, Phenicia, Cilicia and a number of other states and regions. The borders of the Armenian state reached all the way to Egypt. Already in the 70s BC. e. The Armenian state was a vast power, the borders of which extended from the Kura to the Jordan River and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caspian Sea. Tigran II the Great adopted the title of “king of kings”, which had previously been borne by the rulers of Parthia. Greater Armenia became the most extensive, but internally fragile state in the region, owning rich cities, centers of Hellenistic culture and the most important trade routes from the Mediterranean to the east. Trade developed in the country, Tigran II, and later his successors, minted gold, silver and bronze coins. In addition to the slave-owning nobility, the priesthood also played a major role. In the Armenian army, unlike the Greek, mercenaries had a tertiary role; the basis of the army was the cavalry.
In 69 BC. e. The Romans besieged the city of Tigranakert. After several months of siege, as a result of an uprising within the city, the capital of Armenia was sacked. After this, Great Armenia lost almost all of its conquests. In 68, Lucullus moved to Artashat with the goal of completely conquering Armenia. However, due to the outbreak people's war against the Roman occupiers, the Romans' attempts to conquer Armenia ended in failure.
Artavazd II and Artashes II
After the death of Tigranes II around 55 BC. e. His son Artavazd II (55-34 BC) reigned in Greater Armenia, who adhered to a mainly neutral policy, periodically collaborating with both powers. The defeat of the Romans in the battle with the Parthians at Carrhae in 53 BC. e. and the death of Crassus allowed Artavazd to expand the borders of Armenia in the west, again annexing Sophene and Lesser Armenia previously captured by Rome, and also somewhat strengthen the independence of the Armenian state. 36-34 years BC e. The Roman commander Mark Antony began the war against Armenia. After the initial defeats, under the pretext of negotiations, he managed to lure the Armenian king to his camp, and later executed him.
In 30 BC. e. with the help of the allied Parthia, Artashes II (30-20 BC), son of Artavazd, becomes the Armenian king. Soon after taking the throne, the troops of Artashes II killed the Roman garrisons left by Anthony in Armenia. After the assassination of Artashes II in 20 BC. e. The Artashesid dynasty gradually went into decline. The throne inherited him younger brother Tigranes III (20-6 BC).
Tigran IV and Erato
The last representatives of the Artashesid dynasty were the children of Tigran III, Tigran IV (8-5 BC and secondly 2 BC - 1 AD) and his sister Erato (2 BC - 1 AD). BC and again 6-14 After the fall of the Artashesid dynasty in Greater Armenia, a period of interregnum begins.
Arsacid Dynasty
Until the middle of the 1st century, Roman and Parthian henchmen reigned. Trdat I (from 62, officially from 66 to 80), a representative of the Parthian royal family, became the founder of the Armenian Arsacid dynasty, who bore the title of “kings of Greater Armenia.” Henceforth, all Armenian Arsacid kings bore this title. In addition, according to the Randey Peace Treaty of 62, the Roman and Parthian armies had to leave the territory of Armenia, and the borders of the Armenian state were completely restored. The first half of the Arsacid reign was a relatively prosperous period for Armenia. From the recognition of the independence of Tiridates I to the first quarter of the 3rd century there were only three short-term Roman uprisings against Armenia, but none of these campaigns led to the destruction of the Armenian state. In 114, Greater Armenia was occupied by Rome and declared a Roman province, but after the death of Emperor Trajan in 117, independence and royal power in Armenia were restored. Crafts and Agriculture, transit international trade flourished - for example, caravans went through the territory of Armenia to Rome. As a result of ties with Parthia, Iranian influence on the socio-political system, religion, language and culture of Greater Armenia increased. The rule of the Armenian Arsacids became hereditary from the end of the 2nd century, when royal power in Greater Armenia passed from Vagharsh II to his son Khosrow I the Great. Since the 20s of the 3rd century, after the Sasanian coup in Iran, the country's foreign policy vector became aimed at rapprochement with Rome.
After accepting Christianity
In the middle of the 3rd century. Armenia is subjected to devastating invasions from the newly emerged Sassanid kingdom: Shapur I manages to subjugate Armenia, Albania and Iberia. However, already in 287, with the help of Rome, Tiridates III the Great ascended the Armenian throne. At the end of the same century, in 298, according to the Treaty of Nisibis, Rome and Persia recognized the independence of Armenia, and the borders of Armenia with Rome and Persia were clarified. The country was included in the sphere of influence of Rome. Armenia, as a state with ancient traditions, also sought to establish ideological independence. Trdat III in 301 introduced Christianity as an official religion in Armenia. The satisfactory political situation at the beginning of the 4th century continued during the reign of Khosrow III Kotak. Khosrow moves the royal residence from Artashat to Dvin. Heir of Khusrow III king The tyrant, through his policies, tried to preserve the independence of the country. In 337, despite the existence of a peace treaty, the troops of the Sassanid Shapur II invaded Armenia. Although the war ends with the victory of the Armenians, supported by Rome, Tiran was captured and died tragically. After unsuccessful attempts by the Persians to establish their political influence, the son of the Tyrant, Arshak II, was elevated to the Armenian throne.
In the 4th century, feudal relations were formed in Armenia. Being a reformer, Arshak II began to take measures to combat feudalization. He founded the city of Arshakavan, where fugitive peasants and slaves, who also received royal benefits, found their refuge. Such measures caused discontent among the nakharars, supported by the church, which brought the state into a state civil war. Ultimately, Arshak almost completely destroyed many rebellious clans, some fled from Armenia, and others were forced to reconcile with the king. In 367, the Sassanids invaded Armenia again; after varying successes, the Armenian king, under the pretext of negotiations, was invited to Shapur, where he died. Armenian cities were destroyed, part of the population was driven to Iran. In 370, not without the armed assistance of the Romans, Pap, the son of Arshak II, reigned. In the next year 371, Shapur II's attempt to ruin Armenia again was unsuccessful. The Sasanian troops were defeated by the joint forces of the Armenians, Iberians and troops sent by the Romans, and Shapur was recognized by the Pope as the king of Armenia. The new Armenian king continued his father's policy of suppressing separatist tendencies and sought to strengthen royal power. The pope also did not allow the bishop of Caesarea to ordain a new Armenian Catholicos, thereby breaking organizational ties with Byzantine Orthodoxy. Foreign policy The pope (who was considered pro-Arina) provoked disagreements with the Armenian church, the nakharars and the sparapet. Finally, in 374, Emperor Valens, with the assistance of the Armenian nakharars, managed to organize the murder of the Armenian king. After his death, the Armenian state went into decline; the Armenian kings and military leaders found themselves powerless in the face of threats from two sides. In 387, Armenia was divided between Sasanian Iran and the Roman Empire. In the Roman zone, the nominal power of the Armenian king was abolished already in 391; in the Sasanian zone, the Arsacids continued to rule until 428.
The division of Armenia did not lead to the collapse of the long-established Armenian people. After the loss of statehood, one of the most powerful factors uniting Armenians was their religious community.
Mythical kings of Armenians (ayev)
| Bargaining | |
| Hayk (Hike) | |
| Armenak | |
| Aramais | |
| Amaziah | |
| Gegham | |
| Sisak | |
| Kharma | |
| Aram | |
| Ara Gekhetsik (Beautiful) | |
| Cardos (Ara) | |
| Anushavan | |
| Paret | |
| Arbacus | |
| Zavan | |
| Parnak | |
| Sur | |
| Honak | |
| Wow | |
| Aikak | |
| Ambak | |
| Arnak | |
| Shavarsh | |
| Norayr | |
| I'll get up | |
| Kar | |
| Gorak | |
| Grat | |
| Yndzak | |
| Gzak | |
| Good | |
| Zarmair | |
| Perch | |
| Arbun | |
| Bazooka | |
| Hoy | |
| Yusak | |
| Kaypak | |
| Scaiordi |
Satrapy (Governance) Armenia as part of the Achaemenid power 522-331 BC
Ervandid Armenia, or the Kingdom of Airarat 331-200 BC
Sofensky, or Tsopsky kingdom 260-94 BC
Kingdom of Lesser Armenia 200 BC - 72 AD
Kingdom of Greater Armenia 190 BC - 428 AD
Kingdom of Commagene 163 BC - 72 AD
Marzpanism (Governance) Armenia as part of the Sassanid state 428-646
Ishkhans of Armenia (Arminiyya Emirate) as part of the Arab Caliphate 635-885
Armenian kingdom of the Bagratids, or kingdom of Ani 885-1045
|
Yervantids |
|
| 401-344 | |
| 344-331 | |
|
Macedonian occupation |
331−323 |
|
Macedonian occupation |
323-321 |
| 321-317 | |
| 317-? | |
| ?-260 | |
| 260-228 | |
| 260-212 | |
| 228-201 | |
| 212-200 | |
|
Conquest of the kingdom by the Seleucid state |
200 - 189 |
|
Artashesids |
|
| 189 - 159 | |
| 159-123 | |
| 123-95 | |
| 95-56 | |
| 56-34 | |
| 33-20 | |
| 20-6 | |
| 6 - 5 | |
| 5 - 3 | |
| 3 BC - 1 AD | |
| 1 | |
|
Different dynasties |
|
|
Vonon, adventurer | 1 - 2 |
| 2-4 | |
| 4-6 | |
| 6-12 | |
| 12-16 | |
| 16-18 | |
| 34-35 | |
| 35-51 | |
| 51-54 | |
|
Arsacids |
|
| 60-63 | |
| 98-113 | |
| 113-114 | |
|
to Rome |
114-117 |
| 117-140 | |
| 161-163 | |
| 190-196 | |
| 196-215 | |
|
to Rome |
215-216 |
| 216-222 | |
| 222-252 | |
| 252-272 | |
|
to Persia |
272-287 |
| 287-330 | |
| 330-339 | |
| 339-345 | |
| 345-367 | |
| 367-374 | |
| 374-379 | |
| 379-390 | |
| 384-401 | |
| 401-417 | |
| 417-420 | |
| 422-428 | |
|
Armenia's appeal to the province |
428 - 859 |
Rulers, since 885 kings of the Kingdom of Ani
|
Bagratuni |
|
| 859-891 | |
| 891-914 | |
| 914-928 | |
