Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)

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Armenia Հայք Hayk
331 BC–428 AD
A coin of Tigranes the Great with its distinctive Armenian tiara[1] is the best known variety of national coinage in Greater Armenia[2]
Armenia at its greatest extent under Tigranes the Great, 69 BC (including vassals)
Status	Satrapy, Kingdom, Empire, Province
Capital	Armavir (331–210 BC) Yervandashat (210–176 BC) Artaxata/Artashat (176–77 BC; 69–120 AD) Tigranocerta (77 BC–69 AD) Vagharshapat (120–330) Dvin (336–428)
Common languages	Armenian (spoken native language)[3] Greek Aramaic[4] Iranian languages[3] (Parthian and Middle Persian)
Religion	Zoroastrianism[5] (331 BC–301 AD) Christianity (Armenian Church) (301–428)
Government	Monarchy
Notable Armenian Kings
• 331–317 BC	Orontes III
• 189–160 BC	Artaxias I
• 95–55 BC	Tigranes the Great
• 55–34 BC	Artavasdes II
• 52–58, 62–88	Tiridates I
• 298–330	Tiridates III
• 389–414	Vramshapuh
• 422–428	Artaxias IV
Historical era	Antiquity, Middle Ages
• Satrapy of Armenia is formed	c. 533 BC
• Reign of Orontes III begins	331 BC
• Treaty of Rhandeia	63 AD
• Christianity declared state religion	301 AD
• Partition of Armenia	387 AD
• Last Arsacid king of Armenia deposed	428 AD
Area
c. 70 BC[6]	900,000 km2 (350,000 sq mi)
c. 300 AD[7]	311,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi)
Population
• c. 70 BC[6]	10,000,000
• c. 300 AD[7]	4,000,000
Currency	Talent
Preceded by Succeeded by Satrapy of Armenia Byzantine Armenia Persian Armenia

Part of a series on the
History of Armenia
Prehistory Shulaveri–Shomu culture Kura–Araxes culture Legend of Hayk Trialeti–Vanadzor culture Armani Lchashen–Metsamor culture Hayasa-Azzi Arme–Shupria Mushki Urumu Nairi Confederation Urartu (Kingdom of Van) Etiuni
Antiquity Satrapy of Armenia Armenia Minor Kingdom of Armenia Armenian Empire Roman Armenia Christianization of Armenia Kingdom of Sophene Commagene Byzantine Armenia Sasanian Armenia Muslim conquest of Armenia
Middle Ages Emirate of Armenia Principality of Hamamshen Kingdom of Armenia Kingdom of Vaspurakan Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget Kingdom of Syunik Kingdom of Artsakh Zakarid Armenia Principality of Khachen Mongol Armenia Kingdom of Cilicia
Early modern age Iranian Armenia Five Melikdoms Ottoman Armenia Russian Armenia Armenian Oblast Armenian question Armenian genocide Western Armenia National movement
Modern age First Republic of Armenia Armenian S.S.R. Republic of Mountainous Armenia Contemporary Armenia Republic of Artsakh
Timeline • Origins • Etymology
v t e

Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia (Armenian: Մեծ Հայքի թագավորություն, romanized: Mets Hayk’i t’agavorut’yun),^[8] or simply Greater Armenia or Armenia Major (Armenian: Մեծ Հայք Mets Hayk;^[9] Latin: Armenia Maior) sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire, was a kingdom in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into the successive reigns of three royal dynasties: Orontid (331 BC–200 BC),^[10][11] Artaxiad (189 BC–12 AD)^[12][13][14] and Arsacid (52–428).^[15]

The root of the kingdom lies in one of the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia called Armenia (Satrapy of Armenia), which was formed from the territory of the Kingdom of Ararat (860 BC–590 BC) after it was conquered by the Median Empire in 590 BC. The satrapy became a kingdom in 321 BC during the reign of the Orontid dynasty after the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, which was then incorporated as one of the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Seleucid Empire.

Under the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC), the Armenian throne was divided in two—Greater Armenia (state) and Sophene—both of which passed to members of the Artaxiad dynasty in 189 BC. During the Roman Republic's eastern expansion, the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tigranes 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 the Roman–Parthian Wars, the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia was founded when Tiridates 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 between Rome and Parthia, and the Armenian nobility was divided among pro-Roman, pro-Parthian or neutral factions. From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan. The Kingdom of Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. In 301, Tiridates III proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state in history to embrace Christianity officially.

In 387, Armenia was partitioned into Byzantine Armenia and Persian Armenia. The last Arsacid king of Armenia was deposed in 428, ending independent Armenian statehood until the emergence of Bagratid Armenia in the 9th century.