| Tigranes the Younger | |
|---|---|
 Coin of Tigranes the Younger | |
| King of Sophene | |
| Reign | 65 BC |
| Predecessor | Tigranes the Great (Kingdom of Armenia) |
| Successor | Tigranes the Great (Kingdom of Armenia) |
| Died | after 65 BC |
| Spouse | Daughter of Phraates III |
| Dynasty | Artaxiad |
| Father | Tigranes the Great |
| Mother | Cleopatra of Pontus |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Tigranes the Younger was an Artaxiad prince, who briefly ruled the Kingdom of Sophene in 65 BC.
Tigranes the Younger was the son and heir of the Artaxiad king of Armenia, Tigranes the Elder (r. 95–55 BC). His mother was Cleopatra of Pontus, a daughter of Mithridates VI Eupator (r. 120–63 BC), the king of Pontus. [1] In c. 66 BC, Tigranes the Younger fell out with his father and fled to the court of the Parthian monarch Phraates III (r. 69–57 BC). He agreed to help Phraates III take the Armenian throne in return for marrying his daughter. [2] This marriage, which took place in 66/65 BC, gave Phraates III the opportunity to involve himself in the affairs of Armenia, including preventing the Roman commander Pompey from putting Parthian interests in jeopardy. [3] Phraates III, together with Tigranes the Younger, led an expedition into Armenia. Initially successful, their efforts were halted by a long siege at Artaxata, which led Phraates III to put Tigranes the Younger in charge of the expedition, leaving him with some Parthian soldiers. [4] Ultimately, Tigranes the Younger was defeated by his father, however, leading him to join Pompey instead. [5] Tigranes the Elder soon surrendered to Pompey, who chose to allow him to retain his crown. [6] Instead, Tigranes the Younger was made the ruler of Sophene with the assurance that he would ascend to the Armenian throne after his father's death. [7]
However, after a brief reign Tigranes the Younger was imprisoned and deported to Rome. The reason behind this is disputed. According to Rahim M. Shayegan, it was because he remained an ally of Phraates III, with whom he still conspired with to overthrow Tigranes the Elder, whilst Michał Marciak states it was due to his dispute with Pompey over Sophene's treasury. [8] In the spring of 65 BC, Phraates III protested the arrest of his son-in-law but to no avail. [9]
Mithridates II was king of the Parthian Empire from 124 to 91 BC. Considered one of the greatest of his dynasty to ever rule, he was known as Mithridates the Great in antiquity.
Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great was the king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries and reached its peak, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King or King of Kings. His empire for a short time was the most powerful state to the east of the Roman Republic.
Mithridates I, also known as Mithridates I the Great, was king of the Parthian Empire from 165 BC to 132 BC. During his reign, Parthia was transformed from a small kingdom into a major political power in the Ancient East as a result of his conquests. He first conquered Aria, Margiana and western Bactria from the Greco-Bactrians sometime in 163–155 BC, and then waged war with the Seleucid Empire, conquering Media and Atropatene in 148/7 BC. In 141 BC, he conquered Babylonia and held an official investiture ceremony in Seleucia. The kingdoms of Elymais and Characene shortly afterwards became Parthian vassals. In c. 140 BC, while Mithridates was fighting the nomadic Saka in the east, the Seleucid king Demetrius II Nicator attempted to regain the lost territories; initially successful, he was defeated and captured in 138 BC, and shortly afterwards sent to one of Mithridates I's palaces in Hyrcania. Mithridates I then punished Elymais for aiding Demetrius, and made Persis a Parthian vassal.
Vologases I was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II. He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies.
Phraates III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 69 BC to 57 BC. He was the son and successor of Sinatruces.
Phraates II was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I.
Phraates IV, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 37 to 2 BC. He was the son and successor of Orodes II, and was given the throne after the death of his brother Pacorus I. Phraates IV soon murdered all his brothers, and also possibly his father. His actions alienated the Armenians and also some of his nobles, including the distinguished Monaeses, who fled to the Roman triumvir Mark Antony, but shortly returned and reconciled with Phraates IV.
Phraates V, also known by the diminutive version of his name, Phraataces, was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 2 BC to 4 AD. He was the younger son of Phraates IV and Musa, who ruled with him.
Orodes II, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers quickly fell out and entered into a dynastic struggle, in which Orodes was triumphant.
Mithridates IV was a Parthian king from to 57 to 54 BC. He was the son and successor of Phraates III. Mithridates IV's reign was marked by a dynastic struggle with his younger brother, Orodes II, who eventually emerged victorious and had Mithridates IV executed, thus succeeding him.
Sinatruces was king of the Parthian Empire from c. 75 BC to c. 69 BC. He was presumably a son of the Parthian ruler Mithridates I. Sinatruces was succeeded by his son Phraates III.
Artavasdes II was king of Armenia from 55 BC to 34 BC. A member of the Artaxiad Dynasty, he was the son and successor of Tigranes the Great, who ascended the throne of a still powerful and independent state. His mother was Cleopatra of Pontus, thus making his maternal grandfather the prominent Pontus king Mithridates VI Eupator. Like his father, Artavasdes continued using the title of King of Kings, as seen from his coins.
Pacorus I was a Parthian prince, who was the son and heir of Orodes II. The numismatist David Sellwood deduced that Pacorus ruled in c. 39 BC. It is uncertain whether Pacorus ruled alongside his father, or ruled independently. His wife was an unnamed Armenian princess, who was a sister of the Artaxiad king of Armenia, Artavasdes II.
Musa, also known as Thea Musa, was a ruling queen of the Parthian Empire from 2 BC to 4 AD. Originally an Italian slave-girl, she was given as a gift to the Parthian monarch Phraates IV by the Roman Emperor Augustus. She quickly became queen and a favourite of Phraates IV, giving birth to Phraataces. In 2 BC, she had Phraates IV poisoned and made herself, along with Phraates V, the co-rulers of the empire. Their reign was short-lived; they were forced to flee to Rome after being deposed by the Parthian nobility, who crowned Orodes III as king.
Gotarzes I was king of the Parthian Empire from 91 BC to 87 or 80 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates II, and was succeeded by his son Orodes I.
The Artaxiad or Ardaxiad dynasty ruled the kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and parts of Mesopotamia. Their main enemies were the Romans, the Seleucids and the Parthians, against whom the Armenians conducted multiple wars.
The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or satraps of the Achaemenid Empire and after the collapse of the Achaemenid Empire established an independent kingdom. Later, a branch of the Orontids ruled as kings of Sophene and Commagene. They are the first of the three royal dynasties that successively ruled the antiquity-era Kingdom of Armenia.
Corduene was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey.
Sames I, was the Orontid king of Sophene and Commagene, ruling around 260 BC.
The Kingdom of Sophene, was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influences. Founded around the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom maintained independence until c. 95 BCE when the Artaxiad king Tigranes the Great conquered the territories as part of his empire. Sophene laid near medieval Kharput, which is present day Elazığ.