Tiridates II of Armenia

Last updated
Tiridates II of Armenia
Coin of Tiridates II of Armenia.png
Obverse of a coin attributed to Tiridates II of Armenia
King of Armenia
Reign217252
Predecessor Khosrov I
Successor Khosrov II of Armenia
Died252
Issue Khosrov II
Dynasty Arsacid dynasty
Father Khosrov I
Religion Zoroastrianism

Tiridates II, flourished second half of the 2nd century - died 252), known in Armenian sources as Khosrov, [1] was an Arsacid Prince who served as a Roman Client King of Armenia. Tiridates II was the son and heir of the Armenian King Khosrov I. [2] [ failed verification ]

Contents

Between 214 and 216, Tiridates II and his family were held in detention by the Romans which provoked a major uprising in Armenia against Rome. [3] In 215, the Roman emperor Caracalla led the Roman army and invaded Armenia [4] to end the uprising.

In 217 Khosrov I had died and Tiridates II succeeded his father as King of Armenia. [5] Tiridates II was granted the Armenian crown [6] by Caracalla. [7] He was declared King of Armenia upon Caracalla's assassination (8 April 217). [8]

Tiridates II ruled as King of Armenia from 217 until his death in 252. [9] After the death of Caracalla, Macrinus became the new Roman emperor and Macrinus agreed to release Tiridates II's mother from Roman captivity. [10] After the Battle of Nisibis in 217 between Rome and Parthia and the treaty that was then agreed, Tiridates II was restored to his Armenian throne [11] and his rule over Armenia was officially recognised.

At an unknown date during his reign, there's the possibility that the Mamikonian family immigrated from Chenk’ (thought to refer to China or Bactria) through Persia to Armenia. [12] Tiridates II was the first king of Armenia to persecute Christians. This persecution continued under his successors. [13]

War against Sassanid Empire

Partly due to his long reign, Tiridates II became one of the most powerful and most influential Armenian monarchs from the Arsacid dynasty. [14] In 224, the Parthian Empire was destroyed. The last king, Artabanus V of Parthia, who was Tiridates II's paternal uncle, was killed by Ardashir I, the first king of the Sassanid Empire. [15]

Between 226 and 228, after annexing Parthia, Ardashir I wanted to expand his Empire to include Armenia. After two years of conflict, the armies of the Romans, Scythians and the Kushans withdrew their support for Armenia. [16] Tiridates II and his army were left alone to continue fighting against Ardashir I. [17]

Tiridates II put up a stubborn resistance against Ardashir I [18] and still was not defeated after ten years of fighting. [19] After twelve years of fighting against Tiridates II, Ardashir I withdrew his army and left Armenia. [20] Also Tiridates son, Khosrov participated in his father's military campaigns against Ardashir, who was alarmed by their victories. [21] Tiridates II's lengthy military conflict with Ardashir I highlighted the strength of Armenia during the rule of Tiridates II. [22] Tiridates II died in 252 and was succeeded by Khosrov II of Armenia. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macrinus</span> Roman emperor from 217 to 218

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatorial class and also the first emperor who never visited Rome during his reign. Before becoming emperor, Macrinus served under Emperor Caracalla as a praetorian prefect and dealt with Rome's civil affairs. He later conspired against Caracalla and had him murdered in a bid to protect his own life, succeeding him as emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)</span> 321 BC – 428 AD monarchy in Ancient Near East

Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia or Armenia Major 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, Artaxiad and Arsacid (52–428).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artabanus IV of Parthia</span> Ruler of Parthian Empire from c. 213 to 224

Artabanus IV, also known as Ardavan IV (Parthian:𐭓𐭕𐭐𐭍), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus V, was the last ruler of the Parthian Empire from c. 213 to 224. He was the younger son of Vologases V, who died in 208.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vologases V</span> King of the Parthian Empire from 191 to 208

Vologases V was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 191 to 208. As king of Armenia, he is known as Vologases II. Not much is known about his period of kingship of Armenia, except that he put his son Rev I on the Iberian throne in 189. Vologases succeeded his father Vologases IV as king of the Parthian Empire in 191; it is uncertain if the transition of power was peaceful or if Vologases took the throne in a civil war. When Vologases acceded the Parthian throne, he passed the Armenian throne to his son Khosrov I.

The Arsacid dynasty, called the Arshakuni in Armenian, ruled the Kingdom of Armenia, with some interruptions, from 12 to 428. The dynasty was a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. Arsacid kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad dynasty until 62, when Tiridates I, brother of Parthian King Vologases I, secured Arsacid rule in Armenia as a client king of Rome. However, he did not succeed in establishing his line on the throne, and various princes of different Arsacid lineages ruled until the accession of Vologases II, who succeeded in establishing his own line on the Armenian throne, which ruled the kingdom until its abolishment by the Sasanian Empire in 428.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiridates I of Armenia</span> 1st-century king of Armenia

Tiridates I was King of Armenia beginning in 53 AD and the founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the Roman–Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates I was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor Nero in 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had de facto ceded Armenia to the Parthian Empire.

Khosrov III the Small was the king of Arsacid Armenia c. 330–338/339.

Tiran known also as Tigranes VII, Tigranes or Diran was an Armenian prince who served as a Roman client king of Arsacid Armenia from 339 until 350. He was a contemporary of and is associated with the life of Sarkis the Warrior and his son, Martiros.

The Roman–Parthian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years of Roman–Persian Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vramshapuh</span> King of Arsacid Armenia (r. 389–414)

Vramshapuh was a noble of the Arsacid dynasty who served as the Sasanian client king of Armenia from 389 until his death in 414. He is mainly remembered for presiding over the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parthian war of Caracalla</span> Campaign by the Roman Empire against the Parthian Empire

The Parthian war of Caracalla was an unsuccessful campaign by the Roman Empire under Caracalla against the Parthian Empire in 216–17 AD. It was the climax of a four-year period, starting in 213, when Caracalla pursued a lengthy campaign in central and eastern Europe and the Near East. After intervening to overthrow rulers in client kingdoms adjoining Parthia, he invaded in 216 using an abortive wedding proposal to the Parthian king Artabanus's daughter as a casus belli. His forces carried out a campaign of massacres in the northern regions of the Parthian Empire before withdrawing to Asia Minor, where he was assassinated in April 217. The war was ended the following year after Parthian victory at the Battle of Nisibis, with the Romans paying a huge sum of war reparations to the Parthians.

Artaxias IV or Artashir IV who is also known as Artaxias, Artashes, Artashes IV, Artashir, Ardasir and Artases was a prince who served as a Sassanid client king of eastern Armenia from 422 until 428. Artaxias IV was the last Arsacid king of Armenia and the last person to hold the crown of the ancient Armenian Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sohaemus of Armenia</span> Roman client king of Armenia (died 180)

Gaius Julius Sohaemus was a Roman client king of Armenia.

Khosrov I was a Parthian prince who served as a Roman client king of Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khosrovidukht (sister of Tiridates III of Armenia)</span> 3rd century Armenian Arcasid dynasty Princess

Khosrovidukht also transliterated Xosroviduxt was a princess of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, one of the client-kingdoms of the Roman Empire and a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khosrov II of Armenia</span> Armenian king from 252 to 258

Khosrov II, also known as Khosrov the Brave was an Armenian king from the Arsacid dynasty in the mid-third century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anak the Parthian</span> Armenian Parthian noble (died 258)

Anak the Parthian was a Parthian noble who, according to the Armenian tradition, was the father of Gregory the Illuminator, who converted Armenia to Christianity in the early fourth century. Anak is said to have killed King Khosrov of Armenia at the incitement of the Sasanians, leading to his own murder and the extermination of his family, except for the child Gregory, who was saved and taken to Roman territory. The details and historicity of this account have been debated by historians.

Vologases also known as Vologases III and Vagharsh III was a Prince who served as a Roman Client King of Arsacid Armenia. Vologases served as a co-king with his brother Arsaces III from 378 until 386.

Zruanduxt was a Sasanian Princess from Persia who lived in the 4th century. She became queen consort to King Khosrov IV of Armenia.

References

  1. Russell 1987, p. 167.
  2. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  3. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  4. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  5. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  6. Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, p.71
  7. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  8. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  9. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.174
  10. Cassius Dio, Book LXXIX, Chapter 27
  11. Erdkamp, A Companion to the Roman Army, p.p.247&251
  12. V. M. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, Armenian General Benevolent Union of America 1958: Chapter XVII The Arsacids (Arshakunis) of Armenia
  13. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.261
  14. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  15. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  16. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  17. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  18. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  19. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  20. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  21. Hovannisian, The Armenian People, p. 72.
  22. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia: A History, p.217
  23. Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, p.74

Sources