Military campaigns of Tigranes the Great

Tigranes Armenian Empire

Tigranes the Great

The military campaigns of Tigranes the Great constituted offensives by Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia, against client kingdoms of the Roman and Parthian Empires. His conquests from 95 to 75 bce expanded his territory from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. He built a new capital Tigranocerta and populated it with people deported from Cappadocia. His initial invasions of Cappadocia drew the attention of the Roman Empire and after being defeated in two separate campaigns, Tigranes was allowed to keep Armenia as a client kingdom of Rome while paying an indemnity of 6,000 talents and relinquishing all his conquests.

Background

In 120 bce, Tigranes was taken as hostage, following his uncle Artavasdes' defeat by Mithradates II, king of Parthia. ^[1] By 95 bce, Tigranes had inherited the kingdom of Armenia from his father and secured his freedom by surrendering seventy valleys to the Parthians. ^[1] In 91 bce, Mithradates II, king of Parthia, died and Gotarzes I, his son, took over as ruler. ^[1] During his reign, the Parthian Empire was divided by civil war, while Rome was preoccupied with the Social war, to which Tigranes expanded his territory by the conquering and annexing former client-kingdoms. ^[2]

Mithridates VI of Pontus, Tigranes father-in-law

Campaign 95 bce

Tigranes invaded Sophene around 95 bce, ^[3] either executing or leaving Artanes as its client-king. ^[4]

Campaign of 91-90 bce

Pro-consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix

In 91-90 BCE, ^{[lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2]} Tigranes was persuaded by his father-in-law, Mithridates VI Eupator, to attack the Roman client kingdom of Cappadocia. ^[6] Ariobarzanes, king of Cappadocia, fled to Rome ahead of Tigranes' army, ^[6] while a treaty between Mithridates and Tigran gave Cappadocian cities and lands to the former and its population and movable property(spoils) to the latter. ^[7] In response, Roman general Sulla occupied Cappadocia, forced out and killed many Armenians and disloyal Cappadocians, and re-installed Ariobarzanes as client-king of Cappadocia. ^[8] Despite Sulla's invasion, Tigranes was able to unite the eastern province of Cappadocia, Melitene, with Sophene. ^[9]

Campaign of 88 - 85 bce

From 88 to 85 bce, Tigranes retook the seventy valleys, ^{[lower-alpha 3]} given to the Parthian Empire for his freedom, located in Atropatene. ^[10] He invaded and occupied Adiabene, Gordyene, ^[2] and Media-Atropatene, and according Nina Garsoïan his forces advanced as far as Ecbatana. ^{[lower-alpha 4] [1]} According to Manandian, Tigranes did, however, burn Adrapana, a fort 10 kilometers from Ecbatana. ^[12]

Campaign of 84-83 bce

In 84-83 BCE, Tigranes annexed Cilicia Pedias, Mygdonia, Osroene, ^{[lower-alpha 5]} and Commagene. ^[1] Mithridates I Callinicus, king of Commagene, would continue to rule, although as a vassal. ^[14] Mithridates' son, Antiochus I, would inherit Commagene from his father and continue as a client-king until the Roman offensive of 69 bce. ^[14] Tigrane oversaw the resettlement of Arabs from southern Mesopotamia into Osroene, Edessa specifically. ^[9]

In Syria, the constant civil war between the Seleucids, and recent death of its ruler in 84 bce, ^[15] had prompted an appeal for Tigranes to accept the throne. ^[1] The conquest of Syria by the Tigranes was bloodless, and Aleppo maintained its independence as a city-state. ^[15] One of Tigran's generals, Magadates, was appointed governor of the newly constituted province of Syria that most likely included Cilicia. ^[1] The king's brother Guras was put in charge of the significant Mesopotamian city of Nisibis. ^[1]

According to some primary sources, Tigranes campaign advanced as far as Egypt, ^{[lower-alpha 6]} while secondary sources indicate his armies only reached northern Palestine. ^[16]

Campaign of 78 bce

Acting on the news of Sulla's death, Tigranes invaded Cappadocia, again, this time deporting 300,000 of its people to his capital Tigranocerta. ^[13] This raised the population of Tigranocerta to 500,000 people. ^[13]

Aftermath

Tigranes' empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, ^[1] yet his conquests were short-lived. ^[17] After the Romans had defeated his father-in-law, Mithridates VI Eupator in 70 bce, Tigranes would be defeated in two separate campaigns. ^[17] This freed the kingdoms of Iberia, Albania and Media Atropatene from Armenian hegemony, while Adiabene and Mesopotamia were returned to their local rulers. ^[18] In 66 bce, the Roman general Pompey allowed Tigranes to become a client-king of Rome and keep Armenia, ^[19] after paying a war indemnity of 6,000 talents and relinquishing all provinces and kingdoms taken in his previous campaigns. ^[20]

Notes

1. Marciak and Overtoom indicate Tigranes invaded Cappadocia sometime after invading Sophene c.95/94 bce, ^[4] while Overtoom indicates a second invasion of Cappadocia by Tigranes occurred in 92 bce ^[3]
2. Sullivan states Tigranes attacked Cappadocia five times and used part of its population to furnish his capital Tigranocerta ^[5]
3. Manandian quoting Markwart indicates these valleys were located in Atropatene and originally conquered by Artaxias I ^[10]
4. Numismatic evidence indicates Gotarzes continued to mint coins at Ecbatana during his reign. ^[11]
5. Christoph Baumer indicates Mygdonia, Commagene, Osroene, Cilicia, south-western Syria and Phoenicia were conquered around 83 bce. ^[13]
6. Garsoian cites Appian (Syr. 11.8.48) ^[1]

References

1. Garsoian 2005.
2. Sherwin-White 1994, p. 238.
3. Overtoom 2020, p. xxv.
4. Marciak 2017, p. 129.
5. Sullivan 1990, p. 99.
6. Hind 1994, p. 143.
7. Manandian 2007, p. 23-24.
8. Keaveney 2005, p. 31.
9. Mommsen 2010, p. 45.
10. Manandian 2007, p. 36.
11. Assar 2006, p. 60.
12. Manandian 2007, p. 37.
13. Baumer 2021, p. 134.
14. Facella 2022, p. 225.
15. Burns 2018, p. 37.
16. Lang 1970, p. 40.
17. Sinclair 1987, p. 84.
18. van Wijlick 2020, p. 33.
19. Patterson 2015, p. 77.
20. van Wijlick 2020, p. 32.

Sources

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• Baumer, Christoph (2021). History of the Caucasus. Vol. 1: At the Crossroads of Empires. I.B. Tauris.
• Burns, Ross (2018). Aleppo: A History. Taylor & Francis.
• Facella, Margherita (2022). "Commagene". In Kaizer, Ted (ed.). A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. John Wiley & Sons.
• Garsoian, Nina (2005). "Tigran II". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Hind, John G.F. (1994). "Mithridates". In Crook, J.A.; Lintott, Andrew; Rawson, Elizabeth (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146-43 B.C. Cambridge University Press. pp. 129–164.
• Keaveney, Arthur (2005). Sulla: The Last Republican. Routledge.
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