Kingdom of Armenia
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{{ distinguish| Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia }}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = Մեծ Հայք
|conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Armenia
|common_name = Kingdom of Armenia
|national_motto =
|continent = Europe
|region = Caucasus
|country =
|era =
|status = Empire
|government_type =
|year_start = 190 BC
|year_end = 428 AD
|event_start =
|event_end =
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|event2 =
|date_event2 =
|p1 =
|flag_p1 =
|s2 =
|flag_s2 =
|image_flag =
|image_coat =
|image_map = Armenian Empire.png
|image_map_caption = Kingdom of [[Armenia]] at its greatest extent under the [[Artaxiad Dynasty]] after the conquests of [[Tigranes the Great]], 80 BC.
|capital = Tigranakert
|religion =
|common_languages = [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
|currency =
|legislature =
|stat_year1 =
|stat_pop1 =
}}
{{History of Armenia}}
The '''Kingdom of Armenia''' (or '''Greater Armenia''') was an independent kingdom from 190 BC to 387 АD, and a client state of the Roman and Persian empires until 428. Stretching from the [[Caspian]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]]s. <ref>Time Almanac - Page 724 by Editors of Time Magazine</ref> <ref>The New Review - Page 208 edited by Archibald Grove, William Ernest Henley</ref>
== History ==
The predecessor of the Kingdom was the Satrapy of Armenia ("Armina" in the Old Persian, "Harminuya" in the Elamite and "Urashtu" ("Urartu") in the Bablylonian parts of [[Behistun Inscription]] of [[Darius the Great]]) part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], which later became an independent Kingdom under the [[Orontid Dynasty]] with [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] influence.
After the destruction of the [[Seleucid Empire]], a [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic Greek]] successor state of [[Alexander the Great]]'s short-lived empire, a Hellenistic Armenian state was founded in 190 BC by [[Artaxias I]]{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. At its zenith, from 95 to 66 BC, Armenia extended its rule over parts of the Caucasus and the area that is now eastern [[Turkey]], [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]]{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. For a time, Armenia was one of the most powerful states in the Roman East. It came under the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[sphere of influence]] in 66 BC, after the [[battle of Tigranokerta]] and the final defeat of Armenia's allied [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]]. [[Mark Antony]] invaded and succumbed the kingdom in 34 BC, but Romans lost hegemony at time of the [[Final war of the Roman republic]] in 32-30 BC. In 20 BC, [[Augustus]] negotiated a truce with the Parthians, making Armenia a buffer zone between the two major powers.
Subsequently, Armenia was often a focus of contention between Rome and [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. The [[Parthia]]ns forced Armenia into submission from 37 to 47, when the Romans retook control of the kingdom.
Under [[Nero]], the Romans fought a campaign (55–63) against the [[Parthian Empire]], which had invaded the Kingdom of Armenia, allied to the Romans. After gaining (60) and losing (62) Armenia, the Romans sent [[Legio XV Apollinaris|XV ''Apollinaris'']] from [[Pannonia]] to [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo|Cn. Domitius Corbulo]], ''legatus'' of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]. Corbulo, with the legions XV ''Apollinaris'', [[Legio III Gallica|III ''Gallica'']], [[Legio V Macedonica|V ''Macedonica'']], [[Legio X Fretensis|X ''Fretensis'']] and [[Legio XXII Deiotariana|XXII]], entered (63) into the territories of [[Vologases I of Parthia]], who returned the Armenian kingdom to [[Tiridates I of Armenia|Tiridates]].
Another campaign was led by Emperor [[Lucius Verus]] in 162-165, after [[Vologases IV of Parthia]] had invaded Armenia and installed his chief general on its throne. To counter the Parthian threat, Verus set out for the east. His army won significant victories and retook the capital. Sohaemus, a Roman citizen of Armenian heritage, was installed as the new [[client king]]. But a result of an epidemic within the Roman forces, Parthians retook most of their lost territory in 166 and forced Sohaemus to retreat to Syria, аnd in Armenia Arsakid’s dynasty was restored.
After the fall of the [[Arsacid Dynasty]] in Persia, there succeeded the [[Sassanian Dynasty]] which aspired to establish control over Armenia. The [[Sassanid]] Persians occupied Armenia in 252. In 287 [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridetes III the Great]], was established king of Armenia by the Roman armies. He soon accepted Christianity. The traditional date is in 301, earlier than [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]].
In 387 the kingdom was split between the [[East Roman Empire]] and the Persians. Western Armenia quickly became a province of the [[Roman Empire]] under the name of [[Armenia Minor]]; Eastern Armenia remained a kingdom within Persia until 428, when the local nobility overthrew the king, and the Sassanids installed a governor in his place.
By the second century BC the population of Greater Armenia spoke [[Armenian language|Armenian]], implying that today’s Armenians are the direct descendants of those speakers. <ref>Patrick Donabedian, “The History of Karabagh from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century,” in Levon Chorbajian, Patrick Donabedian and [[Claude Mutafian]],</ref> <ref>The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh (London and New Jersey: Zed Books, 1994), p. 53.</ref> <ref>Armenia and Azerbaijan:
thinking a way out of Karabakh David D. Laitin and Ronald Grigor Suny</ref> <ref>Greek Geographer, Strabo, </ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
*M. Chahin, ''The Kingdom of Armenia'' (1987, reissued 1991)
*[[Vahan Kurkjian]], ''Tigran the Great'' (1958)
* Ashkharbek Kalantar, ''Armenia: From the Stone Age to the Middle Ages,'' Civilisations du Proche Orient, Se´rie 1, Vol. 2, Recherches et Publications, Neuchâtel, Paris, 1994;ISBN 978-2-940032-01-3
* Ashkharbek Kalantar, ''The Mediaeval Inscriptions of Vanstan, Armenia,'' Civilisations du Proche-Orient: Series 2 - Philologie - CDPOP 2, Vol. 2, Recherches et Publications, Neuchâtel, Paris, 1999;ISBN 978-2-940032-11-2
* Ashkharbek Kalantar, ''Materials on Armenian and Urartian History'' (with a contribution by Mirjo Salvini), Civilisations du Proche-Orient: Series 4 - Hors Série - CPOHS 3, Neuchâtel, Paris, 2004;ISBN 978-2-940032-14-3
== External links ==
* [http://www.armenianhighland.com Armenian History]
{{Armenia topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenia, Kingdom of}}
[[Category:190 BC establishments]]
[[Category:History of Armenia]]
[[Category:Seleucid Empire]]
[[Category:Hellenistic states]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Armenian kingdoms]]
[[Category:Former empires]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Armenia| ]]
[[az:Uydurma "Böyük Ermənistan" dövləti]]
[[es:Reino de Armenia]]
[[eo:Armena Reĝlando]]
[[fr:Royaume d'Arménie]]
[[ko:아르메니아 왕국]]
[[hy:Մեծ Հայք]]
[[id:Kerajaan Armenia]]
[[os:Стыр Сомих]]
[[it:Regno d'Armenia]]
[[hu:Arménia]]
[[nl:Koninkrijk Armenië]]
[[ja:アルメニア王国]]
[[pt:Reino da Armênia]]
[[ru:Великая Армения]]
[[simple:Kingdom of Armenia]]
[[zh:亞美尼亞王國]]