Lesser Armenia 1145772 212589207 2008-05-15T12:33:54Z Bonadea 2877947 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 212588769 by [[Special:Contributions/Hasanlianaris|Hasanlianaris]] ([[User talk:Hasanlianaris|talk]]) - rv unexplained content deletion {{Unreferenced|date=September 2007}} [[Image:Roman Empire Armenia.svg|right|thumb|300px|Armenia as part of the Roman Empire in 117 AD]] '''Lesser Armenia''' (also known as '''Armenia Minor''' and '''Armenia Inferior''', "Փոքր Հայք" "Pok'r Hayq" in Armenian) refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the west & north west of the ancient [[Kingdom of Armenia|Armenian kingdom]] and north east of the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]]. ==Geography== {{see|Western Armenia|Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey}} <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Kingdom - Armenia.gif|thumb|Division of the Armenian Kingdom|{{deletable image-caption|1=Sunday, 13 January 2008}}]] -->Lesser Armenia (or Armenia Minor) was the portion of historic [[Armenia]] and the [[Armenian Highland]] lying west and northwest of the river [[Euphrates]]. It received its name to distinguish it from the much larger eastern portion of historic Armenia &mdash; [[Kingdom of Armenia|Greater Armenia]] (or Armenia Major). Lesser Armenia is a part of the [[Armenian Highlands]] ([[Eastern Anatolia]] region of [[Turkey]]), more or less coinciding with the modern provinces of [[Sivas Province|Sivas]] (Sebasteia, [[Armenian Language|Armenian]]: Սեբաստիա), [[Erzincan Province|Erzincan]] ([[Armenian Language|Armenian]]: Երզնկա), [[Gumushane Province|Gumushane]] ([[Greek Language|Greek]]: Αργυρούπολις, Argirocastron), [[Malatya Province|Malatya]] (Melitena, [[Armenian Language|Armenian]]: Մելիտենէ, Մալաթիա). ==History== ===Early history=== [[Image:Yervanduni Armenia, IV-II BC.gif|thumb|[[Armenian Kingdom]] under the royal dynasty of [[Orontid Dynasty|Orontids]] in 4th-3rd centuries BC]] Prior to 4th century BC, the territory of Lesser Armenia was part of the ancient Armenian kingdom, which was ruled by the royal dynasty of [[Orontid Dynasty|Orontids]] (Yervanduni, [[Armenian Language|Armenian]]: Երուանդունի) and, in the 4th c. BC, was subject to the [[Persia]]n [[Achaemenid Empire]]. Following the campaigns of [[Alexander the Great]] in 330s BC, as the Persian Empire collapsed, [[Mithridates]], an Armenian general of the Persian army, declared himself king of Lesser Armenia. Thus two independent kingdoms emerged from the territory of the ancient Armenian kingdom &mdash; Lesser Armenia and [[Kingdom of Armenia|Greater Armenia]]. By the 3rd century BC, the kingdom of Lesser Armenia reached its greatest extent and covered also the territories of southeastern coasts of the [[Black Sea]], including the provinces of [[Trabzon|Trapezus]], [[Rize|Rizon]] and [[Hemşin|Hamshen]] (the area where the ethnic Armenian [[Hamshenis]] originated). ===Roman-Persian wars=== Armenia was disputed kingdom between [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] and [[Parthia]] during the [[Roman-Persian Wars]] from 66 BC to the 2nd century AD. Roman influence was first established with [[Pompey]]'s campaign of 66/65 BC, and again in 59 AD in the campaign of [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo]] which resulted in the deposition of [[Tiridates I of Armenia|Tiridates I]]. Armenia became a [[Roman province]] in AD 114, and was lost again to [[Vologases IV of Parthia]] in AD 161. In 163, a Roman counter-attack under [[Statius Priscus]] once again installed a favoured candidate on the throne of Armenia, and Roman influence in Armenia remained until the Roman defeat at the [[Battle of Barbalissos]] in 253. Lesser Armenia was reunited with the kingdom of Greater Armenia under the Arshakuni king [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]] in AD 287, until the conquest of [[Shapur II]] in 337. ===Byzantine Empire=== After the division of Armenia by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantian]] and [[Sassanid]] Persian Empires in 387, Lesser Armenia, along with western regions of Greater Armenia, became part of Byzantine Empire. Its population remained Armenian, new territories were added to it and formed the Byzantian military themes of First Armenia, Second Armenia, Third Armenia, and Fourth Armenia, the latter being originally the province of Tsopk ([[Armeneian Language|Armenian]]: Ծոփք, modern [[Elazig Province|Elazig]]) of [[Kingdom of Armenia|Greater Armenia]]. The borders of Byzantine part of Armenia constanty changed until the [[Arab conquest of Armenia]] in 639, after which the part of Lesser Armenia remaining under Byzantine control (in a lesser extent) formed the theme of Armeniakon. Until the 10th century two new provinces of Colonia and Sebastia were created on its territory. ===Later History=== After the downfall of Bagratid Armenia in 1045 and resulting subsequent losses of Byzantine Empire in the East in 1071 after the [[Battle of Manzikert]], Lesser Armenia fell to the [[Seljuks]] and then was parts of [[Mongol Empire]] for 92 years and [[Ottoman Empire]] for the entire duration of the latter's existence, until the formation of [[Turkey]] in 1923, as "[[Western Armenia]]" after the acquisition of [[Eastern Armenia]] by the [[Russian Empire]] after the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)|Russo-Turkish War]] of 1829. During 11th-14th centuries the term Lesser Armenia (sometimes Little Armenia) was applied to the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]]. The Christian Armenian population of Lesser Armenia continued its existence in the area until the [[Armenian Genocide]] of 1915-23. {{Historical regions of Armenia}} {{History of Anatolia}} {{Roman provinces 120 AD}} [[Category:Regions of old Armenia]] [[Category:Ancient Roman provinces]] [[Category:Armenian kingdoms]] [[bg:Малка Армения]] [[ca:Petita Armènia]] [[cy:Armenia Inferior]] [[de:Kleinarmenien]] [[es:Armenia Inferior]] [[hy:Փոքր Հայք]] [[ka:მცირე სომხეთი]] [[la:Armenia (provincia Romana)]] [[nl:Armenia Inferior]] [[pl:Armenia Inferior]] [[ru:Малая Армения]] [[zh:小亚美尼亚]]