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The cluster includes all the forms the Armenian Nation during antiquity. Modern Armenia, which is treated ina different cluster, later re-emerged 200 years later.
The cluster includes the following incarnations of the same nation:
Kingdom of Armenia
Armenia (Roman Empire)
Armenia (Parthian Empire)
Armenia (Sasanian Empire)
Establishment
January 189 BC: The defeat of the Seleucid King Antiochos III by the Romans at Magnesia Sipylus in 190 BC redraws the political map of the Middle East. Under the terms of the Peace of Apamea (188 BC), Antiochus III could no longer intervene north of the Taurus, creating a political vacuum which was immediately filled by new independent kingdoms. From 190 BC. BC, the satrap of Armenia Artaxias, with whom the Carthaginian Hannibal took refuge, founded on his advice the city of Artaxates (south of present-day Yerevan) on the banks of the Araxes, and makes it the capital of a kingdom of Armenia of which he proclaims himself king, with the blessing of the Romans.
January 189 BC: In the 2nd century BC, Armenia was established in the parts of Caucasian Albania to the right of the Kura River.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Military conquests of Armenian King Tigranes the Great.
January 94 BC: Sophene conquered by Tigranes the Great 95 BC.
January 87 BC: Tigranes II of Armenia, also known as Tigranes the Great, was a powerful Armenian king who expanded his kingdom to include Atropatene in -88. This territory was previously a vassal of the Parthian Empire. Tigranes II was known for his military conquests and for establishing a strong Armenian empire in the region.
January 87 BC: Upon the death of Mithridates II of Parthia, in 88 BC, Tigranes took advantage of the confusion of his ally, to reappropriate the lands ceded as a ransom and to further expand his kingdom with the annexation of Gordiene and part of Mesopotamia.
January 87 BC: In -88, Osorene was conquered by Tigranes II of Armenia. Osorene was a region located in present-day eastern Syria and western Iraq. Tigranes II was a powerful ruler of the Kingdom of Armenia, known for his military conquests and expansion of his empire.
January 79 BC: Mithridates Callinicus is thought to have accepted Armenian suzerainty during the reign of Tigranes II the Great.
1.1.Armenian-Parthian War
Military campaign of Armenian King Tigranes the Great against the kingdoms of Osroene and Atropatene.
January 84 BC: The armies of Tigranes the Great victoriously entered Northern Mesopotamia and the kingdoms of Osroene and Atropatene pledged their loyalty and support to Tigranes the Great.
1.2.Armenian Occupation of Syria
Military campaign of Armenian King Tigranes the Great to conquer the Seleucid Kingdom, which at the time was reduced mainly to Syria.
January 82 BC: In 83 BC, after bloody strife for the throne of Syria, governed by the Seleucids, the Syrians decided to choose Tigranes as the protector of their kingdom and offered him the crown of Syria. Magadates was appointed as his governor in Antioch. He then conquered Phoenicia and Cilicia, effectively putting an end to the last remnants of the Seleucid Empire.
Were three conflicts fought by Rome against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 BC and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus during the course of the wars.
2.1.Third Mithridatic War
Was the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. The conflict ended in defeat for Mithridates, ending the Pontic Kingdom, ending the Seleucid Empire (by then a rump state), and also resulting in the Kingdom of Armenia becoming an allied client state of Rome.
January 77 BC: Due to the death of Roman Dictator Sulla, Cappadocia was left without aid of the Roman Republic. Mithridates persuaded his son-in-law, Tigranes II of Armenia, to invade Cappadocia as if it were his independent action. But this artifice failed to deceive the Romans. The Armenian king invaded the country of Cappadocia.
December 74 BC: Towards the end of autumn, Eumacus, a general of the King of Pontus, invaded Phrygia and killed a large multitude of Roman citizens, including wives and children. Then Eumacus also subjugated the populations of Pisidia, Isauria, and Cilicia.
January 72 BC: Roman General Gaius Valerius Triario set sail for Apamea which he occupied.
October 69 BC: Battle of Tigranocerta: The Roman force, led by Consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus, defeated Tigranes, and as a result, captured Tigranes' capital city of Tigranocerta.
January 67 BC: Siege of Nisibis (68 BC): the Romans conquer the city of Nisibis.
January 67 BC: The Battle of Artaxata was fought near the Arsanias River in 68 BC between an army of the Roman Republic and the army of the Kingdom of Armenia.
January 65 BC: After the conquest of Armenia by the Romans in 66 BC it lost many of its areas, so that the southern border of Albania shifted to the Aras River.
January 65 BC: Border corrections due to military occupations and reorganization.
January 65 BC: To Ariobarzanes, Pompeus gave back, once again, Cappadocia, now adding Sophene and Gordiene, as well as the city of Ierapolis Castabala and others of Cilicia.
January 65 BC: Pompey passed through the Taurus Mountains and waged war both against Antiochus I of Commagene, forcing him to seek peace, and against Darius of Media, whom he put to flight because he had aided Antiochus or Tigranes before him.
January 65 BC: Tigranes of Armenia surrendered to Rome and was allowed to retain the heartland of his kingdom as a Roman buffer state, while all of his conquests were annexed.
January 65 BC: Armenia came under the Ancient Roman sphere of influence in 66 BC, after the battle of Tigranocerta and the final defeat of Armenia's ally.
January 65 BC: After Pompey's successes against Pontos and Armenia, he advanced to the Euphrates and reclaimed Gordyene from the Parthians. Since they wanted to avoid a conflict with Rome, Afranius, sent by Pompey, was able to take the area without a fight. The remaining Parthians were expelled from the country. The state became a Roman vassal.
January 64 BC: The Romans left control of the Lesser Armenia to various client kings.
2.1.1.Caucasian campaign of Pompey
Was a succesful Roman military campaign led by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the Caucasus during the Third Mithridatic War.
January 64 BC: After subduing Iberia, Pompey headed towards the small kingdom of Colchis and subjugated its main stronghold and various local peoples. Pompey gave the rule of Colchis to Aristarches, effectively making it a Roman province, part of Bithynia et Pontus.
Following the Roman general Lucullus' defeat of both Mithridates and Tigranes in 69 BC, a rump Seleucid kingdom was restored under Antiochus XIII.
January 68 BC: Following the Roman general Lucullus' defeat of both Mithridates and Tigranes in 69 BC, a rump Seleucid kingdom was restored under Antiochus XIII.
Was a military campaign waged by Julius Caesar (at the same time of his war against Pompeius) that lead to the Roman submission of the Kingdom of Pontus.
January 47 BC: Pharnace II attempted to reconstitute the kingdom of Pontus by force: during the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, he invaded Asia Minor in 48 BC, conquering Colchis, Armenia Minor, Pontus and Cappadocia, defeating a Roman army in Nicopolis.
January 47 BC: Pharnace of Pontus moved to the southeast along the Black Sea coast and without difficulty subjugated Colchis and all of Armenia.
August 47 BC: Caesar decisively defeated Pharnaces of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. Pharnaces was killed and Caesar conquered Pontus. In addition, the territories occupied by Pharnaces were freed.
Was a war between the ancient Kingdoms of Iberia and Armenia.
January 52: Iberia subdues Armenia.
January 54: However, faced with this upset of the regional balance and fearing that Armenia and Iberia would unite as a single powerful kingdom in the hands of Rhadamistus, Tiridates entered Armenia with Parthian support in 53 AD.
January 56: After 2 years of war, the Armenian nobility revolted and replaced Rhadamistus with the Arsacid prince Tiridates. Armenia becomed de facto a protectorate of Parthia.
Were a series of Wars between Rome (first the Roman Republic then the Roman Empire and finally the Eastern Roman Empire) and Persia (the Parthian Empire, and then its successor, the Sasanian Empire). The wars were ended by the early Muslim conquests, which led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire.
January 287: According to Armenian sources, in the third year of the reign of Diocletian Tiridates was invested with the kingdom of Armenia. Diocletian's panegyric attests in that same year to a treaty between Diocletian and Persia, in which the Persian king Bahram II presumably recognized Tiridates III as king of Armenia. The gifts received by Bahram II were interpreted as symbols of a Roman victory over the Sassanids.
January 294: Also due to a civil war in Persia, the rebels of Tiridates managed not only to free Armenia from the Persian yoke but also to penetrate Assyria. However, when the civil war ended, the new shah Narses was able to regain control of Armenia with a successful military campaign. Again Tiridates lost his throne and fled back to Roman territory.
6.1.Roman-Parthian War of 58-63
Was a war fought between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire over control of Armenia.
January 59: Fall of Artaxata.
January 60: Fall of Tigranocerta.
February 60: Shortly afterwards Corbulo decided to complete the submission of the newly conquered territories with a whole series of punitive expeditions against the regions still loyal to Tiridates. Some parts of Western Armenia were also ceded to Roman vassals. The definitive conquest of Armenia was celebrated by Nero who was hailed as imperator for the sixth time, while a Romanized prince, a trusted "client", was placed on the throne of Armenia.
December 62: The Parthians turned their attention to Armenia, and after two years of inconclusive campaigns, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Romans at the Battle of Rhandeia. The conflict ended soon after, with a formal compromise: a Parthian prince of the Arsacid dynasty would be installed on the Armenian throne, but his appointment had to be approved by the Roman Emperor.
6.2.Trajan's Parthian Campaign
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Trajan in 115 against the Parthian Empire in Mesopotamia.
January 115: Trajan marched first on Armenia, deposed the Parthian-appointed king and annexed it to the Roman Empire as a province.
January 118: Armenia was then ordered into a Roman province by the emperor and remained so until his death (117), when it was abandoned by his successor Adrian. The latter adopted a policy of strengthening the old borders.
6.3.Roman-Parthian War of 161-166
Was a war fought between the Roman and Parthian Empires over Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia.
December 161: In fact, the change at the top of the Roman Empire seems to have encouraged Vologeses IV of Partia to make the first move in late summer or early autumn 161, attacking the Kingdom of Armenia, an ally of the Roman Empire and installing a puppet king of his liking, Pacorus III, an arsacid like him.
January 164: The legions I Minervia and V Macedonica, under the command of the legates Marcus Claudius Fronto and Publius Marzio Verus, who served under Marcus Statius Priscus, achieved numerous military successes, penetrating deeply into Armenia, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Parthians, conquering the Armenian capital , Artaxata.
January 165: In 164 AD, Pacorus, the Parthian ruler of Armenia, was deposed. The former Roman consul of Emesa, Gaius Julius Soemus, who had been deposed by Vologeses, was then crowned as the new tributary king of Armenia under Roman rule.
January 166: In 165 AD, the city of Edessa in Osroene was reoccupied by the Roman client king Manno. This event marked the reinstatement of Manno as the ruler of Osroene under Roman authority.
6.4.Military Campaigns of Shapur I in Syria and Mesopotamia
Was a military campaign by Sassanid King Shapur I against the Roman Empire.
January 253: Around 252, during the reign of Trebonianus Gallus, King Chosroes II of Armenia was killed at the instigation of the Sassanids. The Armenian Kingdom therefore became a Persian protectorate, while his Chosroes' son Tiridates found refuge with the Romans.
6.5.Sasanian Campaign of Galerius
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Galerius against the Sasanian Empire.
January 299: Galerius, advancing through the mountains of Armenia, won a decisive victory over the Sasanian king Narses.
6.6.Military Campaigns of Shapur II in Syria and Mesopotamia
Was a military campaign by Sassanid King Shapur II against the Roman Empire.
January 335: In 334 the Armenian king was taken prisoner by Sapor II and taken to Persia, forcing the Armenians to invoke the help of Constantine I.
January 338: It seems that during the year (probably shortly after the death of Constantine on May 22), the Armenians revolted against the Sasanid domain, driving them out of their territories.
January 342: Constantius managed to gain the loyalty of the ruler Arsaces II and of the Armenian aristocracy through diplomatic channels as early as 341.
6.7.Sasanian Campaign of Julian
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Julian against the Sasanian Empire.
6.7.1.Perso-Roman Peace Treaty of 363
Was a peace treaty between the Romans and Sasanians in 363 AD.
January 364: Armenia becomes again a Sasanian protectorate.
6.8.Partition of Armenia (370)
Division of Armenia between the Romans and the Persians.
January 370: Valente sent the general Arinteo to restore Pope to the Armenian throne already the summer following the first action against the Goths (in 369?), also at the request of the Armenian nobility itself.
February 370: Sapor invaded Armenia.
January 371: Pope again managed to escape and was reinstated by the Romans escorted by a much larger force in 370.
6.9.Partition of Armenia (385)
Division of Armenia between the Romans and the Persians.
January 385: In 384, the kingdom of Armenia was divided into two regions: the western one was placed, as a protectorate, under the Eastern Roman Empire, while the eastern one was entrusted to the Persians. The western region became a province of the Roman Empire with the name of Armenia Minor, while the eastern part remained an independent kingdom, even if only formally, under Persian control.
6.10.Partition of Armenia (429)
Division of Armenia between the Romans and the Persians.
January 429: In 428 the Sasanids deposed the legitimate ruler by establishing their own dynasty.
6.11.Byzantine-Sasanian War of 572-591
Was a war fought between the Sasanian Empire of Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire. It was triggered by pro-Byzantine revolts in areas of the Caucasus under Persian hegemony.
April 572: Early in 572, the Armenians under Vardan II Mamikonian defeated the Persian governor of Armenia.
January 573: The Persians retook the city of Dvin.
February 573: The Sasanian Empire was captured by combined Armenian and Byzantine forces and direct hostilities between Byzantines and Persians began.
September 591: Khosrow II gives the Byzantine Empire most of Persian Armenia.
September 591: Persian Armenia was annexed directly to Persia.
In the Battle of Varnakert (702) Armenian prince Smbat Bagratuni defeated the 8,000-strong Umayyad army from the garrison in Nakhichevan.
January 703: In the Battle of Varnakert (702) Smbat Bagratuni defeated the 8,000-strong Umayyad army from the garrison in Nakhichevan. Smbat, with the aid of Byzantine Empire, managed to re-conquer the majority of Armenia and drive the Arabs out of the country.
January 13: The remaining Artaxiad kings ruled as clients of Rome until they were overthrown in 12 AD due to their possible allegiance to Rome's main rival in the region, Parthia.
Disestablishment
January 706: Despite this success, the Umayyad generals Muhammad ibn Marwan and Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik soon restored Armenia to subject status, and secured Muslim control by organizing a large-scale massacre of the princely families (nakharar) within the cathedral of Nakhchivan in 705.
Selected Sources
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 105
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 106
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 114
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 67
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 75
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 77
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 86
Cassius Dio: Roman History, XXXVI, 53.5-6
Plutarch: Parallel Lives, Lucullus, 25.3-4
Plutarch: Parallel Lives, Lucullus, 31.4-8
Plutarch: Parallel Lives, Lucullus, 32.4-5
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armenia (antiquity)
