This article is about the specific polity Armenia (Roman Empire) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Period of Roman domain of the kingdom of Armenia.
Establishment
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: 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 65 BC: Border corrections due to military occupations and reorganization.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
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.
1.1.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 64 BC: The Romans left control of the Lesser Armenia to various client kings.
1.1.1.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.
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.
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.
3.1.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.
3.2.Trajan's Parthian Campaign
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Trajan in 115 against the Parthian Empire in Mesopotamia.
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.
3.3.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 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.
3.4.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.
3.5.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.
3.6.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 342: Constantius managed to gain the loyalty of the ruler Arsaces II and of the Armenian aristocracy through diplomatic channels as early as 341.
3.7.Sasanian Campaign of Julian
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Julian against the Sasanian Empire.
3.7.1.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.
3.8.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.
3.9.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.
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 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.
Selected Sources
Appian, XII - The Mithridatic Wars, 114
Cassius Dio: Roman History, XXXVI, 53.5-6
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Armenia (Roman Empire)
