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CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF ARMENIA 247
Armenia under the Artaxiad and Arsacid Dynasties.
Not long after the immigration of the Armenians the
country came under Persian sway in the latter half of the
sixth century, being ruled by two satraps. When the Persian
empire fell into the hands of Alexander (331 b.c), Armenia
may have remained comparatively independent for a time,
thoucrh subsequently it was partially subject to the Seleucid
kings of Syria. When the power of the latter was crushed
by the Roman victory over Antiochus the Great in 189 b.c,
the two satraps seized their independence, Zariadres in Little
Armenia on the Upper Euphrates, and Artashes (Artaxias) in
Great Armenia and the Ararat country around the Araxes.
They successfully Consolidated and enlarged their respective
kingdoms. Artashes founded the town of Artashat (Artaxata),
north of the Araxes, and south-west of the present town of
Erivan ; with only a short break it remained the capital of
the country for three and a half centuries.
Under the succeeding kings of the Artaxiad dynasty the
country seems to have prospered. But it had now a dangerous
enemy’ on the east in the Persian empire of the Parthians,
which also had seceded from the Seleucid empire. Under
the warlike King Tigranes II (Tigranes the Great, 95-55 b.c.)
Armenia reached the zenith of its power, and embraced even
larger territories than Urartu in its proudest days. He united
Great and Little Armenia into one kingdom, and in alliance
with his father-in-law, the adventurous King Mithridates VI
Eupator of Pontus, waged war against Rome herself. He
extended his dominion to the Caspian Sea in the west and
Cappadocia in the east ; while in the south he pressed on
across the Taurus Mountains, on the southern side of which
he built a new and magnificent capital which he called
Tigranokerta, and populated with war prisoners " from twelve
Greek towns that he had destroyed." 1 He reduced the
country as far as Edessa (Urfa), and extended his sway on the
south-east as far as Judæa.
Eventually, however, Mithridates was defeated by the
Romans under Lucullus in 72 b.c. Thereupon he took
Strabo, XI, 14, 15.
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