Categories: AntiquitiesPeople

Artashes I – One of the Most Powerful Kings of the Ancient World

Artashes I (reigned in 189-160 BC) was one of the most powerful rulers of the ancient world. He was respected and trusted by the rulers of many countries. The case described below testifies to the high respect King Artashes enjoyed abroad.

In 183 BC, Pontic king Pharnaces I occupied key ports in Asia Minor – Sinop, Keras, and Trabzon. At the time, Pharnaces was in alliance with Mithridates Yervanduni, the ruler of Lesser Armenia, and waged conflict against a number of small city-countries in Asia Minor.

Despite his initial success, Pharnaces and Mithridates were defeated by the ruler of Pergamon Eumenes II in 179 BC. A treaty was signed between the sides, according to which Lesser Armenia and Pontus relinquished their conquests and pledged to pay a large military fine. The parties, when signing a peace treaty, invited Artashes I, the King of Greater Armenia, as a mediator in the agreement.

Gevork Nazaryan

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

“If I Hadn’t Acted, We Would All Be Dead”: The Shaki Attack and the Mother Who Fought Back

On October 1, 2026, an armed Azerbaijani soldier entered a family home in Syunik, Armenia.…

5 days ago

Written in Wool, Carved in Stone: The Khachkar, the Carpet, and the Struggle to Name Armenian Weaving

A 19th-century Baluch rug beside a 13th-century khachkar from Hovhannavank: a shared design logic, and…

6 days ago

An Armenian Bride from Kharberd: A Photograph from the Danish National Archives

A portrait from the Armenian highlands Two women stand before a painted studio backdrop of…

2 weeks ago

MPG/Gallup International Poll of September 25, 2026: Examining an Anomalous Jump in the Numbers

1. What Was Published on September 25 Aram Navasardyan, head of the Armenian branch of…

3 weeks ago

Russian Gas for Armenia: Facts, Hypotheses, and What Cannot Yet Be Claimed (as of September 26, 2026)

Why the topic is back in focus Over the past four months, the gas issue…

4 weeks ago

The Story of a Lie: How Azerbaijan Rewrote the History of Karabakh

It's often assumed that the "Albanization" of Armenian heritage — the policy of declaring medieval…

4 weeks ago