By the 3rd century BC, the peripheries of the Armenian Highlands had already been integrated into the sphere of the Armenian language and ethnicity. However, parts of these areas continued to remain within the boundaries of other states. Small Armenian kingdoms in the west encompassed only a portion of the Armenian ethnicity.
In this context, the Kingdom of Yervandakan (Greater Armenia), which occupied the central regions of the Highlands, emerged as the nucleus around which a unified Armenian state would form. This unification was achieved under Artashes I (189 – circa 160 BC), one of the most prominent figures in ancient Armenia.
The Greek author Strabo, writing in the 1st century BC, provides a vivid account of the events of this period. “They say,” he writes, “that Armenia was initially small and expanded through the efforts of Artashes and Zareh… Upon ascending the throne… one in Sophene…, the other in the lands surrounding Artashat, they expanded their territories, conquering lands from neighboring peoples; from the Medes, Iberians (Georgians), Chalybes and Mosynoeci, Cataonians, and Syrians. As a result, all of them became monolingual.”
Under Artashes I, the state expanded in all directions – north, south, east, and west. Strabo’s account is corroborated by various sources from that period.
The campaign of Artashes to the east, targeting the “rebellious” land of the Kaopes, is detailed by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi. He also recounts the northern campaigns towards Georgia, which are described in more detail in the ancient Georgian source “Kartlis Tskhovreba.”
In the west, Armenia faced a more complex and challenging political situation, involving small but powerful states in Asia Minor. Between 183 and 179 BC, a fierce war raged between two factions: on one side, Pontus and its ally Lesser Armenia; on the other side, Cappadocia and its allies.
This latter faction enjoyed the support of Rome, while the former was backed by the Seleucids. King Pharnaces of Pontus and the ruler of Lesser Armenia, Mithridates, initially achieved some success but ultimately lost the war and were forced to make peace under harsh conditions.
Armenia’s position regarding the two factions was clear and traditionally anti-Seleucid, meaning it supported Cappadocia and Pergamum against Pontus and Lesser Armenia. In the peace treaty, whose text is preserved by the 2nd-century BC historian Polybius, Artashes is mentioned as one of the interested parties, referred to as the “ruler of the greater part of Armenia.”
Taking advantage of the defeat of Lesser Armenia and its supporter, Pontus, Artashes managed to annex and incorporate Karin and Derjan into his state through military or diplomatic pressure. As Strabo notes, these regions “adjoin Lesser Armenia or are part of it.”
The Seleucid state remained the most dangerous neighbor for Armenia. After Antiochus III the Great, his son Seleucus IV (187-175 BC) ascended the throne. During these years, Armenia grew stronger and aimed to incorporate peripheral Armenian-speaking regions within its borders. These included areas south of Lake Van up to Adiabene, where, according to Strabo, the Armenian element had long been strong.
In 168 BC, Armenian forces entered Tmorik (Tamoritis), a region subordinated to the Seleucids, and annexed it to the Armenian state, extending its borders to the Tigris River. According to Movses Khorenatsi, one of Artashes I’s close associates was appointed to govern Tmorik and quickly began developing the new region.
The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC), an energetic but adventurous leader, was at war with Egypt during this time. Only in 165 BC did he turn his attention northward, crossing the Euphrates with his troops and encountering the Armenian army, which had forded the Tigris and advanced to meet him.
The battle was extremely bloody, with many Armenian warriors falling, but the situation remained largely unchanged: Antiochus did not cross the Tigris, and Tmorik remained within Armenia’s borders.
Artashes attempted to annex Sophene but failed. Cappadocia strongly opposed this, and Artashes abandoned his plan. The annexation of Sophene was delayed by approximately 70 years, until the time of Tigran II.
The last records of Artashes I date to the late 60s of the 2nd century BC when he once again opposed the Seleucids and supported the revolt of the Seleucid satrap of Babylonia and Media, Timarchus, against their overlords.
In the first half of the 2nd century BC, Armenia grew into a powerful, independent, and expansive state, necessitating various reforms in economic, political-administrative, military, and other areas.
Inscriptions of Artashes I, written in Aramaic on boundary stones, have survived. Movses Khorenatsi mentions that Artashes demarcated communal and private lands with these stones. There is also evidence of a military reorganization under Artashes, including the creation of four military districts.
The new administrative division aimed to facilitate the management of the vast state. These reforms were based on the country’s economic upturn, evident in both rural agriculture and urban craft production and trade.
Cities founded in the 3rd century BC by the Yervandakan dynasty in the Ararat Valley and Sophene continued to grow in the 2nd century BC. The founding of Artashat (Artaxiasata, meaning “joy of Artaxias” in Greek), the capital of the Armenian state, had significant historical importance.
Located on the main route to Black Sea ports, Artashat became not only a political but also a crucial trade center in ancient Armenia. Its founding coincided with the establishment of overland trade relations with India and Central Asia and transit trade with China. Plutarch calls Artashat the “Carthage of Armenia” and writes about the city’s fame in Roman society.
The founding of Artashat in the Ararat Valley was no accident. Nearly all historical Armenian capitals—Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat, and Dvin—were located there. By the 4th century BC, the Ararat Valley had already become the heart of Armenia.
Artashat was founded by Artashes I and named after him, following Hellenistic customs. According to historians Strabo and Plutarch, the renowned Carthaginian general Hannibal, who fled east after his defeat by the Romans, assisted the Armenian king in choosing the location and designing the city plan.
Although Hannibal’s involvement in Artashat’s founding is uncertain, Plutarch’s account indicates that the city was built according to a pre-developed unified plan, undoubtedly following Hellenistic urban planning norms.
Strabo reports that Artashat was well-populated and served as the royal residence, surrounded on three sides by the Arax River and protected by a moat and wall on the fourth side.
Current archaeological excavations at Artashat, located along the banks of the Arax on several hills around Khor Virap, are uncovering new information and confirming ancient sources’ accounts.
According to Movses Khorenatsi, part of Yervandashat’s population, the previous capital of Armenia, was relocated to Artashat. This synoecism—a process of forming the population of a newly founded city by transferring inhabitants from older cities—was a common method of populating new cities in the Hellenistic world.
However, in Armenia, this method was insufficient due to the small urban population. As a result, the relocation of foreigners was practiced during both Artashes I’s and, particularly, Tigran II’s reigns.
In the first half of the 2nd century BC, several other cities were founded in Armenia alongside Artashat. These cities bore the name of Artashes’s father, Zareh, and stretched across Armenia from southeast to northwest. Records mention cities such as Zarehavan in Noshirakan, Zarehavan in Bagrevand, Zarishat in Vanand, and more. In the same period, the city of Arkatiokert was founded in Sophene.
Artatsolum
Based on an excerpt from the book: “The History of the Armenian People from Ancient Times to the Present Day” edited by Professor G. Nersesyan.
