The Kingdom of the Ervanduni (Haykazuni)
In the 70s of the 6th century BC, the Armenian Kingdom, confronted by the powerful Mar-Iranian state in Iran and the great power in the Near East, was forced to recognize its dominance, with the condition of paying an annual tax and providing troops in case of war.
However, Armenia fully retained its state independence, territorial integrity, spiritual and cultural autonomy, and vitality, which had been established in previous centuries. The state borders of Armenia at that time coincided with the borders of the Ararat Kingdom and the ethnic boundaries of the Armenian people.
The Greek historian Herodotus, based on the “Geography” of Hecataeus of Miletus, described Armenia in the 6th-5th centuries BC as a large monolithic country inhabited by Armenians, whose borders extended to the sources of the Pokr Zav and Marastan rivers in the southeast, to Adiabene in the south, to Pontus in the northwest, to Cappadocia in the west, and to Cilicia in the southwest.
Herodotus considered Paktika, located west of the Euphrates, an integral part of Armenia, which corresponds to the Kaptatuka mentioned in ancient Persian manuscripts and the Kaputkoh mentioned in Armenian sources (later known as Lesser Armenia). In other words, the Armenia known to Herodotus fully coincided with the Armenian Highlands.
Therefore, it is not accidental that the Greek historian Xenophon of the 5th-4th centuries BC described Armenia as a “large and prosperous country.” Notably, the Greek historian Pliny the Elder of the 1st century AD, when discussing the borders of Greater Armenia, noted that they extended 1950 km from west to east and 975 km from south to north.
As can be seen, over 500 years, the territory of Greater Armenia remained almost unchanged. According to the “History of the Ancestors” by Mar Abas Katina, fragments of which were orally collected by Movses Khorenatsi, representatives of the royal dynasty of Haykazuni, founded by Aram, continued to rule Armenia in the 6th-3rd centuries BC.
However, in modern history, this dynasty is conventionally called the Ervanduni or Ervandids, after Ervand I Haykazyan, who ruled in the 570s BC. Like his predecessors, the kings of Ararat, he maintained a standing army (about 40,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry). According to traditional history, Ervand I recognized the supremacy of Media, married his daughter Tigranuhi to King Ajdahak, and paid an annual tax of 50 silver talents, while his personal wealth amounted to 3,000 silver talents.
Ervand I was succeeded by his son Tigran Haykazyan (560-530s BC), praised by the Greek historian Xenophon and called a great reformer and mighty king by Movses Khorenatsi. According to these historians, Tigran Haykazyan, together with the Achaemenid king Cyrus II the Great, participated in the overthrow of the Median kingdom in 550 BC and the conquest of Babylon in 538 BC (or 537).
In the last years of King Tigran’s reign or after his death, Cyrus II made Armenia a satrapy of the Achaemenid state, appointing his son Tanaoxares as satrap of Armenia and Media. The Achaemenid rule in Armenia manifested in the collection of an annual tax and the provision of a certain number of troops by the Armenians during wartime.
In all internal matters, Armenia retained its autonomy. According to traditional history, Tigran was succeeded by his son Vahe (around 530-520 BC). In 522-521 BC, along with many countries subject to the Achaemenid state, Armenia also rebelled against Darius I, who treacherously killed the younger son of Cyrus II, the official heir to the throne Bardiya, and seized the throne.
Armenian troops fought against the Persian army five times, as recounted by Darius I in his trilingual (Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian) cuneiform text on the Behistun (Bisotun) rock. The Ervanduni-Haykazuni, who allied with Darius I’s ally Hydarnes, continued to rule Armenia (the Achaemenids simultaneously appointed them as satraps) until 200 BC.
Starting from the 4th century BC, subsequent rulers of the Ervanduni, due to maternal lineage, were recognized as descendants of the Achaemenids and Hydarnes. The Armenian king Ervand IV is listed by Strabo as a descendant of the Hydarnes. In the cuneiform inscription dedicated to the ancestors of King Antiochus I of Commagene (69-34 BC), carved on Mount Nemrut, the Ervandids are listed as followers of Darius I of the Achaemenid dynasty. From the late 6th century to the late 5th century, the satrap-kings of Armenia included Hydarnes I, Hydarnes II, Hydarnes III, and Artashir.
Ervand II (around 404-360 BC), who was married to Rhodogune, the daughter of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II (404-358 BC), succeeded the last of these. In the 380s BC, Ervand II led the revolt of the satrapies of Asia Minor against Artaxerxes II. After the suppression of the revolt, he reconciled with Artaxerxes II and continued to rule until 360 BC.
Later, he was appointed satrap of Mysia. According to one Greek source, Ervand II spent his last years in Greece, where he died in 334 BC. After the campaigns of Alexander the Great and the fall of the Achaemenid state in 331 BC, Ervand III, who ruled Armenia, declared himself an independent king (331-300 BC) and took up arms against the Greco-Macedonian invaders.
With his help, his close relative Mithraustes was proclaimed king of Lesser Armenia in 331 BC. King Ervand III, by launching a counterattack against the generals of Alexander the Great, successfully preserved the independence of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia. With his help, the kingdoms of Lesser Armenia, Pontus, and Cappadocia also managed to maintain their independence.
An integral part of Greater Armenia was the Armenian “country” of Commagene, separated from Sophene by the Euphrates River. In the second half of the 3rd century BC, the ruler of Sophene and Commagene, Samos (Sham) Ervanduni, was proclaimed king. The royal branch of Sophene-Commagene, with the support of Greater Armenia, maintained its independence until the end of the 3rd century BC.
In honor of Samos, the Hellenistic cities of Samosata (in Commagene) and Samocarta (in Sophene) were founded. In the 240s BC, Samos was succeeded by his son Arsames (Arsham), who founded the capital Arshamashat (in Sophene) and two cities named Arsamea (in Commagene). In the 3rd century BC, through the intervention of the Seleucids, Commagene was conquered, and the ruler of Sophene, Xerxes, was initially subordinated to the Seleucid king Antiochus III and was treacherously killed in 201 BC. Antiochus III appointed the Greek general Ptolemy as the ruler of Commagene and the Armenian general Zariadres (Zareh) as the ruler of Sophene.
In the last two decades of the 3rd century BC, Ervand IV the Last ruled Greater Armenia. He founded the new capital Ervandashat at the confluence of the Akhurian and Aras rivers, built the cities of Ervandakert and Ervandavan slightly north of it, and the village of Bagaran on the right bank of the Akhurian. Around 200 BC, the Seleucid troops, led by the Armenian general Artashes, overthrew Ervand IV and conquered Greater Armenia, appointing Artashes as its ruler.
Representatives of the royal dynasty of Haykazuni-Ervanduni, including the royal branch of Sophene-Commagene, minted coins with their names and images, contributed to the economic development of the country, promoted Greek culture, and participated in the creation of this civilization.
Artatsolum
Based on the article by Katvalyan M.
