Artaxias I

The Greek form Artaxias ultimately derives from the Old Iranian name *Artaxšaθra-, which is also the source of Greek Artaxérxēs (Αρταξέρξης).[1][2] The Armenian form of this name is Artašēs, which may have developed from an unattested earlier form *Artašas.[3] The name can be translated as "he whose reign is through truth (asha)."[1][2]

According to the Greek geographer Strabo, Artaxias and Zariadres were Macedonian generals of the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great (r. 222 – 187 BC).[4] He adds that after Antiochus III's defeat by the Romans in 188 BC, the two generals established themselves as kings in Greater Armenia.[4] However, Strabo's assertion about the two kings' Macedonian origins has been disproved by the discovery of boundary stones with Aramaic engravings in Armenia, in which Artaxias proclaims himself to be an "Orontid king" and "the son of Zareh (Zariadres)."[4] This demonstrates that Artaxias and Zariadres were most likely members of the Orontid dynasty, albeit probably belonging to collateral branches.[4]

Boundary stone with an Aramaic inscription, erected under Artaxias I[5]

After gaining their independence from the Seleucids, Artaxias and Zariadres, who may have been close relatives, allied with each other to expand their dominions.[6] The kingdom of Artaxias, originally centered around the Araxes valley, expanded into Iberian land, and especially the territory of Media Atropatene, which lost its territories borderering the Caspian Sea.[6] The Kura River became the northern and northeastern border of Greater Armenia.[7] Strabo reports that Artaxias also conquered from Atropatene the districts of "Phaunitis" and "Basoporeda," perhaps corresponding to Siwnikʿ and Vaspurakan, respectively.[6] Meanwhile, Zariadres conquered Acilisene and Taron.[6] According to Strabo, the unification of these territories under Artaxias and Zariadres led the population of Greater Armenia and Sophene to "speak the same language," i.e., Armenian.[8][lower-alpha 2] However, the imperial Aramaic inherited from the Achaemenid Empire continued to be the language of the government and the court.[6]

According to the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, Artaxias ordered the delimitation of villages and farmland, which has been confirmed by the discovery of boundary stones with Aramaic inscriptions in Armenia.[6] Artaxias founded the city of Artaxiasata (from Middle Persian Artaxšas-šāt, "the joy of Artaxias," abbreviated to Artaxata in Greek and Artashat in Armenian)[8] on the left bank of the Araxes River, which would serve as the capital of Armenia until the 2nd century CE.[6] It is unlikely that the former Carthaginian commander Hannibal took refuge at the Armenian court and played a role in the establishment of the city.[6] In 165/4 BC, Artaxias was defeated and captured by the forces of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175 – 164 BC).[11] Nevertheless, in 161/0 BC, Artaxias managed to help the satrap of Media, Timarchus, who rebelled against Seleucid rule.[6] Artaxias died in approximately 160 BC and was succeeded by his son Artavasdes I.[12]

Like the monarchs of Pontus and Cappadocia, Artaxias and his successors preserved the royal traditions used by the former Achaemenid Empire.[6] At the same time, Greek influence was starting to advance in the country.[6]

Unlike their predecessors, the Orontids, the majority of the Artaxiad rulers minted coins. The first coins depicting Artaxias bore the Aramaic inscription "King Artashes" (Aramaic:𐡀𐡓𐡕𐡇𐡔𐡎𐡉 𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡀, romanized: 'rthṣsy mlk') and have depicted of the Armenian wolfhound or Gampr, a Bee, the head of an unknown bearded male, eagle, and the head of Antiochus IV. Later coinage would drop the use of Aramaic and transition to Greek inscriptions (Ancient Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΡΤΑΞΕΡΞΟΥ, romanized: Basileus Artakserksou). These coins would also depict the Cornucopia, Grapes, and Club on the reverses. Artaxias is always depicted as bearded and wearing his five peaked Armenian tiara, with the exception of one coin depicting him wearing a Phrygian cap with a fanion and lappets.[13]

According to an epic related by Movses Khorenatsi, Artaxias married Satenik, daughter of the king of the Alans, as part of a peace treaty after Artaxias defeated the invading Alans on the banks of the Kura River.[14] Artaxias's known sons were his successors, Artavasdes I and Tigranes I.[15] Four other sons are attested only in Movses Khorenatsi's history: Mazhan, who was appointed priest of Aramazd in Ani; Vroyr, who was appointed hazarapet; Tiran, who was given command of the southern part of the army; and Zareh, who was appointed commander of the northern part of the army.[16]

• Acharyan, Hrachya (1948). "Արտաշէս". Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան (in Armenian). Vol. I. Yerevan State University Publishing House. p. 305.
• Chaumont, M. L. (1986). "Armenia and Iran ii. The pre-Islamic period". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/4: Architecture IV–Armenia and Iran IV. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 418–438. ISBN 978-0-71009-104-8.
• Debevoise, Neilson C. (1938). A Political History of Parthia. University of Chicago Press.
• Garsoïan, Nina (2004). "Armeno-Iranian Relations in the pre-Islamic period". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
• Garsoïan, Nina (1997). "The Emergence of Armenia". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Vol. 1. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 37–62. ISBN 0-312-10169-4.
• Garsoïan, Nina (2005). "Tigran II". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
• Hewsen, R. H. (1986). "Artaxata". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/6: Art in Iran I–ʿArūż. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 653–654. ISBN 978-0-71009-106-2.
• Hewsen, Robert H. (1982). "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians". In Samuelian, Thomas J. (ed.). Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity. Chico, CA: Scholars Press. pp. 27–40. ISBN 0-89130-565-3.
• Karakhanian, G. (1971). "Արամեերեն նորահայտ երկու արձանագրություններ [Two new inscriptions in Aramaic]" (PDF). Historical-Philological Journal (3): 274–276. ISSN 0135-0536.
• Litovchenko, Sergey (2003). Римско-армянские отношения в I в. до н. э. ‑ начале I в. н. э. [Roman-Armenian relations in the Ist Century BC ‑ the beginning of the Ist Century AD] (PDF) (Thesis). University of Kharkiv.
• Romeny, R. B. ter Haar (2010). Religious Origins of Nations?: The Christian Communities of the Middle East. Brill. ISBN 9789004173750.
• Russell, J. R. (1986a). "Artaxias I". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6. pp. 659–660.
• Russell, J. R. (1986b). "Armenia and Iran iii. Armenian Religion". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 438–444.
• Sargsyan, Gagik (1971). "Հայաստանի Միավորումը և հզորացումը Արտաշես Ա-ի օրոք [The unification and strengthening of Armenia at the time of Artašēs I]". In Suren, Yeremian; A.A, Martirosian (eds.). Հայ Ժողովրդի Պատմություն [History Of The Armenian People]. Vol. 1. Armenian Academy of Sciences. pp. 521–551.
• Sargsyan, G. (1976). "Արտաշես Ա". In Hambardzumyan, Viktor (ed.). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia (in Armenian). Vol. 2. Erevan. p. 139.
• Schmitt, R. (1986). "Artaxerxes". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/6: Art in Iran I–ʿArūż. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 654–655. ISBN 978-0-71009-106-2.
• Šifman, Ilya (1980). "Ганнибал в Армении [Hannibal in Armenia]" (PDF). Historical-Philological Journal (4): 257–261. ISSN 0135-0536.
• Thomson, Robert W. (1978). Moses Khorenatsʻi, History of the Armenians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-39571-9.
• Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "Ardašīr I i. History". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume II/4: Architecture IV–Armenia and Iran IV. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 371–376. ISBN 978-0-71009-104-8.

• Coinage of Artaxias I
• Coinage of Artaxias I
• Coinage of Artaxias I