Khosrov III the Small ( hy, Խոսրով Գ Կոտակ, ''Khosrov III Kotak''; ''Kotak'' means "little, short, small") was the king of Arsacid Armenia . Khosrov was the son and successor of King Tiridates III. Khosrov received the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''Kotak'' because he was a man of short stature. He was the namesake of his paternal grandfather

Khosrov II of Armenia Khosrov II ( hy, Խոսրով Բ, known in Roman sources as Chosroes, died 258) was an Armenian king from Arsacid dynasty. Khosrov II was the son of Tiridates II, King of Armenia, and followed his father on the Armenian throne. He was the name ...

, and the Parthian and Armenian monarchs of this name (see Khosrau). Armenia fell into chaos after the death of Tiridates III. An Arsacid prince named Sanatruk (whom

Faustus of Byzantium Faustus of Byzantium (also Faustus the Byzantine, hy, Փաւստոս Բուզանդ, translit=P'awstos Buzand) was an Armenian historian of the 5th century. Faustus' ''History of the Armenians'' (also known as '' Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk) exists ...

calls Sanesan, king of

Maskut The Maskut (also spelled Mazkut) were a group of Massagetaen- Sarmato-Alanian tribes located in the eastern part of the Caucasus, along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. They lived between Derbent and Shaporan, which corresponds to present-da ...

, and identifies as Khosrov's brother) raised a rebellion to take the throne. In the southwest, the ''bdeashkh'' of

Arzanene Arzanene ( el, Ἀρζανηνή) or Aghdznik () was a historical region in the southwest of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It was ruled by one of the four ''bdeashkhs'' (''bidakhsh'', ''vitaxa'') of Armenia, the highest ranking nobles below t ...

Bakur revolted against the Arsacid monarchy with the support of the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

king

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings ( Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned ...

. The anti-Persian faction in Armenia led by Patriarch Vrtanes I crowned Khosrov king with the help of Constantine the Great. Khosrov crushed Bakur's rebellion and retook Arzanene and Armenian Mesopotamia. He then made peace with Sasanian Iran by agreeing to pay a yearly tribute to the Persians. Khosrov also exterminated two feuding princely houses in Armenia, the Ordunis and the Manavazians, and seized their lands. After the departure of the Roman legions from Armenia, Sanatruk invaded Armenia at the incitement of Shapur II with an army of various Caucasian mercenaries and invaded

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapa ...

, the central province of the kingdom. Sanatruk took the city of

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is co ...

and forced Khosrov and Vrtanes to flee westward to Kogovit. Forces loyal to Khosrov rallied under ''

Sparapet ' ( hy, սպարապետ) was a military title and office in ancient and medieval Armenia. Under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, the ' was the supreme commander of the kingdom's armed forces. During the Arsacid period and for some time afterward ...

'' Vache

Mamikonian Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th c ...

and destroyed Sanatruk's army in a surprise attack, killing the pretender in a battle near

Oshakan Oshakan ( hy, Օշական) is a major village in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia located 8 kilometers southwest from Ashtarak. It is well known to historians and pilgrims of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the site of the grave of Mesrop Mas ...

. Khosrov rewarded his top generals Vache Mamikonian and Vahan

Amatuni Amatuni ( hy, Ամատունի) is an ancient Armenian noble family, known from the 4th century in the canton of Artaz, between lakes Van and Urmia, with its center at Shavarshan (latter-day Maku), and subsequently also at Aragatsotn, west of ...

and the other ''nakharars'' that had remained loyal to him with land and other lavish gifts. After this, the country enjoyed a period of peace, and Khosrov occupied himself with building his new capital city of Dvin. He also founded two large hunting grounds in Ayrarat called Khosrovakert and Tachar Mayri. The

Khosrov Forest State Reserve Khosrov Forest State Reserve ( hy, Խոսրովի անտառ պետական արգելոց), is a nature reserve in Ararat Province of Armenia. The reserve is one of the oldest protected areas in the world having a history of about 1700 years. ...

in modern-day Armenia is named after him. In 337, Shapur II's army laid siege to

Nisibis Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...

, while one of his generals marched against central Armenia. A ''nakharar'' named Databe

Bznuni The Bznunis () are an ancient authority, a nakharars () Family in Armenia. Genealogy According to ancestral story, which tells us Movses Khorenatsi, the dynasty of Bznunis originates from Baz forefather. Baz was Manavaz Haykazuni's grandson. ...

was tasked with organizing the defense, but instead passed over to the Sasanian side. Vache Mamikonian and Vahan Amatuni led the Armenian army to victory against the Persian invaders in a battle near the southeastern coast of

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake, ...

. Databe Bznuni was executed; his house was annihilated and their holdings were seized by the king. After this, Khosrov decreed that all ''nakharar''s with a force larger than 1,000 soldiers were obligated to live at the royal court, where the king could exercise control over them. Khosrov broke off relations with Sasanian Iran and moved Armenia closer to the Roman Empire. Shapur soon invaded Armenia again but was repulsed at great cost to the Armenian defenders. ''Sparapet'' Vache Mamikonian and many other great lords were killed in battle. Khosrov died in 338/339 in Dvin. His remains were interred in the Arsacid royal mausoleum in

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

. He was succeeded by his son, Tiran. Khosrov had three children: a son, Tiran, who succeeded him as king; a daughter, Varazdukht, who married Pap, the son of Patriarch Husik; and another daughter, Bambishn, who married the second son of Husik, Atanagenes, with whom she had Nerses, the future Patriarch of Armenia.

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