Tigranes () was an Armenian Prince of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia who lived in the second half of the 4th century and possibly first half of the 5th century. According to modern genealogies, Tigranes was a son born to the Armenian Monarchs Khosrov IV and

Zruanduxt Zruanduxt was a Sasanian Empire, Sasanian Princess from Persia who lived in the 4th century. She became queen consort to King Khosrov IV of Armenia. Background Zruanduxt was the daughter of the Sasanian King Shapur II who reigned from 309 until 379 ...

, while his brother was

Arsaces Arsaces or Arsakes (, , Graecized form of Old Persian ) is the eponymous Greek form of the dynastic name of the Parthian Empire of Iran adopted by all epigraphically attested rulers of the Arsacid dynasties. The indigenous Parthian and Armenian f ...

. The father of Tigranes, Khosrov IV was an Arsacid Prince who was the first Armenian Monarch to serve as a

Client King A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

of Eastern Armenia under

Sassanid 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 ...

rule who reigned from 387 until 389. His mother Zruanduxt, was a Sassanid Princess from Persia who was the sister of the Sassanid King

Shapur III Shapur III ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 383 to 388. He was the son of Shapur II () and succeeded his uncle Ardashir II (). His reign was largely uneventful; to the west, ...

who reigned from 383 until 388. Tigranes was named in honor of his ancestor Tigranes VII, also known as Tiran and he was also named in honor of the monarchs named Tigranes of the Artaxiad Dynasty. The name ''Tigranes'', was the most common royal name in the Artaxiad Dynasty and was among the most ancient names of the Kings of Armenia. He was born at an unknown date in his father’s kingship and raised in Eastern Armenia. It is unknown whether he became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

in faith or a follower of the religion of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

. In 389 the Sassanid King Bahram IV, dethroned Khosrov IV and placed him in confinement in

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

. Bahram IV was unsatisfied with Khosrov IV. Bahram IV considered Khosrov IV, as being too assertive in his royal authority as a governing Client Monarch and did various acts in his kingship without consultation from the Sassanid dynasty. Bahram IV in 389 replaced Khosrov IV, with his brother

Vramshapuh Vramshapuh ( hy, Վռամշապուհ) was a noble of the Arsacid dynasty who served as the Sasanian client king of Armenia from 389 until his death in 414. He is mainly remembered for presiding over the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mes ...

Hovannisian, ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century'', p.85 as Sassanid Client King of Arsacid Armenia. After this moment, the fate of Zruanduxt, Tigranes and Arsaces is unknown.

References

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Sources

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 ...

, History of the Armenians, 5th century * C. Toumanoff, Manual genealogy and chronology for the Christian Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Albania), ED. Aquila, Rome, 1976 * R.G. Hovannisian, The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Volume 1: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 * V.M. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, Indo-European Publishing, 2008 4th-century Armenian people Arsacid dynasty of Armenia Armenian people of Iranian descent