Tigranes VI, also known as Tigran VI or
by his Roman name Gaius Julius Tigranes ( el, Γαίος Ιούλιος Τιγράνης, before 25 – after 68) was a
Herodian Prince and served as a Roman Client King of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in the 1st century.
He was the child born to
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
by an unnamed wife. His mother was a noblewoman that flourished in the reigns of the first two
Roman emperors
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
and
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
. He was the namesake of his paternal uncle
Tigranes V, who served as a previous King of Armenia during the reign of Augustus. His father's parents were
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
and
Glaphyra
Glaphyra ( el, Γλαφύρα; around 35 BC – around 7 AD) was an Anatolian princess from Cappadocia,Kasher, ''King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography'', p.298 and a Queen of Mauretania by her seco ...
. Tigranes appears to be the only grandchild born to his paternal grandparents.
His paternal grandfather
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
was a
Judean Prince of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern L ...
and
Edom
Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...
ite descent and was a son of King of Judea,
Herod the Great
Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...
and his wife
Mariamne Mariamne is a name frequently used in the Herodian royal house. In Greek it is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by Josephus; in some editions of his work the second ''m'' is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was ...
. His paternal grandmother
Glaphyra
Glaphyra ( el, Γλαφύρα; around 35 BC – around 7 AD) was an Anatolian princess from Cappadocia,Kasher, ''King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography'', p.298 and a Queen of Mauretania by her seco ...
was a
Cappadocian Princess of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Persian descent. She was the daughter of the King
Archelaus of Cappadocia
Archelaus ( el, Ἀρχέλαος; fl. 1st century BC and 1st century, died 17 AD) was a Roman client prince and the last king of Cappadocia.
Family and early life
Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman. His full name was ''Archelaus Sisin ...
and her mother was
an unnamed Princess from Armenia, possibly a relation of the
Artaxiad Dynasty.
Tigranes’ name is a reflection of his Armenian and
Hellenic lineage. The name ''Tigranes'' was the most common royal name in the Artaxiad Dynasty and was among the most ancient names of the Armenian Kings.
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
states that his ancestral line had been kings of Armenia. Like his father and paternal uncle, Tigranes was an
apostate
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of emb ...
to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
. It is unlikely that Tigranes attempted to exert influence on Judean Politics.
Little is known on Tigranes’ life prior to becoming King of Armenia. Tigranes was raised in Rome. Tigranes married a noblewoman from central
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
called Opgalli. Opgalli was a
Phrygian woman, who may have been a
Hellenic Jew. His wife is only known through surviving numismatic evidence from his kingship. Her royal title is in Greek ''ΒΑΣ ΟΠΓΑΛΛΥ'' which means ''of Queen Opgalli''. ''ΒΑΣ'' is the royal abbreviation or shortening for the Greek word ''ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ'' which means ''Queen''. Opgalli bore Tigranes at least two known children: a son
Gaius Julius Alexander
Gaius Julius Alexander ( el, Γαίος Ιούλιος Αλέξανδρος) was a Herodian Prince who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire.
Alexander was of Jewish, Nabataean, Edomite, Greek, Armenian and Persian ance ...
and a daughter
Julia
Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...
. Tigranes and his children were the last royal descendants of the
Kings of Cappadocia
This article lists the Achaemenid satraps and Hellenistic kings of Cappadocia, an ancient region in central Anatolia.
Satraps of Cappadocia, c. 380–331 BC
The Satrapy of Capadocia was a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire until its c ...
.
In the spring of 58 the Roman General
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo ( Peltuinum c. AD 7 – 67) was a popular Roman general, brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula and father-in-law of Domitian. The emperor Nero, highly fearful of Corbulo's reputation, ordered him to commit suicide, which ...
with his army, entered Armenia from
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
and advanced towards
Artaxata
Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...
, while
Pharasmanes I of Iberia
Pharasmanes I the Great ( ka, ფარსმან I დიდი) (died 58) was a king of Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus’ account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire under Tiberius, Cali ...
attacked from the north and
Antiochus IV of Commagene
Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( grc, Γάιος Ἰούλιος Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής, before 17 AD – after 72 AD), the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38 and 72 as a client king to the Roman Empire. The epit ...
attacked from the southwest.
Tiridates I ran away from his capital which Corbulo set fire to. In the summer of that year, Corbulo advanced towards
Tigranakert and arrived in the city that opened the gates, only one citadel resisted. The majority of the Armenians had abandoned resistance and accepted a prince given by Rome.
In 58, the Roman emperor
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
crowned Tigranes as
King of Armenia
This is a list of the monarchs of Armenia, for more information on ancient Armenia and Armenians, please see History of Armenia. For information on the medieval Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia, please see the separate page Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.
...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Nero had given to Tigranes a guard of 1000 legionary soldiers, three auxiliary cohorts and two wings of horses were allotted to him in order to defend and protect Armenia. At the same time, his son Alexander married Julia
Iotapa a Commagenean Princess and the daughter of King
Antiochus IV of Commagene
Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( grc, Γάιος Ἰούλιος Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής, before 17 AD – after 72 AD), the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38 and 72 as a client king to the Roman Empire. The epit ...
in Rome. Nero crowned Alexander and Iotapa as Roman Client Monarchs of Cetis, a small region in
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
, which was previously ruled by Antiochus IV.
Tigranes invaded a neighbouring small vassal state of the
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
ns called
Adiabene
Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N ...
and deposed their
King Monobazes.
Vologases I of Parthia
Vologases I ( xpr, 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 ''Walagash'') was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 51 to 78. He was the son and successor of Vonones II (r. 51). He was succeeded by his younger son Pacorus II, who continued his policies.
Name
V ...
considered this as an act of aggression from Rome. He attacked Armenia and besieged Tigranakert. Eventually, the Parthians signed a treaty with Corbulo to install Tiridates I as King of Armenia as long as he goes to Rome to be crowned by Nero. In 63 Tigranes had to renounce his crown.
Historical and numismatic evidence shows that Nero planned to restore Tigranes to the Armenian throne, however Nero's plan for Tigranes and Armenia disintegrated with the outbreak of the
First Jewish–Roman War
The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
in 66. His fate afterwards is not known. Coinage has survived from his reign. His royal title is in Greek ''ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΤΙΓΡΑΝΟΥ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ'' which means ''of great King Tigranes''. The surviving coinage is a reflection of his
Hellenic and
Armenian descent and is evidence that he relinquished his Jewish connections.
[Josephus, Ant. 18:140]
References
Sources
ARMENIA (HAYK') by I. Mladjov
* H. Temporini & W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1977
* S. Schwartz, Josephus and Judaean politics, BRILL, 1990
* R. Syme & A.R. Birley, Anatolica: studies in Strabo, Oxford University Press, 1995
* A.E. Redgate, The Armenians, Wiley-Blackwell, 2000
* J.D. Grainger, Nerva and the Roman succession crisis of AD 96–99, Routledge, 2003
* 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
* J. Lindsay, A View of the History and Coinage of the Parthians, Adamant Media Corporation, p.p. 83-84.
* D. Dueck, H. Lindsay & S. Pothecary, Strabo's cultural geography: the making of a kolossourgia, Cambridge University Press, 2005
* A. Kasher & E. Witztum, King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography, Walter de Gruyter, 2007
External links
Coinage of Tigranes VICoinage of Tigranes VICoinage of Tigranes VI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigranes 06 Of Armenia
1st-century kings of Armenia
Herodian dynasty
Tigranes, Tiberius
Cappadocia (Roman province)
Roman client kings of Armenia
1st-century Romans
People of the Roman–Parthian Wars
Jewish monarchs
Jewish royalty