Tigranes II or Tigranes the Great ruled as the king of Armenia from c. 95 to c. 56 BCE. Expanding in all directions, at its peak, Tigranes' Armenian Empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Not before or since would Armenians control such a huge swathe of Asia. Tigranes would only be checked once his kingdom became enmeshed in the ambitions of the two regional superpowers, Parthia and Rome, when his alliance with Mithridates VI, king of Pontus, proved his undoing.
More about: Tigranes the GreatServer Costs Fundraiser 2026
It costs $20,000 a year to run our servers, and we need your help to pay for them!
$5178 / $20000
Definition
Timeline
-
c. 95 BCE - c. 56 BCEReign of Tigranes II, king of Armenia.
-
94 BCEArmenia king Tigranes II annexes the kingdom of Sophene.
-
87 BCEArmenian king Tigranes II sacks Ecbatana, the Parthian royal summer residence.
-
c. 85 BCEArmenian king Tigranes II begins to use the title "King of Kings".
-
83 BCEArmenian king Tigranes II founds a new capital at Tigranocerta (aka Tigranakert).
-
69 BCELicinius Lucullus leads a Roman army which defeats Armenian king Tigranes II and his capital Tigranocerta is captured. Artashat becomes the capital again.
-
66 BCEPompey the Great attacks the Armenian kingdom of Tigranes II and makes it a Roman protectorate.
