Julius Tigranes, also known as
Tigranes VI was among one of the
Kings of Armenia who lived in the 1st century. Tigranes was a prince of
PersianThe Persian people are the majority ethnic group in Iran. However, there are sub-groups who speak the Persian language as their mother tongue throughout the Iranian plateau. The term Persian has also a supra-ethnic significance and has been historically referred to a part of Iranian peoples...
,
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
,
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish,
NabataeanThe Nabataeans were an ancient Semitic people, Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...
and
EdomEdom is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation descending from him. The nation's name in Assyrian was Udumi; in Syriac, ܐܕܘܡ; in Greek, Ἰδουμαία ; in Latin, Idumæa or Idumea....
ite origin.
Tigranes was the child of Judean Prince Alexander by an unknown mother. His paternal uncle was a previous King
Tigranes V of ArmeniaTigranes V was a prince of Persian, Greek, Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite origin. He was the second son of Cappadocian Princess Glaphyra and Prince Alexander of Judea...
. He was the grandchild of
CappadociaCappadocia is a region in central Turkey, largely in Nevşehir Province ....
n Princess
GlaphyraGlaphyra was a Princess of Cappadocia and daughter of King Archelaus of Cappadocia. Her mother is unknown, was born at an unknown date and raised in the 1st century BC...
and Prince Alexander of Judea. His great grandparents were King
Archelaus of CappadociaArchelaus IV, later Archelaus, King of Cappadocia was the last King of Cappadocia...
, King of Judea
Herod the GreatHerod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, was a Roman client king of Israel. He is often confused...
and Queen
Mariamne IMariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus. Her husband loved her because of her beauty alone and not for what was in her heart and soul...
.
Very little is known on his life, prior to the spring of 58.
Julius Tigranes, also known as
Tigranes VI was among one of the
Kings of Armenia who lived in the 1st century. Tigranes was a prince of
PersianThe Persian people are the majority ethnic group in Iran. However, there are sub-groups who speak the Persian language as their mother tongue throughout the Iranian plateau. The term Persian has also a supra-ethnic significance and has been historically referred to a part of Iranian peoples...
,
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
,
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish,
NabataeanThe Nabataeans were an ancient Semitic people, Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...
and
EdomEdom is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation descending from him. The nation's name in Assyrian was Udumi; in Syriac, ܐܕܘܡ; in Greek, Ἰδουμαία ; in Latin, Idumæa or Idumea....
ite origin.
Tigranes was the child of Judean Prince Alexander by an unknown mother. His paternal uncle was a previous King
Tigranes V of ArmeniaTigranes V was a prince of Persian, Greek, Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite origin. He was the second son of Cappadocian Princess Glaphyra and Prince Alexander of Judea...
. He was the grandchild of
CappadociaCappadocia is a region in central Turkey, largely in Nevşehir Province ....
n Princess
GlaphyraGlaphyra was a Princess of Cappadocia and daughter of King Archelaus of Cappadocia. Her mother is unknown, was born at an unknown date and raised in the 1st century BC...
and Prince Alexander of Judea. His great grandparents were King
Archelaus of CappadociaArchelaus IV, later Archelaus, King of Cappadocia was the last King of Cappadocia...
, King of Judea
Herod the GreatHerod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, was a Roman client king of Israel. He is often confused...
and Queen
Mariamne IMariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus. Her husband loved her because of her beauty alone and not for what was in her heart and soul...
.
Very little is known on his life, prior to the spring of 58. His wife is unknown and had two children: a son
Gaius Julius AlexanderGaius Julius Alexander was a prince of Persian, Greek, Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite origin who lived between the 1st century and 2nd century....
and a daughter
JuliaJulia was a princess of Persian, Greek, Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite origin who lived in the 1st century and possibly in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. She was the daughter of prince Julius Tigranes and the identity of her mother is unknown. Her father in the spring of 58 was crowned as...
. Tigranes was the
King of Armenia from 58 to 63. In the spring of 58 the Roman General
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo-Descent:Corbulo was born in Italy into a senatorial family. His father had the same name and his mother was named Vistilia, who came from a family who held the praetorship.-Under Caligula:...
, entered Armenia from
CappadociaCappadocia is a region in central Turkey, largely in Nevşehir Province ....
and advanced towards
ArtashatArtashat is a city on the Araks River in the Ararat valley. It is the provincial capital of the Ararat Province in Armenia. One of the oldest cities of Armenia, today Artashat is one of the modern cities of Armenia. Artashat is situated on the Yerevan-Nakhichevan-Baku and Nakhichevan-Tabriz...
, while King Pharasmanes I of Iberia attacked from the north and King
Antiochus IV of CommageneGaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the last king of Commagene, who reigned between 38-72 as a client king to the Roman Empire.-Life:...
attacked from the southwest. King
Tiridates I of ArmeniaTiridates I was King of Armenia beginning in AD 53 and the founder of the Arshakuni Dynasty, the Armenian line of the Arsacid Dynasty. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58...
ran away from his capital which Corbulo set fire to. In the summer Corbulo advanced towards
TigranakertTigranakert was a city near present-day Silvan, Turkey, east of Diyarbakır. It was founded by the Armenian Emperor Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC...
, 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.
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
NeroNero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great uncle Claudius to become heir to the throne...
crowned Tigranes as King of Armenia in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. Tigranes was the last royal descendant of the
Kings of Cappadocia. 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, Alexander married Julia
IotapaIotapa or Iotape also known as Iotapi was the name of various queens and princesses who lived in between the 2nd century BC, 1st century BC and 1st century. The name Iotapa or Iotape originally derives from the name Jotapa or Jotape, which was a name of Persian origin...
, a Commagenean Princess and the daughter of King
Antiochus IV of CommageneGaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the last king of Commagene, who reigned between 38-72 as a client king to the Roman Empire.-Life:...
in Rome. Nero crowned Alexander and Iotapa as Roman Client Monarchs of Cetis, a small region in
CiliciaIn antiquity, Cilicia now known as Çukurova, was a commonly used name of the south coastal region of Asia Minor south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, which was previously ruled by Antiochus IV. Through his son, he had two grandsons
Gaius Julius AgrippaGaius Julius Agrippa was a Cilician Prince and first-born son to King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis...
and
Gaius Julius Alexander BerenicianusGaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus was a Cilician Prince and second-born son to King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis...
. Through his daughter, he had another grandson
Gaius Plancius VarusGaius Plancius Varus was a Roman that lived between the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire.Varus was the son of Roman Senator, Proconsul Marcus Plancius Varus and a princess called Julia. Varus’ sister and only sibling was Plancia Magna and was the maternal uncle to Gaius Julius...
; a granddaughter
Plancia MagnaPlancia Magna was a prominent woman from Anatolia that lived between the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry, Family and Early Life:...
and a great grandson
Gaius Julius Plancius Varus CornutusGaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus was a man of Roman Senatorial rank who lived in the Roman Empire in the 2nd century.Cornutus was the son and only child of Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus and Plancia Magna. His paternal grandparents were the Proconsul and Suffect Consul Gaius Julius Cornutus...
. Tigranes had various descendants through his son and daughter.
Tigranes invaded a neighbouring small vassal state of the Parthians called
AdiabeneAdiabene was an ancient Assyrian semi-independent kingdom in Mesopotamia, with its capital at Arbela . Its rulers converted to Judaism in the 1st Century....
and deposed their King Monobazes. The King
Vologases I of ParthiaVologases I of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from about 51 to 78. Son of Vonones II by a Greek concubine, he succeeded his father in 51 AD. He gave the kingdom of Media Atropatene to his brother Pacorus II, and occupied Armenia for another brother, Tiridates...
considered this as an act of aggression from Rome. He attacked
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and besieged Tigranakert. Eventually the Parthians signed a treaty with Corbulo to install Tiridates as King of Armenia as long as he goes to Rome to be crowned by Nero. In 63 Tigranes had to renounce his crown.
Sources