3506) Common Cause Versus Rome: Alliance Between Mithradates VI of Pontus and Tigranes II of Armenia, 94-66 BCE

Adrienne MAYOR Stanford University, Research Scholar, Classics and History of Science, Stanford, California

Armenia, the rich mountain kingdom of eastern Anatolia, was isolated from neighboring lands, in part by its insular character and in part by its geography of high plateaus and mountain ranges (400 to over 4,000 meters, 1,300 to 13,000 feet). Rugged terrain and mountain passes guarded entry points from each direction. Around 190 BCE, the founding king Artaxias of Armenia began to acquire land from the Medes, Iberians, and Syrians and had confrontations with Pontus and Cappadocia, followed by the treaty of 181 BCE that favored Anatolian kings over Pharnaces of Pontus, Mithradates VI Eupator’s grandfather, who had asserted control over Cappadocia. Beginning in 120 BCE, Parthia controlled Armenia as a vassal country. . . .

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