Tigranes
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Tigranes /ˈtɪɡrəniːz/ (sometimes Tigran or Dikran; Armenian: Տիգրան; Ancient Greek: Τιγράνης) was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia.
Tigranes is the Hellenized form of the name, found in classical sources. Tigran and Dikran are closer to local Armenian usage.[citation needed]
The earliest Tigranes is mentioned in the Cyropaedia and in Armenian historical sources. He was a king of Orontid Armenia and an ally of Cyrus the Great. One of his sons was also named Tigranes. This son is usually assumed to have succeeded his father, but nothing is known about him.[citation needed]
By far the best known Tigranes is Tigranes the Great, king of Armenia from 95 to 55 BC, who founded a short-lived Armenian empire. His father, who ruled from 115 to 95 BC, was also named Tigranes, as were several later kings of Armenia. There is some lack of consistency in assigning dynastic numbers to these kings. The earliest Tigranes and his son are usually not included, making Tigranes I the father of Tigranes the Great. However, Tigranes the Great is also sometimes known as Tigranes I, in his capacity as a successor to the Seleucid dynasty.[citation needed]
Another Tigranes was a member of the Achaemenid family who, according to Herodotus, commanded the Medes in the army of Xerxes during the invasion of Greece.[citation needed]
The satirist Lucian, in his True History, describes Homer (probably 8th century BC) as a Babylonian called Tigranes, who assumed the name Homer when taken "hostage" (homeros) by the Greeks.Template:Lucian, Vera Historia, 2.20.2-8.
Persons[edit]
- Tigranes Orontid 560 BC – 535 BC
- Tigranes I 115 BC – 95 BC
- Tigranes II the Great, sometimes known as Tigranes II, ruled 95 BC – 55 BC and he had a son also called Tigranes
- Tigranes III ruled 20 BC – 8 BC
- Tigranes IV ruled 8–5 BC - 2–1 AD
- Tigranes V ruled 6 – 12
- Tigranes VI ruled 58 – 61
- Tigranes VII (Tiran) ruled 339 – c.350
