Tigran and His Fate
Before we finish this vital part of Armenian history,we should look again at the reasons that enabled Tigran to create such a powerful state and also at what caused the weakening of his power and the consequences for Armenia.
Tigran's empire was, as Bossuet has said, "one of the actions with a reaction which resulted in a great effect." Moreover, the mentioning of some of these factors would be very enlightening in regard to country's situation.
Tigran had, above all, the advantage of time. The length of his reign, over 40 years, was one of the main reasons for his success.
His other great advantage was that of opportunity. At the time of his coronation, the two major enemies of Armenia, i.e. the Arsacids and the Seleucids, had been weakened due to internal conflicts. Even Rome was busy with internal struggles (between Marius and Sulla) and then with Mithradates. However, these situations alone do not explain Tigran's conquest of Mesopotamia, which was one of his greatest achievements. This was made possible because he was ruling a strong united country that was enjoying the fruits of a century of independence,and whose warriors were able to manufacture their own powerful weapons. For a long time no power could withstand or conquer the Armenian armoured cavalry, a cavalry which had well-trained infantry and competent engineers to support it, engineers whose knowledge in the art of construction has survived until now in the shape of the Armenian architects and artisans of today.
Tigran's diplomacy and the fact that instead of annexing conquered areas and making the people his own subjects he would instal a local king and do no more than collect taxes, , meant that he encountered less resistance from them.
All these factors facilitated his plans for expansion and enabled him to transform Armenia into a powerful state, able to control the Middle East. This later gave him his special role in history when Armenia appeared to have become the epicentre of forces fighting against the expansion of Rome.
However, this rearmament of the east against Rome was fruitless and resulted in the catastrophe which overcame Tigranakert. After that defeat Tigran found so much bravery, courage and resources among the Armenian people that he was able to defeat the Roman army in an unforgettable battle and force one of the greatest commanders of that empire to retreat.
Nevertheless, the outcome of this duel was predictable in an obvious and ominous way and was to greatly damage Armenia ..
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