Armenia
The Urartu Civilisation
Victory for Independence
Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne
Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids
The Acceptance of Christianity
Defending Christianity
Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty
Cilicia - the New Armenia
Armenia Under Turanian Rule
The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia
The Eastern Question
Russia in the Caucasus
The Armenian Question
Battle on Two Fronts
Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians
The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I
The First World War
The Resurrection of Armenia
Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918
- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918
Eastern Armenia
Western Armenia
"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)
"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)
The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia
Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917
Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)
War and Independence (April-May, 1918)
The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia
The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)
In conclusion
Soviet Armenia
The Second Independent Republic of Armenia
Epilogue
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When Mithradates originally came to Armenia to seek shelter, Tigran accepted him, bringing the full weight of Rome's hostility upon himself. Not even after his first defeat against Lucullus did Tigran agree to buy peace by extraditing his guest to the enemy. But this second time Tigran refused to grant Mithradates refuge in Armenia.
Roman historians claim that Tigran even announced a reward for Mithradates' head. But if Tigran really had intended to hand over his ally to the Romans, would it not have been easier for him if he had first accepted Mithradates and then handed him alive to Pompey? Tigran was not the type to have bought Pompey's favour by selling out an old friend. However he did refuse Mithradates the second time and one can even claim that he actually saved his life by doing so, since Armenia could not possibly have been able to withstand the Pompey's armies and that could have meant a much worse fate for Mithradates.
Pompey continued his march towards Armenia's heartland and without facing any resistance came to the present-day Erzurum. Here he joined forces with Tigran's son and continued onward to the Araxes' valley.
Tigran offered peace and Pompey accepted it. He was a great politician and knew that the the pact between Rome and the Persians was temporary and contrary to the eastern policy of the Senate. So instead of making Armenia a part of the Roman Empire, he contented himself with having Armenia as its ally. By doing this Pompey hoped to have a defence against the barbarians from north and a platform for future campaigns against the Persians.
According to the peace treaty, Tigran had to give up his conquests to the south of the Taurus Mountains, but was granted the main Armenian highland. Tigran was even able to keep Sophene and Arazaene (present-day eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and north-western Iran) which he had taken from the Persians. This was a blow to the Persians who had hoped to regain the lost regions, according to Pompey's previous promises.
Beside these terms Tigran had to pay a ransom of 6 000 gold coins. But it was the political clauses in the treaty that were the real blow to the honour and prestige of Armenia. Armenia had become "the friend and the ally of Rome" and while this meant having the freedom to decide on their internal policies, the Armenians now were forced to consult with Rome on their foreign policies.
The meeting between Tigran and Pompey was a dramatic and sad scene. Without his red mantle and wearing only his royal crown, Tigran arrived on his horse at the Roman camp to hand over his royal credentials to the Roman commander and the future consul. Pompey, who was a man of honour, lifted up the old king from the ground, gave him back his royal credentials and treated him as a king.
The Persian king and Tigran's son were left without any share of the pickings. Pompey arrested Tigran's son and took him to Rome as a symbol of his conquests. The Persian king, unable to regain his lost territory in southern Armenia, was the biggest loser in the war. From that point on began the protracted war between Rome and Persia which had become inevitable.
With his empire in tatters but with Armenia itself still under his control, Tigran IIruled for another ten years and everything suggests that he remained an ally and friend of Rome. He died in 56 B.C. and,with his rule ended Armenia's 40 years' of greatness..
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