Tigranes (, ) is the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

rendering of the

Old Iranian The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian language ...

name ''*Tigrāna''. This was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The name of Tigranes, which was

theophoric A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that de ...

in nature, was uncommon during the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

era (550–330 BC). Only two historical figures are known to bear the name during that period. By far the best known Tigranes is

Tigranes the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (''Tigran Mets'' in Armenian language, Armenian; 140–55 BC), was a king of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under hi ...

, 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. Another Tigranes was a member of the

family who, according to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, was a son of Artabanus who commanded the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

in the army of Xerxes during the invasion of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The satirist

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

, in his True History, describes

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

(probably 8th century BC) as a Babylonian called Tigranes, who assumed the name Homer when taken "hostage" (homeros) by the Greeks.Lucian, Vera Historia, 2.20.2–8.

Persons

Tigranes (legendary) Tigranes () was a legendary Armenian prince, who was a contemporary of the Achaemenid ruler Cyrus the Great (). He appears in both the ''Cyropaedia'' of the Greek soldier and historian Xenophon (died 354 BC) and the ''History of Armenia'' of the ...

, legendary Armenian figure *

Tigranes I Tigranes I () was an Artaxiad dynasty, Artaxiad king of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia at the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st century BC. Few records have survived about his and his predecessor Artavasdes I of Armenia, Artavas ...

ruled 115–95 BC *

, sometimes known as Tigranes II, ruled 95–55 BC *

Tigranes the Younger Tigranes the Younger was an Artaxiad dynasty, Artaxiad prince, who briefly ruled the Kingdom of Sophene in 65 BC. Biography Tigranes the Younger was the son and heir of the Artaxiad dynasty, Artaxiad king of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Arme ...

, son of Tigranes the Great, briefly ruled the

Kingdom of Sophene The Kingdom of Sophene (, ), was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influence ...

, 65 BC *

Tigranes III Tigranes III (50s BC–8 BC) was a prince of the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia and member of the Artaxiad dynasty who served as a Roman client king of Armenia. Family background and early life Tigranes III was the second son ...

ruled 20–8 BC *

Tigranes IV Tigranes IV (30s BC–1)Sayles, ''Ancient Coin Collecting IV: Roman Provincial Coins'', p.62 was a prince of the Kingdom of Armenia and member of the Artaxiad dynasty who served as a Roman client king of Armenia from 8 BC until 5 BC and 2 BC unti ...

ruled 8–5 BC and 2 BC – 1 AD *

Tigranes V Tigranes V, also known as Tigran V (, 16 BC – 36 AD) was a Herodian prince who ruled as a Roman client king of Armenia from 6 AD to 12 AD. Family and life in the Herodian court Tigranes was the first-born son of Alexander and Glaphyra. His you ...

ruled 6–12 AD *

Tigranes VI Tigranes VI, also known as Tigran VI or by his Roman name Gaius Julius Tigranes (, before 25 – after 68) was a Herodian prince and served as a Roman client king of Armenia in the 1st century. He was the child born to Alexander by an unnamed ...

ruled 58–61 AD * Tigranes VII (Tiran) ruled 339 – c.350 AD

References

Sources

* * {{cite journal, last=Shahbazi, first=A. Shapur, editor1-last=Badian, editor1-first=Ernst, year=2017, title=Irano-Hellenic Notes: 1. The Three Faces of Tigranes, journal=American Journal of Ancient History, publisher=De Gruyter, volume=2, issue=2, pages=124–136, doi=10.31826/9781463237547-002 Iranian masculine given names Armenian masculine given names Masculine given names