Kingdom of Sophene | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd century BC–95 BC | |||||||||||
.svg) Map of Sophene as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Armenia | |||||||||||
| Capital | Karkathiokerta Arsamosata | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Imperial Aramaic (government, court)[1][2] Armenian (lingua franca)[2] | ||||||||||
| Religion | Zoroastrianism[3] | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• c. 260 BC | Sames I | ||||||||||
• c. 95 BC | Artanes | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Hellenistic Age | ||||||||||
• Established | 3rd century BC | ||||||||||
• Conquered by Tigranes the Great | 95 BC | ||||||||||
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The Kingdom of Sophene (Armenian: Ծոփք, romanized: Tsop’k’, Ancient Greek: Σωφηνή, romanized: Sōphēnḗ),[4] was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria.[5] Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influences.[4] Founded around the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom maintained independence until c. 95 BCE when the Artaxiad king Tigranes the Great conquered the territories as part of his empire.[6] Sophene laid near medieval Kharput, which is present day Elazığ.[7]
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 117–118.
- ^ a b Chaumont 1986, pp. 418–438.
- ^ Boyce & Grenet 1991, p. 320.
- ^ a b Marciak 2017, p. 77.
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 61.
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 95.
- ^ Lacey 2016, p. 109.