User:Yerevantsi/sandbox/Tigran

Tigranes the Great

In modern Armenian culture

File:ArmenianStamps-450-453.jpg

• A 1988 Soviet stamp depicts a gold coin of Tigranes

Տիգրան Մեծի կերպարը դրամներում և քանդակագործական արվեստում https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/398395/edition/368635/content?ref=struct

Հովհաննես Շիրազի «Տիգրան Մեծի վիշտը և հավերժությունը» պոեմ In Armenian literature, Tigranes has been portrayed in a tragedy by Khachik Dashtents (1947)[1][2], a historical novel (1967) by Hayk Khachatryan, and a poem by Hovhannes Shiraz.[3]

Տիգրան Մեծի առասպելաբանական կերպարը https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/193098/edition/175445/content

In Armenian folk tradition, Tigran II the Great assumed the traits of the legendary King Tigran Eruandean, the vanquisher of the Median king Azhdahak (from Azhi-Dahaka, the Serpent of Iranian mythology). This means that Tigran was identified with the Iranian hero Thraetaona, the slayer of Azhi-Dahaka.

Armenian politics

https://www.aravot.am/2017/03/07/863120/ «Տիգրան Մեծը 2,5 մլն. քառ/կմ՝ հող է հանձնել, նա՞ էլ է «հող հանձնող», ինչպես Տեր-Պետրոսյանին են անվանում». (Տեսանյութ)

2005 celebrations http://greenstone.flib.sci.am/gsdl/collect/academy7/index/assoc/HASH011a/eaa8ac27.dir/tigwmwec2005.pdf

https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2020/02/15/Nikol-Pashinyan-Ilham-Aliyev/

I would ask President Aliyev not to go that far into history because when Armenian King Tigran the Great was negotiating with Pompeus, there was no such country in the South Caucasus and in the world in general named Azerbaijan. Therefore, I do not think that it is right to go that far back in history, since I can go even further and start from 405 BC, for example, but I would not do so because I do not think that it is the right way to go.

https://eurasianet.org/armenian-azerbaijani-leaders-spar-in-unprecedented-public-debate

When it was Pashinyan’s turn to respond, he went back far deeper in history, to the first-century B.C. era of King Tigran the Great, when “there wasn’t any country named Azerbaijan.”

2020 war https://www.primeminister.am/en/statements-and-messages/item/2020/10/14/Nikol-Pashinyan-message-to-the-nation/ The souls, spirit and strength of our other great martyrs and heroes, King Artashes, Tigran the Great, Ashot Yerkat, Aram Manukyan, Hovhannes Baghramyan, Monte Melkonyan, Vazgen Sargsyan, are with us today. Today, the Armenians are united more than ever. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians are providing financial, economic, media-borne and political support to Armenia and Artsakh.

2018-19 https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2018/11/19/Nikol-Pashinyan-visit-to-Gegharkunik/ Let no one try to insinuate the idea that we are poor wretch; we are strong and victorious; let no one try to speak to us with compassion, threats and contempt. It is the people of Narekatsi, Mashtots, Monte Melkonian, Marshal Baghramyan and Tigran the Great.

https://www.primeminister.am/en/foreign-visits/item/2019/02/27/visit-to-Iran./ https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2019/02/28/Nikol-Pashinyan-meets-Isfahan-Armenian-community/ We will not allow anybody to think that the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh can be taken away because we are proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, we are the descendants of Tigran the Great, we are the descendants of King Pap.

In European culture

The 1619 Jacobean era stage play A King and No King by Beaumont and Fletcher

Thomson, Robert W. (1981). "The Armenian Image in Classical Texts". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian Image in History and Literature. Undena Publications. p. 22. ISBN 978-0890030882. ft 4 = 4 The image of Tigran as modest is reflected in English Renaissance drama, e.g., Beaumont and Fletcher’s A King and No King.

ru:Оперы Тиграну II Великому
hy:Տիգրան Մեծի մասին օպերաների ցանկ

Around two dozen operas by Italian and German composers in the 17th and 19th centuries are entitled Tigrane, with some inspired by Tigranes the Great.

including by prominent Italian and German composers, such as Alessandro Scarlatti (Tigrane, 1715), Antonio Vivaldi (La virtu trionfante dell'amore e dell'odio ovvero il Tigrane, 1724), Niccolò Piccinni (Tigrane, 1761), Tomaso Albinoni, Giovanni Bononcini, Francesco Gasparini, Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Battista Lampugnani, Vincenzo Righini, Antonio Tozzi, and others. [4]

Опера «Тигран» Алессандро Скарлатти https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/39015/edition/35007/content PDF [5]

Западноевропейская опера довольно богата армянскими истори- ческими сюжетами. В литературе, в частности, отмечается, что на ли- бретто об армянском царе Тигране II Великом ( 140-55 гг. до н. э.) со- чинены 24 оперы, а о грозном сопернике Рима царе Понта Митридате Евпаторе (зяте Тиграна Великого)-17 опер, в которых роль Тиграна II является одной из главных1. 24 автора из 26, сочинивших оперы о Тиг- ране, известны. Во-первых, это итальянские композиторы.

Western European opera is quite rich in Armenian historical themes. In literature, it is particularly noted that 24 operas have been composed based on the libretto about the Armenian king Tigranes II the Great (140-55 BC), and 17 operas about the formidable rival of Rome, King Mithridates VI of Pontus (the son-in-law of Tigranes the Great), in which the role of Tigranes II is one of the main ones. 24 out of the 26 authors who composed operas about Tigranes are known.

Во-первых, это итальянские композиторы: Алессандро Скарлатти (1659-1725), автор оперы «Тигран», Никола Пиччини (1728-1800) - оперы «Тигран Великий», Томазо Альбинони (1671- 1750) - «Тигран Великий-царь Армении», Антонио Мария Бонончини (1677-1726) - «Тигран Великий - царь Армении», Винченцо Ригини (1756-1812) - «Тигран Великий», Джовани. Батиста Лампуньяни (1706-1781) - «Тигран Великий», Франческо Гаспарини (1668-1727) c Франческо Конти (1682-1732) и Дж. Морланди (даты рождения и смерти неизвестны) - «Тигран Великий», Дж. Арена (1708-1741)- «Тигран», Дж Паганелли (1777-дата смерти неизвестна) - «Тигран Великий», Пиетро Гульельми (1728-1804) - «Тигран Великий», Дж. Голла (1730-1806) - «Тигран», A. Тодзи (1736-1815) - «Тигран», И. Селониат (1739-дата смерти неизвестна) - «Тигран», Доменико Скарлатти (1685-1757) - «Тигран Великий или Помпей в Армении», Джузеппе Сарти (1729-1802) - «Тигран», Марчелло Бернардини (1740-дата смерти неизвестна) - «Тигран». Все эти оперы на итальян- ском языке2. Далее идут немецкие композиторы: Иоганн Адольф Хассе (1699- 1783), автор оперы «Тигран», Кристоф Виллибальд Глюк (1714-1787)- оперы «Тигран», Георг Фридрих Гендель (1685-1759) - «Тигран Вели- кий», Иоганн Михаель Готе (1735-1810)-«Тигран». Эти оперы на не- мецком языке. Испанский композитор Лапис Сантос (1709-дата смерти неизвестна) создал оперу «Тигран» на испанском языке3. 

First of all, these are Italian composers: Alessandro Scarlatti (1659–1725), author of the opera Tigran, Nicola Piccinni (1728–1800) – the opera Tigran the Great, Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1750) – Tigran the Great, King of Armenia, Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726) – Tigran the Great, King of Armenia, Vincenzo Righini (1756–1812) – Tigran the Great, Giovanni Battista Lampugnani (1706–1781) – Tigran the Great, Francesco Gasparini (1668–1727) with Francesco Conti (1682–1732) and G. Morlandi (birth and death dates unknown) – Tigran the Great, G. Arena (1708–1741) – Tigran, G. Paganelli (1777–date of death unknown) – Tigran the Great, Pietro Guglielmi (1728–1804) – Tigran the Great, G. Golla (1730–1806) – Tigran, A. Todzi (1736–1815) – Tigran, I. Seloniat (1739–date of death unknown) – Tigran, Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) – Tigran the Great or Pompey in Armenia, Giuseppe Sarti (1729–1802) – Tigran, Marcello Bernardini (1740–date of death unknown) – Tigran. All these operas are in Italian. Next are German composers: Johann Adolph Hasse (1699–1783), author of the opera Tigran, /Tigrane (Hasse)/ Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787) – the opera Tigran, /List of operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck/ George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) – Tigran the Great, /Radamisto (Handel)/ Johann Michael Götz (1735–1810) – Tigran. These operas are in German. The Spanish composer Lapis Santos (1709–date of death unknown) created the opera Tigran in Spanish.

Советский ком-позитор Алексей Павлович Артамонов (род. в 1906 г.) сочинил в 1939 г. оперу «Тигран» по одноименной пьесе Ф. С. Гатьяна4.

Готьян Ф.С. ТИГРАН [ Драма. На првах рукописи. Стеклографическое издание ] 1938 г.
На сцене театра им. М. Горького был поставлен и спектакль местного автора Ф. Готьяна «Тигран» (оформление спектакля — художник М. Сарьян, музыка А. Артамонова). Композитор удачно передал национальный армянский колорит пьесы, приподнятый романтический настрой ее, сочетание поэтической лирики и драматического накала. [6]
[7] Строительством гидростанции в кавказских горах руководит большевик, армянин Тигран

Tigrane (Vivaldi) 1724 "Vivaldi’s Tigrane was performed in the Armenian National Theater of Opera and Ballet in 2001, concluding the events dedicated to the 1700 anniversary of Armenia’s adoption of Christianity as state religion." https://www.panarmenian.net/m/eng/details/212678

Հայկ Խաչատրյան, 24 օպերա Տիգրան Մեծի անունով, «Հայրենիքի ձայն», 3.II.1971 [8] p. 7

Did other librettists use the material described above, resulting in other ' Tigrane' operas and, if so, who were the composers? The attempt to find an answer to this question eventually resulted in some relevant facts concerning Lalli's libretto. It all started with a reference in Riemann's ' Opern-handbuch' in which he gives the subject of Scarlatti's libretto, also set, allegedly, by other com- posers. He describes Tigranes as " King of Armenia (95-60 b.c.) ally of Mitridates of Pontus, defeated in 66 by the Romans". 
Two facts are clear from this Riemann's Tigranes is "the" Tigranes the Great, a well-known historical figure; and since this is not Lalli's Tigranes, there must, in all likelihood, be another Tigranes libretto, or family of librettos. Riemann then was wrong in mentioning Scarlatti as the composer of the Tigranes story he described. My suspicion of other Tigranes librettos was con- firmed by consulting Sonneck's ' Catalogue of Opera Librettos'. While Scarlatti's opera is not listed there we do find several other operas entitled ' Tigrane', most of them based on a libretto by Silvani, ' La virtu trionfante dell'odio e dell'amore ', first composed by Ziani in 1691. This drama is in no way related to Lalli's libretto, no previous settings of which could be found. A routine check of the Venetian repertory of Lalli's time, however, resulted in an interesting discovery. This check seemed desirable in view of certain facts concerning Lalli's character and activities.

King Tigranes the Great of Armenia (in Armenian: Tigran II or Tigran Mets). We hear excerpts from Vivaldi’s setting (1724, for Rome), as well as from two operas by German-speaking composers active in Italy: Johann Adolph Hasse (1729, for Naples) and Christoph Willibald Gluck (1743, for the small city of Crema). The latter two works have not previously been recorded. For that reason alone, the disc commends itself to fans of 18th-century opera. These two works use the same libretto: Il Tigrane: La virtù trionfante dell’amore (Love’s Power at Triumphing [over Obstacles]), by Francesco Silvani (1660-1728). The Vivaldi — according to authoritative studies by Reinhard Strohm — uses a libretto by Pietro Andrea Bernardoni.

Historiography (major studies)

Adonc https://orient.sci.am/archive/1057/article-ybs9WONfYB2LIzRZK05vxcH8lTCqSrFnt3GVh6Dk.pdf

https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/192360/edition/174744?language=hyw Նիկողայոս Ադոնցի գիտական ժառանգության նորահայտ էջերից -- also on historiography

Hakob Manandyan authored a major study entitled Tigran II and Rome, published in Armenian in 1940. It has been translated into Russian, French, and English.

`Tigran II and Rome' by Hagop Manantian (Collected Works, Volume 1, 1977, Armenia) / By Eddie Arnavoudian https://groong.org/tcc/tcc-20110131.html https://archive.ph/Yr75R

[reviewed by Levon Saryan] Hakob Manandyan, Tigranes II and Rome: A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources. Annotated translation and introduction by Prof George A. Bournoutian, https://tert.nla.am/archive/NLA%20AMSAGIR/Armenian-review/2013(1-2).pdf

http://www.acam-france.org/bibliographie/auteur.php?cle=thorossian-hiranth Tigrane II et Rome - Nouveaux éclaircissements à la lumière des sources originales

Manandian

https://archive.org/details/manandyan-2007-tigranes-ii https://archive.org/details/ManandyanTigranII

• Shahnazarian, As. (1940). "Ակադ. Հ. Մանանդյան-«Տիգրան Բ. և Հռոմը» (Հրատ. Արմֆանի , 1940 թ., Երևան, 250 էջ)". Bulletin of the Armenian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (in Armenian) (1–2): 220–227.

https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/25351/edition/22710 hy:Ասլան Շահնազարյան

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Tigranes the Great: A Biography / By Hrand Kʻ Armēn · 1940 / publisher: Avondale hy:Հրանտ Արմեն. Մեծն Տիգրան, Բեյրութ, 1947,[9] Կահիրէ, 1957։ [10]

Nersessian, Vrej (1993). Armenia (World Bibliographical Series, Vol. 163). Oxford: Clio Press. Tigranes II the Great 62, 127, 133, 142 p. 41 Tigranes the Great: a biography. Herant K. Armen. Detroit, Michigan: Avondale Press, 1940. 216p. maps. bibliog. Armenia briefly attained a lofty pinnacle of imperial might and achievement during the reign of Tigranes the Great (95-55 c). This ruler is known to us largely through the remains of his cities and palaces, the magnificent coinage of the time, and the hostile annals of his Roman foes. This biography, first written in Armenian, traces Tigranes' rise and fall.

Assessments

Giusto Traina

In Armenian scholarship

Armenian scholars have attempted to present Tigran in a balanced manner. Notably, Hakob Manandian 1940

The only exception came from Armenian scholars, but the only work translated  in  a  Western  language  was  Hakob  Manandyan’s  valuable  biography  of  Tigran  (Manandian  1963;  the  first  Armenian  edition  dates  from  1940).  When  Jérôme Carcopino,  the  doyen  of  Roman  studies  in  France,  wrote  a  foreword  of  the  French  translation  of  the  book  (1963),  although  he  generally  appreciated  it,  nonetheless  criticized    Manandyan’s    excessive    indulgence    towards    Oriental    monarchs. 
The other scholars reacted more critically, so that, despite the availability in a Western language (which rarely occurs, even for the  best  examples  of  Armenian  scholarship),  Manandyan’s  book  is  seldom mentioned. An English translation by G. A. Bournoutian, with slight complements in the footnotes, is now available: Manandyan, H. 2008, Tigranes II and Rome. A New Interpretation Based on Primary Sources, Costa Mesa, Ca., Mazda Publishers.]

On the  other  hand,  there  is  evidence  for  a  title  of  king  of  kings  borne  by  Tigran.  According  to  the  literary  sources,  Tigran  already  held  this title at the time of his war with Lucullus: according to  Plutarch,  Lucullus  14.7,  the  Roman  general  seems  to  acknowledge this title in his speech to the troops by 71 BCE.  This  might  be  regarded  as  a  re-elaboration  post quem, but in another passage of the Life of Lucullus (21.7) Plutarch  shows  that  the  Romans  refused  to  use  this  title  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Tigran,  which  eventually  provoked the anger of the king, who did not recognize Lucullus as autokratōr.

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Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa - Page 82

p. 82

"extensive narratives in Classical Greek and Latin sources, and for the early interest of European classicists in Tigranes and his reign? The answer lies in the same Eurocentrism that to some extent yet rules the scholarly discipline of antiquity. Quite simply, Tigranes came into direct conflict with Rome as"
"Manandian , whose works on Tigranes and his relations with Rome remain classics.1 Yet here , too , in his rush to counteract the over - reliance on Classical Greek and Roman sources , his conclusions merely"

p. 84

"There is more surviving coinage minted by Tigranes than by any other Armenian monarch through the ages . These are eloquent and beautiful testaments to his wealth and the lively commerce fostered during his reign."

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Notes on Hellenism in the Iranian East (Classico-Oriental Notes, 6-8) Giusto Traina https://www.jstor.org/stable/4030901

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memory of Tigranes

Traina, Giusto (2004). "Mythes fondateurs et lieux de memoire de L'Armenie pre-chretienne (I)". Iran & the Caucasus (in French). 8 (2): 169–181. ISSN 1609-8498.

The map of his ephemeral empire is found in all school textbooks, in Armenia as in the diaspora, and conditions the historical memory of pre-Christian Armenia, by evoking a past of lost glory and grandeur.

It is understandable that this image, as it was developed by Armenian historians (not necessarily nationalists), could negatively strike the imagination of a historian devoted to the criticism of nationalisms. It will also be agreed that Tigran the Great (as well as David of Sassoun) played an important role in the imagination of the fedayi.

But let us not forget that this map responds ¬to a particular logic of the historiographic discourse and even of the Armenian collective memory. However, we must not put on the same level the map of the great empire of Tigran with the maps of certain groups of radical Jews who, by relying on an outrageous reading of the Bible, make Eretz Israel coincide with the entire Near East.

The memory of Tigranes' "great Armenia" is all the more striking because Greco-Latin sources give us a much duller image of this king. The exaltation of his kingdom is a real ¬reaction against this image. In his thesis on the relations between Rome and Armenia, defended at the University of Fribourg at the beginning of the 20th century , Pascal Asdourian wrote:

“We must not be influenced by the criticisms of a Plutarch, which derived from the pen of a man of part. We cannot consider ¬as insignificant a prince to whom belonged, as Armenian provinces, Phoenicia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Media, the regions of the Caucasus, Cappadocia, Cilicia (Plain). These conquests are a fact, not an invention; they are the result of the strength of the prince's will as well as the strength of his army, and also show his high qualities, both political and military.”   

These considerations are part of a long process of development, even emancipation, of the history of pre-Christian Armenia, which flourished in the 19th century . It is necessary to recover all the elements of the historiographical imagination of the Armenian people and their founding myths. Obviously, such an approach will be critical or it will not be. It is in particular by detecting the mythological elements ¬of Armenian history that we will be able to better interpret the development of its cultural memory and, if possible, define the elements of its historical memory. The cultural imprint of the Armenian people, its collective memory, has influenced the development of Armenian historical thought and contributed to its spiritual continuity. Essentially, this is what Ronald Suny had defined as the “essentia ¬liste” tendency of Armenians towards their history, considered as a -continuous and homogeneous whole. But we will agree with Aldo Ferrari that, if all of Suny's considerations on nationalisms in the Caucasus ¬are not without interest, they require at the very least a much more solid historical revision.

Coinage and ideology

hy:Տիգրան_Մեծի_դրամներ

Nina Garsoïan noted that the Greek-speaking court, Hellenistic capital of Tigranocerta, and the "handsome" coinage—"following the pattern set by the successors of Alexander"—marked the "high-water mark of Hellenic influence in Armenia."

General

Ian Carradice: from Armenia the most notable coins are those with the portrait (50) of Tigranes the Great (97-56 Bc), yet another famous opponent of Rome, wearing the royal Armenian tiara (crown).

Gisela Richter: On his coins, minted at Antioch, Tigranes' portrait appears on the obverse, wearing a high tiara, while on the reverse is the famous representation of the Tyche of Antioch by the sculptor Eutychides. The determined, strong face of Tigranes is a striking likeness, and particularly interesting as being that of a non-Roman individual and yet approximating the style of the Roman Republican period.

Edward Theodore Newell:

Instead of the modest copper coin- age of his Armenian predecessors, a more ambitious and opulent series of silver tetradrachms is now introduced by Tigranes to replace the issues of the former Seleucid empire. The prin- cipal mint was of course located in the great and populous city of Anti- och, through whose market places flowed the wealth and commerce of Asia. On the obverses of the new coin- age (Fig. 1) we may behold a striking portrait of Tigranes himself, clean shaven according to Greek taste, but wearing a towering Armenian tiara with broad flaps, its upper portion richly embroidered with star and eagles, topped with numerous points or zig-zags (to symbolize the rays of the sun?) and bordered throughout with pearls. A broad diadem also encircles his head, is knotted at the back, the ends falling in a graceful curve be- hind. The reverse type is, if anything, still more interesting. A female figure, draped in a mantle and wearing a mural crown upon her head, is seated to the right upon a rock. In her hand she grasps a palm branch, while beneath her foot a youthful male figure is depicted in the act of swimming. Obviously we have before us the earliest numismatic representation of the famous statue of the Tyche of Antioch, seated upon Mt. Sipylus, the personification of the Orontes swimming in the river at her feet. This gilded bronze statue, renowned through- out all antiquity, was the work of the great sculptor Eutychides of Sicyon, a pupil of Lysippus. Seleucus I is said to have erected the statue near the banks of the Orontes, placing it in shrine, open on all sides and sup- ported by four columns -- exactly as we find it reproduced on later bronze coins of the Roman emperors from Trajan Decius to Valerian.
When Tigranes had added Damas- cus to his realm, he struck there a further series of tetradrachms (Fig. 2). But instead of the seated Antioch, these coins bear a figure of the Tyche of Damascus, similarly seated on a rock with the river Chrysaroas at her feet. In this case, however, the god- dess is turned to the left, her right arm is stretched out before her, her left supports a cornucopiae. Fortunately, these coins all bear dates according to the Seleucid Era (AM2 = 72/1 В.C.; BM2 = 71/0 В.C.; ГМ2 = 70/69 B.C.) so that we are thereby informed of the years in which Tigranes ruled over Damascus - a fact not mentioned by a single ancient historian. Significantly enough, this coinage comes to an end the very year in which the jerry-built empire of Tigranes commenced to tumble about his ears.
After things had settled down a bit, Tigranes commenced to issue his third series of silver coins. These, probably struck at Tigrano- certa, comprise drachms (Fig. 3) and rare tetradrachms with types very similar to the former issues of the Antioch mint. Not only do these new coins now bear, for the first time, Tigranes' full title of "King of Kings," but they are also dated with his regnal years 35, 36, 37 and 38 showing that they were coined towards the very end of his reign.

Neumann, Kristina M. (2021). Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE 450 CE). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108837149. p. 112-113

Like the Seleucids before him, Tigranes probably used Antioch as a home base while he was in Syria. It is in this city that a Roman embassy waited for the Armenian king to return from Phoenicia.112
Additionally, while the Antiochians continued to issue their own civic bronze in the same types as before with metropolis prominently featured, the silver tetradrachms produced in the city affirmed the new king.113 The obverse depicted his royal portrait crowned and ornamented in Armenian style (Fig. 3.3). Most striking is the reverse, as it – for the first time at Antioch – bore a full representation of Eutychides’s statue of Tyche with the turreted goddess seated on a rock as the river god Orontes swims at her feet.114[=114 See MacDonald 1902, 193–201.] Although it is tempting to interpret this symbol through the lens of Antiochene agency – especially as this type would reappear later on civic coins – the king’s authority cannot be doubted with the accompanying legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΤΙΓΡΑΝΟΥ (“of King Tigranes”).115 [=115 E.g., Downey (1961, 138) concluded that the use of such a specific Antiochene symbol on a foreign king’s coins demonstrated that Antioch had not been “wholly orientalized” under Tigranes’s control. On some of the coins, the eastern title “king of kings” also appears, but it is not clear from the description of Foss (1986) whether this is the case with the Antioch coins.]
Clive Foss further proposes that Tigranes selected the Antiochene statue to underscore his accomplishment in conquering the famous metropolis. 116[=116 Foss 1986, 34–35; see also Newell 1918 [1978], 134; Duyrat 2012. The “Tyche of Antioch” may have taken on new meaning in non-Syrian contexts.]

• MacDonald, G. 1902. “The Coinage of Tigranes I.” Numismatic Chronicle 2: 193–201. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42679813
• Downey, G. 1961. A History of Antioch in Syria: From Seleucus to the Arab Conquest. Princeton University Press.
• Duyrat, F. 2012. “Tigrane en Syrie. Un roi sans images.” In A. Suspène and F. Duyrat (eds.), Le Charaktèr du Prince. Expressions monétaires du pouvoir en temps de troubles. Université d’Ottawa. 167–209.
• Newell. E. T. 1918 [1978]. The Seleucid Mint of Antioch. [Chicago: Obol International]. New York: American Numismatic Society.

p. 117 Tigranes’s tetradrachms are rare finds within Syria (see Duyrat 2012).

Specific

https://www.jstor.org/stable/615765

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42660008

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43580402

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42678879

Foss, Clive (1986). "The Coinage of Tigranes the Great: Problems, Suggestions and a New Find". The Numismatic Chronicle. 146 (146): 19–66. JSTOR 42667454.

Bedoukian, Paul Z. (1968). "A Classification of the Coins of the Artaxiad Dynasty of Armenia". Museum Notes. 14. American Numismatic Society: 41–66. ISSN 0145-1413.

Bedoukian, Paul (1964). "Gold Forgeries of Tigranes the Great of Armenia". Museum Notes. 11. American Numismatic Society: 303–306. ISSN 0145-1413.

Sullivan, R. D. (1973). "Diadochic Coinage in Commagene After Tigranes the Great". The Numismatic Chronicle. 13: 18–39. ISSN 0078-2696.

Bedoukian, Paul Z. (1978). Coinage of the Artaxiads of Armenia. London: Royal Numismatic Society.

http://haygirk.nla.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=2283 http://serials.flib.sci.am/openreader/Artashes_1969/book/content.html

Silver Coinage of the Artaxiad Dynasty of Armenia https://archive.org/details/nercessian-2006-scada

- Page 117 - Y. T. Nercessian · 2006 · ‎"... Tigranes tetradrachm struck according to the finest prevalent Hellenistic numismatic art . The portrait has a classic fineness , and surpasses the portrait art of his late Seleucid predecessors , even though the same" //  Page 116 "ANALYSIS TIGRANES II THE GREAT ( 95-56 B.C. ) Portrait Art The ancient coins of Tigranes are very important sources for the study of Armenian history and art . These are the only documents which show the engraved effigy..."

Rare examples

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston https://collections.mfa.org/objects/180427 https://archive.ph/jNTW9

Red Jasper. Intaglio. Head of Tigranes II (the Great), facing left. He wears the Armenian tiara with five spikes/peaks rendered by two pellets, a larger topped by a smaller. The entire crown is outlined with round dots. On the tiara, an eight-pointed star with a central circle is flanked on either side by birds (possibly eagles), facing outward but turning their heads back towards the central star. Two flaps also outlined with dots extend from underneath the tiara, covering his hair and ear.
Provenance: By 1900: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Bought in Smyrna 1900.); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, December 1901

Christies

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-a-greek-calcified-chalcedony-ringstone-portrait-of-2063538/? https://archive.ph/OOMGH
A GREEK CALCIFIED CHALCEDONY RINGSTONE PORTRAIT OF TIGRANES II
The flat oval stone engraved with a portrait of Tigranes II of Armenia in profile to the right, the King wearing the Armenian tiara ornamented with a star and crescent, with five spiked projections above and long flaps below, a diminutive figure of Nike flying on the left, crowning the king with a wreath 7/8 in. (2.2 cm) long

Traina & comet

Thierry, Jean-Michel; Donabédian, Patrick (1989) [1987]. Armenian Art. Translated by Celestine Dars. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-0625-2. [11] "Tigran the Great's tetradrachmas illustrate well the two sources of Armenian culture: on the recto, the king wears the tall, pointed tiara of Persian rulers; the patron goddess (tyche) of the city where the coins were minted figures on the verso, after the Greek numismatic tradition."

Giusto Traina:

...material produced by the kings themselves, a different picture emerges. It is worth considering the ideological elements of the propaganda of Mithradates and Tigran. Both kings used different codes with their subjects and potential  allies,  according  to  their  identities.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  complex  elaboration  of  Tigran’s  tiara  in  the  portraits  of  his  coins,  mixing  Iranian  and  Macedonian  symbols.11[=Invernizzi 1998: ix-xviii. = Invernizzi,  A.  1998.  Regalità  armena.  Introduzione all’Armenia  ellenistica.  A.  Invernizzi  (ed.),  Ai  piedi  dell’Ararat.   Artaxata   e   l’Armenia   ellenistico-romana: xix–xxix. Firenze, Le Lettere.] 
We  might  also  be  tempted  by  a  recent  interpretation  of  some  coins  of  Tigran,  with  a  tiara  allegedly  bearing  the  image  of  Halley’s  comet,  which  could  somehow  recall  a  coin  of  Mithradates,  possibly  connected  with  the  passage  of  the  comet  announcing his birth in 135 BCE.12 [Gurzadyan, V. G.; Vardanyan, R. (August 2004). "Halley's comet of 87 BC on the coins of Armenian king Tigranes?". Astronomy & Geophysics. 45 (4): 4.06. arXiv:physics/0405073. Bibcode:2004A&G....45d...6G. doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2003.45406.x. S2CID 119357985.]
But see the skepticism of Panaino 2018. =Panaino, A. 2018. Astral omina and their ambiguity: The case of Mithridates’ comets. Iran and the Caucasus 22: 232–256. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26548942]
This numismatic series has been connected with another later emission minted by Tigranes II, king of Armenia between 83 and 69 B.C. Gurzadyan/Vardanyan (2004) have found an emission of Tigranes showing the king wearing his typical tiara, decorated in this case not with his standard eight-rayed star, but with a star with a long, curved tail. The authors suggest that this peculiar image would be among the earliest representations of Halley’s Comet, one whose periodical manifestations can be actually ascribed to the year 87 B.C. According to Mayor (Mayor 2010: 31-32, 293), Tigranes, as a good friend and ally (Sherwin/White 1977: 177-183; Boyce /Grenet 1991: 269, 284 ̣ - 285, 312-313), would have followed the same earlier pattern chosen by Mithridates because they, being educated in the Iranian milieu, would have been not at all terrified by comets as, contrariwise, it was the case of the Graeco-Romans.
However, such a (modern) process of deductio established on the base of the present data results in my opinion too hazardous and in different points completely unacceptable because the pertinence or not of this ambiguous monetary series does not demonstrate the validity of the attribution to the kingdom9 of Mithridates VI. In fact, the essential rationale of the “supportive” argument can be synthesised as follows: if the cultural background were Iranian, and if the Iranian culture (as again Mayor (2010: 32), but already Ramsey (1999: 202, 228-229, passim) have assumed as an absolute certainty following some hypotheses proposed by Widengren) has considered as a “positive” evidence the manifestation of any comet, then, all these emissions would show that king Mithridates VI and king Tigranes II had actually adopted the comet as their emblems. In the case of the Pontic king the reference to Pegasus would find an explanation in the fact that both astral bodies mentioned by Trogus had appeared in the constellation of Hippos-Pegasus (Ramsey 1999: 216-230; cf. also Mayor 2010: 32), etc. In its turn, Pegasus would have been used because it was (better “would have been”) considered (and this is another postulate) as a symbol that connected East and West (Mayor 2010: 29).
With regard to the case of Tigranes, I must confess that the interpretation of the star as a comet remains for me unconvincing; it would be useful to know how many of these special coins have been found, and it would be necessary to have at disposal a more detailed expertise on the surface of the coin11 because the “tail” could be nothing but another ornament of the tiara or just the fruit of a defect in the original minting stamp. In any case we will soon see that the adoption of the image of a comet as the badge of the kingdom by a king of Mazdean stock would be highly improbable for very many and serious cultural and religious reasons.

English

Redgate, A. E. (2000). The Armenians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9780631220374.

Mack Chahin · 2001 The Kingdom of Armenia: A History - Page 199 "... Tigran the Great , King of Kings , was the most powerful potentate in the whole of Western Asia"

Maxoudian, Noubar (1952). "Early Armenia as an empire: The career of Tigranes III, 96–55 B.C". Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society. 39 (2). Royal Society for Asian Affairs: 156–163. doi:10.1080/03068375208731438.

Garsoïan, Nina (1997). "Armenia under Tigran the Great (95-55 B.C.)". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 52-60.

Garsoïan, Nina (20 July 2005). "Tigran II". Encyclopædia Iranica.

Payaslian, Simon (2007). The History of Armenia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7467-9.

Boccaccini, Gabrielle (2012). "Tigranes the Great as "Nebuchadnezzar" in the Book of Judith". In Xeravits, Géza G. (ed.). A Pious Seductress: Studies in the Book of Judith. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 55-69. ISBN 9783110279986.

Geller, Mark; Traina, Giusto (2016). ""Tigranu, the Crown Prince of Armenia": Evidence from the Babylonian Astronomical Diaries". Klio. 95 (2): 447–454. doi:10.1524/klio.2013.95.2.447. S2CID 159478619.

Armenian (raw)

Sov Enc

vol 11 697 698

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• Manaseryan, Ruben [in Armenian] (1987). Տիգրան Մեծ. Հայաստանի պայքարը Հռոմի և Պարթևստանի դեմ մ.թ.ա. 94-64 թթ. [Tigran the Great: Armenia's Struggle Against Rome and Parthia in 94-64 BC] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing.

• Krkyasharian, Simon [in Armenian] (1988). "Ռ. Լ. Մանասերյան, Տիգրան Մեծ. Հայաստանի պայքարը Հռոմի և Պարթևստանի դեմ, Երևան, «Հայաստան» հրատարակչություն, 1987, 240 էջ [R. L. Manaserian. Tigranes the Great: The struggle of Armenia against Rome and Parthia]". Lraber Hasarakakan Gitutyunneri (in Armenian) (3): 86–88. [12]

• Tiratsian, Gevorg A. [in Armenian] (1987). "Ռ. Լ. Մանասերյան. Տիգրան Մեծ. Հայաստանի պայքարը Հռոմի և Պարթևստանի դեմ. Երևան, «Հայաստան» հրատարակչություն, 1987 թ., 240 էջ [R. L. Manasserian. Tigrane the Great. Armenia's Struggle against Rome and Parthia.]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (4): 207–209. [13]

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Sargsian, Gagik Kh. (1966). "Տիգրան Բ-ի տերությունը [The Kingdom of Tigranes II]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (1): 93–112.

Hovhannisyan, Nikolay [in Armenian] (2007). "Տիգրան Մեծը և Հայկական կայսրությունը արաբական ժամանակակից պատմագիտության մեջ [Tigran the Great and the Armenian Empire in the Contemporary Arab Historiography]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (2): 55–71.

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http://hpj.asj-oa.am/252/ Գ.Խ. Սարգսյան, Տիգրանակերտ. Հին հայկական քաղաքային համայնքների պատմությունից. Մոսկվա, ՍՍՌՄ Գիտությունների ակադեմիայի Արևելագիտության ինստիտուտ, 1960, 160 էջ

http://hpj.asj-oa.am/2534/ Տիգրան Մեծի առասպելաբանական կերպարը (Սարգիս Հարությունյանի ծննդյան 80-ամյակին)

http://hpj.asj-oa.am/1116/ Տիգրան II-ին վերաբերող մի կարևոր ուղղում https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/188552/edition/171205/content

http://lraber.asj-oa.am/1189/ Տիգրան Բ-ի և Արտավազդ Բ-ի գահատարիների քանակն ըստ Խորենացու

http://lraber.asj-oa.am/6090/ Ժողովրդական բանահյուսության արտացոլումը Խաչիկ Դաշտենցի «Տիգրան Մեծ» դրամայում

images on books https://archive.org/details/armenianlegendsp00boyarich/page/n7

https://archive.org/details/landmarksinarmen00dalerich/page/n3

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Jacques de Morgan

archived

Over the course of his conquests, Tigranes founded four cities that bore his name, including the capital of Tigranocerta (Tigranakert).

30 million

In the early 20th century, Armenian historian Leo was dismissive of what he saw as the long-gone legacy of Tigranes, contrasting it with the persistent legacy of Mesrop Mashtots's invention of the Armenian alphabet.

Նույնիսկ եթե տիգրանները ավելի սովորական երևույթներ լինեին մեր պատմության մեջ, դարձյալ նրանց հաղթությունները չէին կարող համեմատվել այս համեստ վարդապետի գործի Հետ: Զենքերն ու անթիվ գնդերը չեն կազմում մի երկրի բախտը, այլ ժողովրդի միտքը լուսավորող հիմնարկությունները: Առանց լուսավորության չի կարող լինել ուժեղ, ինքնուրույն, կենսունակ ազգ: Տիգրանների հաղթություններից մեզ ոչինչ ժառանգություն չմնաց, մինչդեռ ամբողջ 15 դար է, ինչ հայը ունի հաստատ ու անկողոպտելի մնացած մի ժառանգություն, և դա Մեսրոպի այդ աննման հաղթությունից է մնացել:
"Even if the Tigrans had been more common phenomena in our history, their victories still could not be compared to the work of this humble teacher. Weapons and countless armies do not determine the fate of a country, but rather the institutions that enlighten the people’s minds. Without enlightenment, there cannot be a strong, independent, and vital nation. From the victories of the Tigrans, we inherited nothing, while for 15 centuries the Armenian people have had a firm and unshakable heritage, and that has come from Mesrop’s unparalleled victory."

Grousset, René (1973) [1947]. Histoire de l'Arménie des origines à 1071 (in French). Paris: Payot. p. XX. ISBN 2-228-27130-6.