ON THE QUESTION OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND METHODS OF TIGRANES II THE GREAT’S SUBJUGATION TO HIMSELF OF THE RULERS OF ATROPATENE AND GORDYENE

In scientific works, the circumstances and methods of Armenian king Tigran the Great’s the subjugation to himself of the rulers of Atropatene and Gordyene, are not covered in detail. There are only a few works in which this issue has been considered in the general context of the Armenian king's conquest policy. For the most part, this approach was determined by the lack of information in our sources and their fragmentation. The information provided by Strabo, our main source, is somewhat supplemented by the testimonies of Isidore of Charax, Dio Cassius, Justin, Memnon and Plutarch. An analysis of ancient sources shows that the conquest of the rulers of Atropatene and Gordyene was preceded by the Armenian king's successful campaigns in Sophene, Cappadocia and Parthia. The invasion of Parthia began with the conquest of the "Seventy Valleys" (Strabo, XI, 14, 15). According to Strabo, it was these territories that the Armenian king was forced to cede to the Parthians in exchange for permission to return to Armenia and ascend to his father's throne. In his work, Strabo himself, in the original language, conveys these territories with a term (εβδομήκοντα αυλώνας της ’Αρμενιας). The ancient geographer does not specify where exactly these territories were located, due to which their exact location is unknown. According to Dio Cassius (XXXVI, 1…), these were some disputed territories between Great Armenia and Parthia. Meanwhile, the precise localization of these areas plays an important role in the reconstruction of the directions of the Armenian king's campaigns and allows us to correctly understand the methods he used to subjugate the rulers of Atropatene and Gordyene. Until recently, there were about ten proposed points of view in scientific works on the localization of the "70 valleys". Last year, the author of this article subjected the localizations previously proposed by scientists to reasoned criticism and presented a new one, which he substantiated in detail. Based on this study, the author offers a new view on the route of the Armenian king's further campaigns and the methods he used, which allowed him to subjugate the rulers of Atropatene and Gordyene.