Tigranes

Tigran and Dikran forward to this page. For other uses of Tigran and Dikran, see Tigran (disambiguation)
For the modern Ethiopian ethnic group known as Tigrayans, see Tigray-Tigrinya people

Tigranes /ˈtɪɡrəniːz/ (sometimes Tigran or Dikran; Armenian: Տիգրան; Ancient Greek: Τιγράνης) was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia.

The earliest Tigranes is mentioned in the Cyropaedia and in Armenian historical sources. He was an Armenian king from the Orontid Dynasty and an ally of Cyrus the Great. One of his sons was also named Tigranes. This son is usually assumed to have succeeded his father, but nothing is known about him.

By far the best known Tigranes is Tigranes the Great, 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. However, Tigranes the Great is also sometimes known as Tigranes I, in his capacity as a successor to the Seleucid dynasty.

Another Tigranes was a member of the Achaemenid family who, according to Herodotus, commanded the Medes in the army of Xerxes during the invasion of Greece. Tigranes is the Hellenized form of the name, found in classical sources. Tigran and Dikran are closer to local Armenian usage.

The satirist Lucian, in his True History, describes Homer (probably 8th Century BC) as a Babylonian called Tigranes, who assumed the name Homer when taken "hostage" (homeros) by the Greeks.

See also