Tigran the Great

Through his extraordinary courage and valor, he elevated the honor and prestige of the Armenian nation. The Armenian people, who until then had groaned under the yoke of foreign powers, became a nation that held dominion over others and exacted tribute from them. He filled Armenia with gold and silver, precious stones, and splendid, richly colored garments. During his reign, Armenian infantrymen became horsemen, slingers became skilled archers, warriors armed with clubs took up swords and spears, and unarmored fighters were equipped with shields and armor. And whenever all these forces assembled together, the mere gleam of their magnificent arms and shining armor was enough to drive the enemy away and put them to flight forever.

He brought peace, prosperity, and abundance to Armenia.

Tigran was a fair-haired, curly-haired man with a ruddy complexion, a gentle gaze, broad shoulders, and a noble bearing. He was moderate and restrained in food and drink, dignified in feasting, and temperate in his conduct.

As a king, he was just, fair-minded, and even-tempered. He envied neither those above him nor despised those beneath him, always striving to extend his care and protection to all.

Tigran and Azhdahak

Azhdahak was the king of Media and an ally of Tigran. Yet Tigran was also an ally of Cyrus, the king of Persia and the enemy of Media. This alliance deeply troubled and disturbed Azhdahak. Whenever he thought of the bond between Cyrus and Tigran, he became anxious, lost sleep, and often asked his counselors what means could be found to break the ties of friendship between the Persian and Tigran, the Armenian king who commanded countless hosts.

One night, tormented by long-standing doubts and anxieties, Azhdahak had a dream unlike anything he had ever seen while awake or heard of before.

Terrified by the vision, he sprang from his bed and, without waiting for dawn, hastily summoned his advisers in the middle of the night. When they had gathered, Azhdahak, sorrowful and troubled, fixed his eyes upon the ground and let out a deep sigh. His counselors asked the reason for his distress, but he remained silent for a long time and finally, through sobs, recounted the dreadful dream he had seen.

“My dear friends,” he said, “in my dream I found myself in an unknown land beside a lofty mountain whose summit seemed covered by a terrible frost. It was as though someone were telling me that this was the land of the descendants of Hayk.

As I gazed for a long time upon that mountain, I suddenly saw a woman clothed in purple and veiled in sky-blue, seated upon its summit. She was tall, with large eyes and rosy cheeks, and she was in the pains of childbirth.

I watched her for a long time, filled with wonder and unable to take my eyes from her. Suddenly, the woman gave birth to three children, all of them perfect heroes in stature and appearance. The first, seated upon a lion, sped toward the west; the second, mounted upon a leopard, turned toward the north; and the third, having bridled a mighty dragon, hurled himself with fierce force against our kingdom.

Amid these strange visions, it suddenly seemed to me that I was standing upon the roof of my palace, where many colorful fountains were springing forth. There also stood the gods who had crowned us with sovereignty, resplendent in their glory, and together with you I was honoring them with sacrifices and incense. Then I looked upward and saw that same man riding the dragon. Like an eagle, he swooped down upon us and, drawing near, sought to destroy our gods. At that moment I entered into battle and received the assault of that marvelous hero. At first we pierced one another with the points of our spears and caused streams of blood to flow, so that the sunlike face of the palace became a sea of blood. Then we fought for a long time with other weapons.

But I needlessly prolong my tale, for the battle ended in my destruction. I was drenched in sweat from my terrible agitation, sleep fled from me, and it seemed to me that I was no longer alive. I believe this dream means only one thing: a sudden attack against us is to be expected from Tigran of the House of Hayk. Therefore, I implore you, with the help of the gods, to support and assist us through your words, your deeds, and your wise counsel.”

The counselors offered Azhdahak many useful thoughts and recommendations. He received them gratefully and then said:

“My dear friends, after hearing so many brilliant and wise counsels from you, I shall now offer my own, which, after the help of the gods, I consider the best and most beneficial of all. The surest way to guard against enemies, to discover their intentions, and to destroy them is through deception concealed beneath friendship. And since this method cannot now be employed by means of treasures or false and flattering words, I believe that the most fitting way to lay a snare for Tigran is to take his sister, the beautiful and wise Tigranuhi, as my wife. Such a bond of kinship will first grant us broad freedom of movement and intercourse and then enable us to bribe Tigran’s intimates with riches and promises of honor, so that they may either secretly kill him or abandon him and deliver him into our hands like a helpless youth.”

“Your brotherhood knows that there is nothing in the world more useful than the love and unity granted by the gods, especially between the wise and the powerful. In that case, unrest will not arise from without, and should it arise, it will be instantly suppressed; internal unrest will be eradicated because there will be no one to abet it from without. Considering this profitable benefit determined by friendship, I want to make the love between us deeper and more firm, so that both of us, feeling secure, may keep our realms stable and complete. So it shall be if you give me your sister, the great maiden of Armenia, Tigranuhi, in marriage. And if you agree, then she shall become the queen of queens. Be well, our co-king and beloved brother.”

The envoy comes to Tigran and delivers the letter. Tigran agrees to give his beautiful sister, Tigranuhi, in marriage to Ajdahak. Unaware of the intrigue being plotted against him, Tigran sends his sister to Marastan in a manner befitting royalty. Ajdahak marries Tigranuhi and makes her the first among his wives. The reason was not only his treacherous intention but also the immense beauty of Tigranuhi.

Ajdahak establishes Tigranuhi in the rank of lady and performs everything in his kingdom according to her will and desire; he even commands that everyone obey Tigranuhi’s orders and do everything as she wishes.

Ajdahak then begins to sway Tigranuhi against her brother with soft flattery:

“You are unaware,” Ajdahak says, “that your brother Tigran, at the prompting of his wife Zaruhi, envies you for becoming the Lady of the Aryans. The result of this envy will be my death, after which Zaruhi herself will become the lady over the Aryans and will take the place of the goddesses. Now everything depends on you; you must either be brother-loving and accept our disgraceful ruin before the Aryans, or, realizing your own good, contemplate a useful counsel regarding our future.”

Hidden beneath these treacherous words of Ajdahak was also a threatening hint that if Tigranuhi did not act according to his will, she would be killed. The astute Tigranuhi, having well guessed her husband's conspiratorial intention, calms Ajdahak with soft and affectionate words, while at the same time, through close associates, urgently informs her brother about the betrayal being plotted against him.

Ajdahak then proceeds to the realization of his intrigue. He sends envoys to Tigran, proposing a friendly meeting at the border of their two states. Ajdahak justified this personal meeting by the necessity of a highly secret and important matter, which allegedly could not be communicated by letter or through envoys.

Tigran, being previously aware of Ajdahak's treacherous intent, writes openly in a letter about the deceitful advice hidden in his soul. When everything is revealed in this manner, it becomes impossible for Ajdahak to disguise his evil intent with any cunning or pretext. And a tense enmity erupts between the two realms.

Tigran begins to prepare for war. He gathers his elite regiments from the borders of Cappadocia, from the worlds of the Georgians and the Alans, from Greater and Lesser Armenia, and with all his might, marvelously armed, he moves toward the side of the Medes.

The looming danger compels Ajdahak also to go to war against the Haykazuni Tigran with a great multitude of troops. But Tigran does not start the war yet because of his sister's presence in Marastan. This tense opposition lasts for about five months, during which Tigran succeeds, through ingenuity, in rescuing and freeing his beloved sister, Tigranuhi, from the hands of Ajdahak. When that succeeds, Tigran starts the war.

The battle lasts quite a long time because, as the brave met the brave, neither easily turned their backs on the other. The battle is ended only when the brave spearman Tigran meets Ajdahak face to face. Tigran strikes Ajdahak's chest with his long spear in such a way that, piercing the strong iron armor as if it were water, he skewers him on the wide-winged tip of the spear, and when he pulls the spear out, half of Ajdahak's lung remains on the point of the weapon.

The battle ends with Tigran's glorious victory. After the battle, Tigran sends Tigranuhi with a great multitude and in royal fashion to the city of Tigranakert, which he built in his own name, and commands that the surrounding provinces be placed in his sister's service.

Later, from Tigranuhi's lineage originates the noble class of princes known in these parts as “Vostan Azatutyan.”

As for Ajdahak's first wife, Anush, and the numerous young men and women descended from Ajdahak, along with a multitude of captives—more than ten thousand people—Tigran brings them from Marastan and settles them on the eastern foothills of Masis, up to the borders of the Gothn province, opposite the fortress of Nakhchavan. These settlements are Tambat, Voskiogha, Dazhguynk, and other manors located on the bank of the Yeraskh, one of which is Vranjunik.