Abstract
In his «Geography», Strabo really mentions three Armenians (although he does not realize this fact): 1) the Armenian kingdom of the Orontides; 2) the kingdom of the Great Armenia of the Artashesian period; 3) Armenian world power under King Tigranes the Great, after his conquests the territory of the Armenian kingdom reached more than 1 000 000 square kilometers. Strabo deliberately distinguishes between Great Armenia and Armenia, established during the reign of Tigranes II. However, he does not make any distinction between the Orontid kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Armenia. Probably, according to our opinion, this is primarily due to the fact that the ancient Greek historian knows nothing about the Armenian dynasty of the Orontid (Eruandid or Yervanduni, Arband), representatives of which ruled in an “integral” Armenia from the beginning of the 7th century BC until AD 201, that is from King Skyward to Orontes (Yervand or Arband IV – the ancient Greeks (220–201)). If Strabo’s description of the northwestern remote area of the Armenian kingdom actually corresponds to the realities of the historical reality, then the state south-eastern external boundary of is partially presented. We believe that this is due to the historical fact: in AD 331–330 the Orontid Armenia was divided into two parts, Great Armenia and Minor Armenia. That is why the ancient Greek historian could not reproduce, with utmost accuracy, the historical situation that had prevailed in the southeastern periphery of the Armenian kingdom. This can explain the peculiarity of his description. Strabo approaches the issue from the “reverse” side and describes the borders of the far north of Mesopotamia, where Assyria, Media, and other powers of the ancient world were located.
Keywords
Strabo, «Geography», Armenia, Great Armenia, state borders, administrative territorial divisions
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