Tigranocerta
Tigranocerta was an ancient city founded by Tigranes I the Great shortly after 100 BC as a southern capital to complement the northern city of Artaxata. Located near the river Nymphius in what is now Silvan, Turkey, Tigranocerta was established on the site of a previous settlement and was populated by colonists from twelve cities of Cappadocia that Tigranes had conquered. Despite its strategic significance, Tigranocerta fell to the Roman army in 69 BC and later changed hands multiple times, including a notable capture by the Parthian king Vologeses I in AD 52. The city endured considerable destruction during conflicts with the Sassanian Persian king Sapor II, particularly through the actions of siege-skilled Greek prisoners.
In the aftermath, Tigranocerta was restored to Roman control in 387 and renamed Martyropolis by Bishop Marutha, who built a church to honor Christian martyrs. Under Justinian I, it became a prominent city and capital of the province of Sophanene, later known as Armenia Quarta. The city's rich history reflects its significance in the geopolitical landscape of ancient Armenia and its cultural transformations over centuries.
Subject Terms
Tigranocerta
later Martyropolis, in Armenian Maepheracta (now, it would appear, Silvan, formerly Farkin or Mayafarkin, in southeastern Turkey; although other locations have also been suggested for Tigranocerta)
Silvan stands on the site of a very ancient settlement not far from the river Nymphius (Batman Suyu), a northern tributary of the Tigris, in the district that was known as Sophanene or Sophene, south of the Anti-Taurus mountains. Shortly after 100 BC Tigranocerta was founded—on the site of an earlier settlement—by Tigranes I the Great, as his southern capital, to balance Artaxata (Artashat) in the north. Tigranes increased the population of his new foundation by compulsorily introducing colonists from twelve cities of Cappadocia and other territories that he had conquered. However, the fortifications of the town were still not complete in 69, when it succumbed to the Roman army of Lucius Licinius Lucullus. Thereupon the Cappadocian settlers returned to their original homes, but Tigranocerta remained an important center and fortress. In AD 52 it fell into the hands of king Vologeses I of Parthia, but was captured by Cnaeus Domitius Corbulo seven years later, during one of Rome's recurrent attempts to establish a puppet monarch in Armenia.
In the course of the wars of the Sassanian Persian king Sapor (Shapur) II (309–79) against the Romans, the stronghold suffered destruction, thanks to the siege-skills of Sapor's Greek prisoners. Numerous Christians who refused to accept the monarch's Zoroastrian religion met their deaths; as a consequence, Tigranocerta, restored to Roman control in 387, was refounded under the name of Martyropolis by Bishop Marutha, who built a famous Church of the Martyrs in which he collected the relics of Sapor's victims. The restored fortress became the capital of the province of Sophanene (later Gentes) and then of Armenia Quarta under Justinian I (527–65), who granted the place the status of a city.