Kingdom of Sophene | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3rd century BC–95 BC | |||||||||||
Capital | Karkathiokerta Arsamosata 38°40′30″N 39°10′15″E / 38.67500°N 39.17083°E | ||||||||||
Common languages | Imperial Aramaic (government, court)[1][2] Armenian (lingua franca)[2] | ||||||||||
Religion | Zoroastrianism[3] | ||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
King | |||||||||||
• c. 260 BC | Sames I | ||||||||||
• c. 95 BC | Artanes | ||||||||||
Historical era | Hellenistic Age | ||||||||||
• Established | 3rd century BC | ||||||||||
• Conquered by Tigranes the Great | 95 BC | ||||||||||
|
The Kingdom of Sophene (Armenian: Ծոփք, romanized: Tsop’k’, Ancient Greek: Σωφηνή, romanized: Sōphēnḗ),[4] was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria.[5] Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influences.[4] Founded around the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom maintained independence until c. 95 BCE when the Artaxiad king Tigranes the Great conquered the territories as part of his empire.[6] Sophene laid near medieval Kharput, which is present day Elazığ.[7]