Kingdom of Sophene
The Kingdom of Sophene (Armenian: Ծոփք, romanized: Tsop’k’, Ancient Greek: Σωφηνή, romanized: Sōphēnḗ), was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influences. 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. Sophene laid near medieval Kharput, which is present day Elazığ.
Kingdom of Sophene | |||||||||||
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| 3rd century BC–95 BC | |||||||||||
Map of Sophene as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Armenia | |||||||||||
| Capital | Karkathiokerta Arsamosata | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Imperial Aramaic (government, court) Armenian (lingua franca) | ||||||||||
| Religion | Zoroastrianism | ||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||
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