P  A  X      A   R   M   E  N  I  C  A

M  I  H  R -- ARMAN SUN GOD OF LIGHT, TRUTH AND WISDOM MANIFESTED AS
NEW DAWN HOLDING A FLAMING TORCH SURROUNDED BY THE
COSMIC EGG, THE TWELVE ARMENIC SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND THE
FOUR CARDINAL DIRECTIONS [THE OLD AND YOUNG MEN RESPECTIVELY
ARE SYMBOLIC OF PAST AND FUTURE SUNRISE AND SUNSET].
AS EARLY AS SECOND MILLENNIUM BC MIHR WAS NOTED IN THE HITTITE
INSCRIPTIONS AS THE SUPREME GOD OF ARMENIA. MIHR ALONG WITH
MOTHER GODDESS ANAHIT WERE ONLY ADOPTED IN THE ZOROASTRIAN
PANTHEON IN THE FOURTH CENTURY BC BY ACHAEMENID KING
ARTAXERXES MNEMON.

Written by Gevork Nazaryan

 From 87 to 85, Tigran's Army victoriously entered Armenian Mesopotamia [Northern Mesopotamia], the province of Korduk', Migdonia and Adiabenē, which were previously under the control of the Parthians. The kingdoms of Osroyenē and Atrpatakan [Atropatene] also pledged their loyalty and support to Tigran the Great. In 85, the Parthians officially recognized him as the supreme ruler of the East. Tigran took the haled title of King of Kings, from the Parthian monarch, and honorably held it to the end of his life.

D   E   O         S   O   L   I          I   N   V   I   C   T   O         M   I   T   H   R   Æ

MITHRAS THE SAVIOR. THE ARMENIAN SUN GOD SACRIFICES A BULL IN A CAVE
[WHERE THE MITHRAIC MYSTERIES WERE HELD WITHIN TORCH LIT DARKNESS]
IN THE COSMIC EPIC -- THE DAREDEVILS OF SASUN -- MHER LIVES IN A CAVE
[THE RENOWNED DOOR OF MHER IS LOCATED IN VAN.
THE HUGE ENTRANCE TO THE CONCEALED CAVE IS CARVED OUT OF
MASSIVE BEDROCK] AND COMES OUT AT THE MOST CRITICAL TIME,
FIGHTS OVERWHELMING ODDS AND SAVES HIS PEOPLE...MIHR FIGHTS
 FOR ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE AND  FORGIVES ALL THEIR SINS.

A DOG LICKS THE DRIPPING BLOOD [SAME MOTIF OF THE ARALEZ DOGS WHO LICKED
THE WOUNDS OF ARA THE FAIR IN ORDER TO BRING HIM BACK TO LIFE THE VIIITH
CENTURY BC ARMENIAN KING WHO ACCORDING TO THE LEGENDARY
ACCOUNT FELL ON THE BATTLEFIELD WHILE FIGHTING
ASSYRIAN QUEEN SEMIRAMIS' MERCENARIES. [LUNAR] SEMIRAMIS' WAS MADLY
IN LOVE WITH [SOLAR] ARA [AR-RA] AND ORDERED THE COURT MAGICKIANS
TO BRING HIM BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS THE STORY OF SUFFERING
[GIVING ENERGY], DYING [SETTING] AND RESURRECTING [RISING] SUN GOD.
NOTE THE NEW SUN AND NOCTURNAL MOON RIDING
ON THE CHARIOTS ABOVE THE CAVE.

A YOUTH AT THE LEFT TURNS THE SACRED TORCH UPWARDS -- AT THE RIGHT --
DOWNWARDS. A RAVEN, WHICH LOOKS LIKE AN OWL [SYMBOLIC OF WISDOM --
SEEING THAT WHICH IS DARK TO OTHERS] OBSERVES THE MYSTERY RITUALS.

THE BATTERING RAM [SOLAR SYMBOL] OF ARMAN WARRIOR CASTE.

ONE OF THE RECONSTRUCTED CATAPULTS.

THE RADIANT SUN OF  A R M A N
 

In 83, after a bloody strife for the throne of Syria,   governed by the Seleucids, the Syrians decided to choose Tigran as the protector of their kingdom and offered him the crown of Syria. Tigran was crowned the same year with the support of the local aristocracy. Tigran conducted an "open" policy of free trade within the Hellenistic metropolitan polis' [cities] of the vast Armenian Empire, granting autonomy to those important cities, who could mint their own currency and were judged according to the local laws and customs. The Syrian mints also issued coins depicting the Emperor, King of Kings Tigran the Great. According to Justin, Tigran reigned for eighteen years on the Syrian throne.

83 BC: TRIUMPH OF TIGRANES THE GREAT IN ANTIOCH.

I      M      P      E     R      I      V      M

A   R   T   A   V   A   S   D   E   S    I I

ONE OF THE GREAT HOARDS UNEARTHED FROM THE OLD ARTAXIAD CAPITAL.

During this period, the Armenian forces advanced and conquered the kingdoms of Commagene [mostly Armenian in its demographic composition] and Cilicia [also containing a sizable Armenian community]. Once in Syria, Tigran was confronted with another foe, Queen Alexandra, ruler of Palestine. Josephus noted "She [Queen Alexandra] was a sagacious woman…she increased the army the one half, and procured a great body of foreign troops, till her own nation became not only very powerful at home, but terrible also to foreign potentates." [Wars, I.v.3; Antiq. XIII.xvi.4].

ANTIOCHUS I [69-34 BC] ERVANDUNI WEARING THE SACRED MITHRAIC
[HERMETIC-APOLLONIAN] TIARA.
OF ARMANIC KINGS. FROM THE HIEROTHESION OF ORIONTID [ERVANDUNI] ROYALTY

A   R   Š   A   L   O   Y   S

ON TOP OF THE HOLY MOUNT OF NEMRUD [MOUNT OF N I M R O D]
IN THE TAURUS [LIT. BULL] MOUNTAIN RANGE.
THE O R I O N T I D - ORONTIDS WERE ANCESTORS OF THE ARTAXIAD HOUSE
THAT SUCCEEDED THE ORIONTIDS IN GREATER ARMENIA.

SEVEN [FIVE DEITIES...2 FEMININE AND 3 MASCULINE EMBODIMENTS
+ TWO/DOUBLE EAGLES RIGHT AND LEFT FIRST AND LAST]
DEITIES ON THEIR THRONES.

THE MONUMENT WAS ERECTED CA. 67 BC DURING THE PERIOD
WHEN ANTIOCHUS I ERVANDUNI
OF THE ARMENIAN KINGDOM OF COMMAGENE
WANTED TO RIVAL THE NEIGHBORING MIGHT OF GREATER ARMENIA.
NUMEROUS SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT ANTIOCHUS' ROYAL
TOMB IS ACTUALLY BENEATH THE GIGANTIC 50 METER TALL
ARCHITECTURALLY ERECTED PYRAMIDAL MOUNTAIN...
 

E   N   T   R   A   N   C   E       T   O       T   H   E       S   O   L   A   R     T   E   M   P   L   E

NOTE THE 5 VISIBLE [ACTUALLY 8] PLUMES FROM THE SIDE OF GODHOOD
WITH PHALLIC/SPEAR/TREE OF LIFE
POINTS. IN THE CENTER THE SACRED MITHRAIC SUN DISC
WITH FIVE EXTENDING POINTS ABOVE AND FIVE BELOW.
FLANKED ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT BY SACRED OAK BRANCHES.
A STYLIZED RAM SPIRAL IS BELOW WITH ACCOMPANYING FERTILITY SYMBOLS.

M I H R - H E R M E S - H E L I O S - A P O L L O
HERMES-APOLLO-HELIOS-HERCULES
ON THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OF NIMROD
T    H    E           H    I    E    R    O    T    H    E    S    I    O    N
IN ORIONTID COMMAGENE-LESSER ARMENIA ERECTED
IN CA. 60s BC DURING A  G O L D E N   A G E
WHEN ARMENIAN SOLAR CIVILIZATION OF
BEAUTY -- ORDER -- LIGHT WAS IN FULL BLOSSOM...

ANTIOCHUS ORIONTID WEARING THE SOLAR CORONA/TIARA WITH THE
BRAIDS OF GLORY. EAST TERRACE OF THE HIEROTHESION

M   O   U   N   T   A   I   N      O  F      T  H  E      H  O  L  Y      P   A   N   T   H   E   O   N
THE KEY ENTRY STEPS LEADING TO THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF NIMROD
ARMANIC DIVINITIES FLANKED BY LIONS AND EAGLES ON THE SIDES
BOTH SOLAR SYMBOLS INCORPORATED INTO THE COAT OF ARMS OF R A

AERIAL VIEW OF THE RUINS OF THE PANTHEON AND THE COSMIC MOUNTAIN.

TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF MOUNT NEMRUD
KEY MONUMENTS UNITE TO FORM A TRIANGLE
THE APEX OF THE MOUNTAIN IS SITUATED IN THE CENTER OF THE AXIS

DIVINE M I T H R A S-T I R-H E R M E S- H E R C U L E S. GOD-MAN OF ETERNAL LIGHT.
TRUTH. YOUTH AND BEAUTY. THE HEAD IS THE SEAT OF THE DIVINE SPARK OF
GODHOOD...SITUATEDON THE ZENITH OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN...GAZING ABOVE AND
BELOW WITH AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING MULTIDIMENSIONAL 360º VIEW.

G O D H E A D   O F   A R A M A Z D -- THE GREAT SKY GOD OF THUNDER

A   R   A   M   A   Z   D     [L]      A   N   D      M   I   H   R
HUGE BREATHTAKING STATUE HEADS OF
SKY FATHER AND SON [SUN] ON THE HEIGHTS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
P O I N T I N G    U P W A R D S    T O    A S T R A L   H E A V E N.
WEARING TRADITIONAL ARMAN CONIC HATS OF THE DIVINE FORCE

M  H  E  R -- T H E    H E R O -- COMES  OUT  OF  THE  CAVE  TO  SAVE  THE  WORLD

M  I  T  H  R  A  S      B  L  E  S  S  E  S      T  H  E      A  R  M  E  N  I  A  N      K  I  N  G

Her troops marched and took Damascus, and in the face of these events Tigran was forced to neutralize the direct threat emanating from her actions. Tigran personally led the military expedition to Phoenicia and Palestine. In his absence he placed one of his prominent generals, Bagrat, of the Bagratid nobility as governor of Syria.

I  M  P  E  R  I  V  M  O F   T  H  E    K  I  N  G    O  F    K  I  N  G  S   AND ALLIED
PONTIC KINGDOM WAS SITUATED BETWEEN THE BLACK, CASPIAN AND
MEDITERRANEAN SEAS -- STRETCHING FROM CRIMEA-CAUCASUS-EUROPE THROUGH
ASIA-NEAR EAST INTO THE SHORES OF SCORCHING DESERTS OF SINAI-EGYPT-AFRICA.

THE ARMENIAN EMPIRE AND ALLIED KINGDOMS ENCOMPASSED A HUGE LAND
MASS OF SOME 3 MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS...

The Armenian troops quickly advanced and took the city of Acre [Ptolemais] in Phoenicia. Tigran's Army successfully besieged the onetime seat of the Seleucid capital -- Seleucia-on-Tigris. Josephus in his  Antiquities wrote that Queen Alexandra "presented Tigranes, with many valuable gifts, and also ambassadors…" The Queen pledged her loyalty by offering all of Phoenicia to the King of Kings.

R E L I E F   O F   A N    A R M E N I A N    W A R R I O R

ONE OF BELOVED WAYS OF THE RIDERS TO STAY IN FIT AND READY FOR BATTLE.
SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY AS THE PLATONIC MOTTO WISELY REMINDED.

FREE OR GRÆCO-ROMAN WRESTLING IS STILL ONE OF THE
TOP SPORTS IN ARMENIA THAT HAS BROUGHT HOME NUMEROUS
GOLD MEDALS AFTER THE REVIVAL OF MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES.
KING VARAZDAT [374-78] OF THE ARSACID HOUSE IN 393
PARTICIPATED AND WON THE FIRST PLACE AND RECEIVED THE LAUREL
REEF OF THE CHAMPION IN FREE WRESTLING AT THE VERY LAST
ORIGINAL OLYMPIC GAMES [BEGAN IN VIIITH CENTURY BC] HELD IN GREECE.
HIS NAME AS A WINNER OF THE FIRST PLACE IN
WRESTLING WAS INSCRIBED ON MARBLE SLABS
COMMEMORATING THE LAST OLYMPIC GAMES OF THE CLASSICAL
WORLD. THE PRIMORDIAL TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN KOX THAT GAVE BIRTH TO
FREE WRESTLING IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SPORTS IN ARMENIA TODAY.

KING VARAZDAT WAS AMONG OTHER THINGS ADEPT SPORTSMAN,
HAVING MASTERED ARCHERY, SWORDSMANSHIP, WRESTLING AND BOXING.

After the successive campaigns on the eastern sea shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and conquests in Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, the Armenian warriors gained a reputation and respect not only throughout the Near East, but the Roman domain as well. The famous Greek historian Strabo wrote: "They fight on foot and on horseback, both in light and heavy armor. The horses are also protected with armor. They use javelins and bows and wear breastplates, shields, and coverings'; [XI.xiv.12] And..."They have a passion for riding and take good care of their horses..."

REVERSE OF THE COIN OF TIGRAN IV [SON OF TIGRAN III AND BROTHER OF QUEEN ERATO
WHO CO-RULED WITH HIS BROTHER TIGRAN IV BETWEEN 8 BC - 1 AD]
DEPICTING THE CHERISHED ARMENIAN STEED.
ARKA -- THE KING LED THE CHARGE OF THE AYRUDZI CAVALRY ON A WHITE HORSE.

HORSES WERE HIGHLY CHERISHED AND COVETED BY THE ARMENIAN WARRIORS.

While Plutarch wrote that the Armenian archers could kill from 200 meters with their deadly accurate arrows. The Romans admired and respected the bravery and the warrior spirit of the Armenian Cavalry -- the hardcore of Tigran's Army. The Roman historian Sallustius Crispus wrote that the Armenian [Ayrudzi - lit. horsemen] Cavalry was "remarkable by the beauty of their horses and armor" Horses in Armenia, since ancient times were considered as the most important part and pride of the warrior. It was the horse and the wagons [as well as the iron weaponry], that made possible the vast migrations of Indo-European peoples from Armenia -- Aratta.

BEATING BACK THE PARTHIANS IN THE EAST
AND THE ROMANS IN THE WEST

COINS OF RENOWNED QUEEN ERATO [8 BC - 1 AD]
OF THE ARTAXIAD HOUSE.

The Armenian Kingdom of Mitanni and later on the Hayasa-Azzi confederation, were famous for their powerful horseback armies which successfully checked the Assyrian threat against the Armenian Highland, Land of Nairi [the Land of Water and Fire...the four sacred rivers of Dilmun-Eden-Paradise and the Volcanic-Fiery Mountains...]. The Kingdom of Ararat continued the tradition of the mounted warrior culture, increasing it to tens of thousands, thus effectively becoming a superpower throughout the ancient world.

W A R R I O R   E T H O S.  E Q U E S T R I A N  K U L T U R.

The Imperial Army, now compromised with elements of the allies moved on the remaining parts of Phoenicia and Palestine. Tigran wanted a campaign in Africa, Egypt was in a relative turmoil and had considerably weakened by this period. After acquiring Phoenicia and Palestine the armies of Tigran were approached the Egyptian border, passing the Kingdom of the Nabateans who pledged their support and loyalty to Tigran. Great commercial and cultural centers, including cities such as Tarson, Laodicea, Seleucia, Tyros, Sidon, Berithos  [Beirut], as well as number of other polis' in Cappadocia, Cilicia and Commagene where now part of the Armenian Empire.