Tigranes the Great - Versailles, France
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N 48° 48.374 E 002° 07.106
31U E 435270 N 5406290
Tigranes The Great was the Emperor of Armenia which under his leadership became for a while the strongest state east of the Roman Republic.
Waymark Code: WMD0WQ
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 11/03/2011
Views: 16
Tigranes The Great was also known as Tigranes II. He ruled from 95-55 BC. The title of this work is "Prisonnier Barbare dit aussi Tigrane" which means "Barbaric Prisoner also known as Tigrane" It probably refers to the period in which Tigrane was kept as a hostage at the court of King Mithradates II of Parthia who defeated the Armenians in 105 BCE.
The 1687 marble sculpture depicts Tigrane with layered and flowing robes. He is bearded and wears a coned-shape cap. He stands and casually holds his left arm with his right hand. The statue is very similar to another Armenian King (Tiradtes I) with a statue at Versailles by a different artist, see (
visit link) artist here is Matthieu Lespagnandelle (1616-1689).
Wikipedia (
visit link) further informs us:
"When he came to power, the foundation upon which Tigranes was to build his Empire was already in place, a legacy of the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artaxias I, and subsequent kings. The mountains of Armenia, however, formed natural borders between the different regions of the country and as a result, the feudalistic nakharars had significant influence over the regions or provinces in which they were based. This did not suit Tigranes, who wanted to create a centralist empire. He thus proceeded by consolidating his power within Armenia before embarking on his campaign.[4]
He deposed Artanes, the last king of Armenian Sophene and a descendant of Zariadres."