On an Account of Arrian concerning Armenia in the Achaemenid Period
Volume 2, No 2; Special Issue: Ancient Iran and the South Caucasus; edited by Yousef Hassanzadeh and Helen Giunashvili, December 2024, Pages 63-67
https://doi.org/10.22034/hunara.2024.207372
Hovhannes Khorikyan
Abstract The history of Armenia during the destruction of the Achaemenid Kingdom is fragmentarily presented in extant sources, which do not allow forming a complete picture of the history of Armenia. In this regard, Arrian’s account of the 2nd century AD refers to the participation of Armenians in the Battle of Gaugamela, which took place in 331 BC. This data has sparked controversy in Armenology, and it is not an isolated exception. The mention of Armenian involvement in the Battle of Gaugamela is important in the sense that after two hundred years of Achaemenid rule, Armenia regained its independence and conducted independent politics in international relations. The Arrian’s account is also important in identifying Orontes and Mithraustes, who led the Armenians.