General Notes

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Artaxias, also spelled ARTASHES (fl. 2nd century BC) one of the founders
of the ancient kingdom of Armenia (reigned 190-159 BC). After the defeat
of the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great by the Romans in the Battle
of Magnesia (190), Artaxias and Zariadres, who were Antiochus' satraps
(governors) in Armenia, revolted and established themselves with Roman
consent as kings of Greater Armenia and its district of Sophene to the
southwest, respectively. They united their efforts to enlarge their
domains at the expense of neighbouring areas and are considered the
creators of historical Armenia. Artaxias built his capital, Artaxata, on
the Araxes (now Aras, or Araks) River near Lake Sevan. [Encyclopædia
Britannica CD '97, ARTAXIAS]
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After the defeat of the Seleucid king Antiochus the Great by Rome at the
Battle of Magnesia (winter 190-189 BC), his two Armenian satraps,
Artashes (Artaxias) and Zareh (Zariadres), established themselves, with
Roman consent, as kings of Greater Armenia and Sophene, respectively,
thus becoming the creators of an independent Armenia. Artashes built his
capital Artashat (Artaxata) on the Aras River near modern Yerevan. The
Greek geographer Strabo names the capital of Sophene as Carcathiocerta.
An attempt to end the division of Armenia into an eastern and a western
part was made about 165 BC when the Artaxiad ruler sought to suppress his
rival, but it was left to his descendant Tigranes II the Great (95-55 BC)
to establish, by his conquest of Sophene, a unity that was to last almost
500 years. [Encyclopædia Britannica CD '97, ARMENIA: History]
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Artaxias was founder of the third and greatest Armenian monarch. At the
peace of Apamea (188 BC), which sealed the Roman victory over Armenia,
the kings of Armenia were given the status of independent rulers.
Pursuing a lively expansionist policy, Artaxias took Media Atropatene
(modern Azerbaijan) and seized much territory in other areas. An
important result of this expansion was the cultural and linguistic
consolidation of the Armenian people with Armenian becoming the dominant
language.