ABSTRACT

The Armenian branch of the Royal House of Arshak (Arsaces) of Parthia (the Arsacids) was thus established. It endured for 400 years, outlasting its Parthian parent by 200 years. Trdat I ruled for almost 40 years down to AD 100. The independence of his successors and the integrity of the Armenian frontiers had been maintained, only interrupted by brief periods, as, for example, in 115, when the Emperor Trajan (98-117) annexed Armenia as Rome’s easternmost province for a mere two years. If Armenia had been a true and loyal client state of Rome, there would have been no need for Trajan to colonise it.