ABSTRACT

At the end of Geography Book 6, in his general description of the Imperium Romanum at the end of Augustus' principate, Strabo says: The Armenians and those lying above Colchis need only the presence of leaders and act well when ruled, but they revolt when the Romans are otherwise occupied. Information provided by Strabo shows how the geography of Armenia took a more or less recognisable form only after the increasing Roman interest in the geo-political asset of the Caucasus. As for proper political history, Strabo is not only one of the main classical sources on the kingdom of Greater Armenia, but also the sole author to provide us with a sketch of the Artaxiad dynasty as seen from a Mediterranean perspective. The rise of Tigran is so remarkable that Strabo needs to write a second historical account after the story of the rise of the independent kingdom.