Person

Artaxias I

d. c. 160 BCE · 2nd century BCE · Also known as Artashes I

Artaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia. A general serving the Seleucid king Antiochus III, he declared himself king after the Seleucid defeat at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BCE and united the Armenian-speaking lands, setting boundary stones that still survive. He founded the capital Artaxata on the Araxes and reigned until about 160 BCE.

Artaxias I
Image: Leu Numismatik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Kingdom of Armenia (Orontid)Kingdom of Armenia (Artaxiad)

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Artaxias I. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/artaxias-i
MLA
“Artaxias I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/artaxias-i. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Artaxias I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/artaxias-i.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Artaxias I’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/artaxias-i (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻