Artaxias I (from ) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling dynasty of Armenia. He expanded his kingdom on all sides, consolidating the territory of Greater Armenia. He enacted a number of administrative reforms to order his expanded realm. He also founded a new capital in the central valley of the Araxes River called Artaxata (Artashat), which quickly grew into a major urban and commercial center. He was succeeded by his son Artavasdes I. Modern scholars regard him as the founder of independent Armenian statehood.
Name
The Greek form Artaxias ultimately derives from the Old Iranian name *, which is also the source of Greek () and Middle Persian Ardashir. The Armenian form, (), was borrowed at an early date, possibly during the late Achaemenid period, from Old Persian . According to Hrachia Acharian, the immediate source of the Armenian form is the unattested form *. The name can be translated as "he whose reign is through truth (asha)." In his Aramaic inscriptions, Artaxias refers to himself with the epithet "the Good," which, in Gagik Sargsyan's view, should be understood as "the Pious," corresponding to the Greek epithet . In modern Armenian historiography, he is sometimes referred to by the epithets "the Pious" (, ) and "the Conqueror" (, ).
Background
Armenia was ruled by members of the Orontid dynasty, probably of Iranian origin, starting from the 5th century BC. At the end of the 3rd century BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great () appointed Artaxias and Zariadres as (military governors) of Greater Armenia and Sophene, respectively. Strabo reports that Artaxias and Zariadres were Antiochus's generals. However, the discovery of boundary stones with Aramaic inscriptions