Tigranocerta Archaeological Site

Tigranocerta is an ancient Hellenistic city founded as a royal capital in southeastern Anatolia during the 1st century BCE. It is located within present-day Diyarbakır Province in southeastern Turkey and is significant as a short-lived capital of the Armenian empire under Tigranes II.

The visible remains at the site are limited and primarily of archaeological interest; what remains are fragments of walls and settlement debris typical of an ancient urban center. Field archaeology has identified pottery, foundations and traces of urban layout but there is no large, publicly developed visitor complex on site.

Tigranocerta was founded by King Tigranes II (Tigranes the Great) around 83 BCE to serve as a new capital. The city is best known historically for the Roman victory there in 69 BCE which marked a major setback for Tigranes; it declined in later centuries and was gradually abandoned and reoccupied in different phases.

The site sits in southeastern Turkey’s Diyarbakır Province, roughly east-northeast of the provincial capital of Diyarbakır. The surrounding landscape is inland Anatolian plains and low hills typical of the region.

• Founding: Founded around 83 BCE as the new capital of the Armenian kingdom under Tigranes II.
• Notable event: The site is associated with the Battle of Tigranocerta in 69 BCE, when Roman forces under Lucullus defeated Tigranes II.