Antony and Armenia

Antony is commonly credited with incorporating Armenia as a Roman province. Those who make this claim, however, must face not only a lack of direct evidence for such an annexation but the absence of a plausible explanation when the historical context is fully revealed. Antony’s desire to return triumphantly one day to Rome explains his handling of Armenia, whose reduction he justified by removing its ostensibly treacherous king. The evidence collectively suggests that Antony afterwards envisioned Armenia as a future client state, which would be consistent with his treatment of other regions of the Near East earlier in his career.