Page:The History of Armenia - Avdall - Volume 1.djvu/138

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��CHAPTER VI.

��ne Reijgm of Artavazd the First and Artham.

��Artavazd the First, son of Tigranes the fSKt Secpnd, aa we have seen in the last chapter, had been appointed during the life time of his father to govern th^ province of Ararat ; he now suc- ceeded to the throae» and changed the seat of government from Nisibisin Mesopotamia, which bad always been the voyal residence of the Arsa* cidse, to Ararat. He gave his brothers and sisters the provinces of Aliovit and Arberaney to reside io, with their produce for subsistence. He also bestowed on them pensions equal to the allowances made to the other Arsacidse dwelling in Hashtens. Efut Artavazd gave into disso- lute habits and lost the affections of his soldiers and hi9 other subjects. The former, weak and inefficient, were uqable to protect the places cpnfided to their charge, and many important possessions in Mesopotamia fell into the hand» 4>f the enemy, which created a deal of murmur- ing. Artavazd, awakened at length to a sen9»

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