Tigranes II, more known as Tigranes the Great was King of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state to Rome's east. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King, involving Armenia in many battles against opponents such as the Parthian and Seleucid empires, the Roman Republic. 120 BC, the Parthian king Mithridates II invaded Armenia and made its king Artavasdes I acknowledge Parthian suzerainty. Artavasdes I was forced to give the Parthians Tigranes as a hostage, either his son or nephew. Tigranes remained a hostage at the Parthian court until c. 96/95 BCE, when Mithridates II released him and appointed as the king of Armenia. Tigranes ceded an area called "seventy valleys" in the Caspiane to Mithridates II, either as a pledge or because Mithridates II demanded it. Tigranes' daughter Ariazate had married a son of Mithridates II, suggested by the modern historian Edward Dąbrowa to have taken place shortly before he ascended the Armenian throne as a guarantee of his loyalty.

Tigranes would remain a Parthian vassal until the end of the 80's BC. When he came to power, the foundation upon which Tigranes was to build his Empire was in place, a legacy of the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artaxias I, subsequent kings; the mountains of Armenia, formed natural borders between the different regions of the country and as a result, the feudalistic nakharars had significant influence over the regions or provinces in which they were based. This did not suit Tigranes, he thus proceeded by consolidating his power within Armenia before embarking on his campaign. He deposed the last king of the Kingdom of Sophene and a descendant of Zariadres. During the First Mithridatic War, Tigranes supported Mithridates VI of Pontus, but was careful not to become directly involved in the war, he built up his power and established an alliance with Mithridates VI, marrying his daughter Cleopatra. Tigranes agreed to extend his influence in the East, while Mithridates set to conquer Roman land in Asia Minor and in Europe.

By creating a stronger Hellenistic state, Mithridates was to contend with the well-established Roman foothold in Europe. Mithridates executed a planned general attack on Romans and Italians in Asia Minor, tapping into local discontent with the Romans and their taxes and urging the peoples of Asia Minor to raise against foreign influence; the slaughter of 80,000 people in the province of Asia Minor was known as the Asiatic Vespers. The two kings' attempts to control Cappadocia and the massacres resulted in guaranteed Roman intervention; the senate decided that Lucius Cornelius Sulla, one of the consuls, would command the army against Mithridates. After the death of Mithridates II of Parthia in 88 BC, Tigranes took advantage of the fact that the Parthian Empire had been weakened by Scythian invasions and internal squabbling: When he acquired power, he recovered these valleys, devastated the country of the Parthians, the territory about Ninus, that about Arbela, he subjected to his authority the Atropatenians, the Goryaeans.

—Strabo In 83 BC, after bloody strife for the throne of Syria, governed by the Seleucids, the Syrians decided to choose Tigranes as the protector of their kingdom and offered him the crown of Syria. Magadates was appointed as his governor in Antioch, he conquered Phoenicia and Cilicia putting an end to the last remnants of the Seleucid Empire, though a few holdout cities appear to have recognized the shadowy boy-king Seleucus VII Philometor as the legitimate king during his reign. The southern border of his domain reached as far as Ptolemais. Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were sent to his new metropolis of Tigranocerta. At its height, his empire extended from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia, from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. A series of victories led him to assume the Achaemenid title of King of Kings, which the Parthian kings did not assume, appearing on coins struck after 85 BC, he was called "Tigranes the Great" by many Western writers, such as Plutarch. The "King of Kings" never appeared in public without having four kings attending him.

Cicero, referring to his success in the east, said that he "made the Republic of Rome tremble before the prowess of his arms."Tigranes' coins consist of tetradrachms and copper coins having on the obverse his portrait wearing a decorated Armenian tiara with ear-flaps. The reverse has a original design. There are the seated Tyche of Antioch and the river god Orontes at her feet. Mithridates VI of Pontus had found refuge in Armenian land after confronting Rome, considering the fact that Tigranes was his ally and relative; the "King of Kings" came into direct contact with Rome. The Roman commander, demanded the expulsion of Mithridates from Armenia – to comply with such a demand would be, in effect, to accept the status of vassal to Rome and this Tigranes refused. Charles Rollin, in his Ancient History, says: Tigranes, to whom Lucullus had sent an ambassador, though of no great power in the beginning of his reign, had enlarged it so much by a series of successes, of which there are few examples, that he was surnamed "King of Kings."

After having overthrown a

Amelup is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia located on Chester Pass Road. At the 2016 census Amelup recorded a population of 64; the Amelup service station is located 9 km north of the Stirling Range National Park situated between the Stirling Range and Borden. The area was once a centre of the sandalwood trade, with cutters working the area in the 1890s. Sandalwood Road is a reminder of the town's past; the town is known for its "CAUTION NUDISTS CROSSING" sign on the main street. The area was opened for selection in 1928 with over 400 acres being allocated. Most land is now used for cereal sheep grazing for both wool and meat production. Media related to Amelup, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons

Michael Hague is an American illustrator of children's fantasy books. Among the books he has illustrated classics such as The Wind in the Willows, The Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit and the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, he is renowned for the intricate and realistic detail he brings to his work, the rich colors he chooses. Hague trained at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, he lists his influences as the comics series Prince Valiant and the works of Disney, Japanese printmakers Hiroshige and Hokusai, turn of the 20th century illustrators Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson, N. C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle, his first big break came through Trina Schart Hyman, who as an art director for Cricket Magazine, gave him several cover art assignments. More recent works include the graphic novel In the Small, a collaborative work with his son, graphic designer Devon Hague, published in 2008 by Little and Company, he and his wife, author Kathleen Hague, have collaborated on several books together.

They live in Colorado Springs, where he donates time each year to making a poster for Imagination Celebration. Dragons of Light by Orson Scott Card and Dave Smeds ISBN 0-441-16660-1 East of the Sun and West of the Moon retold by Kathleen and Michael Hague ISBN 0-15-224703-3 Michael Hague's Favourite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Jane S. Woodward The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Enchanted World series Seekers and Saviors, vol. 12 Fabled Lands, vol. 13 The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter ISBN 1-58717-052-3 Good Night, Fairies by Kathleen Hague Official website Official Facebook page: Michael Hague at Embracing the Child Michael Hague at Library of Congress Authorities, with 108 catalog records