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The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or of the Achaemenid Empire and after the collapse of the Achaemenid Empire established an independent kingdom. Later, a branch of the Orontids ruled as kings of Sophene and Commagene. They are the first of the three royal dynasties that successively ruled the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (321 BC–428 AD). Although the overthrow of Orontes IV and the accession of Artaxias I to the throne of Armenia in the early 2nd century BC is traditionally treated as the start of a Artaxiad dynasty, Artaxias probably belonged to a branch of the Orontid dynasty. His descendants ruled Armenia until the 1st century AD.
Other historians state the Orontids were of Armenians origin, while according to Razmik Panossian, the Orontids probably had marriage links to the rulers of Persia and other leading noble houses in Armenia, and states their Armenian ethnicity is uncertain. Soviet Armenian historian Suren Yeremian writes that the Orontids were an Armenian dynasty based in the area around Lake Van, the former center of the Urartu. He argues that the Orontids established their rule in the Urartian capital Tushpa in 6th century BC, as that kingdom was collapsing. They expanded to other parts of Armenia to form the first Armenian kingdom. Per Yeremian, the Orontids originally came from the vicinity of Musasir (in modern-day northern Iraq), but because of the forced relocation policies of the Urartians, they came to form an Armenian enclave in the Hurro-Urartian-populated region around Lake Van.
The name Orontes is the Hellenized form of a masculine name of Iranian language origin, rendered Eruand () in Old Armenian ( Yervand in Modern Armenian). The name is only attested in Greek (Gr.:). Its cognates are Avestan Auruuant ('brave, hero') and Middle Persian Arwand (Modern Persian Arvand). Various Greek versions of the name appear in classical sources, such as Orontas, Aroandes and Oruandes.
The imperial administration used Aramaic, where it was used in official documents for centuries. Whereas most inscriptions used Old Persian cuneiform. Xenophon used an interpreter to speak to Armenians, while some Armenian villages were conversant in Persian.
The Greek inscriptions at Armavir indicate that the upper classes used Greek as one of their languages. Under Orontes IV (r. ca. 210–200 B.C.), the structure of government had begun to resemble Greek institutions, and Greek was used as the language of the royal court. Ervand had surrounded himself by the Hellenized nobility and sponsored the establishment of a Greek school in Armavir, the capital of the Ervanduni kingdom.Tiratsyan, “Hayastane vagh hellenizmi zhamanakashrjanum,” pp. 514–15
In his largely fictional Cyropaedia, the Greek author Xenophon (died ) mentions Tigranes, the son of an unnamed king of Armenia, who was a friend of Cyrus the Great (), the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Tigranes was the name of later Armenian monarchs of the Artaxiad dynasty (probably a branch of the Orontids). The later Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, possibly drawing from a common tradition as Xenophon, writes of an Armenian king named Tigran (Tigranes), the son of King Eruand (Orontes) the Short-Lived. Khorenatsi's Tigran allies with Cyrus the Great against the Median king Astyages. According to A. Shapour Shahbazi, Xenophon's account of Tigranes is fictional, and Xenophon based Tigranes on a contemporary of the same name who was a son-in-law of the Achaemenid satrap Struthas. Suren Yeremian used Xenophon's and Khorenatsi's accounts to argue that Eruand the Short-Lived and his son Tigran were actual Orontid kings of Armenia in the 6th century BC. In Cyril Toumanoff's view, the succession of Tigran after Eruand in Khorenatsi's version allegorically represents the Artaxiad dynasty succeeding the Orontids. Commenting on Khorenatsi's account, Igor M. Diakonoff did not rule out that the Orontids had married into a pre-existing Armenian royal house.
Xenophon's contemporary Orontes I, satrap of Armenia, is regarded as the ancestor of the later Orontid rulers; it is possible that the Orontids were already established in Armenia before him. Orontes was the son of a Bactria nobleman, Artasyrus, and claimed descent from Hydarnes, presumably through the maternal line. Hydarnes was one of the "Seven Persians" who overthrew Bardiya and placed Darius the Great on the Achaemenid throne in 522 BC. After Darius's takeover, Armenia revolted and was subdued after three Persian campaigns, led by the Armenian Dadarsi. Hydarnes may have been granted the Satrapy of Armenia as a quasi-hereditary office. A later Hydarnes, who married his daughter to Artaxerxes II (), may have been a descendant of the first Hydarnes and served as Satrap of Armenia. In 401 BC, Orontes I appears as the Satrap of Armenia and the son-in-law of Artaxerxes II, having married the latter's daughter Rhodogune. This Orontes is frequently mentioned in accounts of Persian affairs in the first half of 4th century BC. He fought against the Ten Thousand during their escape through Armenia. At this time, Armenia was organized into two satrapies, divided by the Teleboas River: one ruled by Orontes, and another, distinguished as "Western" Armenia, ruled by Tiribazus. Orontes led the Persian infantry against Evagoras I, the King of Salamis on Cyprus, after which he lost Artaxerxes's favor. He later reappears as the subordinate governor of a coastal province. He led revolt against the king but ultimately made peace with him. He died .
During the reign of Artaxerxes III, the Satrapy of Armenia was granted to Artashata, a member of the Achaemenid dynasty who later ruled the empire as Darius III. The next known Orontid satrap of Armenia is Orontes II, a son or grandson of Orontes I. He led the Armenian contingent in Darius III's army at the Battle of Gaugamela. Another Armenian commander is mentioned is mentioned in this context, Mithraustes, who may have been the satrap of another part of Armenia. After conquering the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great appointed as Satrap of Armenia Mithrenes, a satrap of Sardis who had defected to his side. Some historians doubt whether Mithrenes ever actually ruled in Armenia, as the Macedonians never established firm control over the country. In Cyril Toumanoff's view, Mithrenes was actually a member of the Orontid dynasty. The Mount Nemrut inscriptions bear a partially legible name following that of Orontes II, which one scholar read as Mithranes. More recent studies have identified the name as ending in -danes (perhaps Bardanes), referring to a son of Orontes II. An Orontes III is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus as ruling Armenia in about 316 BC. The Macedonian general Neoptolemus is mentioned as Satrap of Armenia not long after the death of Alexander the Great, but he seems to have failed to take control of the country, possibly because of Orontes's resistance. Diodorus also refers to Ardoates, whom he calls King of Armenia, and who helped Ariarathes II of Cappadocia break away from the Seleucids. This probably happened after the battle of Battle of Corupedium. According to Toumanoff, this "Ardoates" is identical with Orontes III. Regardless of their formal submission to more powerful rulers, the Orontids ruled as kings in practice and presented themselves as kings.
Starting from 301 BC Armenia is included within the sphere of influence of the Seleucid Empire, but it maintained a considerable degree of autonomy, retaining its native rulers. According to Polyaenus, in 227 BC the Seleucid rebel king Antiochus Hierax took refuge in Armenian territory governed by King Arsames, founder of the city Arsamosata. Towards the end of 212 BC the country was divided into two kingdoms, both vassal states of the Seleucids: Greater Armenia and Armenia Sophene, including Commagene or Armenia Minor. Antiochus III the Great decided to suppress the local dynasties, and besieged Arsamosata. Xerxes, the satrap of Sophene and Commagene, surrendered and implored the clemency of the king, whom he accepted as his sovereign. Antiochus gave his sister Antiochis as a wife to Xerxes; she would later murder him. Greater Armenia was ruled by an Orontid descendant of Hydarnes, the last Orontid ruler of Greater Armenia (Strabo xi.14.15); he was apparently subdued by Antiochus III the Great, who then divided the land between his generals Artaxias I (Artashes) and Zariadres (Zareh), both of whom would claim descent from the Orontid family.
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