Arzanene () or Aghdznik () was a historical region in the southwest of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It was ruled by one of the four bdeashkhs (bidakhsh, vitaxa) of Armenia, the highest ranking nobles below the king who ruled over the kingdom's border regions. Its probable capital was the fortress-city of Arzen. The region briefly became home to the capital of Armenia during the reign of Tigranes the Great, who built his namesake city Tigranocerta there. Arzanene was placed under the direct suzerainty of the Roman Empire after the Peace of Nisibis in 298. It was briefly brought back under Armenian control c. 371 but was soon lost again following the partition of Armenia in 387. Name It is generally agreed the Greco-Roman name of Arzanene is derived from the city of Arzan (Arzn or Aghzn in Armenian), which was probably the capital of the province. The name is identified with the Alzi or Alše mentioned in Neo-Assyrian and Urartian inscriptions and is of non-Armenian origin. Geography Arzanene was located between the western Tigris and the eastern Taurus Mountains, covering an area of approximately . It was located to the east of the Batman River and to the west of the Botan River (both tributaries of the Tigris). The region was naturally divided between the mountainous part closer to the Taurus in the north, which had an extremely cold climate, and the flat part to the south, which had a warm and dry climate. Arzanene was famous for its rivers and springs, as well as its iron and lead mines. Cattle-breeding, grape cultivation and winemaking were well-developed in the province. The province had about seven fortresses. According the early medieval Armenian geography Ashkharhatsʻoytsʻ, Arzanene was divided into ten cantons or gawaṛs (their capitals or main fortresses, where known, are listed adjacent to the canton name): Npʻrkert: Npʻrkert (later Martyropolis) Aghdzn: Arzan Kētʻik Tatik Kʻagh: Kʻghimar Aznuadzor Erkhetʻkʻ Gzeghkh: Gzeghkh Salnoy Dzor: Salnodzor Sanasunkʻ (Sasun): Sanasun One of the recensions of Ashkharhatsʻoytsʻ includes an eleventh district, Saghu, which is likely an error. Historian Suren Yeremian includes Angeghtun among the cantons of Aghdznikʻ, even though it is not listed as such in any of the manuscripts of Ashkharhatsʻoytsʻ (Cyril Toumanoff and Robert Hewsen consider Angeghtun to have been a part of Tsopʻkʻ/Sophene). As the domain of one of the four bdeashkhs of Armenia, Arzanene can be divided into the core principality