Artavasdes I (also spelled Artawazd/Artavazd, ) was the Artaxiad king of Armenia from 159 BC to 115 BC. He was the son and successor of Artaxias I. Artavasdes' name is the Latinized version of an Old Iranian name Ṛtavazdā, identical to the Avestan Ašavazdah, presumably meaning "powerful/persevering through truth". In , the Parthian king Mithridates II () defeated Artavasdes I and made him acknowledge Parthian suzerainty. Artavasdes was forced to give the Parthians Tigranes as a hostage, who was either his son or nephew. According to Professor Cyril Toumanoff, Artavasdes I can be identified with the Armenian king who, according to the medieval Georgian annals, interfered in Iberia at the request of local nobility and installed his son, Artaxias, on the throne of Iberia, thereby inaugurating the Iberian Artaxiad dynasty. References Sources 123 BC deaths 2nd-century BC kings of Armenia 2nd-century BC rulers Year of birth unknown Artaxiad dynasty Vassal rulers of the Parthian Empire