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The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Armenia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Armenian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 15,577 Politicians, 27 of which were born in Armenia. This makes Armenia the birth place of the 87th most number of Politicians behind Cambodia and Ethiopia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Armenian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Armenian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Armenian Politicians.

Photo of Tigranes the Great

1. Tigranes the Great (-140 - -55)

With an HPI of 71.87, Tigranes the Great is the most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 71 different languages on wikipedia.

Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (Tigran Mets in Armenian; Ancient Greek: Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας, Tigránes ho Mégas; Latin: Tigranes Magnus; 140 – 55 BC), was a king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries and reached its peak, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King or King of Kings. His empire for a short time was the most powerful state to the east of the Roman Republic. Either the son or nephew of Artavasdes I, Tigranes was given as a hostage to Mithridates II of Parthia after Armenia came under Parthian suzerainty. After ascending to the Armenian throne, he rapidly expanded his kingdom by invading or annexing Roman and Parthian client-kingdoms. Tigran decided to ally with Mithridates VI of Pontus by marrying his daughter Cleopatra. At its height, Tigranes' empire stretched from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. With captured vassals, he had even reached the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were forcibly relocated to his new capital, Tigranocerta. An admirer of the Greek culture, Tigranes invited many Greek rhetoricians and philosophers to his court, and his capital was noted for its Hellenistic architecture. Armenia came into direct conflict with Rome after Mithridates VI was forced to seek refuge in Tigranes' court. In 69 BC, Tigranes was decisively defeated at the Battle of Tigranocerta by a Roman army under the command of Lucullus, and a year later he met another major defeat at Artaxata, the old Armenian capital. The recall of Lucullus gave Tigranes a brief respite, but in 66 BC Armenia faced another Roman invasion led by Pompey, aided by Tigranes' own son, Tigranes the Younger. Tigranes chose to surrender and was allowed to retain the heartland of his kingdom as a Roman buffer state, while all of his conquests were annexed. He continued to rule Armenia as a formal ally of Rome until his death around 55 BC at the age of 85.

Photo of Leo V the Armenian

2. Leo V the Armenian (775 - 820)

With an HPI of 67.88, Leo V the Armenian is the 2nd most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Leo V the Armenian (Greek: Λέων ὁ Ἀρμενίος, Leōn ho Armenios; c. 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, who succeeded him on the throne.

Photo of Anastas Mikoyan

3. Anastas Mikoyan (1895 - 1978)

With an HPI of 67.31, Anastas Mikoyan is the 3rd most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (English: ; Russian: Анаста́с Ива́нович Микоя́н; Armenian: Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան, romanized: Anastas Hovhannesi Mikoyan; 25 November 1895 – 21 October 1978) was an Armenian Communist revolutionary, Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman. Having been elected to the Central Committee in 1923, he was the only Soviet politician who managed to remain at the highest levels of power within the Communist Party from the latter days of Lenin, through the eras of Stalin and Khrushchev, to his peaceful retirement under Brezhnev. An early convert to the Bolshevik cause, Mikoyan participated in the Baku Commune under the leadership of Stepan Shahumyan during the Russian Civil War in the Caucasus. In the 1920s, he served as the First Secretary of the North Caucasus region. During Stalin's rule, Mikoyan held several high governmental posts, including that of Minister of Foreign Trade. However, by the 1940s, Mikoyan began to lose favour with Stalin. In 1949, he lost his long-standing post of minister of foreign trade, and in October 1952, Stalin attacked him harshly at the 19th Party Congress. When Stalin died in 1953, Mikoyan again took a leading role in policy-making. Together, he and Khrushchev crafted the de-Stalinization policy and later he became First Deputy Premier under Khrushchev. Mikoyan's position during the Thaw made him the second most powerful figure in the Soviet Union at the time. Mikoyan made several key trips to communist Cuba and to the United States, acquiring an important stature on the international diplomatic scene, especially with his skill in exercising soft power to further Soviet interests. In 1964 Khrushchev was forced to step down in a coup that brought Brezhnev to power. Mikoyan served as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal Head of State, from 1964 until his forced retirement in 1965.

Photo of Tiridates III of Armenia

4. Tiridates III of Armenia (255 - 330)

With an HPI of 63.44, Tiridates III of Armenia is the 4th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Tiridates III (c. 250s – c. 330), also known as Tiridates the Great or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from c. 298 to c. 330. In the early 4th century (the traditional date is 301), Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to officially embrace Christianity.

Photo of Hayk

5. Hayk (410 - 490)

With an HPI of 62.03, Hayk is the 5th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Hayk (Armenian: Հայկ, Armenian pronunciation: [hajk]), also known as Hayk Nahapet (Հայկ Նահապետ, Armenian pronunciation: [hajk naha'pɛt], lit. 'Hayk the Patriarch'), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the History of Armenia attributed to the Armenian historian Moses of Chorene (Movses Khorenatsi) and in the Primary History traditionally attributed to Sebeos. Fragments of the legend of Hayk are also preserved in the works of other authors, as well as in Armenian folk tradition.

Photo of Najm ad-Din Ayyub

6. Najm ad-Din Ayyub (1100 - 1173)

With an HPI of 61.89, Najm ad-Din Ayyub is the 6th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān (Arabic: الملك ألأفضل نجم الدين أيوب بن شاذي بن مروان Kurdish: Necmeddin Eyûbî; died August 9, 1173), or simply Najmadin, was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Photo of Shirkuh

7. Shirkuh (1100 - 1169)

With an HPI of 60.98, Shirkuh is the 7th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh bin Shādhī (Kurdish: ئەسەد الدین شێرکۆ, romanized: Esed El-Dîn Şêrko; Arabic: أسد الدين شيركوه بن شاذي), also known as Shirkuh, or Şêrko (meaning "lion of the mountains" in Kurdish) (died 22 February 1169) was a military commander in service of the Zengid dynasty, and uncle of Saladin. His military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor in establishing the Ayyubid dynasty in that country.

Photo of Ashot I of Armenia

8. Ashot I of Armenia (820 - 890)

With an HPI of 59.43, Ashot I of Armenia is the 8th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ashot I (Armenian: Աշոտ Ա; c. 820 – 890) was an Armenian king who oversaw the beginning of Armenia's second golden age (862 – 977). He was the son of Smbat VIII the Confessor and was a member of the Bagratuni dynasty.

Photo of Vardan Mamikonian

9. Vardan Mamikonian (388 - 451)

With an HPI of 59.10, Vardan Mamikonian is the 9th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Vardan Mamikonian (Armenian: Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; c. 387 – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of sparapet, the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces. Vardan and most of his comrades died at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, but their sacrifice was immortalized in the works of the Armenian historians Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi. He is regarded as a national hero among Armenians and venerated as a martyr and a saint of the Armenian Church. Vardan and the rebellion he led are commemorated in numerous works of art and literature. According to Arshag Chobanian, "To the Armenian nation, Vartan [...] is the most beloved figure, the most sacred in their history, the symbolical hero who typifies the national spirit."

Photo of Vologases V

10. Vologases V (130 - 208)

With an HPI of 58.85, Vologases V is the 10th most famous Armenian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Vologases V (Parthian: 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 Walagash) was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 191 to 208. As king of Armenia (r. 180–191), he is known as Vologases II. Not much is known about his period of kingship of Armenia, except that he put his son Rev I (r. 186–216) on the Iberian throne in 189. Vologases succeeded his father Vologases IV as king of the Parthian Empire in 191; it is uncertain if the transition of power was peaceful or if Vologases took the throne in a civil war. When Vologases acceded the Parthian throne, he passed the Armenian throne to his son Khosrov I (r. 191–217). Vologases' reign was marked by war with the Roman Empire, lasting from 195 to 202, resulting in the brief capture of the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, and reaffirmation of Roman rule in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia. At the same time, internal conflict took place in the Parthian realm, with the local Persian prince Pabag seizing Istakhr, the capital of the southern Iranian region of Persis.

Pantheon has 27 people classified as politicians born between 350 BC and 1985. Of these 27, 9 (33.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living politicians include Nikol Pashinyan, Shavarsh Karapetyan, and Tigran Sargsyan. The most famous deceased politicians include Tigranes the Great, Leo V the Armenian, and Anastas Mikoyan. As of April 2022, 1 new politicians have been added to Pantheon including Alen Simonyan.

Living Politicians

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Deceased Politicians

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Newly Added Politicians (2022)

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Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.