Artaxias I in the context of "Anahit"

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 satraps 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 new dynasty, Artaxias probably belonged to a branch of the Orontid dynasty. His descendants ruled Armenia until the 1st century AD.

The Artaxiad dynasty (also Artashesian) ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in 12 AD. It was founded by Artaxias I, who claimed kinship with the previous ruling dynasty of Armenia, the Orontids. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and, intermittently, parts of Mesopotamia. Their main enemies were the Romans, the Seleucids and the Parthians, against whom the Armenians conducted multiple wars. Under the Artaxiad king Tigranes the Great (r. 95–55 BC), the Kingdom of Armenia reached its greatest territorial extent, extending for a brief period from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea.

Artavasdes I (also spelled Artawazd/Artavazd) was the Artaxiad king of Armenia from approximately 160 BC to 115 BC. He was the son and successor of Artaxias I. Little is known about his reign. He is the subject of ancient Armenian folk traditions, which are recorded by later Armenian authors.

In c. 120 BC, the Parthian king Mithridates II (r. 124–91 BC) defeated Artavasdes I and made him acknowledge Parthian suzerainty. Artavasdes was forced to give the Parthians Tigranes (the future king Tigranes the Great) as a hostage, who was either his son or nephew.

Orontes IV (Old Persian: *Arvanta-) was the son of King Arsames and is recorded as ruling Armenia from inscriptions found at the historic capital of the Orontid dynasty, Armavir. He was the founder of the city of Yervandashat and Ervandakert.In his reign the religious site of Bagaran was founded. Large bronze statues in the Hellenistic style of the gods, Zeus (Aramazd), Artemis (Anahit) and Herakles (Vahagn) were brought there and set up in temples dedicated to them. He is also said to have founded a shrine at Armavir dedicated to Apollo (Mithra), a golden statue of four horses pulling a chariot with Apollo as god of the Sun. This was later destroyed by the Sassanid Persian army in the 4th century AD.

Antiochus III, King of the Seleucid Empire, instigated a revolt against Orontes, headed by Artaxias I. Aramaic inscriptions found at Armavir state that King Orontes IV died at the hands of his own army, in other words by betrayal from Artaxias I. Artaxias I was appointed as King of Armenia, by Antiochus.

The Siuni or Siwni dynasty (Old Armenian: Սիւնի) was an ancient Armenian princely (nakharar) dynasty which ruled the province of Siwnikʻ, with which the dynasty shared its name. They were one of the most important and powerful princely houses in antique and early medieval Armenia.

The Siwnis were said to be descendants of Sisak, one of the descendants of Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians. According to Robert H. Hewsen, the Siwnis were of non-Armenian origin. They were recognized as the hereditary rulers of Siwnikʻ with the division of Greater Armenia into provinces (ashkharhs) under Artaxias I in the second century BCE, although they may have been the local ruling dynasty even before that. The Siwnis were the most powerful princely house in the Kingdom of Armenia. According to the Zōranamak, a military register which listed the military obligations of each of the great noble houses, the Siwnis were supposed to raise a cavalry force of 19,400. They were honored with numerous gifts and privileges by the Armenian kings for their services, including the privilege of occupying the first seat next to the king at the royal banquet table.