Mesrop Mashtots (; Armenian: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց, romanized: Mesrop Maštoc' 362 – 17 February 440 AD) was an Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church.
He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c. 405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and, possibly, the Georgian script, though it is disputed.
The Arsacid dynasty, called the Arshakuni (Armenian: Արշակունի, romanized: Arshakuni) in Armenian, ruled the Kingdom of Armenia (with some interruptions) from 12 to 428 AD. The dynasty, a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia, reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad dynasty until 62, when Tiridates I, brother of Parthian King Vologases I, secured Arsacid rule in Armenia as a client-king of the Roman Empire. However, he did not succeed in establishing his line on the throne, and various princes of different Arsacid lineages ruled until the accession of Vologases II, who succeeded in establishing his own line on the Armenian throne, which ruled the kingdom until the Sasanian Empire abolished it in 428.
Two of the most notable events in Armenian history during the Arsacid period were the conversion of Armenia to Christianity by Gregory the Illuminator and Tiridates III in the early 4th century; and the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots c. 405. In contrast to the more Hellenic-influenced Artaxiads, Arsacid Armenia featured greater Iranian influence.