Tigranes V and Erato

In the year 4 CE, the pro-Roman king Ariobarzanes of Armenia, who was not from Armenia but from Media Atropatene, died in an accident.^note[Tacitus, Annals 2.4.] He was succeeded by his son Artavasdes III,^note[Augustus, Res Gestae 27.] who was murdered two years later, perhaps because he did not belong to the Artaxiad dynasty. The Roman emperor Augustus sent Tigranes V to Armenia, a prince who did belong to the royal family of the Armenians.^note[Augustus, Res Gestae 27.] (Several members of this dynasty had been taken captive in 34 BCE and were living in Italy.)

To strengthen his claim to the Armenian throne, Tigranes V married Erato, the queen of Tigranes IV (r. c.8 BCE - 1/2 CE), the last effectice ruler of Armenia. The Roman historian Tacitus is, apparently, only aware of the queen, mentioning that Armenia became leaderless "after an experiment in female government with a queen called Erato, who was quickly expelled".^note[Tacitus, Annals 2.4.]

The statement is not only incomplete - Tacitus ignores the king - but also untrue, because after an interregnum without leader, Artaxias III Zenon (c.18-34 CE) was king.