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The Republic of Armenia Once an empire stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea including parts of Georgia and Syria, Armenia was at its largest during the early 1st century BC under the rule of King Tigranes. Before the end of the 1st century BC, the Armenian Empire was conquered by the Roman Empire and what is today Armenia, was used as a battleground and buffer zone between the Roman Empire and the Parthinians, who ruled Persia. In the 1st century AD, a Roman- Parthian treaty was signed giving the Parthians rule over Armenia, but when a new dynasty came to power in the 3rd century AD and tried to seize Armenia, the Romans gained control of Armenia and crowned Tiridates III as king. In the early 4th century AD, Tiridates converted to Christianity even before Constantine of the Byzantine Empire, establishing the first official Christian state religion. The Byzantine Empire and Persian Empire divided up Armenia until the early 7th century AD when the Byzantine Empire took complete control for a little while, eventually giving it up to the Arabs who had recently conquered Persia. With near autonomy, Armenia was ruled by a noble family put in power by the Arabs until small Armenian kingdoms became sovere