Lesser Armenia

Lesser Armenia corresponded to the location of the Late Bronze Age Hayasa-Azzi confederation, which is thought by some scholars to be the source of the Armenian endonym hay and the original state of the Proto-Armenians.

[6] The capital of this kingdom was probably originally at Kamakh, but likely moved to Nicopolis after the end of the Mithridatic Wars.

[6] Lesser Armenia apparently experienced the high point of its territorial expansion during the Orontid period, possibly expanding its borders to the Black Sea.

[7] In 72 AD, Lesser Armenia was annexed by the Roman Empire and made a part of the larger province of Cappadocia.

Lesser Armenia, however, was generally incorporated by Trajan, together with Melitene and Cataonia, into the province of Cappadocia.

Lesser Armenia consisted of five districts: Orbalisene in the North; below that Aetulane; Aeretice; then Orsene; and finally Orbesine, the most southern.

[citation needed] In 536, the emperor Justinian I reorganized the provincial administration, and First and Second Armenia were renamed Second and Third respectively, while some of their territory was split off to the other Armenian provinces.

Coat of Arms of Armenia
Coat of Arms of Armenia
Location of Little Armenia
Anatolia in the early 1st century AD with Armenia Minor as a Roman client state
The Roman–Persian frontier and the Armenian provinces in the 5th century