Tigranakert Tigranakert ( Armenian : Տիգրանակերտ , transliterated `` Tigranakert '' and also spelled `` Dikranagerd '' in Western Armenian ) , was a city near present-day Silvan , Turkey , east of Diyarbakır . It was founded by the Armenian Emperor Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC . Tigranakert was founded as the new capital of the Armenian Empire in order to be in a more central position within the boundaries of the expanding empire . To create this city , Tigranes forced many people out of their homes to make up the population . Armenia at this time had expanded east to the Caspian Sea , west to central Cappadocia , and south towards Judea , advancing as far as the regions surrounding what is now the Krak des Chevaliers . A Roman force under Lucius Lucullus defeated Tigranes at the Battle of Tigranocerta nearby in 69 BC , and afterwards sacked the city , sending many of the people back to their original homes to help turn the population against the tyranny of Tigranes . Tigranakert was a center for Armenian culture and was home to the Armenians up until the Armenian massacres of the 19th century and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 , whence the population was eradicated and replaced by Kurds .  This Armenia location article is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . This article about a Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey location is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : Armenia geography stubs | Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey geography stubs | History of Armenia | Former capitals of Armenia In other languages : Català | Русский 