The Armenian Kings Who Became Champions of the Ancient Olympic Games

Having begun more than 2,700 years ago in Olympia, southwest Greece, and revived in its modern form in 1896, the Olympic Games have seen a whole host of athletes and characters competing to become champions, perhaps none so curious as the Armenian king, Tiridates III.

At the age of 23, in the 26th Olympics in 281 AD, the prominent Armenian king Tiridates III – best known for adopting Christianity as his country’s state religion in the early 4th century – became a champion in wrestling.

In 301 AD, the ruling elite of the Kingdom of Great Armenia decided to convert their entire nation to Christianity. This monotheistic move, which broke with the centuries-old pagan tradition, was led by King Tiridates III, his sister Khosrovidukht, his wife, Queen Ashken, and his closest associate Gregory the Illuminator, the father and first patriarch of the Armenian Church. Gregory was later canonized by the major Christian churches, and all four of them were canonized by the Armenian church.

Armenia’s pioneering conversion to Christianity was a move towards a more centralized state, at the expense of the increasingly powerful feudal houses. From King Tiridates’ own political frame of reference, uniting his nation under the banner of one god was an ideological booster for an already strong Armenian ethnic identity in the face of the escalating geopolitical pressure from the two feuding superpowers of the time, the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia.

King Tiridates III was not the only member of Armenian royalty to become a champion at the ancient Olympic Games either.

Another Armenian King in the Ancient Olympic Games

Varazdat, from the Arshakuni dynasty, who reigned Great Armenia between 374 and 378 AD, is one of the last known champions of the ancient Olympic Games. The Museum of the Olympic Games, in the city of Olympia, in Greece, preserved the oldest marble board with the names of the winners of the games.

According to the board, in 385 the future king Varazdat became the champion of the Olympic Games in the competition of ‘fist-fighting’. Fist-fighting became a sport in the games in 688 BC and rapidly became a favorite with the crowd.

The risk of injury and was very high, and the competitors had to propitiate Zeus because the battles were held in the sacred part of Olympia, in front of the nine-meter altar of the king of the gods, made from the ashes of sacrificial animals.

In the fights, there were no weight restrictions, no rounds, and competitors fought without any breaks, sometimes for four hours or more, until one of the fighters fell. To protect their hands and increase the power of their attack, some fighters wrapped their fists in straps of rough leather.

The victory of Varazdat brought him glory as the strongest fighter in the Roman Empire, which at that time controlled Greece and the Mediterranean.

According to the “Chronicle of Eusebius,” the Olympic Games were banned in 394 by Emperor Theodosius as pagan. Accurate evidence of the latest games is missing: it is believed that the 293rd Olympic Games did not take place. Thus, the Armenian king Varazdat was one of the last winners of the ancient games.

The Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi wrote about the reign of Varazdat, “The philosopher Augustus from Theodosia, nicknamed the Great, in the twentieth year of his reign appointed Varazdat from the same dynasty of Arshakuni as the king of Armenia instead of the Pap.”

“Varazdat was young, bold and strong, very skillful and smart. At the time he fled from Shapouh and, having come to the palace of the emperor, accomplished many feats. First, he defeated the fist fighters in Pisa, then in the City of the Sun, Hellada, he beat the lions, and then at the Olympic Games he was honored, and the feats he accomplished could be compared with the deeds of St. Trdat.”

Combat sports, particularly wrestling, have deep historical roots in Armenia. Wrestling has been practiced in the Armenian Highlands since ancient times, and Armenians even have their own variant of the sport called Kokh.

During the Soviet era, wrestling became one of the most practiced sports in Armenia and remained popular after Armenia’s independence in 1991. Armenian athletes have been successful at international competitions in the last two decades. Many have become World and European champions, both in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. Over half of the fifteen Armenian Olympic medalists and the two gold medal winners have been wrestlers. The sport is overseen by the Wrestling Federation of Armenia.