Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, (Armenian: Կիլիկիոյ Հայոց Թագաւորութիւն, romanized: Kilikiayi haykakan t’agavorut’yun) was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia.

Armenian Principality of Cilicia (1080–1198) Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375) Կիլիկիոյ Հայոց Թագաւորութիւն
1080–1375
Status	Principality, Kingdom
Capital	Tarson (1080–1198) Sis (1198–1375)
Common languages	Armenian (native language), Latin, Old French, Greek, Syriac
Religion	Christianity (Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic)
Government	Feudal Monarchy
Prince, King
• 1080–1095	Ruben I
• 1129–1137	Leo I
• 1144–1169	Thoros II the Great
• 1175–1187	Ruben III
• 1198–1219	Leo II the Magnificent
• 1226–1270	Hethum I
• 1320–1341	Leo IV
• 1374–1375	Leo V
History
•	1080
•	1375

History

The kingdom had its origins in the principality founded c. 1080 by the Rubenid dynasty, an alleged offshoot of the larger Bagratuni dynasty, which at various times had held the throne of Armenia. Their capital was originally at Tarsus, and later became Sis. Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, since Armenia proper was under foreign occupation at the time. Cilicia's significance in Armenian history and statehood is also attested by the transfer of the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, spiritual leader of the Armenian people, to the region.

In 1198, with the crowning of Leo I, King of Armenia of the Rubenid dynasty, Cilician Armenia became a kingdom.

In 1226, the crown was passed to rival Hethumids through Leo's daughter Isabella's second husband, Hethum I. As the Mongols conquered vast regions of Central Asia and the Middle East, Hethum and succeeding Hethumid rulers sought to create an Armeno-Mongol alliance against common Muslim foes, most notably the Mamluks. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Crusader states and the Mongol Ilkhanate disintegrated, leaving the Armenian Kingdom without any regional allies. After relentless attacks by the Mamluks in Egypt in the fourteenth century, the Cilician Armenia of the Lusignan dynasty, mired in an internal religious conflict, finally fell in 1375.

Commercial and military interactions with Europeans brought new Western influences to the Cilician Armenian society. Many aspects of Western European life were adopted by the nobility including chivalry, fashions in clothing, and the use of French titles, names, and language. Moreover, the organization of the Cilician society shifted from its traditional system to become closer to Western feudalism. The European Crusaders themselves borrowed know-how, such as elements of Armenian castle-building and church architecture. Cilician Armenia thrived economically, with the port of Ayas serving as a center for East–West trade.

Armenian Kingdom Of Cilicia Media

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  The Barony of Cilician Armenia, 1080–1199

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  Baldwin of Boulogne receiving the homage of the Armenians in Edessa.

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  Little Armenia and its surrounding states in 1200.

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  Fortress of Korikos in Cilician Armenia built c. the thirteenth century.

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  Little Armenia, a Christian exclave in Anatolia, and its surrounding states in 1300.

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  Ghazan ordering the King Hetum II to accompany Kutlushah on the 1303 attack on Damascus.

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  Constantin III of Armenia on his throne with the Hospitallers. "Les chevaliers de Saint-Jean-de-Jerusalem rétablissant la religion en Arménie", 1844 painting by Henri Delaborde.

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  Cilicia, particularly Kozan sanjak of Adana Vilayet, retained a substantial Armenian population until the Armenian genocide.

Sources

• Edwards, Robert W. (1987). The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia, Dumbarton Oaks Studies No.23. Washington D. C.: Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University. pp. vii–xxxi, 3–288. ISBN 0884021637.
• Kurdoghlian, Mihran (1996). Պատմութիւն Հայոց [History of Armenia] (in հայերեն). Vol. II. Athens: Հրատարակութիւն ազգային ուսումնակաան խորհուրդի [Council of National Education Publishing]. pp. 43–44.
• Nersessian, Der. The Kingdom of Cilician Armenia. pp. 645–653.
• Ghazarian, Jacob G. (2000). The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393). Routledge. pp. 54–55. ISBN 0-7007-1418-9.
• Bournoutian, George; Atamian, Ani (1997). Hovannisian., Richard G. (ed.). "Cilician Armenia" in The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century. Ed. Richard G. Hovannisian. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 283–290. ISBN 1-4039-6421-1.