The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Armenian Cilicia, Lesser Armenia, or New Armenia, was a medieval Armenian kingdom in the Cilicia region of southeastern Asia Minor which existed from 1080 to 1375, with Tarsus and Sis serving as its capitals. It was founded in 1080 by the Rubenids, who broke off from the disintegrating Byzantine Empire to form an Armenian principality in Anatolia; Armenia proper was under Islamic occupation. In 1198, Prince Leo II of Armenia was crowned King, transforming the principality into an independent kingdom. The kingdom was forced to deal with neighboring rivals such as the Greek Byzantines, the Latin Christian Crusaders, the Turkish Sultanate of Rum, the Arab Ayyubid Sultanate, and the Mongol Empire over the years, and, under the Hethumids, Armenia allied with the Mongols to check the rising power of the Egyptian Mamelukes in the Levant. The disintegration of the Crusader states and the Ilkhanate in the late 13th century left Armenian Cilicia without any allies. In 1342, the murder of King Leo V of Armenia by an angry mob led to the French nobleman Guy de Lusignan taking the throne as Constantine II of Armenia, and, while they largely succeeded in converting the nobility to Latin Christianity, the people remained staunchly Miaphysite. From 1343 to 1344, the Mamelukes resumed their expansion, invading Cilicia. Sis fell to the Mamelukes in 1374 and the fortress of Gaban in 1375, forcing King Leo VI of Armenia to go into exile in Paris. In 1396, Leo's titles and privileges were transferred to Leo's cousin James I, the ruler of the Kingdom of Cyprus. The resettlement of Turkic tribes in Cilicia led to 30,000 wealthy Armenians emigrating to Cyprus, while other merchant families emigrated to France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The Cilician Armenian community retained its old customs and traditions for centuries, but the 1909 Adana massacre and the Armenian Genocide forced the Armenians to again disperse throughout the Armenian diaspora.
Gallery[]
