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Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

Type Object Region Asia Minor Time 1198–1375

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a polity founded c. 1080 by exiled Armenian nobles in Cilicia (southeastern Asia Minor), crowned with Leo I as ki…

Timeline

  1. 1080–1226Cilicia · CiliciaAfter the Seljuk invasions, Armenian nobles led their followers south into the Cilician highlands; Ruben I founded a feudal principality c. 1080, and Leo I was crowned king in 1198, making the kingdom an important member of the Crusader state circle.
  2. 1226–1240Eastern Mediterranean coast · CiliciaAfter Hethum I's accession he maintained alliances with Antioch, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the pope; the kingdom's ports participated in Mediterranean trade, and relations between the Armenian Church and the Roman Curia grew closer in the first half of the 13th century.
  3. 1241–1250Cilicia · CiliciaIn the 1240s Hethum I recognized the unstoppable Mongol westward conquest, sending his brother and commander Smbat to the Mongol court in 1247 to conclude an alliance (Smbat remained at the Mongol court until c. 1250); in 1254 Hethum I personally visited Karakorum to meet Möngke Khan. The kingdom became one of the first Christian polities in West Asia to ally with the Mongols, shifting its diplomatic focus from the Crusader alliance to Mongol protection.
  4. 1250–1375Sis · SisAfter the mid-13th century the kingdom was squeezed by Mamluk Egypt and neighboring Islamic powers, its territory gradually shrinking; Sis fell in 1375, the last king Leo V was captured, and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia came to an end.

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