Cilician Armenian State

Cilician Armenian State 

a feudal principality, later a kingdom, in Cilicia from 1080 to 1375. It arose in the early 11th century as the result of the mass exodus of Armenians from Armenia after the invasions of the Seljuks and also as a result of the seizure of Vaspurakan, Ani, and Kars by Byzantium and the emigration of Armenians to the western provinces of the empire. In 1080 a retainer of the king of Ani, Ruben (the founder of the Rubenid dynasty), proclaimed Cilicia an independent principality. In 1097 the Armenians, in alliance with some Crusaders, expelled the Seljuks from the Cilician plain. From the end of the 11th century to 1182, the Cilician Armenian state waged successful wars with Byzantium and upheld its independence. The state achieved its greatest prosperity under Leo II, who became king in 1198. During his reign, agriculture, handicrafts, and trade developed successfully. The cities of Sis (the capital), Tarsus, Mamedia, Adana, and Ayas became important trading, cultural, and handicraft centers. Beginning in 1266, the Cilician Armenian state conducted almost uninterrupted wars against the Egyptian sultans. In 1375, the state fell in a struggle with the Mamelukes.

REFERENCES

Istoriia armianskogo naroda, part 1. Yerevan, 1951, pp. 171–178, 200–204.
Mikaelian, G. G. Istoriia Kilikiiskogo armianskogo gosudarstva. Yerevan, 1952.