Editing History of Armenia (section)

===Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia===
{{Main|Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia}}
[[File:Cilician Armenia-en.svg|thumb|The Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, 1199–1375.]]
To escape death or servitude at the hands of those who had assassinated his relative [[Gagik II]], King of [[Ani]], an Armenian named [[Ruben I of Armenia|Roupen]] with some of his countrymen went into the gorges of the Taurus Mountains and then into Tarsus of Cilicia. Here the Byzantine governor gave them shelter in the late 11th century.  Two great dynastic families, the [[Rubenids]] and the [[Hethumids]], ruled what became in 1199, with the coronation of [[Leo I, King of Armenia|Levon I]], the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] and through skillful diplomacy and military alliances (explained below) maintained their political autonomy until 1375.<ref name="mutafian">{{cite book|last1=Mutafian|first1=Claude| title=Le Royaume Arménien de Cilicie| date=1993|publisher=CNRS Editions| location=Paris |isbn=2-271-05105-3|pages=13–153}}</ref> The kingdom's political independence relied on a vast network of castles which controlled the mountain passes and the strategic harbours.<ref name="edwards">{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Robert W.| title=The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII | date=1987|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University| location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=0-88402-163-7|pages=3–282}}</ref> Almost all of the civilian settlements were located directly below or near these fortifications.<ref>Edwards, Robert W., "Settlements and Toponymy in Armenian Cilicia", Revue des Études Arméniennes 24, 1993, pp.181-204.</ref>

After the members of the first Crusade appeared in Asia Minor, the Armenians developed close ties to European [[Crusader States]].  They flourished in south-eastern [[Asia Minor]] until it was conquered by [[Muslim]] states. Count [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem|Baldwin]], who with the rest of the Crusaders was passing through Asia Minor bound for Jerusalem, left the Crusader army and was adopted by [[Thoros of Edessa]], an Armenian ruler of Greek Orthodox faith.<ref name = "Cilicia: A Historical Overview" /> As they were hostile towards the [[Seljuks]] and unfriendly to the Byzantines, the Armenians took kindly to the crusader count.  So when Thoros was assassinated, Baldwin was made ruler of the new crusader [[County of Edessa]]. It seems that the Armenians were pleased with Baldwin's rule and with the crusaders in general, and some number of them fought alongside the crusaders. When [[Antioch]] had been taken (1097), Constantine, the son of Roupen, received from the crusaders the title of baron.<ref>{{cite CE1913|wstitle= Armenia |volume= 1 |page= |last= Driscoll |first= James Francis |author-link= |quote= see "IV. THE CRUSADES.........Valiantly they fought with the Christians of Europe, and for their reward, when Antioch had been taken (1097), Constantine, the son of Roupen, received from the crusaders the title of baron..." |year=1913|short=1}}</ref>

The [[Third Crusade]] and other events elsewhere left Cilicia as the sole substantial Christian presence in the Middle East.<ref name = "Cilicia: A Historical Overview" /> World powers, such as Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire, the papacy and even the [[Abbassid|Abbasid]] caliph competed and vied for influence over the state and each raced to be the first to recognise [[Leo II, Prince of Armenia|Leo II]], Prince of Lesser Armenia, as the rightful king. As a result, he had been given a crown by both German and Byzantine emperors. Representatives from across Christendom and a number of Muslim states attended the coronation, thus highlighting the important stature that Cilicia had gained over time.<ref name="Cilicia: A Historical Overview">{{cite web|url=http://www.accc.org.uk/News/CILICIA/Cilicia%20-%20Little%20Armenia%20-%20%20by%20Ara%20Iskenderian.pdf|title=Cilicia: A Historical Overview|access-date=8 February 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614011301/http://www.accc.org.uk/News/CILICIA/Cilicia%20-%20Little%20Armenia%20-%20%20by%20Ara%20Iskenderian.pdf|archive-date=14 June 2007}}</ref> The Armenian authorities was often in touch with the crusaders. No doubt the Armenians aided in some of the other crusades. Cilicia flourished greatly under Armenian rule, as it became the last remnant of medieval Armenian statehood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dangerous Archaeology |url=https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu/galleries/Exhibits/DangerousArchaeology/Armenia.html |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu}}</ref> Cilicia acquired an Armenian identity, as the kings of Cilicia were called kings of the Armenians, not of the Cilicians.

In Lesser Armenia, Armenian culture was intertwined with both the European culture of the Crusaders and with the Hellenic culture of Cilicia. As the Catholic families extended their influence over Cilicia, the Pope wanted the Armenians to follow Catholicism. This situation divided the kingdom's inhabitants between pro-Catholic and pro-Apostolic camps. Armenian sovereignty lasted until 1375, when the Mamelukes of Egypt profited from the unstable situation in Lesser Armenia and destroyed it.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_B2W1YOG3N10C|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia|last=Suny|first=Ronald G.|date=1 April 1996|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=9780788128134|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_B2W1YOG3N10C/page/n63 11]|language=en}}</ref>