The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a state formed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

by Armenian refugees, who were fleeing the

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

invasion of Armenia. Poghosyan, S.; Katvalyan, M.; Grigoryan, G. et al. ''Cilician Armenia'' (Կիլիկյան Հայաստան).

Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armeni ...

. vol. v. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1979, pp. 406–428 It was initially founded by the Rubenian dynasty, an offshoot of the larger Bagratid family that at various times held the thrones of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. While the Rubenian rulers were initially regional princes, their close ties with the Western world after the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

saw the principality recognised as a kingdom under

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...

by the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

in 1198. The Rubenid dynasty fell in 1252 after the death of the last Rubenid monarch

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, and her husband Hethum I became sole ruler, beginning the

Hethumid dynasty The Hethumids ( hy, Հեթումյաններ Hethumian) (also spelled Hetoumids or Het'umids), also known as the House of Lampron (after Lampron castle), were an Armenian dynasty and the rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 134 ...

. After the death of Leo IV in 1341 his cousin was elected to succeed him as Constantine II, the first king of the

Lusignan dynasty The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...

. The kingdom fell at the beginning of Leo V's reign to the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

s, and henceforth title holders were only claimants to the throne.

Charlotte of Cyprus Charlotte (28 June 1444 – 16 July 1487) was the Queen of Cyprus from 1458 until 1464. She was the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. At the age of 14, she succeeded to the Cypriot throne upo ...

ceded the throne to the House of Savoy in 1485, and the title fell out of use until after 1861.

Lords/princes

Kings and queens

Claimants

Potential claimants today

The title passed to the branch of the Lusignans in Constantinople and eventually Russia.Cecil R. Humphery-Smith, Princes of Lusignan page 5 The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies 2004 and The colonel was probably known as Louis Christian de Lusignan. In the issue No. 180 of the Peterburgskiy Listok (Petersburg List) Newspaper July 3–15, 1884, a list of deceased in St Petersburg between 11 June and 18 June was found. There was a record for Louis Christian de Lusignan, colonel (retired). In the same newspaper issue No. 172 25 June - 7 July 1884, the following article was published: "The deceased who was buried thereby on Smolensk graveyard on 23 July, was a titled King of Cyprus and Jerusalem and Armenia, descendant of one of the protector of God's Casket, colonel of the Russian service, Louis de Lusignan." The title is contested by the House of Savoy and the House of Brienne via

Hugh, Count of Brienne Hugh, Count of Brienne and Lecce ( 1240 – 9 August 1296) was the second surviving son of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Marie de Lusignan of Cyprus. Life His father, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon in Palestine, was murdered in 1244 in Cairo, and ...

and

John of Brienne John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champag ...

Notes

References

* * * ''Histoire des Princes de Lusignan, Anciens Rois de Jérusalem, de la Petite Arménie et de Chypre'', St. Petersbourg: Soikine, 1903. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cilicia, Monarchs Of The Armenian Kingdom Armenia, Cilicia * Lists of Armenian people Middle Ages-related lists Lists of medieval people Lists of nobility of the Crusader states