Ruben III ( hy, Ռուբեն Գ), also Roupen III,
Rupen III,
or Reuben III,
(1145 – Monastery of Drazark,
May 6, 1187)
was the ninth
lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains”
(1175–1187).
Roupen remained always friendly to the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in spirit.
He was a just and good prince, and created many pious foundations within his domains.
His life
He was the eldest son of
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, the third son of
Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.
His mother was
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
, a daughter of
Sempad, Lord of Barbaron.
Roupen's father, who was on his way to attend a banquet given by the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
governor of
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
,
Andronicus Euphorbenus
Andronikos Komnenos Euphorbenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός Εὐφορβηνός; ) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine aristocrat and military commander, who served as governor of Cilicia in 1162–1163.
Andronikos Euphorbenos was ...
,
was murdered
on February 7, 1165.
Following his father's death, Roupen lived with his maternal uncle,
Pagouran, lord of the fortress of
Barbaron
The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m.
The Cilician Gates hav ...
, protecting the
Cilician Gates
The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m.
The Cilician Gates hav ...
pass in the
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...
.
Roupen took up the reins of Cilicia following the assassination of his paternal uncle,
Mleh who had been murdered by members of his own inner circle of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
nobles
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
on May 15, 1175.
He was a friend of the Franks (the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
); for example, at the end of 1177, he assisted
Philip, Count of Flanders
Philip I (1143 – 1 August 1191), commonly known as Philip of Alsace, was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. During his rule Flanders prospered economically. He took part in two crusades and died of disease in the Holy Land.
Count of Flanders
...
and Prince
Bohemond III of Antioch
Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (french: Bohémond le Bambe/le Baube; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of ...
at the ineffectual siege of Harenc.
In June 1180,
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
, the sultan of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II ( 1ca, قِلِج اَرسلان دوم) or ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kilij Arslān ibn Masʿūd ( fa, عز الدین قلج ارسلان بن مسعود) (Modern Turkish ''Kılıç Arslan'', meaning "Sword Lion") was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm ...
, the
sultan of Iconium met on the river Sanja and there, apparently concluded an alliance.
The first fruits of their alliance were a short and successful campaign against Roupen III, on the pretext of harsh treatment of the
Turkoman tribes
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
in his territories.
Roupen made peace with Kilij Arslan II in the same year.
In the course of the year, many of the nobles of the
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...
who hated Sybilla, the new wife of Bohemond III fled to Roupen's court.
Early in 1181, Roupen came on a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and there on 4 February1181/3 February 1182 he married
Isabella of Toron, daughter of Humphrey III of Toron and
Stephanie of Milly.
At the end of 1182, the Byzantine governor of Cilicia,
Isaac Comnenus, in revolt against the Emperor
Andronicus I Comnenus
Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and the grandson of the emperor Al ...
, sought help from Bohemond III against Roupen and admitted his troops into
Tarsus.
Bohemond promptly changed his mind and sold Tarsus and the governor to Roupen, then repented of it.
Isaac Comnenus was ransomed by the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
.
In 1183,
Hethum III of Lampron Hayton may refer to:
Armenian name
Հեթում (also Het'um, Haithon, Hethoum, Hetum), an Armenian given name
* King Hethum I, King of Armenia (d. 1271)
* King Hethum II, King of Armenia (1266–1307)
* Hayton of Corycus (c. 1235 – c. 131 ...
, allied with Bohemond III, began joint hostilities against Roupen.
They invited Roupen to Antioch as a prelude to ending the counterproductive rivalry between the two Armenian houses, but upon his arrival Roupen was taken captive and imprisoned.
But Roupen's brother
Leo finished off the conquest of the Hethoumians and attacked Antioch.
Roupen's release required payment of a large ransom and the submission of
Adana
Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart ...
and
Mamistra
Mopsuestia and Mopsuhestia ( grc, Μοψουεστία and Μόψου ἑστία, Mopsou(h)estia and Μόψου ''Mopsou'' and Μόψου πόλις and Μόψος; Byzantine Greek: ''Mamista'', ''Manistra'', ''Mampsista''; Arabic: ''al-Maṣ ...
as vassalages to Antioch;
but on his return to Cilicia he soon recovered them.
Bohemond III made various ineffectual raids but achieved nothing more.
Roupen abdicated in favor of his brother and retired to the monastery of Drazark where he died.
Marriage and children
# (4 February 1181 – 3 February 1182)
Isabella of Toron, a daughter of
Humphrey III of Toron
The third in the line of succession for the lordship of Tebnine. He was son of Humphrey II of Toron. Little is known about him as his rule lasted for a short while and the lordship went to his son Humphrey IV of Toron.
Under Humphrey III, Toron is ...
and
Stephanie of Milly
*
Alice (1182 – after 1234), the wife firstly of
Hethum of Sassoun, secondly of Count
Raymond IV of Tripoli, and thirdly of
Vahram of Korikos
*
Philippa
Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include ''Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is ''Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of ''Philippa of Guelders'' ...
(1183 – before 1219), the wife firstly of
Shahanshah of Sassoun, and secondly of
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Komnēnos Laskaris; 1175November 1221) was the first emperor of Nicaea—a successor state of the Byzantine Empire—from 1205 to his de ...
,
emperor of Nicaea
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Footnotes
Sources
*
*Ghazarian, Jacob G: ''The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393)''; RoutledgeCurzon (Taylor & Francis Group), 2000, Abingdon;
*
External links
Greeks, Crusaders and Moslems — Rise of Leon II(Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 28)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruben Iii, Prince Of Armenia
1187 deaths
1145 births
12th-century Armenian people
Monarchs of the Rubenid dynasty