Stephen of Armenia (1111 – 7 February 1165) was the Marshal 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 ''Ox ...
, the son of
Leo I, Prince of Armenia
Leo I ( hy, Լևոն Ա), also Levon I or Leon I, (unknown – Constantinople, February 14, 1140) was the fifth King of Cilicia, lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1129/1130-1137).
He learned to exploit the open, yet restra ...
and
Beatrice de Rethel.
His father made him Marshal in 1138, due to the invasion of
John II Comnenus
John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautifu ...
, and escaped capture by sheltering in
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
. In 1157, he began raiding
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 ...
territories around
Marash
Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş ...
against his half-brother
Thoros' will, although he failed to capture Marash itself. The Byzantine governor of
Tarsus,
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 ...
, invited him to a banquet. Stephen's corpse was found the next day and it was believed Andronicus murdered him. Thoros avenged his death with a massacre of Greeks within his territories, which would have led to war had not
Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older broth ...
intervened to bring about a peace.
He had at least three children by his wife Rita 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 ...
:
*
Ruben III
*
Leo II
*Dolete, who married
Bertrand Embriaco
The Embriaco were a prominent Genoese family, who played an important role in the history of the Crusader states. It also gave consuls, admirals and ambassadors to the Republic of Genoa.
The family ruled the city of Byblos (in present-day Leba ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle(Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 27)
1165 deaths
Murdered royalty
Year of birth unknown
1111 births
{{Armenia-royal-stub