Armenia's Cilician Kingdom: Crusaders, Commerce, and Catastrophe

After the fall of the Bagratuni dynasty, Armenian nobles carved out a new kingdom far from the homeland — in Cilicia, on the Mediterranean coast. This episode follows the rise and fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, from its founding by the Rubenid dynasty in 1080 to its eventual conquest by the Mamluk Sultanate in 1375. We explore how Armenian rulers navigated the Crusader states, forged alliances with the Knights Templar, and adopted Western feudal and ecclesiastical practices. Key figures include Prince Levon I, King Levon II (who secured a crown from the Holy Roman Emperor), and King Levon V, the last Armenian monarch who died in exile in Paris. We also discuss the kingdom's economic prosperity through trade with Genoa and Venice, its unique Cilician Armenian script and coinage, and the tragic internal divisions that left it vulnerable. The episode concludes with the legacy of the Cilician kingdom as a symbol of Armenian resilience and its role in preserving Armenian identity abroad. #CilicianArmenia #RubenidDynasty #LevonII #Crusades #KnightsTemplar #MamlukSultanate #Sis #Cilicia #ArmenianKingdom #MedievalArmenia #Hethumids #LevonV #Genoa #Venice #ArmenianDiaspora #History #FexingoHistory #ArmenianHistory #MountArarat #Urartu Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo