Cilician Armenia

[Reign of True Hayasa]

50174
Korikos Castle, built in the 11th-12th centuries, by the Rubenian dynasty of Cilician Armenia.
(Western Armenia, currently Turkish Republic)

Two Armenian inscriptions that were discovered at the castles of Korykos were credit to its construction to Levon I and then to Hetum I, who were Kings of Cilician Armenia, attested by Langlois, op. cit {supra, note 21), pg 48.

The Armenians held it until the end of the 14th century, as the last stronghold of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, apart from the mountains of Cilicia which still had remote sovereign principalities. The city was then handed over to the Lusignans of Cyprus. It was taken by the Mamelukes, and again by Peter I of Cyprus. In the late 14th century it fell again to the Turks. From 1448 or 1454 it belonged alternately to the Karamanlis, the Egyptians, the Karamanlis a second time, and finally to the Osmanlis.

The ruins of the city are extensive. Among them are a triumphal arch, a necropolis with a beautiful Christian tomb, sarcophagi, etc. The two medieval castles, one on the shore, the other in an islet, connected by a ruined pier, are partially preserved; the former was reputed impregnable. The walls of the castle on the mainland contain many pieces of columns; and a mole of great unhewn rocks projects from one angle of the fortress about a hundred yards across the bay. Three churches are also found, one decorated with frescoes. The walls of the ancient city may still be traced, and there appear to be sufficient remains to invite a careful examination of the spot.

Turkish guides, and "historians" will be reluctant to inform you of Korikos' Armenian history, and conception due to the hostile relations of both nations. They will often refer to it as Roman, or just simply as christian without mentioning the fact that it was built, and occupied by Armenian Kingdoms for hundreds of years. This goes for many Ancient Armenian sites in "eastern turkey" Western Armenia today, which are misrepresented.

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The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia#mediaviewer/File:Cilician_Armenia-en.svg) (Middle Armenian: Կիլիկիոյ Հայոց Թագաւորութիւն Kilikio Hayots Tagavorutyun; French: Le Royaume arménien de Cilicie), also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilicia or New Armenia,[1] was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia.[2] Located outside of the Armenian Highland and distinct from the Armenian Kingdom of Antiquity, it was centered in the Cilicia region northwest of the Gulf of Alexandretta.

The kingdom had its origins in the principality founded c. 1080 by the Rubenid dynasty, an alleged offshoot of the larger Bagratid family, which at various times had held the thrones of Armenia and Georgia. Their capital was originally at Tarsus, and later became Sis. Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, since Armenia proper was under foreign occupation at the time. Cilicia's significance in Armenian history and statehood is also attested by the transfer of the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, spiritual leader of the Armenian people, to the region. In 1198, with the crowning of Levon the Magnificent of the Rubenid dynasty, Cilician Armenia became a kingdom.[3][4] In 1226, the crown was passed to rival Het'umids through Queen Zabel's second husband, He'tum I. As the Mongols conquered vast regions of Central Asia and the Middle East, Het'um and succeeding Het'umid rulers sought to create an Armeno-Mongol alliance against common Muslim foes, most notably the Mamluks.[4] In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Crusader states disintegrated and the Mongols became islamized, leaving the Armenian Kingdom without any regional allies. After relentless attacks by the Mamluks in Egypt in the fourteenth century, the Cilician Armenia of the Lusignan dynasty, mired in an internal religious conflict, finally fell in 1375.[5]

Commercial and military interactions with Europeans brought new Western influences to the Cilician Armenian society. Many aspects of Western European life were adopted by the nobility including chivalry, fashions in clothing, and the use of French titles, names, and language. Moreover, the organization of the Cilician society shifted from its traditional system to become closer to Western feudalism.[6] The European Crusaders themselves borrowed know-how, such as elements of Armenian castle-building and church architecture.[7] Cilician Armenia thrived economically, with the port of Ayas serving as a center for East to West trade.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia

[RandoBloom]

Why would anyone build a castle there?

[Reign of True Hayasa]

Mass Armenian migration under the Byzantine Empire

After the 395 AD partition of the Roman Empire into halves, Cilicia became incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire, also called the Byzantine Empire. In the sixth century AD, Armenian families relocated to Byzantine territories. Many served in the Byzantine army as soldiers or as generals, and rose to prominent imperial positions.[10]


Situation in the Armenian Highland during the Seljuk Empire.

Cilicia fell to Arab invasions in the seventh century and was entirely incorporated into the Rashidun Caliphate.[9] However, the Caliphate failed to gain a permanent foothold in Anatolia, as Cilicia was reconquered in the year 965 by Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas. The Caliphate's occupation of Cilicia and of other areas in Asia Minor led many Armenians to seek refuge and protection further west in the Byzantine Empire, which created demographic imbalances in the region.[9] In order to better protect their eastern territories after their reconquest, the Byzantines resorted largely to a policy of mass transfer and relocation of native populations within the Empire's borders.[9] Nicephorus thus expelled the Muslims living in Cilicia, and encouraged Christians from Syria and Armenia to settle in the region. Emperor Basil II (976–1025) tried to expand into Armenian Vaspurakan in the east and Arab-held Syria towards the south. As a result of the Byzantine military campaigns, the Armenians spread into Cappadocia, and eastward from Cilicia into the mountainous areas of northern Syria and Mesopotamia.[11]

The formal annexation of Greater Armenia to the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and its conquest by the Seljuk Turks 19 years later caused two new waves of Armenian migration to Cilicia.[11] The Armenians could not re-establish an independent state in their native highland after the fall of Bagratid Armenia as it remained under foreign occupation. Following its conquest in 1045, and in the midst of Byzantine efforts to further repopulate the Empire's east, the Armenian immigration into Cilicia intensified and turned into a major socio-political movement.[9] The Armenians came to serve the Byzantines as military officers or governors, and were given control of important cities on the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier. The Seljuks also played a significant role in the Armenian population movement into Cilicia.[9] In 1064, the Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan made their advance towards Anatolia by capturing Ani in Byzantine-held Armenia. Seven years later, they earned a decisive victory against Byzantium by defeating Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes' army at Manzikert, north of Lake Van. Alp Arslan's successor, Malik-Shah I, further expanded the Seljuk Empire and levied repressive taxes on the Armenian inhabitants. After Catholicos Gregory II the Martyrophile's assistant and representative, Parsegh of Cilicia's solicitation, the Armenians obtained a partial reprieve, but Malik's succeeding governors continued levying taxes.[9] This led the Armenians to seek refuge in Byzantium and in Cilicia. Some Armenian leaders set themselves up as sovereign lords, while others remained, at least in name, loyal to the Empire. The most successful of these early Armenian warlords was Philaretos Brachamios, a former Byzantine general who was alongside Romanus Diogenes at Manzikert. Between 1078 and 1085, Philaretus built a principality stretching from Malatia in the north to Antioch in the south, and from Cilicia in the west to Edessa in the east. He invited many Armenian nobles to settle in his territory, and gave them land and castles.[10] But Philaretus's state began to crumble even before his death in 1090, and ultimately disintegrated into local lordships.[12]

[Reign of True Hayasa]

One of the princes who came after Philaretos' invitation was Ruben, who had close ties with the last Bagratid Armenian king, Gagik II. Ruben was alongside the Armenian ruler Gagik when he went to Constantinople upon the Byzantine emperor's request. Instead of negotiating peace, however, the king was forced to cede his Armenian lands and live in exile. Gagik was later assassinated by Greeks.[13] In 1080, soon after this assassination, Ruben organized a band of Armenian troops and revolted against the Byzantine Empire.[14] He was joined by many other Armenian lords and nobles.

Thus, in 1080, the foundations of the independent Armenian princedom of Cilicia, and the future kingdom, were laid under Ruben's leadership. His descendants were called Rubenids.[10] After Ruben's death in 1095, the Rubenid principality, centered around the fortresses of Bardzrberd and Vahka, was led by Ruben's son, Constantine I of Armenia; however, there were several other Armenian principalities both inside and beyond Cilicia, such as that of the Het'umids. This important Armenian dynasty was founded by the former Byzantine general Oshin, and was centered in Lampron and Babaron at the southern end of the Cilician Gates.[12] The Het'umids have always contended with the Rubenids for power and influence over Cilicia. Various Armenian lords and former generals of Philaretos were also present in Marash, Malatia (Melitene), and Edessa, the latter two being located outside of Cilicia.[12]

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http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/Cilician%20Armenia/Pictures/CrusaderStates.jpg

Timeline
Roupen I organizes revolt
Cilicia, New Refuge of Armenians
Oshin in Cilicia
Location
Byzantine Policy
Death of Roupen
Constantin I and Thoros I
First Crusade
Armenians befriend Crusaders
Thoros drives Greeks out
Repulses Turkish Invasion
Baron Leon I expands his domain
Treachery of Antioch
Stepan at Marash
Greeks incite Turks
Thoros II (1145-1169)
Romantic escape of Thoros
Byzantine-Turkish alliance violated

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[Armenian Bishop]

Why would anyone build a castle there?

I don't understand. Please explain: What's wrong with building a castle in that location?

[RandoBloom]

I don't understand. Please explain: What's wrong with building a castle in that location?

Its a castle in the midle of the sea. It doesnt do anything.
What are you going to do, shoot arrows at ships pasing around?

[MarkyMark]

Its a castle in the midle of the sea. It doesnt do anything.
What are you going to do, shoot arrows at ships pasing around?

Islands are easy to defend, castle walls make it easier. It was probably a place for ships to resupply, or haven for ships being attacked. If they were under attack, they wouldn't shoot arrows, they would shoot Greek fire at it.



@Hayasa- About Cilicia, it was originally inhabited by the Syro-Hittites, then the region was hellenized. Afterwards it was brought under the reign of Iranic kings I believe. Aftwards the Armenians recolonized the place, however I doubt the people there were anything but heavily greek by then.

[Armenian Bishop]

If they were under attack, they wouldn't shoot arrows, they would shoot Greek fire at it.

Apparently, that's exactly how it functioned: "Islands are easy to defend, castle walls make it easier. It was probably a place for ships to resupply, or haven for ships being attacked. "Corycus was conquered by the Armenians soon after it was rebuilt by the Byzantines. The Armenians held it until the end of the 14th century, as the last stronghold of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The city was then handed over to the Lusignans of Cyprus."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corycus


@Hayasa- About Cilicia, it was originally inhabited by the Syro-Hittites, then the region was hellenized. Afterwards it was brought under the reign of Iranic kings I believe. Aftwards the Armenians recolonized the place, however I doubt the people there were anything but heavily greek by then.

Yes, I'm sure that the Hellenic presence in Cilicia was noteworthy, and remained strong, despite a nationalistic and strong presence of Armenians, since the 11th Century. An Armenian presence in Cilicia was still significant, at the end of the 19th Century. Many Armenians in Cilicia perished during the Armenian Genocide (1915 - 1923), while other Armenians survived only by escaping from the region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_Dagh_Resistance

Kassab, in present day Syria, was a relic of the Armenian presence in Cilicia, since the 11th Century, but, in April, 2014, Syrian Rebels (FSA), based in Turkey, crossed the border and seized Kassab. It became a ghost town, pillaged and occupied by Syrian Rebels, some of whom were alleged to speak fluently in Turkish. There's good reason to believe that high officials of Turkey helped the FSA plan its logistics for the operation.
http://www.sana.sy/en/?p=3614

[Böri]

Cilicia wasnt the original homeland of Armenians. As the thread starter mentions, the Armenian counties and principates appear in late 11th century in that region. As we know Greeks treated Armenians as second class citizens, Greeks didn't allow them to settle in Western Turkey.
As the Seljuk Turks appeared in Iran as invincible and unstoppable armies expanding toward the Transcaucasus, Greeks allowed Armenian migrations westwards, it's when Armenians started to immigrate en masse from what's today Armenia, Lake Van region and around towards Cilicia.

[Nomad]

There is no Cilicia or something.It's TURKIC land.;)