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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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The next prince, Rouben III, was the nephew of Toros II, son of Stephan, the brave defender of Marash. Rouben III, who was endowed with the finest human characteristics, had the fortune of having his brother Levon by his side. Levon came to be called Levon II and subsequently also became king of Armenia. Bohèmond III, the baron of Antiochia, who wanted Cilicia for himself, managed to deceive Rouben III, luring him to his court where he was arrested and put in prison. Bohèmond attacked Armenia which he assumed was without regent. But the king's brother, Levon, revealed himself as a mighty warrior. He personally led the forces of Armenia, drove back the forces of Bohèmond and forced him to set his brother Rouben free. 46

Having returned to Armenia, Rouben III proved that he was still a good-hearted and kind regent and ruled the country with great proficiency. Rouben built cities and monasteries and gave away large sums to charity. And since he was very God-fearing, he stepped down from the throne at an old age and handed it over to his brother Levon.

The Crusader States and the Counterattack of Islam

Before continuing to the reign of Levon II, the greatest king that the New Armenia has ever known, we need to review the status of the Middle East during the 12th century.

After the successes of the first crusade and the conquest of Jerusalem, the crusaders established a number of states in different locations and called them the Latin state of the Orient. The first state was founded in Ourfa, east of Cilicia, and was ruled by Baudouin de Flandre. The three other crusader states were the duchy of Antiochia (under the leadership of Bohèmond), the area of Tripoli (under the leadership of Raymond de Toulouse) and the principality of Jerusalem, which was ruled by Godefroy de Bouillon, in the south.

By 1100, these states were well established, and formed a small Europe modelled in every way on Europe itself. The feudal system had reached such heights in these small states that it surpassed even that if the western countries. The system of the different levels of a feudal society had been installed in the smallest details in the governments of Jerusalem.

But it was precisely the division of the conquests of the crusaders into smaller and more secluded areas, which in their turn were a result of the feudal way of thinking, that was a fundamental weakness since only the creation of a united country with united forces could have made it possible for the crusaders to defend themselves against the constant dangers which surrounded.

At the outset, the opponents of the crusader states and Armenia were themselves deeply divided internally and on the verge of disintegration. The sultanates in Konya, Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, the first ruled by the Seljuk Turks and the other three generally by Arabs but occasionally falling under the rule of the Seljuk Turks, all worked for their own benefit and even waged war against each other. Moreover, none of them had any contacts with the Fatemian caliphs of Egypt, who in contrast to the caliphs of Baghdad were Shiites and hostile towards the Seljuk Turks.

Therefore the crusader states never ran into any major resistance from their neighbours, especially since Jerusalem had allied itself with the sultanates in Damascus and Aleppo, whom had been defeated by the Armenians.


46) F. Macler, Armenia, The Cambridge Medieval History, vol. IV, p. 171