Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia or Lesser Armenia, was an Armenian state established in the High Middle Ages, existing from approximately 1080 to 1375. Formed by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion, it was centered in the Cilicia region, northwest of the Gulf of Alexandretta, outside the Armenian Highlands. The kingdom originated as a principality founded by the Rubenid dynasty around 1080, with Tarsus as its initial capital, later moving to Sis. It became a kingdom in 1198 with the crowning of Leo I. The crown later passed to the Hethumid and then the Lusignan dynasties. A strong ally of the European Crusaders, it fell in 1375 after Mamluk attacks.