This is a list of the monarchs of Armenia, rulers of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (336 BC – AD 428), the medieval Kingdom of Armenia (884–1045), various lesser Armenian kingdoms (908–1170), and finally the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375). The list also includes prominent vassal princes and lords who ruled during times without an Armenian kingdom, as well as later claimants to the position.
Unclear succession. According to Strabo, Artaxias I was a general under the Seleucid king Antiochus III who seized power in Armenia, but according to Artaxias's own inscriptions he appears to have been part of a junior line of the Orontid dynasty.
The first century AD was a time of intense conflict between the Roman and Parthian empires. In Armenia, this resulted in rapid appointments and depositions of Armenian client kings by both sides.[1]
Hormizd-Ardashir,[6] 252/253[6]– c. 270, son of the Sasanian king Shapur I; made king of Armenia by his father after the Sasanians conquered the kingdom,[6] later king of the Sasanian Empire (as Hormizd I)
Narseh, c. 270–293,[6] brother of Hormizd-Ardashir, later king of the Sasanian Empire[6]
Khosrov II, 279/280–287 (in western Armenia),[11] son of Tiridates II?,[6] enthroned by the Romans after Narseh ceded parts of western Armenia to Emperor Probus[6]
Tiridates (III), 287–298,[6] brother of Khosrov II, initially king of only western Armenia but later granted the rest of the kingdom after Narseh became king of the Sasanian Empire[6]
Sanesan, a Sasanian-backed usurper belonging to the Arsacid dynasty, held much of Armenia for about a year in circa 336.[6]
Hannibalianus, son of Roman emperor Constantine I, was nominated by the Romans as king of Armenia in 335/336 but died in 337 without Khosrov III having been displaced.[6]
Tiran (Tigranes VII), 338–350,[11] son of Khosrov III[13]
In 384, the Sasanian Empire appointed Khosrov IV as Armenian king, in opposition to the Roman-supported Arshak III. This resulted in Armenia becoming informally divided under the two kings. In 387, the division was made formal through an agreement between the Roman emperor Theodosius I and Sasanian king Shapur III. The agreement saw Armenia be partitioned into a western (under Roman influence) and an eastern (under Sasanian influence) kingdom.[14]
Western Armenia (387–389)
Arshak III, 387–c. 389,[14] former king of all of Armenia[14]
Upon the death of Arshak III in 389, Emperor Theodosius I chose to not appoint another king, ending the western kingdom.[15] Arshak's lands were instead incorporated into the Roman Empire.[6]
In 428, the Sasanian king Bahram V deposed Artaxias IV, with the permission of the Armenian nobility, and annexed his lands into the Sasanian Empire.[15]
20th-century artwork of Vahan I Mamikonian, autonomous marzbān 485–505/510
The Sasanian-ruled Armenian territories were after 428 placed under the rule of an official with the title marzbān[16] (governor-general[16] or viceroy[1]). The first marzbān, appointed by Bahram V, was the military officer Veh Mihr Shapur.[1]
The list of marzbāns is not entirely contiguous. This is due to gaps in the historical record as well as there having been periods without any appointed marzbāns. It was relatively common for the office to be vacant since the Sasanian Empire periodically tried to assert more direct control.[17]
Modern imaginary portrait of Ashot V Bagratuni, who served as the last presiding prince of Armenia 856–884 and later reigned as King of Armenia (as Ashot I) 884–890
In the sixth century, the Byzantine Empire established the position of presiding prince of Armenia (formally "prince of the Armenians"). This office was created in an attempt to legitimize a local vassal leader with Byzantine backing and counteract Sasanian efforts in the region. During later centuries, the princes often wavered in allegiance between Byzantium and the Islamic Caliphates, who competed over influence in the region. The princes were most often autonomous tributary vassals.[17] The earliest known presiding prince of Armenia is Mjej II Gnuni, appointed by the Byzantines in the early seventh century.[18]
After more than four centuries of dormancy, the Armenian kingdom was restored under the Bagratuni dynasty, from which several presiding princes had hailed. The Abbasid caliphs were prominent supporters of the Bagratuni princes gaining power over other Armenian nobles due to fears of Byzantine influence in the region. In 884, Prince Ashot V Bagratuni was crowned king (as Ashot I) by his peers. Ashot's new position was recognised by both the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate; Emperor Basil I and Caliph Al-Mu'tamid each sent him a royal crown.[19]
Ashot I "the Great", 884–890,[1] previously prince
The Artsruni family ruled in Vaspurakan as princes under the Bagratuni kings. The Artsruni family revolted after King Smbat ceded some of the Artsruni lands to the nearby princes of Syunik. Shortly thereafter, in 908, Vaspurakan became a separate kingdom with Gagik Artsruni's recognition as a king by Abbasid caliph.[19]
Senekerim-Hovhannes, the last king of Vaspurakan, surrendered his crown to the Byzantine Empire in 1021 under pressure from incursions by the Seljuk Turks and resettled with his family in Cappadocia.[11]
Gagik-Abas II, 1029–1065,[1] son of Abas I;[18] claimed the position of king of all Armenia after the collapse of the main Bagratid kingdom in 1045.[20]
Vanand was ceded to the Byzantine Empire by Gagik-Abas II[20] in 1065.[11][20]
The Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget was a vassal kingdom founded in 982 by Kiuriki I, youngest son of Ashot III of Armenia, and was thereafter ruled by his descendants. It was for most of its history ruled from the fortress of Lori.[21]
Tashir-Dzoraget was largely conquered by the Seljuk Turks in 1081/1089.[18] In the early 12th century, further conquests led to David II and Abas only retaining control of the fortress of Macnaberd. The kingdom was fully conquered by around 1145, though it is possible that some members of the Kiurikian dynasty retained control of fortresses and settlements in the region thereafter.[21]
In the decades following the Battle of Manzikert (1071), one of the Turkmen[24] vassal dynasties of the Seljuk Turks gained control of Ahlat, in the former Armenian heartland. These Muslim emirs took the title Shah-i Armen ("King of the Armenians");[25][26] the same title Islamic sources had previously used for the Bagratuni kings.[27]
Sökmen II left no heirs, his death in 1185 terminating the Shah-i Armen dynastic line. Ahlat was thereafter ruled by a series of slave emirs;[24]Seyfeddin Bektimur 1185–1193, Bedreddin Aksungur 1193–1198, Sücaeddin Kutlug 1198, Melukülmansur Muhammed 1198–1207, and Izzeddin Balaban 1207.[29] The city's period of relative autonomy came to an end when it was captured by the Ayyubid Sultanate in 1207.[24]
The title Shah-i Armen was temporarily revived in the 15th century under the rule of the Turkmen Qara Qoyunlu,[26] being used by Sultan Qara Iskander as part of his policy to cultivate the Armenian population.[30]
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a state formed in the Middle Ages by Armenians who fled the Seljuk invasion of their homeland.[31] It was initially ruled by the Rubenids, an offshoot of the Bagratuni dynasty. While the Rubenid rulers were initially regional princes, their close ties with the Western world after the First Crusade saw the principality recognised as a kingdom under Leo I by the Holy Roman Empire in 1198.[32] The rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilia thereafter styled themselves simply as "King of Armenia".[18]
Coin depicting Isabella (r.1219–1252) and Hethum I (r. 1226–1269)
The Hethumid dynasty gained power through marriage with Isabella of the Rubenid dynasty. Upon her death, her husband Hethum I became sole ruler and he was followed as king by their descendants.
Bust of Leo V, the last King of Armenia (r.1374–1375)
After the death of Leo IV in 1341, Leo's cousin Guy de Lusignan was elected to succeed him as Constantine II, beginning the rule of the Lusignan dynasty. This dynasty ruled for just over three decades before Cilicia was captured by the Mamluks, bringing an end to the kingdom.
Peter de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, was invited to become king by some Armenian barons in 1368 but died in 1369 while making preparations to cross the sea to Cilicia with his forces[18][33]
Marie of Korikos, regent 1373–1374,[33] widow of Constantine III and Constantine IV; served as regent while delegations were sent to negotiate with prospective new candidates for the kingship[33]
Leo V (or VI), 1374–1375,[33] nephew of Constantine II[18] (House of Lusignan)
Lusignan claimants (1375–1489)
Leo V continued to claim the title "King of Armenia" in exile until his death in 1393. Leo's claims were then inherited by James I, his cousin (both were great-grandsons of the Cypriot king Hugh III) who ruled as King of Cyprus. From 1393 to the end of the Cypriot kingdom in 1489, the rulers of Cyprus claimed the full title "King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia".[35]
After the fall of the Kingdom of Cyprus in 1489, Catherine Cornaro sold her claims and titles (including her claim to Armenia) to the Republic of Venice, which at times thereafter advanced a shadowy claim to Cilicia or Armenia as a whole.[36]
Savoyard claimants (1485–1946)
The House of Savoy claimed the titular style "King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia" for centuries. It was in use as late as the 20th century, for instance by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (pictured).[37]
Charlotte, who ruled as Queen of Cyprus 1458–1464, was deposed in 1464 but maintained claims to her titles in exile. In 1485, she ceded all her titular claims to her first cousin once removed, Charles I, Duke of Savoy.[38] As a consequence of Charlotte's sale, the House of Savoy is often seen as the heirs of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus and Armenian Cilicia.[36] For centuries thereafter, the heads of the family maintained the style "Duke of Savoy and titular King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia".[39]
It is not fully certain when Armenian rulers began to style themselves as kings in their own right. This list follows Toumanoff (1963) and Lang (2021) in considering Orontes II to be the first "king".[3]
Wijlick, Hendrikus A. M. van (2020). Rome and the Near Eastern Kingdoms and Principalities, 44-31 BC: A Study of Political Relations during Civil War. BRILL. p.242. ISBN978-9-0044-4176-7.
Dickran Kouymjian, "Armenia from the Fall of the Cilician Kingdom (1375) to the Forced Emigration under Shah Abbas (1604)," The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Richard Hovannisian, editor (New York: St. Martin Press, 1997), vol. 2, p. 5
(in Armenian) Poghosyan, S.; Katvalyan, M.; Grigoryan, G. et al. Cilician Armenia (Կիլիկյան Հայաստան). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. v. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1979, pp. 406–428
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