****Isabella (27 January 1216/ 25 January 1217 – 23 January 1252), also Isabel or Zabel, was queen regnant of Armenian Cilicia from 1219 until her death in 1252. She was proclaimed queen. After he was assassinated, Constantine of Baberon (of the Hethumid family) was nominated as guardian. At this juncture, Raymond-Roupen, grandson of Roupen III (the elder brother of Isabella’s father, King Leo I), attempted to claim the throne of Cilicia for himself, but he was defeated, captured, and executed. He arranged a marriage between the young princess and Philip, His father was Bohemond IV. Philip, however, offended the Armenians’ sensibilities, and even despoiled the royal palace, sending the royal crown to Antioch; therefore, he was confined in a prison in Sis (now Kozan in Turkey), where he died, presumably poisoned. "The lawful heiress of the empire, Isabella, governed the country together with her husband, and led a pious, religious life. She was blessed for her good deeds and exemplary life by many children, the numerous offsprings of a famous race."

• Vahram of Edessa: The Rhymed Chronicle of Armenia Minor

Early years

Isabella was the only child of King Leo I by his second wife, Sybilla of Cyprus. She was betrothed to Andrew, but the betrothal did not occur. King Leo I died on May, 1219. Raymond-Roupen believed he should become the ruler. John of Brienne felt that a member of his family should succeed.

Wife of Philip of Antioch

Her wedding to Philip occurred during 1222.

Wife of Hethum of Barbaron

"In the year 675 AE /1226/ the Armenian princes, together with the Catholicos, Lord Constantine, assembled and enthroned Hethum, son of Constantine, bailli of the Armenians, and also gave him /as a wife/ Isabel, King Leo’s daughter. Thereafter there was peace in the House of the Armenians, and year by year they strived for the heights."

• Smbat Sparapet: Chronicle The marriage was legalized by Rome in 1237. There is evidence that Isabella shared a degree of royal power, for we learn from several sources that she co-signed with her husband an official deed transferring to the Knights of the Teutonic Order the strategic castle and town of Haronie. "The queen being near the end of her life, and staying in a place called Ked, she heard a voice from heaven, crying aloud, «come my dove, come my love, thy end is near.» She felt joyful on this happy vision, imparted it to the bystanders, and died in the Lord; her body was brought to the grave by a large assembly of the priesthood and laid in consecrated earth."
• Vahram of Edessa: The Rhymed Chronicle of Armenia Minor She was buried in the monastery of Trazarg.

Marriages and children

# (1) 25 January 1221 – 24 January 1222: Philip of Antioch (? – Sis, 1225/1226) # (2) 14 May 1226: Hethum I, king of Cilician Armenia (1215 – 28 October 1270)

Ancestors

Footnotes

Sources