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.

Ancient Armenia (521 BC – AD 428)

Early satraps (521–401 BC)

Orontid dynasty (401–200 BC)

Artaxiad dynasty (200 BC–AD 2)

Non-dynastic rulers (2–61)

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.

Arsacid dynasty (61–428)

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.

Western Armenia (387–389)

Upon the death of Arshak III in 389, Emperor Theodosius I chose to not appoint another king, ending the western kingdom. Arshak's lands were instead incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Eastern Armenia (384–428)

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.

Vassal lords and princes (428–884)

Marzbāns in Sasanian Armenia (428–646)

The Sasanian-ruled Armenian territories were after 428 placed under the rule of an official with the title marzbān (governor-general or viceroy ). The first marzbān, appointed by Bahram V, was the military officer Veh Mihr Shapur. 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.

Presiding princes of Armenia (628–884)

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. The earliest known presiding prince of Armenia is Mjej II Gnuni, appointed by the Byzantines in the early seventh century.

Restored kingdom (884–1045)

Bagratuni dynasty (884–1045)

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. The Bagratid kingdom and its capital of Ani was conquered by the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos in 1045.

Lesser medieval Armenian kingdoms

Vaspurakan, Artsruni dynasty (908–1021)

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. 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.

Vanand, Bagratuni dynasty (961–1065)

The Kingdom of Vanand was created as a vassal state by the Bagratuni kings in 961, ruled by members of their own dynasty. Vanand was ceded to the Byzantine Empire by Gagik-Abas II in 1065.

Tashir-Dzoraget, Kiurikian dynasty (982–c. 1145)

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. Tashir-Dzoraget was largely conquered by the Seljuk Turks in 1081/1089. 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.

Syunik, Siunia dynasty (970–1170)

The independent Kingdom of Syunik was established under the Siuni prince Smbat Sahak in 970. The Kingdom of Syunik was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in 1170.

Shah-i Armens (1100–1185; 1420–1437)

Ahlat Shah-i Armens (1100–1185)

In the decades following the Battle of Manzikert (1071), one of the Turkmen 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"); the same title Islamic sources had previously used for the Bagratuni kings. 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; Seyfeddin Bektimur 1185–1193, Bedreddin Aksungur 1193–1198, Sücaeddin Kutlug 1198, Melukülmansur Muhammed 1198–1207, and Izzeddin Balaban 1207. The city's period of relative autonomy came to an end when it was captured by the Ayyubid Sultanate in 1207.

Qara Qoyunlu (1420–1437)

The title Shah-i Armen was temporarily revived in the 15th century under the rule of the Turkmen Qara Qoyunlu, being used by Sultan Qara Iskander as part of his policy to cultivate the Armenian population.

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1080–1375)

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a state formed in the Middle Ages by Armenians who fled the Seljuk invasion of their homeland. 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. The rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilia thereafter styled themselves simply as "King of Armenia".

Rubenid dynasty (1080–1252)

Hethumid dynasty (1226–1341)

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.

Lusignan and Neghir dynasties (1342–1375)

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.

Later claimants

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". 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.

Savoyard claimants (1485–1946)

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. 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. For centuries thereafter, the heads of the family maintained the style "Duke of Savoy and titular King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia". The title "King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia" was maintained even after the Savoyard dynasts became kings of Italy, for instance being used by both Victor Emmanuel II and Victor Emmanuel III.

Referneces

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