Hethumid Dynasty
Allied with the Mongol Empire against the Mamluks, the Hethumids fought to preserve Cilician Armenia.
Royal Lineage
Queen & King
1226–1270 AD
Zabel I, also known as Isabella, reigned from 1219 to 1252 AD as the queen regnant of Cilician Armenia (Kilikia) and the final representative of the Rubenid (Rubinyan) dynasty. Born in Sis to King Leo I and Sibylla of Cyprus, she was designated as the royal heir by her father and ascended the throne while still a child under the successive regencies of Adam of Baghras (Atan) and Constantine of Baberon (Constantine Lambronatsi). Her reign was defined by pivotal dynastic marriages intended to stabilize the Armenian state.
1269–1289 AD
Leo II reigned from 1269 to 1289 AD as the monarch of Cilician Armenia (Kilikia) and the first of the Hethumid line to wear the crown. The eldest son of King Hethum I and Queen Isabella, his early life was marked by the trauma of the Battle of Mari in 1266 AD, where he was captured by Mamluk invaders and his brother Thoros was killed.
The Monk-King
1289–1293 AD 1295-1296 AD 1299-1301 AD
Hethum II reigned intermittently between 1289 and 1303 AD as the monarch of the Kingdom of Cilicia (Kilikia) and a prominent member of the Hethumid dynasty. The son of King Leo II and Queen Keran, his rule was defined by a precarious balancing act between the Mongol Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the rising threat of the Mamluk Sultanate.
1293-1294 AD
Thoros III reigned from 1293 to 1298 as the monarch of Cilician Armenia (Kilikia). A member of the Hethumid (Hetumyan) dynasty and the son of King Leo II, he ascended the throne after his brother Hethum II abdicated in his favor.
1296-1298 AD
Smbat reigned from 1296 to 1298 AD as the monarch of Cilician Armenia (Kilikia). A member of the Hethumid (Hetumyan) dynasty and the son of King Leo II, he seized the throne during the temporary absence of his elder brothers, Hethum II and Thoros III, who were on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople.
1298-1299 AD
Constantine II reigned from 1298 to 1299 AD as the monarch of Cilician Armenia (Kilikia). A member of the Hethumid (Hetumyan) dynasty and the son of King Leo II, he originally governed from the fortress of Kapan.
1301-1307 AD
Leo IV reigned from 1320 to 1341 AD as the final Hethumid monarch of the Kingdom of Cilicia (Kilikia). Succeeding his father, Oshin I, at the age of ten, he spent his minority under the regency of his uncle, Oshin of Korikos.
1307–1320 AD
Oshin was heavily influenced by European culture and tried to unite the Armenian and Catholic Churches, causing deep internal strife within the kingdom.
Last Hethumid
1320–1342 AD
Leo IV reigned from 1320 to 1341 AD as the final Hethumid monarch of the Kingdom of Cilicia (Kilikia). The son of King Oshin I and Queen Isabel of Korikos, he ascended the throne as a ten-year-old minor under the regency of his uncle, Oshin of Korikos.