Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a state formed in the Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia. It was located on the Gulf of Alexandretta of the Mediterranean Sea in what is today southern Turkey. The kingdom remained independent from around 1078 to 1375.

The Kingdom of Cilicia was founded by the Rubenian dynasty, an offshoot of the larger Bagratid family that at various times held the thrones of Armenia and Georgia. Their capital was at first Tarsus, after Sis. Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, since Armenia was under foreign occupation at the time.

The First Crusade and the Rubenid principality

Baldwin of Boulogne receiving the hommage of the Armenians in Edessa.During the reign of Constantine I, the Crusaders, in order to restore to Christian rule territories that had recently been conquered by the Seljuk Turks, descended upon Anatolia and the Middle East. With the First Crusade, the Armenians in Cilicia gained powerful allies among the Frankish crusaders. With their help, they secured Cilicia from the Turks, both by direct military actions in Cilicia and by establishing Crusader states in Antioch and Edessa. The Armenians also helped the Crusaders, as described by Pope Gregory XIII

Among the good deeds which the Armenian people has done towards the church and the Christian world, it should especially be stressed that, in those times when the Christian princes and the warriors went to retake the Holy Land, no people or nation, with the same enthusiasm, joy and faith came to their aid as the Armenians did, who supplied the crusaders with horses, provision and guidance. The Armenians assisted these warriors with their utter courage and loyalty during the Holy wars.

– Ecclesia Romana, 1584