List of Armenian kings


This is a list of the kings and queens of Armenia, for more information on ancient Armenia and Armenians, please see History of Armenia. For information on the medieval Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia, please see the separate page Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.
See List of kings of Urartu for kings of Urartu, the predecessor state of Greater Armenia.

Greater Armenia

This is the historical designation of the largest and longest-lasting Armenian kingdom.

Orontid kings and satraps

In Armenian tradition

Early kings in traditional Armenian chronology according to Moses of Chorene.
Note that the early dates are traditional and of uncertain accuracy.
Vasak, king of Siunik 442–451
Vartan Mamikonian
Military occupation by General Shapur Mihran 482

Armenian Bagratid kingdom and vassals

Kings of Armenia">Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia">Kings of Armenia (885–1045)

[Bagratuni dynasty]

[Bagratuni dynasty] as kings

From 1118 the Kingdom of Lori became the Lordship of Matznaberd and Tavouch. The Kingdom was annexed by the Turks.

[Bagratuni dynasty] as lords

[Bagratuni dynasty]

[Artsruni dynasty] as princes

[Siunia dynasty]

[Bagrationi dynasty] (1118–1476)

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a state formed in the Middle Ages by Armenian refugees, who were fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia. It was initially founded by the Rubenian dynasty, an offshoot of the larger Bagratid family that at various times held the thrones of Armenia and Georgia. While the Rubenian 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 Rubenid dynasty fell in 1252 after the death of the last Rubenid monarch Isabella, and her husband Hethum I became sole ruler, beginning the Hethumid dynasty. After the death of Leo IV in 1341 his cousin was elected to succeed him as Constantine II, the first king of the Lusignan dynasty. The kingdom fell at the beginning of Leo V's reign to the Mamluks, and henceforth title holders were only claimants to the throne. Charlotte of Cyprus ceded the throne to the House of Savoy in 1485, and the title fell out of use until after 1861.

[Rubenian dynasty]

Hethumid dynasty">Hethumids">Hethumid dynasty

NamePortraitBornReignMarriage DeathNotes
Hethum I
'

'		1215
Son of Constantine of Barbaron and Alice Pahlavouni		1226–1270Isabella I
14 June 1226
Tarsus
seven children		21 October 1270
aged 54–55		Was a major player in the political struggles and shifting alliances around the Crusader states, as the Armenians had ties with all sides. They were primarily aligned with the Europeans, but during Hethum's reign, the rapidly expanding Mongol Empire became a concern.
Leo III
'

'		1236
Son of Hethum I and Isabella I		1270–1289Anna of Lampron
5 January 1262 or 14 January 1263
sixteen children		6 February 1289
aged 52–53		A pious king, he was devoted to Christianity. He pursued active commercial relations with the West, by renewing trade agreements with the Italians and establishing new ones with the Catalans. He also endeavoured to reinforce the Mongol alliance.
Hethum II
'		1266
First son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1289–1293

1295–1296
'

1299–1303		Unmarried17 November 1307
Anazarba
aged 40–41		Political trouble: he abdicated in 1293 for monastic vows, being recalled by his brother Thoros III in 1295. They travelled to Constantinople to marry their sister Rita to Michael IX Palaiologos, but their brother SempadI usurped the throne, and they were imprisoned in the return; Freed after Sempad's death, assumed power again in 1299, abdicating once more in 1303 to become regent for his successor, Leo IV.
Thoros III
'

'		1271
Second son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1293–1298
'		Margaret of Cyprus
9 January 1288
two children

Unknown
'
no children		23 July 1298
aged 26–27		Imprisoned in 1296 by Sempad, his brother, who usurped the throne, was strangled in prison in 1298.
Sempad
'		1277
Third son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1296–1298
'		Unknown
'
no children		1310
aged 32–33		Sempad seized the throne with the aid of his brother Constantine while his brothers Hethum II and Thoros were in Constantinople. At their return, imprisoned them. He also blinded Hethum and strangled Thoros.
Constantine III
'

'		1278
Fourth son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1298–1299Unmarried1310
aged 31–32		After helping and then deposing his brother, he was raised as king. Gave the throne to his brother, Hethum II.
Hethum of Armenia
'		1266
First son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1303–1305Unmarried17 November 1307
Anazarba
aged 40–41		Re-installed as regent for his nephew, Leo IV.
Leo IV
'

'		1289
Son of Thoros III and Margaret of Cyprus		1305–1307Agnes of Tyre-Cyprus
1305
no children		17 November 1307
Anazarba
aged 17–18		Together with his uncle, he fought the Mongols, but were both assassinated in 1307.
Oshin
'		3 January 1283
Fifth son of Leo III and Anna of Lampron		1307–1320Isabella of Korikos
c.1310
one son

Isabelle of Cyprus
1310
'no children

Joan of Taranto
February 1316
Tarsus
one child		20 July 1320
aged 37		Ascended to the throne after the death of his nephew, Leo IV. He was poisoned by his cousin Oshin of Korikos.
Oshin of Korikos
'		Unknown
Son of Leo I		1320–1329Marguerite d'Ibelin
before 1320
one child

Joan of Taranto
1320
one child		8 February 1329
Sis		Probably poisoned his cousin to rise as regent.
Leo V
'

1309
Son of Oshin and Isabella of Korikos		1329–1341Alice of Korikos
10 August 1321
one child

Constance of Sicily
29 December 1331
no children		28 August 1341
aged 31–32		Leo was strongly pro-Western and favored a union of the Armenian and Roman Churches, which deeply displeased the native barons. Murdered by them, they elected a cousin, from the Cypriot Lusignans.

[House of Lusignan]

NamePortraitBornReignMarriage DeathNotes
Constantine IV
'

'		c.1300
Son of Amalric, Lord of Tyre and Isabella of Armenia		1341–1344Kantakouzene
c.1318
Constantinople
no children

Theodora Syrgiannaina
c.1330
two children		17 April 1344
aged c.43–44		Assassinated in an Armenian revolt in 1344.

Hethumid-Neghir dynasty">Hethumids">Hethumid-Neghir dynasty

NamePortraitBornReignMarriage DeathNotes
Constantine V
'

'		17 April 1313
Son of Baldwin, Lord of Neghir		1344–1362Marie of Korikos
1340
two children		21 December 1362
aged c.43–44		During his rule, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was reduced by Mamluk raids and conquests. They conquered Ajazzo in 1347, Tarsus and Adana in 1359.
Marie of Korikos
'		1321
Daughter of Oshin of Korikos and Joan of Taranto		1362-c.1365Constantine V
1340
two children

Constantine VI
1369
no children		Before 1405
Jerusalem
aged no more than 84		Managed the kingdom for three years, before the accession of Constantine VI.
Constantine VI
'

c.1324
Son of John, Lord of Neghir		1365–1373Marie of Korikos
1369
no children		April 1373
aged c.48–49		Cousin of his predecessor. Allied with Cyprus, and after 1369, with the sultan of Egypt. The barons disliked his policy because they feared the Muslim annexation, and murdered Constantine.

[House of Lusignan]

NamePortraitBornReignMarriage DeathNotes
Leo VI
'

'		c.1342
Son of John of Poitiers-Lusignan and Soldana of Georgia		1373–1375Margaret of Soissons
May 1369
one child		29 November 1393
Paris
aged 50–51		After several battles against superior Mamluk forces, he locked himself in the fortress at Geben and eventually surrendered in 1375, thus putting an end to the Kingdom of Armenia.

Claimants

Potential claimants today

The title passed to the branch of the Lusignans in Constantinople and eventually Russia. The title is contested by the House of Savoy and the House of Brienne via Hugh, Count of Brienne and John of Brienne.