Mleh, Prince of Armenia

Mleh I[1][2] (Armenian: Մլեհ), also Meleh I,[1] (before 1120 – Sis, May 15, 1175)[citation needed] was the eighth lord of Armenian Cilicia[1] (1170–1175).[citation needed]

Mleh I
Մլեհ Ա
Lord of Cilicia
Lord of Armenian Cilicia
Reign1170–1175
PredecessorRoupen II
SuccessorRoupen III
Bornbefore 1120
DiedMay 15, 1175
Sis
Burial
Medzkar
SpouseAn unnamed daughter of Vasil of Gargar
IssueGrigor (illegitimate child)
HouseRoupenians
FatherLeo I

Soon after the death of Nur ed-Din (the emir of Aleppo),[2] Mleh was overthrown by his nephew, Roupen III.[1]

His early life

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Mleh was the fourth son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.[citation needed] The name and the origin of his mother are not known with certainty.[citation needed] It is possible that she was a daughter of Count Hugh I of Rethel, or she might have been the daughter of Gabriel of Melitene.[citation needed]

All Cilicia remained under Byzantine rule for eight years.[3]

One after another, Thoros reconquered Anazarbus, Adana, Sis (today Kozan in Turkey) and Pardzerpert (now Andırın in Turkey) from the Byzantines.[3]

In the service of Nur ed-Din

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Mleh converted to Islam from Armenian Apostolic Christianity.[1] Afterwards, he ruled Cyrrhus.[4]

His rule

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On March 10, 1171, Amalric I left Acre for Constantinople where he made a treaty with the Emperor Manuel I Comnenos.[2]

During 1171, Mleh attacked Count Stephen I of Sancerre in Cilicia while he travelled from the Holy Land to Constantinople.[2]

He was buried in Medzkar.[citation needed]

Marriage and child

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Mleh married an unnamed daughter of Vasil of Gargar (a sister of the Catholicos Gregory).[citation needed]

He had one illegitimate child by his unknown mistress:[citation needed]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ghazarian, Jacob G. The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393).
  2. ^ a b c d Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades – Volume II.: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East: 1100–1187.
  3. ^ a b Vahan M. Kurkjian (April 5, 2005). "A History of Armenia". Website. Bill Thayer. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  4. ^ Gibb, Sir Hamilton A. R. The Career of Nūr-ad-Dīn.

Sources

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Mleh, Prince of Armenia
Regnal titles
Preceded by Lord of Armenian Cilicia
1170–1175
Succeeded by