Stephen of Armenia
Encyclopedia
Stephen of Armenia was the Marshal of Armenia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...

, the son of Leo I, Prince of Armenia and Beatrice de Rethel
Counts and dukes of Rethel
This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became part of the Peerage of France, and in 1581 it was...

.

His father made him Marshal in 1138, due to the invasion of John II Comnenus, and escaped capture by sheltering in Edessa
County of Edessa
The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around Edessa, a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity....

. In 1157, he began raiding Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 territories around Marash against his half-brother Thoros
Thoros II of Armenia
Toros II the Great , also Thoros II, was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” ....

' will, although he failed to capture Marash itself. The Byzantine governor of Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...

, Andronicus Euphorbenus, invited him to a banquet and murdered him on February 7, 1165. Thoros revenged his death with a massacre of Greeks within his territories, which would have led to war had not Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric I of Jerusalem was King of Jerusalem 1163–1174, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. Amalric was the second son of Melisende of Jerusalem and Fulk of Jerusalem...

 intervened to bring about a peace.

He had at least three children by his wife Rita of Barbaron: Ruben III
Ruben III of Armenia
Ruben III , also Roupen III, Rupen III, or Reuben III, was the ninth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” .Roupen remained always friendly to the Crusaders in spirit...

, Leo II and Dolete, who married Bertrand Embriaco.

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