Ruben I of Armenia
| Roupen I | |
|---|---|
| Lord of Cilicia / “Lord of the Mountains” | |
 |
|
| Lord of Armenian Cilicia | |
| Reign | 1080/1081/1082–1095 |
| Predecessor | (none) |
| Successor | Constantine I |
| Born | 1025 (unknown) |
| Died | 1095 Kormogolo |
| Burial | Monastery of Castalon |
| Spouse | (unknown) |
| Issue | Constantine I |
| House | Roupenians |
| Father | (unknown) |
| Mother | (unknown) |
Ruben I, (Armenian: Ռուբեն Ա), also Roupen I or Rupen I, (1025/1035 – Kormogolo, 1095) was the first lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1080/1081/1082 – 1095). He declared the independence of Cilicia from the Byzantine Empire, thus formally founding the beginning of Armenian rule there. The Roupenian dynasty ruled Cilician Armenia until 1219.
The Armenian voluntary immigrations into the Byzantine Empire began as early as the 6th century; from the reign of Emperor Maurice (582–602) onwards they were solidly incorporated into the military fabric of the Byzantine army. The Armenian migration to the south-west, began when the Seldjuk invasions made life in the Araxes valley and by Lake Van no longer secure. By the mid 10th century, large numbers of Armenian settlements were well underway in Cilicia.
Greater Armenia was ruled by the Bagratids in relative peace and prosperity from the 9th century until 1045 when their capital city of Ani fell. In 1045, King Gagik II was invited to Constantinople; upon arrival there, he was taken captive and under duress was forced to abdicate his throne and relinquish all his right in Armenia in exchange for lands in Cappadocia. Thus Ani was relinquished to Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos who began the resettlement of large numbers of Armenians in Byzantine Cilicia. Gagik was killed by Byzantine orders in 1079, after his own peculiarly atrocious murder of the Archbishop of Caesarea (today Kayseri in Turkey).
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