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Do not fill this in! ===Middle Ages=== {{main|Medieval Armenia}} [[File:Etchmiadzin cathedral.jpg|thumb|The [[Etchmiadzin Cathedral]], Armenia's Mother Church traditionally dated 303 AD, is considered the oldest cathedral in the world.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East|year=2008|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]]|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4381-2676-0|page=65|editor=Stokes, Jamie|quote=Etchmiatzin is located in the west of modern Armenia, close to the border with Turkey, and its fourth-century cathedral is generally regarded as the oldest in the world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bauer-Manndorff|first=Elisabeth|title=Armenia: Past and Present|year=1981|publisher=Reich Verlag|location=Lucerne|oclc=8063377|quote=Etchmiadzin, with the world's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Catholicos, draws tourists from all over the world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Utudjian|first=Édouard|title=Armenian Architecture: fourth to 17th Century|year=1968|publisher=Editions A. Morancé|location=Paris|oclc=464421|page=7|author-link=Édouard Utudjian|quote=...the oldest cathedral in Christendom, that of Etchmiadzin, founded in the fourth century.}}</ref>]] The Sassanid Empire was conquered by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in the mid 7th century, reuniting Armenian lands previously taken by the [[Byzantine Empire]], and Armenia subsequently emerged as [[Arminiya]], an autonomous principality under the [[Umayyad Caliphate]]. The principality was ruled by the Prince of Armenia, and recognised by the [[Caliphate|Caliph]] and the [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine Emperor]]. It was part of the administrative division/emirate ''Arminiya'' created by the Arabs, which also included parts of Georgia and [[Caucasian Albania]], and had its centre in the Armenian city, [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]]. Arminiya lasted until 884, when it regained its independence from the weakened [[Abbasid Caliphate]] under [[Ashot I of Armenia]].{{Sfn|Canard|Cahen|1960}} The reemergent Armenian kingdom was ruled by the [[Bagratuni dynasty]] and lasted until 1045. In time, several areas of the Bagratid Armenia separated as independent kingdoms and principalities such as the Kingdom of [[Vaspurakan]] ruled by the House of [[Artsruni]] in the south, Kingdom of [[Syunik Province|Syunik]] in the east, or [[Kingdom of Artsakh]] on the territory of modern [[Nagorno-Karabakh]], while still recognising the supremacy of the Bagratid kings.<ref name="Payaslian2008">{{cite book | author = S. Payaslian | date = 13 March 2008 | title = The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present | publisher = Springer | pages = 52– | isbn = 978-0-230-60858-0 | oclc = 1001334466 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UMIWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52}}</ref> [[File:Cilician Armenia-en.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]], 1198–1375]] In 1045, the Byzantine Empire conquered Bagratid Armenia. Soon, the other Armenian states fell under Byzantine control as well. The Byzantine rule was short-lived, as in 1071 the [[Seljuk Empire]] defeated the Byzantines and conquered Armenia at the [[Battle of Manzikert]], establishing the Seljuk Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Peter Malcolm |last2=Lambton |first2=Ann Katharine Swynford |last3=Lewis |first3=Bernard |name-list-style=amp |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |year=1977 |pages=231–32 }}</ref> To escape death or servitude at the hands of those who had assassinated his relative, [[Gagik II of Armenia]], King of [[Ani]], an Armenian named [[Ruben I, Prince of Armenia]], went with some of his countrymen into the gorges of the [[Taurus Mountains]] and then into [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]] of [[Cilicia]]. The Byzantine governor of the palace gave them shelter where the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] was eventually established on 6 January 1198 under [[Leo I, King of Armenia]], a descendant of Prince Ruben.<ref name="EvansWixomWixom1997">{{cite book | editor1 = Helen C. Evans | editor2 = William D. Wixom | editor3 = William D.. Wixom | author1 = Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) | author2 = N. Y.) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York | author3 = Speros P. (jr.) Vryonis | author4 = Thomas F. Mathews | author5 = Jeffrey C. Anderson | author6 = Annemarie Weyl Carr | author7 = Henry Maguire | author8 = Robert G. Ousterhout | author9 = Ioli Kalavrezou | author10 = Eunice Dauterman Maguire | author11 = Olenka Z. Pevny | author12 = Joseph D. Alchermes | author13 = S. Peter Cowe | author14 = Thelma K. Thomas | author15 = Jaroslav Folda | author16 = Priscilla Soucek | date = 1997 | title = The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261 | publisher = Metropolitan Museum of Art | pages = 361– | isbn = 978-0-87099-777-8 | oclc = 1008249298 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Caqa12aj55wC&pg=PA361}}</ref> Cilicia was a strong ally of the [[Crusades|European Crusaders]], and saw itself as a bastion of [[Christendom]] in the East. Cilicia's significance in Armenian history and statehood is also attested by the transfer of the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the spiritual leader of the Armenian people, to the region. The Seljuk Empire soon started to collapse. In the early 12th century, Armenian princes of the Zakarid family drove out the Seljuk Turks and established a semi-independent principality in northern and eastern Armenia known as [[Zakarid Armenia]], which lasted under the patronage of the [[History of Georgia (country)|Georgian Kingdom]]. The [[Orbelian Dynasty]] shared control with the Zakarids in various parts of the country, especially in Syunik and [[Vayots Dzor Province|Vayots Dzor]], while the [[House of Hasan-Jalalyan]] controlled provinces of [[Artsakh (historic province)|Artsakh]] and [[Utik]] as the Kingdom of Artsakh.<ref name="Hovannisian2004">{{cite book |author=Richard G. Hovannisian |url=https://archive.org/details/armenianpeoplefr00rich_0/page/57/mode/2up |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century |date=11 February 2004 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-4039-6422-9 |page=57 |oclc=805125065 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page