Ruben III of Armenia
Ruben III of Armenia (died
1186) was prince of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from
1174 to
1186. He was the son of
Stephen of Armenia and Rita of Barbaron. During the reign of
Mleh, he took refuge with his mother's kinsmen in
Barbaron. After Mleh's assassination, Ruben was invited by the barons to take the throne.
His generosity and good nature won him much good will, and he recaptured
Mamistra,
Adana, and
Tarsus. He pretended to offer a great reward to the murderers of Mleh, but when they revealed themselves, he had them put to death, an episode remniscent of King
David's dealings with the murderers of
Ishbosheth.
In
1181, he travelled to the
Kingdom of Jerusalem, where he took to wife Isabella of Toron, sister of
Humphrey IV of Toron. By her he had two daughters:
*Alice (born
1182), who was married
**firstly to Hathum of
Sasun and
**secondly to
Raymond IV of Tripoli, eldest son of
Bohemund III of Antioch (their son was
Raymond-Roupen of Antioch)
*Philippa (born
1183), who married
Theodore I Komnenos Laskaris,
Emperor of Nicea.
Around
1185, he experienced great trouble from the combination against him of Hethum of
Lampron, one of his barons, with
Bohemund III of Antioch. His brother
Leo was dispatched to besiege Lampron, but Ruben himself was taken prisoner by Bohemund, either by treachery or (according to Smbat Sparapet) while visiting prostitutes in
Antioch. He was subsequently ransomed, but as part of the conditions of his release, had to surrender
Saravantikar, T'il, and Chkar to Bohemund.
In 1185 Ruben retired to the monastery of
Tradog. On his death he was succeeded by his brother
Leo II.
* T.S.R. Boase, editor.
The Cilician Kingdom of Armenia. Scottish Academic Press, 1978.
* Chahin, Mark.
The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition, 2001
*
Greeks, Crusaders and Moslems â€" Rise of Leon II (Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 28)
*
Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle
