Introduction

Of all the tribes and peoples and nations which embraced the Christian creed in the early centuries before power brought corruption, the Armenians are among the very few who have never apostatized from their faith. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a progressive historical narrative that develops the integration of the Armenians of Cilicia with the crusaders of the 11th and 12th centuries, and to offer a potential ‘eastern perspective’ on the Crusades. Early in the fourth century, St Grigor Lusavoritch (Gregory the Illuminator), the patron saint of all Armenians, founded the Armenian Church upon the conversion of the king of Armenia, Tirtad III (Tiridates) the Great, to the Christian faith. The book offers a succinct account of the political intrigues that engulfed the rulers of the Armenians in Cilicia during the Crusades with the greater emphasis placed on the first three crusades.